Carlos Hazday

I asked her if she and her husband wanted to spend my 61st with me. When I told her I was thinking of Havana, her reply was: We're there! And Def, I have the prettiest bottle of wine sitting on my desk today. I keep looking at it and smiling. Owen will have a review of it at some point LOL

Less than 24 hours for the next one to go live. I read it over one final time this morning while having my umpteenth cup of coffee. I had forgotten the boys are in NYC in the upcoming installment. It was too late to incorporate any of the new locations I discovered this weekend ,but I already know some will be used soon. And I finally have a picture of the damn bagel place they favor!

Traitor!!!!!!!!! I've been putting up with that for 40 years!

Sorry. Jamie is a woman I went to college with. I stayed with her and her husband while in NYC. Def met them when the four of us spent Sunday together. EDIT I use their building and their UES neighborhood as the location for CJ & Owen's place in Manhattan.

@Mikiesboy You've been a bad boy. Go to my room! Moi grumpy? Maybe a bit. My favorite neighbors are moving out this weekend (we share a wall since we live in a duplex.) Now I have to train two new guys. I have accounting work, writing, editing, and beta reading on my plate and trying to catch up on all the comments. It's gonna be hectic the rest of the week.

Jamie kept giving me crap for hooking up with a 29-year-old when I was in DC those two days before NYC. I kept telling her she was jealous.

Technical difficulties. Until assured the post-dating system's working properly, I'll be posting each chapter the day it's meant to go live. Starting tomorrow.

Oh, come on. one out of six scenes involves politics and you think that's too much? The NFL issue was very much in the news at the time the events took place. Readership for the story may be global but it's still USA based. It's not generic as to place and time like most stories on the site and that's by design. It follows what's highlighted would be relevant to the characters even if not to people in other countries. That said, glad you muddled through. Each scene was designed to advance the story (the save the date announcements a good example) and the action will reverberate through the rest of the tale. Glaf you were able to muddle through.

Crap... we may have met at Salvation! The owners were friends of mine and that used to be my go-to place on Saturdays. "The only weekly circuit party!" I was the one wearing overalls and sneakers. No shirt or underwear and usually a lollipop in my mouth. LOL The Mournings do live in Coconut Grove. Zo's a VP with the Miami HEAT and his wife used to own a boutique in the Grove. Not sure if it's still open. Next chapter should be easier to find.

Thanks, bud. New chapter posts tomorrow and I hope there won't be any issues with notifications. I'm doing it manually so it won't be at 4 am LOL

Guess it's lambasting time I thought a lot about your comment since I read it (even yesterday while on the train ride home). I hope I can make this clear. 1. My personal political opinions definitely influenced how I framed CJ's. But that was at the beginning of the story. These days, I'm simply following the progression from someone who was a Clinton supporter, offered to give Trump a chance, and is now disappointed. 2. Karl wasn't written as a representative of any political camp. If he sounded like a Trumper, I messed up. I didn't go further than the national anthem issue when conceptualizing his politics. It was CJ who brought up Trump. Karl's a stand-in for members of the old-boys-network and a composite of many men I've met. One of the people I drew inspiration from was a partner at Ernst & Whinney when I worked for them. I was involved in recruiting, at one point mentored a girl at the University of Miami, and she came in for interviews on my recommendation. She was gorgeous, a contestant in Miss Teen USA. At the end of the day of interviews, this partner made a comment still stuck in my head. Something about he had no idea if she could make a good accountant but he'd hire her if she would spend time underneath his desk giving him blow jobs. Another one's my cardiologist. A liberal Jew who made it a point he supports gay marriage but backed Trump because he would get rid of Obamacare and lower taxes. A narrow focus on one or two issues that affect his pocket without looking at the broader picture. Things may be changing but these attitudes survive in the 21st century. Karl and his boys feel it's ok to make comments when it's all boys surrounding them because they assume every white male feels the same. 3. CJ's physical reaction to Karl was an attempt to show him struggling with how to deal with idiots. This scene was also a set up for events in the next chapter when he has to deal with two of them and handles each one in different ways. Yes, we get two assholes in the next chapter. Mann's told me I write them well so I keep doing it LOL 4. Often, whenever readers react or comment on old chapters, I end up reading over it. Recently I did so with the Autumn chapter where Patrick and Brad fly to DC and CJ picks them up at the airport with his cousin Rod tagging along. CJ made a joke about not inviting ROd to spend a night in the Lincoln Bedroom when he got elected President. Even back then I was laying the groundwork for his future involvement in politics. His reaction to the NFL controversy was a result of Trump's comments, the events I describe are real. The Raiders all sat on the bench during that game to protest the President dissing those who chose not to stand. 5. You and I disagree on the importance of politics and your comment inspired me to write a blog entry about the matter. It's outlined and I'll post it sometime soon. In the meantime, please remember CJ's a political animal. He may not be as active as he was through the election but political matters will surface from time to time in the future. (Just wait until you see who shows up at the wedding!) I hope this all makes sense.

Thanks, bud!

Thank you for reading and for catching the typo. It was fixed along with two others I found. Four different people and countless reading and still things slip through. I'm just happy there's not more. Feel free to point them out anytime you find them!

Thanks, Chris. Notice I used 10 figures without specifying an exact amount. My thinking's the personal investments of Brett, Cesar, CJ, and Ritchie added to what the family foundation has climber over the 1 billion mark. These days billionaires are a dime a dozen!

My sincerest apology to all for being somewhat quiet. As you might know, I'm out of town. Once I left the train, my laptop's been off and my limited responses have been through my phone. I'm not the most technically savvy person (I'm OLD) so it's not easy for me to type on those little keys with my fat fingers. I'm leaving New York City on Tuesday afternoon, will spend 24 hours on the train, and will try to reply/comment on everything then. Although the post-dated feature for stories was working fine while the previous installment was being published, it seems broken again. I'll post chapters manually in the future. Timing will change, I'm not waking up so they can go live at 4:00 am US EDT. LOL This picture was taken yesterday. I'm channeling CJ and Harley in it. That's the same jacket they wear. And yes, I know at my age maybe I shouldn't dress like a millennial hipster but ask me if I care. Love you all. Thanks for the reception of the new installment and I promise it's going to be a fun ride for the next couple of months.

Although I'm once again left off the weekly update, my new story began posting on Friday. Y'all may want to take a look.

@spikey582 1 Short reply for now. More detail in a day or so. I'm having too much fun playing with tourist in New York right now. 2. Anyone gives you crap, send them to me. I will defend your right to express your opinion vigorously. 3. Karl is in neither of the two camps you mention. As you called him, he's just an idiot. I think I may not have explained why CJ brought up Trump. I'll try to clarify when I give you an in-depth response which I'm a doing the form instead of here. Maybe we can get a good conversation going and get other people involved to get their opinions.

Last we heard they put an offer on a house but no purchase has been finalized as if the time this happens. It's coming LOL

The first couple of chapters of this book revolve around the family itself. Harley will be around soon enough though, and so will the rest of the crew

Hey, guys. I'm without internet until tomorrow except for the phone and I don't do phone well. I'm aware there's an issue with notifications and I'll mention it to AJ tomorrow and see if we can somehow deal with this crap. I'll reply to messages tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy the beginning of a new book

THANK YOU! You're so right about the potential reaction to how CJ deals with Karl. My beta reader didn't like it too much. LOL @Reader1810 didn't think CJ should have gotten physical. I thought about it after she shared her thoughts and decided to stick with the original version. CJ has a temper and the ability to take on almost anyone and I thought he showed restraint before going nuclear. He even kept it kinda low key so others wouldn't notice. But in the end, he's still a kid and I thought it fit. The last chapter of the book has one line which harks back to the lack of a prenup. Let's see if anyone notices when it gets posted sometime later this year. Once again, I love your comment. Thanks!

Yep, I wanted to put distance between summer events and fall. I tend to resolve issues quickly (my characters are the ones who do, they can't stand indecision or cliffies LOL) This time I actually waited for a new book to solve it. Of course CJ won! Karl and his boss are typical of a dying breed. They're not as bad as Harvey Weinstein (maybe) but their misogynistic, homophobic, entitled views have no place in society and particularly with CJ. This is one of those instances where I think the son influenced the father's actions. You'll have to check with @Reader1810 she's my continuity guru. But I'm pretty certain Gina isn't the only one who's called Brett Captain. PS Train's at the Wilmington DE station right now. Next stop, Philadelphia!

Superior draw factor my butt! I started posting CJ January 2015. After 3 years some readers are just used to a Friday fix.

Are we back on the same schedule?

With a wedding on the horizon, CJ Abelló and Owen Liston are determined to make it a celebration their guests will not soon forget. The months leading up to it are full of emotional events and travel. Come join them as they share their journey with friends and family.