Chapter 48 Part III Current Situation-11

what am i doing Never has an article I've written wrestled me quite like this, ever! Note that I have never been asked to write an article in such a short period of time.At Money Success, we have a full month to write articles—and even then, we grumble.When Eric Foreman asked, "Can you finish it tomorrow?", my first reaction was that he was joking.I happily replied, "Of course!" and added, "Actually, I'll have it for you in five minutes!" Then, at that moment, I realized he meant it.oops! So the first thing I did the next morning was to go to Martin and Janice's place with a tape recorder and record everything about their investments accurately and, as Eric instructed, do as much as possible. Dig into some tear-jerking details.

“We need to get people’s attention and not write it as a dry financial story,” Eric told me on the phone. “To make people feel sorry for them, to make people cry for them. Ordinary couples, who thought they could spend their retirement years with little savings, were tricked by the rich. By the way, what kind of house do they live in?" "Well... a four-bedroom detached house in Surrey." "Don't put this up!" he yelled. "What we need are honest, self-respecting poor people who never ask the government for a penny, who are frugal and self-reliant. They have entrusted their lives to a wealthy family. prestigious financial institution, and what this institution did was trick them." He paused, sounding like he was picking his teeth. "That's what we need. Do you think you can write it?"

"I... I... yes! Of course!" I stammered back. Oh god, I thought as I put the phone down.Oh god, what am I doing here? But it's too late to change your mind now.So, the next thing I have to do is convince Martin and Janice to make an appearance on The Daily World.The problem is, they might ask why the Daily World and not the FT? Even if it doesn't make the FT, the Times would do! (But, as I remind them , it might have been worse. And it might have been in the Sunday Times—they'd be among the shirtless models and the photographer's hazy sauce.) Fortunately, however, they were so moved to see me working so hard for them that they didn't seem to care what paper I wrote for.And when they heard that a photographer would come to take pictures for them at noon, they were so excited that it made people think that Her Majesty the Queen was coming!

"My hair!" Janice stared sullenly at the mirror. "Do I have time to ask Maureen to come over and blow-wash my hair?" "I'm afraid it won't work. And your hair looks beautiful." I comforted her, "Besides, they want you to be as natural as possible, like... an honest and ordinary couple." I glanced around and started Living room, I hope to find some touching life details to write into my article. A New Year's card from their son stood proudly on the polished mantelpiece.But for Martin and Janice, this year is not one to celebrate. "I'm going to call Phyllis!" Janice said. "She won't believe it!"

"Were you in the army or something?" I asked Martin thoughtfully, "or in the fire department? Did you do anything like that before you became a travel agent?" "Honey, I'm afraid not." Martin frowned, "but when I was in school, I joined the student military training team." "Really?" I cheered up, "That's okay too!" Martin Webster ran his hand over the youth training corps badge of his youth, which he was so proud of.His whole life was hard work and service to others.Now, in his retirement year, he deserves what he gets.

However, those rich people made his efforts in vain. "Daily World" wants to ask... "I have copied all the materials for you," Martin said, "All the documents, I don't know if these are useful to you..." "Oh, thank you." I took a large stack of documents from him, "I'll take a closer look." When the honest Martin Webster received a letter from Flagstaff Insurance asking him to transfer investment funds, he took it for granted that the financial professionals were on his side. But two weeks later, he found out that he had been cheated, and he lost his dividend of 20,000 pounds!

"My wife got sick from this," Martin said, "and I was worried." Ok. "Janice?" I asked, looking up naturally. "Are you all right? No... not feeling well?" "Honestly, honey, I'm a little nervous." She looked over from the mirror. "I never look good in pictures." "I'm falling apart!" said Mrs. Webster in a trembling voice. "I've never been so deceived in my life!" "Okay, I think that's enough information for now." I stood up and turned off the tape recorder. "Maybe my reporting and facts will be slightly different - but this is to make the story more interesting. You don't mind if I do that?"

"Of course not!" Janice said. "Write as you see fit, Becky! We believe in you." "So what to do now?" Martin asked. "I've got to talk to Flag Steve Insurance," I said, "and get their case." "What reason do they have?" Martin said. "There's no reason for what they're doing to us!" "I know." I grinned at him, "Indeed." When I got home and went upstairs to my room, I was filled with excitement.Now all I need to do is wait for an explanation from Flagstaff Insurance on the matter, and then I can write.There's not much time left, and if you want to make it to tomorrow's page, you have to finish it by two o'clock, and God, this is so exciting.Why had I never found work so exciting before?

I picked up the phone briskly and dialed the number for Flagstaff Insurance—but the switchboard operator told me that all inquiries from the media were not handled by the company.She gave me a number that looked fairly familiar.I frowned and thought about the number for a while, then dialed. "Hello," said the other fluently, "This is Brandon Communications." God, so it is.Suddenly, I felt a little shaken. The word "Brandon" hit me like a fist.I completely forgot about Luke Brandon.Frankly, I forgot about the rest of my life too.And to be honest, I don't want to think about it.

But even Brandon Communications is okay, after all I don't have to speak to Brandon himself, do I? "Hi!" I said. "I'm Rebecca Bloomwood. Um...I want to talk to someone over there about Flagsteve Insurance." "Let me see..." said the other end of the phone, "yes, this insurance company is Luke Brandon's client. I'll transfer the call to his assistant right now..." Without waiting for me Make a sound, and the voice over there disappears. oh god! Oh god, I can't do this.I can't talk to Luke Brandon.My problems were all scribbled on a piece of paper in front of me.But, though my eyes were upon them, nothing could be seen.I thought again of the humiliation I suffered that day at Harrods, and how my heart shuddered when I heard the grace in his voice.At that moment, I suddenly realized that my status in his mind was nothing more than an insignificant person, a joke.

Well, I can handle this, I told myself firmly.I can do it well.I just need to ask questions in a serious, business-like manner, and... "Rebecca!" said a voice suddenly, "Hello! I'm Alicia." "Oh," I replied with some surprise, "I thought I was going to speak to Luke. I wanted to find out about Flag Steve's insurance company." "Okay," Alicia said, "you know Luke Brandon is a busy man, and I promise I can answer any questions you might have." "Okay." I hesitated, "but they're not your customers, are they?" "I don't think it matters," she said with a short laugh. "What do you want to know?" "Okay." I glanced at the list of questions. “Did Flagstaff strategically lure their investors to move their money before dividends were declared? You know, some people lost money because of it.” "That's right..." she said, "Thanks, Camilla, for a smoked salmon and lettuce salad." "What?" I asked. "I'm sorry I was listening to you," she replied, "I'm taking notes... sorry I had to wait a while to talk to you about this." "I need an answer right away!" I said, "I only have a few hours." "Got it," Alicia said.Suddenly her voice became muffled. "No, it's smoked salmon. Well, let's have a Chinese chicken. Okay." At this time, her voice became clear again. "So, Rebecca, any other questions? I'll send you our latest brochures, what do you think? These are sure to answer all your questions, or you can fax them over. " "Okay," I replied curtly, "I will." Then I hung up. I stared straight ahead in thought for a while.Alicia, the self-righteous pig, didn't even bother to take my question seriously. Then I slowly realized that this was actually how I was treated when I called the publicity department.No one ever answers my questions in a timely manner, does it? They always put me on hold, say they'll call me back, and then nothing.And I've never cared how people treat me before, in fact I kinda enjoy listening to Greensleeves while waiting for a call (at least without work).I never used to care if people took me seriously. But today, I do care.Because what I do today does matter, and I do want to be taken seriously. I thought unconvinced, I'm going to show Alicia.I'm going to show them all, including Luke Brandon.Let them see that I, Rebecca Bloomwood, am not one to joke. I resolutely picked up Dad's typewriter, put in some paper, turned on the tape recorder, took a deep breath, and started working intently.Rebecca Bloomwood 43 Elton Road Oxshott Surrey fax to eric foreman "Daily World" By Rebecca Bloomwood Dear Eric: I'm faxing you a 950-word article about Flag Steve's insurance company defrauding customers, and I hope you enjoy it. wish all the best! Rebecca Bloomwood financial reporter March 28, 2000