Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.1

Since coming back from France, Rocio and Leon were loved up more than ever.  It seemed their marriage counselling course and time away had done their relationship the world of good.

A few months later, Leon announced his decision on who he wished to become the next head of the house.  The twins were hardly surprised; their Father had always doted more on Cedric than he ever had with them.  Their only concern was Cedric’s age.  He was almost fifteen, but Leon protested that he had been roughly the same age when he had taken the legacy under his wing, and Cedric was always helping with chores around the house, so he saw no reason why Cedric would not be capable.

As time went on, the twins celebrated their eighteenth birthdays at the seafront and were ready to face the responsibilities of young adulthood.  They had made a pact never to tell anyone else about the truth behind Clayton’s disappearance (his body had yet to be found), and although they still occasionally saw Apollo at family events and celebrations, it was clear his trust in them had been severely broken.

Over the past few months Dexter had become a lot more eccentric about his inventing.  Although he still enjoyed making small model vehicles, he had now grown interested in building gadgets and decorative objects out of the scrap he had dug out in the scrap yard which had been implemented into the town almost a year ago.

Leon saw the potential his eldest son had, so bought Dexter a workbench for his eighteenth birthday present which he set up in his bedroom.

He got to work on it straight away, building all sorts of interesting gadgets and gizmos out from the scrap he found.

As for Allegra, she had formed the eco-friendly trait, realising her music had to reach out to her audience.  Her lyrics could still be catchy and edgy, but they would be laced with a subtle message about protecting the environment and not wasting natural resources so easily.

Rocio treated Allegra to a makeover for her present, and she was more than thrilled with the result.

Not long after turning eighteen, Allegra managed to grab a job at the local theatre as a runner for the acts that performed there.  She spent most her days helping bands and performers set up and test their equipment, and also fetched them drinks and food whenever they requested.  Being a pretty young girl, plenty of the male performers approached her and offered to treat her to dinner or a couple of drinks; often at the nearby bistro.

Surprisingly, she turned all these offers down, until she met Russell Rivers.  Allegra was immediately hypnotised by his bright sky blue eyes, and was captivated by his fiery auburn hair and tanned complexion.

Russell was a guitarist and singer, like herself, but was struggling to find stardom.  He was few years older than her, yet he still took a shine to her after they had gotten chatting backstage, and Allegra expressed her passion for singing and guitar playing.  Allegra knew straight from the start he was rumoured to be a bit of a flirt, yet still she was drawn to him like a month to a flame.

Russell knew she had star talent and was certain that together they had a shot at becoming rich and famous.  It seemed like only he was apparently using her, but secretly she had the same motives.  To begin with anyway.

Before they knew it, they had fallen madly in love.  Such passion and romance had been hard to deny, and because of that they were unable to stab each other in the back.  For the time being.

And of course time continued to fly by, and when Cedric was nearing his sixteenth birthday, he started searching for a part-time publishing job.

He wrote covering letters to the very few publishing companies located in and nearby Honeyset Valley.  Yet, the weeks continued to fly by and he had heard nothing back; not even so much as a phone call or a rejection letter.  Cedric had heard the difficulties his Father had faced searching for a job in publishing, so as each day passed by he was more convinced that he would never pursue a path down the career he wanted more than anything.

Fortunately, his persistence paid off.  One Tuesday afternoon, when Cedric had returned home, his received a phone call which changed his life permanently.

Spade’s Publishing was a family-run company that was privately owned and had been going strong for just over ten years.  They were responsible for releasing a bi-monthly leisure and media magazine purely for Honeyset Valley, called ‘Acticom’ which had somewhat rocketed in popularity over the last five years thanks to the quirky article writers and sheer amount of effort that went into producing each issue.

They had advertised for a part-time Editorial Assistant in the local newspaper and after Cedric had made a phone call, they had asked him for his résumé and a 500 word covering letter expressing why he wanted the job.  Cedric honestly did not think they were after a school kid, so when he answered the phone to Sam Spade – director of Spade’s Publishing- almost two months after sending out his application, and was invited to come and visit the publishing house; he could barely contain his excitement.

Cedric was eager to impress; he knew this job would be the stepping stone he needed to edge his way into the publishing industry.  Rocio was adamant he should get his haircut, but Cedric loved his overgrown stylish mop of hair too much to give into her motherly demands.  Still, he was more than happy to go out and find a suitable outfit or two for his interview, with his Father by his side of course.

“What do you think?” Cedric asked as he spun around to face his Father and folded his arms across his chest, flaunting his new formal look.

“Go knock ‘em dead!” Leon exclaimed as he rooted Cedric on.

Cedric fell in love with the classic French style building the moment he set eyes on it.  He had always been a fan of foreign architecture.

Still, as he approached the building, he could not stop himself from shaking.

To say he was slightly nervous was quite the understatement.

Cedric managed to press his trembling finger against the buzzer intercom on the front door and uttered his name after a deep, bubbly voice greeted him.

“I’ll be right down, Cedric,” The voice reassured, before the intercom cackled off.  Cedric took several long deep and calming breaths whilst he waited for the front door to open.  He hoped that they had not summoned him here just to crush and shatter his hopes and dreams.

He felt a lot calmer when the door finally creaked open, and a young tall blonde man with a freckly face, dressed smartly in a black suit and a red shirt stepped outside to invite him in.

“Hi Cedric, I’m Billy.  It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Please, step this way.  The boss man is inside.”

Cedric almost froze to the spot as he went over Billy’s words; It’s a pleasure to finally meet you…

Obviously word had spread about him around the office.  Whether good things or bad things had been said however, he obviously did not know.   But Cedric being Cedric, he feared the worst!

Cedric could not believe his eyes as he stepped into the building.  The downstairs floor looked entirely like any other normal house; it was even beautifully decorated and well-kept.  As he was given a brief tour of the lower floor, Cedric found it difficult to believe that this building was even the right place.  He had always imagined publishing companies to be huge professional buildings with floors and floors of office-like working spaces.

Billy explained that they even had access to the kitchen during their lunch hour, or if they wanted a cup of tea or coffee at any point during the day.

“This is a lot different than I expected,” Cedric admitted as he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.  Billy just smirked and nodded his head, amused by Cedric’s timid attitude.

“Yeah, the work ethics here may seem pretty relaxed, but the old man does work us hard.  Wait here anyways; I’ll go see if Mr. Spade is ready.  Shouldn’t be too long, but take a seat just in case.”

Cedric obediently nodded and moseyed towards the leather covered seating, whilst Billy headed up the set of stairs by the entrance lobby.

As he gazed around the beautifully decorated living room he realised this place would not be such a bad place to work in at all.  He hoped that the offices upstairs had a similar character to the rest of the rooms; if that was the case he was willing to fall onto his hands and knees and beg for a job here, even as a cleaner or a cook!

“Cedric Meerkato I presume?”

Cedric instantly turned his head towards the stairway in the lobby, his heart leaping into his throat when he saw a grey haired man wearing a dark grey suit walking gracefully towards the living room archway.

Cedric quickly rose to his feet and brushed his shaking hands against his trousers before he anxiously bit on the inside of his cheeks and approached the Director of the company; Seth Spade.

“I am glad to finally meet you.  Sorry for taking so long to get back to you, but it has been a hectic couple of months,” Seth confessed as he firmly shook Cedric’s hand whilst his eyes twinkled with enthusiasm.

He then gestured towards the staircase. “Let me show you the office upstairs.”

“We haven’t had a new addition in a while,” Seth explained as he led Cedric up two flights of stairs to the very top floor.

The main office on the top floor was not as big as he had imagined, still there was another room for a few desks and old school style computers, and even a drawing table where a lady dressed head to toe in purple clothing was sat, sketching away on a giant sheet of paper.

Seth cleared his throat before he gave Cedric a rundown of the company, and the geniuses behind it.

“Spade Publishing consists of this very team of talented individuals.  As you know, I myself am the Managing Director and founder of this company.  My Son Clark, who is currently absent, is the commercial director and publishing rights manager.”

“Naomi Gunford is Our Arts Director; she’s a very talented lady, her drawing abilities are next to nothing.”

“Lacey Carpenter is the Magazines Features editor and Marketing Executive.”

“Finally, there’s Billy Ashford who you’ve already met.  He is the Publishing copy editor and proof reader; he’ll be mentoring you for the next few months.”

Cedric gazed around in awe, like a child standing in the middle of a chocolate factory.  Despite not being as glamorous as he had imagined, this place was what he could describe as the perfect working environment, or at least he believed.

Still, despite Seth had openly announced to him that Billy would be taking him under his wing, Cedric had not quite grasped that the job was his and was expecting Seth to take him aside for a one-to-one interview.

“You were the only candidate whose application purely showed true ambition and a passion for what you enjoy doing best,” Seth announced, “I realise this job means a lot to you, and I am now more than confident you’ll make a fantastic addition to my company.”

“Wait, so, you’re giving me the job?”  Cedric had to double check.  Everything seemed far too surreal to be true. He nervously laced his fingers together as he waited for Sam to respond to his question.

However, when Seth curled his lips into a welcoming smile, it was the only reassurance Cedric truthfully needed.

“Young Cedric, you are entirely what I was searching for!  New age talent.  I know you’ll help Acticom develop into a fresh and edgy magazine which teenagers and adults can both relish.  So, welcome onboard.”

Cedric was completely overcome with joy as he gazed around the room for the umpteenth time.  This was it; he had been given a life altering opportunity and was determined to seize it as firmly as he could.  The Meerkato’s were famed for their struggles and the challenged thrown at them in life, but now Cedric was certain things were about to change for the better for this generation.

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