Family Business

Stress

Wednesday May 29th MontClair New Jersey 6.45am
The smell of homemade pancakes wafts up the stairwell as Prudence slowly and carefully navigates each step down. Her housekeeper Valeria is singing in Spanish. She sighs as she cautiously steps off the final step onto the shiny white tiled floor. She stares at herself in an adjacent mirror. Dressed in her usual two piece black tailored business suit and red silk collared blouse. Her thick glasses couldn't hide her tired eyes, her furrowed brow told the story of a woman under a lot of stress.

She massages her tummy that feels an intensity like its knotting multiple times. It will be another long busy day, she doesn't have time to be ill. She doesn't have time to look in her kitchen for medicine, instead she takes the easy option and from her handbag she withdraws her cell phone and types 'Hi Tanya, on your way into the office can you get me something for my tummy, feels a little upset. Must have been something I ate. Thank you'.

Wednesday May 29th Wednesday May 29th Room 117 Bowers Motel 7.30am
By a circular table, Richie, Gretchen, Florence and Henry sat around a circular table with take out coffee and fresh donuts from the nearby Gas station "Leave nothing behind!" warns Henry "We can't leave any clues, they will be looking for you two!!" his eyes firmly set on Richie and Gretchen.

Gretchen takes a last bit of her jam donut and stares at him "I don't care, they suspect us, we'll have Fatso" Her eyes light up "and then we'll have her money and then we're out of here, living in South America!"

"We have nothing yet Gretchen!" warns Henry one hundred thousand things could go wrong and things will go wrong, stay grounded!" he warns

Gretchen stands up to stretch "Your so fucking miserable Henry, we are about to get Roly-Poly and every penny she has and all you can be is Mr Fucking Negative the whole time!"

Henry slams down his paper paper coffee cup spilling some of it on the table "Gretchen, if we fuck this up we are going away for a long time. This is personal for you but for me and Florence it's about the money. For you it's about her and taking her money, you want to squeeze her like a wet rag, don't be a liability".

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT" roars Gretchen, glaring straight at Henry

"What I mean is, you hate her. you hurt her and you risk screwing everything up for everyone!!

Richie places his left palm on Gretchen's back and rubs it up and down "C'mon babe!! sit down, Henry just wants all to be on top of our game, we'll have RolyPoly, we just have to concentrate and keep our minds on the job at hand".

Wednesday May 29th Sternwood Hospitality & Financial Services 8.30am.

Prudence is reviewing the companies monthly performance report. Her attention interrupted by a quick rap on her door and the entry of her taller slimmer sister Rosamund "You look like shit Pru!"

Prudence looks up "I didn't sleep well, my tummy was a bit off this morning, I must have ate something last night that didn't agree with me".

Rosamund is dressed in a gray corporate pinafore which complimented her fit slender figure. How she would tease Prudence that she had the body but Prudence had the brains. She shuts the office door and marches behind Prudence.

"Your a big ball of stress". She buries her hands between Prudence's suit jacket and red blouse "Gosh your in knots".

Prudence grimaces as her sister digs into her fleshy shoulders "I've the more stressful role" she moans as her sister digs into flesh mercilessly.

"Oh stop whinging" tuts Rosamund, "you love it, you were a little businesswoman since you could walk"

Prudence removed her glasses and shut her eyes as her sisters fingers worked their magic on her shoulders, she knew she could sit there all day getting a massage but the tension would still be there.

Rosamund looked down on her sister as she worked her tight neck. The business owned Prudence. She was it's prisoner which feed her workaholic lifestyle, her black business suit her prison uniform".