Topher Lydon

I am currently editing the Columbus chapter now, and it brings back a lot of memories of arenas for me. A theme of many of my books, I existed inside them for so long when I was young. Cathedrals where boys became legends, girls became princesses of the ice. I became a man, earning my first pay from working hard. My little striped jersey, borrowed thermal socks... ha... god I was 14, all elbows and knees and glasses. My friend Nathan got me the job, the team was stuck, the arena was short an official, and I was there in the stands. And poof stuffed into a jersey, given my buzzer, and told to watch a line, and if the puck crossed it, push my button. I was so scared I'd mess it all up. One of the best days of my life.

And Tommy has one last challenge on the road to Olympic Qualifying, Columbus, the Nationals.

There is a part of Will that was clinging to a faint hope that he wouldn't have to do this. He knows what this is going to cost him and his family. But he know knows there is no choice at all, he's trapped inside his own competence and loyalty because there is no one else.

Tomorrow Caleb proves his loyalty to Will, and great personal cost. West is put into an impossible position when Graves makes a demand.

Good morning... excuse me while I shake my coffee pot and beg the kettle to work

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE LION IN WINTER Location: The Willard InterContinental, Washington D.C. Time: January 8, 2024. 08:30 EST. Status: The Belly of the Beast. The suite smelled of old money, starch, and Peter Harding’s anxiety. Outside the bomb-proof windows, Pennsylvania Avenue was a slush-grey scar cutting through the heart of the capital. Washington D.C. in January was a city of damp wool and frozen breath, huddling under a leaden sky that seemed to press down on the neoc

I had one boss panic, grab my phone and try to throw it out of a window ( we were on the 12th floor of an office tower) because I had recorded that she'd bragged about lying to the PSB (Chinese KGB). She was trying to extort a 10000$ exit clause for my contract out of me, threatening to lie to the PSB in order to get them to arrest me if I didn't pay her. Nothing funnier than a panicked Chinese woman bolting through the school, trying to find an open window, screaming for everyone to get out of her way. Her husband had to catch her, return my phone and profusely apologize for his wife's behaviour and ask, quite politely, that I not turn the recording over to the PSB. The funny thing was I dated a PSB officer for over two years, and he (the husband) was VERY aware of this having been for drinks with us on a few occasions. Ahh Victor, one of the best and most handy people I've ever dated. I was paid, released from my contract without problem, and had the NICEST recommendation letters of my career out of that. LOL

I was once ordered to lie to an accreditation board regarding examinations. I refused, was then threatened to be fired. I pointed out that ethically if I did as he asked, and we were caught it would not only be my job, but the universities accreditation, and would probably invalidate an entire years worth of degree students, since my course was mandatory to graduation. I then played the recording back to him, and stated that I was more than happy to play that for the accreditation board, if he would prefer.

If I was Ollie, I would use my CYA. Whenever I was working, and I got called in for a chat with the boss, I would record it. the amount of times those recordings protected me from illegal and exploitative practices. I cannot stress enough, it's always wise to record.

He has revenue, what he lacks at the moment is liquidity. That has always been Ollie's job to arrange for him, and Ollie's turned on him. Tarquin needs to find a path back, this is only chapter 8 of 24, our resident SOB isn't done yet, not by a long shot. Orel may be stronger than Tarquin realized, but he does care about something. And as Tarquin has proven several times now, if you care about something, it can be exploited.

I was aiming for Rich person blindness. I've known a few Rich kids who have hit walls of reality... HARD. A lot of them simply aren't wired like the rest of us. They never look at their bank balance because they have never had to, it doesn't occour to them to look. The cards should work, if it doesn't work, it HAS to be a banking problem. Car has broken down, uggh Daddy, I need a new car, what do you mean we can repair them? Why are you telling me I have to stick to a budget, uggh fine... 20$ for food for one day? That barely covers the cost of a good cup of coffee and my toast... uggh. This is Tarquin at the moment, facing the reality that his luxury life style has just come to a shuddering halt, and he doesn't know what to do. Ollie's the money guy, Ollie fix it!

his biggest fault was complacency. He could have had Orel locked down with a conservatorship the moment he turned 18, but that would create scandal, he just assumed Orel was on his leash... he didn't count on Finn ever returning. He thought the pain he put Finn through was enough to send him running. He didn't anticipate where Finn would run to. The Asset and the Liability gave us Finn finding his way home but feeling unworthy of love, this book is about him being found by Orel, the one person who already loved him, no matter what.

Thanks, it's a lot of work for this one, and a lot of research to get Orel just right. One of the more unique characters I have written. I wrote Four attempts, trying to find a partner that worked for Finn, to give him his HEA, but once Orel appeared on page, he just grabbed Finn's hand and that was it.

almost as if Tarquin has other money squirreled away... from some sort of scheme... :: eyes new story plot ::

nope, that's Weston's thing

Tarquin never does his own dirty work. He has people for that, as you will soon see.

Not being an a-hole who bankrupts a town? no wait that's a very Allistair thing... I would think it would be things like getting a degree, or even getting a job (a real one not politics) Just rough ideas. I see someone like Tarquin, the moment his father died, saying I'm rich, screw all this BS.

Well there is money in the trust that Tarquin will never be able to access due to his failure to meet the goals set by his father. So that Money would probably be returned to Orel if Oliver justified it. maybe used by Orel to buy a confetti cannon of his own, with obnoxious colours. The Counter-confetti cannon...

fixed :: gives you a cookie for the find :: 🍪

actually you are right, I will nail that one down as well. Thank you again for the spot

this was written BEFORE I wrote the DnD scene in the last book, so is an artifact of text, I will edit it when I get a chance. Good spot, thank you. I write very fast, and sometimes it causes mistakes to slip through. I revise the text at times... adding stuff in. For example did you know Peter didn't exist when I originally wrote Carter's Duty, so I had to go back and write him into that story... which caused a few hiccups... Duty was a mess of a book, still is... One day :: eyes dynamite, a wrecking ball and a total renovation of the troubling mess ::

I might steal that... It's a very Andrew thing to tease Will about... That and poor Will looks far older. He ages faster than Obama did, and this is still before the election

Oh crap he's 47... must update my notes.

depends on how flexible Andrew is at 45

I want to make a stern comment :: ducks hurled book copies::