This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
A small favour
…
There’s nothing like trying to impress the new relatives. Well, maybe that wasn’t our boy’s first intention, he likes the idea of just blending into the background and trying not to make waves.
Of course, he is an aspiring journalist and can recognise overzealous journalists trying to make a name for themselves.
And what is just plain biased reporting?
But here’s the thing… When you are a celebrity, you don’t get the normal protection a citizen is supposed to get, you are simply a moving target.
Our boy is not moving in completely different circles now– he’s in Emily’s world.
And the grandmothers, and since Mr Rothstein has gone away to make things right, and the fact the grandmother had basically bailed him out, she needs a spokesperson.
Someone the media doesn’t and won’t tear the strips off. Not initially, anyway.
So, one small favour, go out and explain the situation, don’t answer questions, and get off the stage.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
A small favour
…
There’s nothing like trying to impress the new relatives. Well, maybe that wasn’t our boy’s first intention, he likes the idea of just blending into the background and trying not to make waves.
Of course, he is an aspiring journalist and can recognise overzealous journalists trying to make a name for themselves.
And what is just plain biased reporting?
But here’s the thing… When you are a celebrity, you don’t get the normal protection a citizen is supposed to get, you are simply a moving target.
Our boy is not moving in completely different circles now– he’s in Emily’s world.
And the grandmothers, and since Mr Rothstein has gone away to make things right, and the fact the grandmother had basically bailed him out, she needs a spokesperson.
Someone the media doesn’t and won’t tear the strips off. Not initially, anyway.
So, one small favour, go out and explain the situation, don’t answer questions, and get off the stage.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
Mr Rothstein gets into trouble.
…
Everyone lives on that edge of the precipice that can plunge us into a place we don’t want to be, rather than a phone call to try and bail ourselves out.
Mr Rothstein unfortunately found himself at the edge of that precipice.
It doesn’t help when after a few rounds of layoffs and citing that money is tight, you are caught out spending it like water. Or perhaps that was Mrs Winkle making the most of her opportunities.
The press can be very cruel, especially when they smell blood in the water.
Our problems started went an invoice slipped through the cracks, didn’t get paid, went past the due date and the power, since it is an electricity bill, was cut off.
For the factory that employs 7,000 people.
Nor does it help when the press, or one reporter in particular, gets a hold of the story and puts a menacing slant to it that is, Rothstein’s can afford a private jet but can’t keep the lights on for employees who, yes, the old story, need to keep a roof over the family’s head, and food on the table.
And waiting for our intrepid new friends are the press gang at the front door asking Emily all of those difficult questions, like where is her father to answer them.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
Mr Rothstein gets into trouble.
…
Everyone lives on that edge of the precipice that can plunge us into a place we don’t want to be, rather than a phone call to try and bail ourselves out.
Mr Rothstein unfortunately found himself at the edge of that precipice.
It doesn’t help when after a few rounds of layoffs and citing that money is tight, you are caught out spending it like water. Or perhaps that was Mrs Winkle making the most of her opportunities.
The press can be very cruel, especially when they smell blood in the water.
Our problems started went an invoice slipped through the cracks, didn’t get paid, went past the due date and the power, since it is an electricity bill, was cut off.
For the factory that employs 7,000 people.
Nor does it help when the press, or one reporter in particular, gets a hold of the story and puts a menacing slant to it that is, Rothstein’s can afford a private jet but can’t keep the lights on for employees who, yes, the old story, need to keep a roof over the family’s head, and food on the table.
And waiting for our intrepid new friends are the press gang at the front door asking Emily all of those difficult questions, like where is her father to answer them.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
Mrs Winkle
…
There are two things going on here.
The first is the animosity between Emily and her stepmother. When Emily’s mother died, it was probably expected there would be a period of mourning. There probably was.
But some men don’t like the idea of being alone, and either go looking for a suitable partner that might be helpful in helping with the children, or maybe that person decides there is an opening, and makes a move to fill that void.
Mrs Winkle did the chasing.
Mr Rothstein is too good a target for her to pass up, after all, unmarried billionaires, even if only on paper were far and few between. Besides, she had children of her own that needed money to look after, a lot of money, and to cement the relationship, it’s always wise to have children of their own to be used as bargaining chips and longevity.
The divorce settlement would indeed be very costly.
The second is that our boy knows exactly who Mrs Winkle is, and figures the best policy is to stay as far away from her as possible.
Except when summoned. They meet, and he can tell she does not consider him suitable.
Maybe someone should tell Mrs Winkle that Emily does not agree with her.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
Mrs Winkle
…
There are two things going on here.
The first is the animosity between Emily and her stepmother. When Emily’s mother died, it was probably expected there would be a period of mourning. There probably was.
But some men don’t like the idea of being alone, and either go looking for a suitable partner that might be helpful in helping with the children, or maybe that person decides there is an opening, and makes a move to fill that void.
Mrs Winkle did the chasing.
Mr Rothstein is too good a target for her to pass up, after all, unmarried billionaires, even if only on paper were far and few between. Besides, she had children of her own that needed money to look after, a lot of money, and to cement the relationship, it’s always wise to have children of their own to be used as bargaining chips and longevity.
The divorce settlement would indeed be very costly.
The second is that our boy knows exactly who Mrs Winkle is, and figures the best policy is to stay as far away from her as possible.
Except when summoned. They meet, and he can tell she does not consider him suitable.
Maybe someone should tell Mrs Winkle that Emily does not agree with her.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
Dining with Emily, and a moment of dread
…
So aside from the late-night phone calls that hardly address the big issues like how this relationship is going to work, Emily decided to order in dinner, and they talked.
I can remember similar situations early on myself, and it is hard to try and work out how anything is going to work when two people are used to their own lives, families, friends, habits, preferences and dislikes, and amusements.
I remember trying to find all the similarities in things we did. Certainly, our families were as disparate as it got, and I guess the socio-economic background, and what we did as children was as different as chalk and cheese.
You don’t always start as equals and work from there.
It’s why I decided to have characters so far apart in just about everything.
The thing is, like any relationship that is going to work, you have to be friends. Well, that didn’t start out that way. You have to at the very least like the other person. That was one-sided, to begin with, but deep down, although she thought she hated him, she didn’t.
Or is it that thin line between love and hate we all tread at times.
The thing is, they want to be together, there is this magic between them that neither can define, and being able to talk frankly is going to become a cornerstone.
For the first time on this trip, we encounter problems with Chinese officialdom at the railway station, though we were warned that this might occur.
We had a major problem with the security staff when they pulled everyone over with aerosols and confiscated them. We lost styling mousse, others lost hair spray, and the men, their shaving cream. But, to her credit, the tour guide did warn us they were stricter here, but her suggestion to be angry they were taking our stuff was probably not the right thing to do.
As with previous train bookings, the Chinese method of placing people in seats didn’t quite manage to keep couples traveling together, together on the train. It was an odd peculiarity which few of the passengers understood, nor did they conform, swapping seat allocations.
This train ride did not seem the same as the last two and I don’t think we had the same type of high-speed train type that we had for the last two. The carriages were different, there was only one toilet per carriage, and I don’t think we were going as fast.
But aside from that, we had 753 kilometers to travel with six stops before ours, two of which were very large cities, and then our stop, about four and a half hours later. With two minutes this time, to get the baggage off the team managed it in 40 seconds, a new record.
After slight disorientation getting off the train, we locate our guide, easily found by looking for the Trip-A-Deal flag. From there it’s a matter of getting into our respective groups and finding the bus.
As usual, the trip to the hotel was a long one, but we were traveling through a much brighter, and well lit, city.
As for our guide, we have him from now until the end of the tour. There are no more train rides, we will be taking the bus from city to city until we reach Shanghai. Good thing then that the bus is brand new, with that new car smell. Only issue, no USB charging point.
The Snowy Sea hotel.
It is finally a joy to get a room that is nothing short of great. It has a bathroom and thus privacy.
Everyone had to go find a supermarket to purchase replacements for the confiscated items. Luckily there was a huge supermarket just up from the hotel that had everything but the kitchen sink.
But, unlike where we live, the carpark is more of a scooter park!
It is also a small microcosm of Chinese life for the new more capitalistic oriented Chinese.
The next morning we get some idea of the scope of high-density living, though here, the buildings are not 30 stories tall, but still just as impressive.
These look like the medium density houses, but to the right of these are much larger buildings
The remarkable thing about this is those buildings stretch as far as the eye can see.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
Dining with Emily, and a moment of dread
…
So aside from the late-night phone calls that hardly address the big issues like how this relationship is going to work, Emily decided to order in dinner, and they talked.
I can remember similar situations early on myself, and it is hard to try and work out how anything is going to work when two people are used to their own lives, families, friends, habits, preferences and dislikes, and amusements.
I remember trying to find all the similarities in things we did. Certainly, our families were as disparate as it got, and I guess the socio-economic background, and what we did as children was as different as chalk and cheese.
You don’t always start as equals and work from there.
It’s why I decided to have characters so far apart in just about everything.
The thing is, like any relationship that is going to work, you have to be friends. Well, that didn’t start out that way. You have to at the very least like the other person. That was one-sided, to begin with, but deep down, although she thought she hated him, she didn’t.
Or is it that thin line between love and hate we all tread at times.
The thing is, they want to be together, there is this magic between them that neither can define, and being able to talk frankly is going to become a cornerstone.
This book was the effort put into the last NaNoWriMo November 2023 exercise. I have now picked it back up, and working on a more polished first draft for the Editor.
…
A little time in Emily’s world
…
After the meeting with Mrs Bakersfield is over, our boy realises that Emily is going to be staying with her grandmother until the end.
Perhaps he will be too, but nothing is really set in concrete.
Time to spend a little time with Emily in her world of luxury and privilege.
It’s not what he wants, but he didn’t say no to the limousine ride to the airport, or no to the ride in the corporate jet, or no to the suite he was put in in the hotel.
I mean, only a fool would, wouldn’t they?
He calls his sister Darcy and lets her know that he is swilling it up, for the moment, it won’t last, and he says she is jealous, maybe.
Then, of course, there are the other members of Emily’s family, especially her stepmother, whom Emily despises, and rather niggardly calls Mrs Winkle, her former married name, and not as Mrs Rothstein, and definitely not Mom.
Our boy is going to take a seat on the sidelines and see just how unhappy families get along.
Thrills, Spills, and just a dash of Romance 