CHAPTER 52: Rejected

 

"Rejected!" said the editor.

"Rejected? But how? You wanted more facts, I got you them. You wanted more depth, I gave you depth...now you're saying the article on Malcolm Landgraab is rejected again?" said an incredulous Suzy Kent to her editor at 'Hey, Wow!' Magazine.

"Look...this is a fine piece of writing" said the editor, holding up a copy of Suzy's expose on the Landgraab heir. "But this is a fashion and style magazine, not an investigative journalism one"

"But Malcolm Landgraab is well known in teen circles; he's a youth icon, a style leader...shouldn't our readers know a bit more about what he gets up to?"

Her editor sighed. "You make a good point, but this rejection comes from a source higher up than me, Suzy"

"Who pulled this?" she demanded to know.

"The owners" came the reply.

Suzy was fuming all the way home...near her house she met her opposite number over at Smogue, Davis Goode and decided to see if the grass was greener on the other side at that magazine.

"Hello Davis...how's life at Smogue?" she said.

"How do you know my name and where I work?" he replied.

"Don't be silly; we've met a couple of times and chatted about our respective magazines...I'm over at 'Hey, Wow!'"

"I am never silly...'Hey Wow!' is a derivative sub-standard copy of Smogue. There can be no practical purpose in talking with you any further" and with that he walked on.

"Grrr, I need a break!" seethed Suzy.

She headed down to the Perfect Balance Spa for a much needed de-stress. A soak in a soft mineral hot bath, followed by a turn in the sauna soon got her to stop worrying about her frustrations with her job.

She realised that she was a very junior writer/reporter at the magazine and that she'd never done any form of investigative journalism in her life before. Plus, the Landgraabs, Fengs and Goths were all aware that she was probing them for information about their less than wholesome personal and business lives and they had shut her down at every turn. No, she should put her pride to one side and focus on the upcoming fashion festival happening in Sim City next month.

Suzy had booked herself into a yoga session at the spa and went to change out of her bathrobe and into an exercise leotard instead. Heading up to the session, she bumped into her next door neighbour; Julia Epstein.

"Julia...I didn't know you're a member here" said Suzy.

"Oh yes...it beats running" Julia replied.

"Are you going to the yoga class as well?" said Suzy, indicating her almost identical black exercise leotard and tights to Suzy's.

"Yes...it's something I've just got into. I tell you, they have us junior doctors rushing around at the hospital and I have to stay lithe and agile!"

The two neighbours plus a couple of middle aged women who wore tennis skirts joined in the class and proceeded to bend, stretch and meditate for the next half an hour.

Suzy felt all the stress leave her body... and whilst lying down letting her chakra's balance, she had a moment of clarity: She would put the scandal story to one side and concentrate on what she'd been hired to do for the magazine. Once that decision had been taken, she felt relieved.

After the session, Suzy and Julia changed back into their regular clothes and decided to head off to get a coffee. But as Suzy was checking her handbag, she was accosted by Geoffrey Landgraab.

"Ah, Miss Kent...sorry to hear that your latest 'extravaganza' had to be cancelled by your magazine" he said.

"Sorry? I would have thought you would have been relieved" said a sarcastic Suzy.

"I was never really that bothered. You see, to get to where I am you have to have..."

"The legacy of your ancestors?" she replied, cutting him off.

"Connections, Miss Kent. I am connected to every one of notice in Sim City. One of those connections happens to be the owner of your magazine"

"And you used your pull on them? All because little Malcolm's been a disappointment lately"

"Malcolm needs time and space to realise where his priorities should lay" said an ice cold Geoffrey. "You won't get in the way of that"

"I would have thought running a drug ring at his expensive private school was a matter for the law, not one of priorities"

"You've got no proof, no backing and no idea...Miss Kent. Now I have a massage booked in 5 minutes and I believe you're leaving" he said, walking off upstairs.

Suzy watched him leave. She now had a new resolve...keep going! If 'Hey, Wow!' didn't want her article, she'd find someone who would!

CHAPTER 51: A Big Step

"Oh no, sweetheart....that's terrible! Here, sit down and tell me what happened" said Jeremy to his very distraught girlfriend, Barbara.
"The building where my apartment is, in San Myshuno, has been condemned....faulty electrics, structurally unsound and now an infestation of rats. The city has ordered it shut down, effective immediately. I've got 2 days to move all my stuff out, find somewhere to store it and somewhere to live!" Barbara's voice was cracking through stress.

"And you have nothing lined up?" said Jeremy, reaching out to touch her hand, reassuringly.

"No...I've spoken to my parents and....it looks like I'll store my stuff in Sim City in a facility for now and move back to Montreal."

Jeremy's heart sank. Just at the point where he and Barbara had declared their love for each other, when everything in their lives looked upbeat, this had to happen and she would probably have to move back to Canada.

"I've very little in the way of savings as well...when I go home, I'll have to build up my money again so it might be years before I can return to America and here." she said, close to tears.

Jeremy stood up and paced around his kitchen. He looked around his house and then back at Barbara. "How much stuff do you have?" he asked her.

"Not much. You've seen my place; it's pretty small. The furniture I mostly rented...other than that there's really only personal effects and my clothes."

Jeremy paced up and down some more...getting faster with each turn. "Well...Barbara..." he began, trying to string together his thoughts coherently. "Now we're pretty steady as a couple....we're not married....but we're steady. Well...it's like this...I want to help you with all my heart. We...that is, you and I, have formed a very strong emotional attachment and...well...I do love you, you know that" he said, barely making much sense.

Barbara nodded but had little idea where he was going with this.

"No I'm a pretty traditional kind of guy, as you know, but I'm not a total square...I mean...we've...well, 'done it' and multiple times so I guess I'm not that much of a traditionalist now that I think of it. But I'm a gentleman and a gentleman stands by his fair maiden through thick and thin and does the honourable thing..."

"Oh Jeremy..." said Barbara, fearing that he would suddenly drop to one knee and produce a ring "...you don't have to do that; I am legally permitted to reside in the United States."

"I meant I....would like....for you to consider my house here to be....your new home. What I mean is, you can live here...with me"

Barbara said nothing for a few seconds...he wasn't going to propose; and although she loved him she was worried that was moving too fast. But this offer to live with him? She leapt to her feet and gave him a hug so strong it nearly suffocated him.

"Oh thank you, thank you!" said Barbara.

"Well...you spend most nights here anyway, it makes sense that we do this on a more permanent basis" he said.

They spent the weekend moving her stuff out of the soon to be condemned apartment and to his house. They purchased a second dresser for her stuff plus decided on where to put her yucca plant, Wayne, her artwork and personal stuff. Soon Jeremy's once sparse home filled with a woman's presence; from the smell of perfume around the place, the softening of the décor and the sight of her wet bras and tights hanging out to dry in the bathroom.

"I can't thank you enough, darling, for being my white knight" she said, cradling his arm as they looked around the house. "So, I've only ever really been here in the evenings, visiting you...what are the neighbours like?"

"Oh you'll LOVE them!" said Jeremy.

Soon enough, Jeremy phoned them all to invite them over to his place to meet Barbara and to celebrate her moving in.

"Hello fellow new resident to Foundry Cove!" said Julia Epstein, in a rare jolly mood. "We met once before at the Hijinks Festival...well, I say met; you spent most of the time making out with this fella here!" she said with a snorting laugh.

"And I lay claim to having introduced you in the first place!" said Travis Scott, smiling broadly as he properly met Barbara. "You might not remember, but it was me who goaded Jeremy into saying hello to you at the Waterside Warble!"

"I remember you now, Travis" said Barbara. "I have you to thank for bringing me this wonderful man into my life"

"The name's Action..." said Action, greeting Barbara firmly. "If there's any trouble from him..." pointing to Jeremy "...just let me know and I'll sort him out" he said, breaking out of his serious demeanour to smile warmly at her.

"Action here is our policeman in residence" said Jeremy.

"Barbara, this is fantastic news that you're moving in" said Suzy Kent. "We're going to be neighbours!"

"I know! We must meet up for coffee soon...I want to know what to wear and where to go with my wonderful boyfriend!"

"It's a date!" replied Suzy.

Before long the gathering divided into guys in one room and the girls in another and Barbara got to meet Summer and Liberty as well.

"Finally, we girls outnumber the boys on this street!" said Julia.

"Oh man, do you have a groovy chick there!" said Action, slapping Jeremy on the back.

"Speaking of chicks...when are we going to meet your girlfriend, Action?" asked Travis.

"Soon...no doubt. And when are you going to get around to making things official with one of your two beauties, Travis?" replied Action.

Everyone was having a fantastic time and it was like a welcome wagon all over again....however, one person had surreptitiously arrived on Jeremy's doorstep without being noticed.

Bianca Gregory peered in the door window, saw the gathering and there, in the middle of it, the centre of attention: This new girlfriend of Jeremy's. The one that had taken Bianca's place. She had turned Jeremy down, initially, but wondered if that would strengthen his resolve to pursue her. He hadn't, and that was eating away at her inside. He was the path she didn't take, and how was she going to deal with that? She thought about making a grand entrance here, but decided otherwise. She observed Barbara's body language for a while, saw how she looked at Jeremy and then, mulling over what she had seen, she left as silently as she arrived.