Next came the satisfying payoff. The female lead had her moment of glory—the big oil company was ordered to pay $300 million in compensation, covering all the workers who’d suffered losses from the accident.
Amy herself was featured across major media outlets, and her fame skyrocketed. Many people came to her, hoping she’d help them fight for their wages—one of them being a retired elderly woman.
In the final chapter, around the time a new president took office, the retired woman’s story reached the president himself. Amy’s efforts helped push forward the cause of equal pay for men and women.
She finished writing in one go, leaving only the final recopying.
She glanced at the clock—time to pick up the kids again.
With the prospect of higher earnings, Jolene’s mood lifted considerably.
As she walked, she started thinking about moving to New York. All the major publishing houses were headquartered there—San Francisco was just too far away.
But rent in New York was expensive. She’d probably have to rent first and buy a place once her income stabilized. She’d also need to enroll Emma in piano and swimming classes…
In high spirits, Jolene took the two kids shopping. When she spotted jump ropes—which supposedly helped with growth—she bought two. She wasn’t obligated to buy Ben a gift, but it felt wrong to get one for Emma and not for him.
Now that she had more money, she felt much more confident and generous. It wasn’t a big expense anyway.
With the jump ropes, Jolene took the kids to the park for a jumping competition.
Apparently, their school PE classes included basketball and jump rope, but Ben and Emma hadn’t learned yet.
Jolene taught them the basics, then had them compete—whoever jumped more in one minute won.
Kids hate losing. With a competition, nothing felt boring anymore—they’d find anything fun.
“Mommy, does jumping rope make you grow taller?” Emma looked up and asked.
Jump rope was tricky at first—they could only do one jump at a time, nowhere near consecutive jumps. They both needed practice.
Jolene nodded with certainty. “Yes. If Emma jumps rope every day, she’ll definitely grow very tall.”
That motivated Emma. She grabbed her rope and kept practicing. Ben, not wanting to be outdone by his little sister, practiced just as hard, terrified she’d learn faster than him.
Ben had good stamina. He was chubby but not fat—just a big, solid kid. He looked a little goofy, but in an adorable way.
The contract from Garden arrived. Jolene signed it, checked the royalty rate—correct at 9%—and found a $1,600 advance check included. The initial print run was 50,000 copies. She mailed all the manuscript copies to Dell Publishing on Broadway in New York.
Normally, it took three to six months from submission to publication. But her first book had been short and published as a test by Random House, which was why it came out so quickly—and Brian’s gamble had paid off.
Dell Publishing had plenty of popular fiction titles, so Jolene expected it’d be at least three months before her second book came out. She wasn’t in a rush.
But in less than two weeks, Jolene received the sample copy of her second book!
Jolene: “…”
She called Garden, who sounded pleased.
“Ha! Don’t you know The First Wives Club comes out on September 20th? We’re going to ride that movie’s wave to promote The Ex-Wife’s Revenge—using you, the author, as the hook—and launch the second book at the same time.”
“But The Ex-Wife’s Revenge isn’t published by Dell,” Jolene murmured.
“It’s a win-win for everyone. I doubt Random House will mind,” Garden said with a laugh. “Also, would you be open to doing an in-person reader meet-and-greet and book signing?”
Jolene hesitated. She’d love to go to New York for a signing, but it would mean quitting her live-in nanny job. Even the cheapest Greyhound bus ticket cost about $200, and a plane ticket would be $400. She couldn’t justify spending that kind of money on travel right now.
“I have an idea,” Jolene said.
“Go ahead,” Garden said eagerly.
“You know how both my novels have single moms as the leads? Well, I’m a single mom myself. So why not use that as a marketing angle?”
There was a long silence on the other end.
“What?” Garden sounded like he was gasping. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? That’s such a great angle—you should’ve led with that in the first book!”
Jolene: “…If I’d led with that in the first book, I probably wouldn’t have signed with you guys.”
Garden: “…Haha, that actually makes perfect sense.”
They discussed more details, and to Jolene’s delight, Garden’s ideas aligned perfectly with her original vision—using the movie’s buzz to cross-promote, leveraging the single-mom angle to connect with readers. They were on the exact same page.
It felt like she’d finally found her true champion. Jolene was over the moon.
Since she was heading to New York, and she had some savings now—with new royalties coming once the second book launched—she could live independently.
After four months on the job, Jolene had no choice but to knock on Raymond’s door.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
Raymond answered, dressed in his usual black athletic wear. His expression was calm and gentle, and he looked at her with quiet eyes, silently asking what she needed.
“There’s something I need to discuss with you,” Jolene said with some difficulty.
She’d heard that before she arrived, Ben had gone through several nannies. She’d been doing well here, but quitting after just four months felt a little abrupt.
Still, she really did need to move to New York. It wasn’t like she was quitting on a whim.
Raymond followed her to the living room, looking surprised—they rarely had serious one-on-one conversations like this, and Jolene’s face seemed to suggest it wasn’t good news.
They sat on the sofa. Jolene pressed her lips together, her expression apologetic. “Here’s the thing—I need to move to New York soon, so I’m afraid I can’t continue working here.”
Sure enough, surprise flickered across the man’s face. After a moment, he asked, “May I ask why?”
“I’m sorry. To be honest, I’d originally planned to take Emma to New York, but I didn’t have enough money back then to live on my own. Now I have enough for travel and rent, so I’m finally able to resign. I’m really sorry for the trouble this causes. I could help you find a replacement nanny, if you’d like?”
The man didn’t speak. His eyes dropped, as if deep in thought.
Jolene hadn’t expected her sudden resignation to cause such an issue. They’d all gotten along so well these past few months—Raymond was a wonderful employer, generous and easygoing. She wished the publishers were based here instead.
But she could only apologize.
“Is this because I asked about Ben spending all that money?” Raymond suddenly looked up, meeting her eyes directly.
Jolene frowned, realizing he’d misunderstood. She waved her hands quickly. “No, not at all! That was a normal concern—you’re his guardian, and it’s natural to care about how he spends money. Why would I quit such a great job over something like that?”
“You think this is a great job?” Raymond’s expression softened, a faint smile curving at the corner of his mouth. He looked a little surprised.
Jolene nodded seriously. “Yes, honestly. When I was a live-in nanny in L.A., I made $15 an hour. Here, you pay $20. Plus, Giovanni is an Italian chef who makes amazing meals every day. The work is easy, Ben is a sweet kid, and you have such a gentle personality. If I didn’t have to go to New York, I’d probably want to stay here forever…”
Half-truth, half-joke. It was a good job—but it left her little time to write.
Raymond’s expression finally relaxed, relieved to know it wasn’t his fault.
“Alright. When do you need to leave? I’ll settle your final week’s pay,” Raymond said, cutting straight to the point.
“I’ll stay through the weekend. Emma and I will leave for New York on Sunday afternoon,” Jolene said, standing up. She hadn’t bought train tickets yet, but getting that extra week’s pay would be nice.
“Got it,” Raymond said, then paused. “Wait here a moment.”
Jolene looked up as he bounded up the stairs.
He came back down quickly with a written check in hand.
The check was for a full $800.
“This is your pay for this week. You can leave whenever you like—just let me know in advance,” Raymond said, handing her the check.
That meant even if she didn’t work the full week, she’d still get $800.
Jolene felt a pang of shame about her earlier plan to stretch out the week just to collect the full pay—and here he was, paying her upfront without being asked…
“Thank you, Mr. Raymond,” Jolene said, offering a smile. “You’re truly the best boss I’ve ever had.”
Raymond let out a small laugh, brushed his hair back, and looked momentarily flustered—as if he’d never heard anyone say that about him before.
A man—or really, a boy at heart—though he was 25. His boyish features seemed lit by a soft warmth, his deep eyes narrowing slightly, making him look gentle and kind.
His face was angular, but the way he smiled—with those bright teeth and the curve of his lips—felt warm and familiar. It was what people called a kind face.
Maybe the face reflected the heart. Some people just struck you at first glance as genuinely good.
Mr. Raymond was that kind of person. At 25, he had an innocent smile—open and bright, like he carried stars in his eyes. Being around him made even people with hidden agendas feel small, and made them start reflecting on themselves.
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