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shijiujun · 5 years ago

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the only one (on my mind)

Lu Yao chases away four blind dates set by his sister in the same restaurant. Chusheng is the owner of said restaurant and decides to rescue Lu Yao from his fifth one after witnessing all of them.

@sarah-yyy for your chuyao fix hopefully? XD

“Chusheng-ge,” says the waiter at the door, who comes forward to take his jacket.

It’s still early yet at Qing Ling Tian, a traditional Hu cuisine restaurant and bar set in one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city in the middle of downtown Shanghai. Chusheng walks in, and immediately is greeted with the bustle of a packed hall tonight as well.

Qing Ling Tian is not one of the best restaurants in Shanghai for no reason — with the grand decor that is the retro style inspired from Republican-era Shanghai fused with contemporary elements, and having hired some of the best chefs in the region, Chusheng is proud to say that they’ve had full-packed reservations for three years running now, be it usual dinners or even wedding banquets.

While patrons go about their meals on the first floor, immersed in the warmth and liveliness of it all, the second floor features a much more sedate vibe. There’s a main space where the bar counter is, and the private dining rooms can also be found on this floor. Customers who wish to have a more romantic and quiet dining experience are usually found here.

As he approaches the bar where Liu Zi, his star bartender, is working behind the counter tonight, Chusheng’s eyes fall on a familiar figure seated in the corner of the room, and he doesn’t know whether to feel exasperated or fond.

He settles for something between both, and Chusheng doesn’t even know the man.

“He’s here again?” Chusheng asks, sitting down at the counter and gesturing towards the tall, handsome man with his date, comfortably settled around a two-person table not too far away from the bar counter. “Who is it today?”

“Another young, rich heiress forced to meet him for a blind date,” Liu Zi rolls his eyes, placing a glass of whiskey on the table before Chusheng. “Your boy is trying his best in chasing her away this time too.”

“He’s not my boy,” Chusheng raises an eyebrow, taking a whiff of his whiskey. “I don’t even know who he is.”

Well, that’s not quite accurate. Chusheng knows of the man — Lu Yao, the youngest son in the well-known Lu family that has managed to produce powerful politicians and army commanders with every generation — because this isn’t the first time he has brought a blind date to this restaurant.

Lu Yao is a bit of an oddball, according to those who mill about in the higher echelons of society, so to speak. Despite being a rich young master, he ran away from home after he finished high school and managed to flee all the way to the UK and Cambridge for university, where he supported himself without taking a dime from his family until he graduated with no less than three degrees under his belt.

Lu Zifu, Lu Yao’s father, then forcibly dragged him back to Shanghai, whereupon he began finding matches for his youngest son.

It seems that with his two older brothers, Lu Sen and Lu Yan, so successful and working in the army and his older sister, Lu Miao, a high-ranking government official in the incumbent party, Lu Zifu doesn’t have much high hopes for his youngest son except to have him enter a beneficial matrimonial partnership with another woman. Of course, the old man isn’t quite as cruel to have his son marry someone he doesn’t like, and thus, why continuous blind dates are being strangely and repeatedly held at Chusheng’s restaurant.

In fact, this is the fifth one, if memory serves Chusheng correctly. It was pure coincidence, the first time Chusheng witnessed Lu Yao and his blind date of the evening at the same table, a few weeks ago.

It wasn’t anything to cry home about — matchmaking and blind dates are still incredibly common and Chusheng has heard his fair share of blind dates gone wrong happening in his restaurant. On two occasions even, the disastrous date even escalated into fights, so it’s not as if he’s a stranger to the farce of terrible blind dates.

Lu Yao, however, is unabashedly a piece of shit, a spoilt brat, a vainpot and a greedy little thing — and the man has no qualms flaunting any of these qualities.

He’s a smart piece of shit though, and while he’s shameless, every time Lu Yao does something ridiculous, Chusheng can’t help but want to indulge him.

—

First Date

“How about we get to know each other first, Lu-xiansheng?”

“Sure,” Lu Yao nodded, setting his drink aside. “Firstly, I don’t have a car, or any property to my name. I probably won’t get a huge cut out of my dad’s inheritance when he dies. I’m a poor academic, and my dad doesn’t think very highly of me. If you want to get some money out of this arrangement, you’re out of luck. I don’t intend to find a well-paying job either, because I’m happy pursuing an academic career. In fact, you will have to give me an allowance to support me-“

Chusheng watched then, a little flabbergasted at the sheer audacity of this young, able-bodied and obviously capable man, and with no shame at all, how he tried to badger his way into a marriage that would keep him in the most comfortable of conditions, without consideration for the lady at all!

Understandably, when Lu Yao entered his second spiel without allowing the woman to interject even in the slightest, she got to her feet and stomped out of there.

“Useless asshole!” she spat as a parting gift.

Once she was gone, Chusheng noted with some interest that Lu Yao’s haughtiness seemed to fade away as he deflated entirely into the seat, pressing his fingers to his temple and downing his entire drink in one shot.

His phone rang then, and Chusheng could hear a woman’s sharp voice berating the man on the other end of the line, no doubt to yell at him for fucking up the date so badly.

“Aiya, Da-jie, I didn’t do it on purpose! If she cannot accept me for who I am, it is not true love!” the man whined, obviously trying to play the fool.

Chusheng remembers turning away at that moment, trying to hide his smile in his drink.

—

Second Date

“I think we both know we’re here at the behest of our parents,” the blind date of the week said coolly. “How about we make do with each other to get our parents off our backs? You can continue living your life and I continue living mine.”

Lu Yao nodded, “Sounds good to me.”

“Well, the only condition my parents have is the dowry. Given your family’s status and wealth, I think this,” and the woman holds up three fingers. “Shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Thirty thousand?” asked Lu Yao.

The woman’s face whitened almost immediately, but she continued, “You must be joking. The Xiao family is also considered one of the wealthiest families in the city. My parents will accept no less than three hundred thousand for my marriage into the Lu family.”

Lu Yao pretended to consider this, before he replied, “Think about this! You’re the CEO of the Xiao family’s banking empire, and in comparison, I’m just a student who’s looking to complete his PhD. I have nothing to my name, not even a single property! Don’t you think you should be paying my dad the dowry instead? I feel more like the one who's marrying out of my own family and into yours.”

Chusheng watched as Lu Yao got a cup of iced water to his face then.

The woman was as vicious as the first one when she said, “Shameless!”

—

Third Date

“So I hear that you want a dowry and an allowance,” Blind Date Number Three said, flopping into the seat opposite Lu Yao’s an hour late.

“Of course,” Lu Yao said matter-of-factly. “I’ve never had to serve someone else. I’m the youngest in the family, if I’m not doted on then who should you dote on?”

Chusheng could tell that Lu Yao was feeling rather pleased about this meeting because from what the woman said, it seemed he was gaining a reputation for himself, one that would hopefully ensure women stayed far, far away from him.

“You’re honestly starting to get a reputation,” the woman said as much, but she didn’t seem all too put out by Lu Yao’s demeanour. “If that’s what you wanted, congratulations. What’s good to eat here, I’m hungry.”

Lu Yao blinked, his interest piqued slightly.

“Well, I’m fond of the Ba Bao La Jiang, but… I’m not-“ he began, and the woman cut him off, “Yeah, yeah, you won’t pay. Geez, my treat, since I’m late. I was dragged here by my older brother while I was at an e-sports gaming competition, and I just want to eat.”

They didn’t talk much after that, busy stuffing their faces with food. It was then that Chusheng found himself staring at Lu Yao’s blissful face as he almost cleaned out half the plate and three bowls of rice on his own.

—

Fourth Date

It was Lu Yao’s turn to be late for this one, and Chusheng noted that he was in a bad mood today, for he wasn’t even turning on the i-am-so-innocent look with his blind date.

The moment he sat down, Lu Yao began, “Yes I want a dowry and a comfortable allowance. I’m kind of useless and entirely shameless, but I still want both of those things. If I want a baguette in the middle of the night, you have to get it for me. If I see an expensive Armani suit in the windows while I’m walking on the streets and want it, you should get it for me. If I’m hungry and want to have dumplings bright early in the morning before I wake up, I want you to get it for me. If I see something that scares me, you have to protect me.”

“And lastly, if I want you to give me your wallet, you should just give it to me,” Lu Yao finished, leaning into the back of his seat. “If you can do all of that, I’ll go to the Marriage Registration Office today with our hukou ben.”

The woman didn’t seem surprised at his outburst, and with a sigh, she commented, “I’m only here out of a favour for Lu Miao, we work together. I’ve obviously heard of your penchant for being incredibly demanding, and wanted to see it for myself. Doing this though… don’t you think you’re bringing shame to the Lu family?”

“Every single one of your siblings is successful in their own right, I don’t know how they ended up with you,” she said. “At the very least, you should be mindful of keeping the reputation and honour your family has painstakingly built over the years intact.”

“I’ll settle the bill for this one.”

That evening, Lu Yao got so drunk that Chusheng took it upon himself to send him home, not that the man remembers it.

—

And so here they are, two weeks after that sad blind date that probably hit a little too close to home for Lu Yao, on his fifth date.

This time, however, it seems that this woman isn’t as easy to dismiss as any of the previous ones. Chusheng suspects that there’s something wrong with her, to be honest.

“Lu Yao,” the woman says seriously, “I’ve been in love with you since I saw you at a family’s gathering when I was eight. I’ll treat you well, I promise! I’ve heard of all the conditions that you want, and I can fulfil all of them.”

Well, that is something none of them are expecting, least of all Lu Yao. Looking slightly stunned, Lu Yao sits up in his seat, and goes, “Everything? You’ll give me your wallet? How much dowry?”

“All of it! It’s not like I can’t afford it,” she nods enthusiastically. “I’ll do anything for you, Yao-gege.”

Lu Yao almost flinches when the woman reaches over, her hand tightly gripping his.

“Don’t you remember? It was dinner at the Feng mansion, you surely remember Feng-bo, right? I fell down the stairs when one of the other kids shoved me to the side while he was running, and you were the one who came over and helped me find my mother. You protected me, Yao-gege. I’ve always remembered that, and then when I heard you were looking for a match-“

“-I’m not, my sister and my father are looking for a match for me-“

“-I knew I couldn’t let this pass up. It’s okay if you don’t love me right now, you’ll see how much I am willing to do for you, and given time, I’m sure you’ll start to love me.”

Oh dear, Chusheng thinks as he sets his glass down.

—

“I can’t,” Lu Yao blurts out, snatching his hand back, properly spooked. “I’m… Chen Xue, you’re… I cannot marry you.”

“Why not? You said that as long as someone agrees to all your demands, you’ll marry them immediately! Is it because I’m not good enough?”

“I- I’m… No, of course not, you’re great, Chen Xue. I’m just… I cannot-“

What a time for his wilfulness to come back and bite him in the fucking ass, Lu Yao thinks, about to panic for real.

“If I’m great, then there should be no issue,” Chen Xue concludes, reaching over to grab Lu Yao’s hand again. “Yao-gege, let’s go now. We can get married today, and deal with the huge wedding and banquets later.”

He’s done for, Lu Yao knows that, and damn Lu Miao for finding him an obsessive match!

Just as he’s desperately thinking of something to say, a shadow falls over them both, and Lu Yao finds himself with another hand over his wrist.

Looking up, his throat goes entirely dry.

“He can’t marry you,” the tall, dark and handsome man says. “Because he’s going to marry me instead.”

Then smiling almost roguishly at him, the man continues, “Isn’t that right, baobei?”

Lu Yao feels shivers running down his skin at the sound of that, and despite himself, his breath catches in his throat when he tries to speak.

He remembers this man, sitting at the counter quietly every single time Lu Yao is here, nursing a glass of whiskey. And just two weeks ago, Lu Yao remembers someone buckling his seatbelt for him in the car, remembers the scent of a specific aftershave as the man leaned in close, and his voice when he told the driver to send Lu Yao home.

“Who the hell are you?!” Chen Xue asks, her eyes going wide. “What nonsense are you saying-“

“Yes,” Lu Yao interrupts, getting to his feet and plastering himself to the man’s side. “Yes, that’s right. I can’t marry you because I’m going to marry him instead. I’m sorry, Chen Xue.”

Chen Xue is silent for a whole minute, looking entirely betrayed. It’s a look that Lu Yao is familiar with, and so he prepares himself for the glass of water or wine that’s going to be splashed in his face in anger, but the moment Chen Xue reaches for the wine glass, the man next to him pulls Lu Yao behind him.

“Chen-xiaojie, wasn’t it? Qing Ling Tian welcomes any and all paying customers, including yourself, but I will not allow you to cause a scene here,” he says. “Please put that down.”

Shaking angrily, Chen Xue scowls, “I want to see your manager! Who the hell are you to talk to me like that, do you know who I am?”

Lu Yao’s hand unconsciously reaches for the man’s jacket sleeve, tugging in fear of the trouble this woman obviously is. While he’s grateful that the man has given him a way out, Chen Xue is indeed the daughter of one of the ministers sitting in the cabinet right now, and even Lu Zifu has to play nice with the old man. Lu Yao doesn’t want to get this nice man into real trouble either.

He opens his mouth to appease Chen Xue somehow, but the man beats him to it.

“Of course I do,” he says, cocking his head to the side. “Chen Xue, Chen Fu Man, Minister Chen’s only daughter. Lao ye-zi has a standing monthly appointment with Chen-shu for mahjong if I recall correctly. As for speaking to the manager, I’ll do you one better. I’m the owner of Qing Ling Tian. Is there something I can help you with?”

At this, both Chen Xue and Lu Yao stare at him, eyes wide and mouths open.

“You’re… you’re…” Chen Xue swallows, and finally putting the wine glass down. “You’re Qiao… Chusheng? Bai-shushu’s…”

“Indeed,” Chusheng nods. “If there’s nothing else, Chen-xiaojie, I’d like to have a nice dinner with my fiancé. Let me have Ah Dou escort you out. Ah Dou!”

“Chusheng-ge,” another man comes over from where he was standing at the entrance of the room.

“Escort Chen-xiaojie out and get Xiao Yun to send her home,” Chusheng orders.

So stunned at the turn of events and what he’s just found out, that Lu Yao doesn’t even move or blink after Chen Xue is forcibly guided out of the room for a good few moments.

It’s only when he hears a breathy chuckle close to his ear that Lu Yao realizes where his fingers are, still pinching Chusheng’s jacket sleeve. As if burnt, Lu Yao steps away, absolutely mortified. Chusheng, Qiao Chusheng, just saw him make an absolute fool of himself.

“I- I…”

“Sit down before you keel over,” Chusheng says, guiding him back into his seat and then to the waiter standing near them, “Da Ding, clear this table and have a fresh course brought up. The Fo Tiao Qiang soup that Lu-xiansheng likes to eat as well, and some of Man-jie’s best dumplings.”

Lu Yao looks up in surprise. He’s speechless still, until Chusheng pushes a glass of warm water over to him.

“Thank you, for helping me out earlier,” he mumbles, embarrassed. “I… I must have caused a scene.”

“No worries,” Chusheng smiles, and damn if Lu Yao’s heart doesn’t skip a beat at that. “Glad that I could help. Lu Yao, is that correct?”

“Mnn,” Lu Yao nods, taking a sip of the water nervously.

“Will you consider going out with me?” Chusheng asks sudddenly.

Lu Yao chokes on his water.

It’s Chusheng who pats him on the back, who presses a napkin to his mouth and looks at him a little fondly while he’s having a coughing fit. When Lu Yao surfaces again, he croaks, “What?”

“I won’t make you go to the Marriage Registration Office with me immediately of course,” Chusheng continues as if this conversation is normal. “We should probably date first, and then if we still like each other after a few, we could set up a meeting between our families and see how it goes. I’m certain your sister would like to take a look at me first, and the same goes for my sister. She’d like to meet you first after.”

“Wait, wait,” Lu Yao tries to breathe. “Hold on a second. You’re saying, like date me?”

“Mnn. Do you think I jest? I’m all for showing my sincerity,” Chusheng smirks almost. “I have a few cars and properties, and I can put your name on any of the ones you like next time, so you don’t have to buy your own. I earn enough, so you can happily pursue your doctorate if that’s what you want. If you don’t, there are a number of open finance-related positions in my company for you to do what you do best.”

“How did you know I have a finance degree?!”

Chusheng raises an eyebrow pointedly and goes, “Blind Date Number Three asked you what your hobbies were and you said ‘making money’ because ‘that’s what I got my degree for’.”

Lu Yao flushes red immediately.

“If you’re marrying me,” Chusheng continues, “Of course the Bai family will give you a dowry and an allowance, just take any of my cards, that should be enough.”

“Who said… who said I was marrying you?!” Lu Yao splutters. “And you’ve been listening in on my dates!”

“It’s a little hard not to listen in when you’re going on so righteously about how you want someone to give you all their assets and pamper you to death,” Chusheng rolls his eyes a little.

“And that night, it was you?”

“Which night?” he teases, and then taking pity on a Lu Yao whose face is entirely red now, he nods, “You were very drunk that night and thought that you called for a ride. You showed your Didi Chuxing app to me yourself with your address on it, I didn’t steal information from you.”

Finally, finally, after so many blind dates, Lu Yao is quiet.

Wondering if he’s scared Lu Yao off for real, Chusheng opens his mouth, ready to try a softer approach and apologize when Lu Yao asks, “… so if I really want a baguette in the middle of the night you’ll get it for me?”

“… I hope we’ll already have a baguette in the house for you seeing how much you like them,” Chusheng answers carefully, “But yes.”

“And if I want dumplings in the morning for breakfast?”

“I’ll call Ah Dou and have it brought in from the restaurant.”

“I don’t like Armani suits, but if I wanted something expensive…”

Chusheng takes out his wallet, and slides three credit cards over the table.

With wide eyes, Lu Yao asks again, “And if I asked you to give me your wallet-“

The wallet lands on the table in between them.

“As for the last one,” Chusheng smiles and leans forward, “I think I demonstrated earlier that I’m more than capable of protecting you whenever you’re scared. Don’t you think? So do I pass?”

The food comes then, interrupting their conversation. Chusheng doesn’t press either, instead scooping out a bowl of soup for Lu Yao and insisting that he eats, knowing that he couldn’t stomach any of his meal earlier with Chen Xue.

At the end of the meal, Lu Yao finally says, “… I want to go to the movies next week.”

“Mnn,” Chusuheng makes a noise of assent. “I’ll buy you dinner before that.”

“I’ll buy the movie tickets and popcorn,” Lu Yao adds, almost a little shyly.

When they leave the restaurant later, Chusheng is holding onto Lu Yao’s hand as he leads him out.

The warmth he feels from that touch alone makes everything right suddenly, and not even his phone continually vibrating in his pocket from his sister’s calls can dampen his mood.

===

*Qing Ling Tian 青玲天 - I guess it's a way for Chusheng to pay homage to the Green Dragon gang 青龙帮 not that he's in a gang right now (he's totally a legitimate businessman)

*Shanghai's cuisine is called Shanghai Cai (shanghai dishes literally), but also can be called Hu Cai (hu cuisine)

*Didi Chuxing - This is China's version of Uber/Lyft/Grab

*hukou ben - In brief, all Chinese citizens need to belong to a family register and have a 'hukou', it's almost like a proof of citizenship I think. Anyway, you need these 'hukou' booklets (like a birth cert) to get married, you bring the booklets down to the office, and take a photo against a red wall, and they print the photos and paste them in the booklets.

*-jie/-shushu/-gege/-bo - older sister/uncle/older brother/uncle

*baobei - darling or baby

#民国奇探 #mriad #my roommate is a detective #chuyao #qiao chusheng #lu yao #mriad fic

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cosmichoneyedblossoms · 5 years ago

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Borderline

— Escape Route —

Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader x Sehun

Genre: Syndicate!au | Angst

Word Count: 4.7 K

Warnings: Smut, use of drugs, murder, swearing?

A/N: I’m so sorry that it took me so long to get this one out guys!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

The sounds of pained coughing could be heard echoing down the alleyway, a job left undone was your downfall with this one. The unknown man rolled over, a strained groan escaped him as he lay on his back, trying to gain the energy to reach into his pocket; he could feel the bullet rubbing deeply in his muscle, the pain was blinding, the pounding of his head blocked out the dial tone on the other side of the phone until the ringing stopped, “Did you get her?”

“Not quite…” He grunted, attempting to ignore the pain, “She shot me… an inch higher and she would’ve ended me…”

“You’re telling me that you let her go? Do you understand what’s at stake if we don’t get her, Doyoung?” The voice on the other side growled it’s annoyance sent shivers down his spine.

“She’ll destroy us—but there was nothing in the file about—”

“I don’t care, just get her and bring her to me!” The sudden deadline filled his ear, he had no other choice than to do what’s being asked of him.

“So, they’re really after Y/N?” Your father’s face fell as Sehun told him the news, the Lee Clan was after you and none of you had any idea why.

“Multiples of them chased us through downtown Shanghai, we need to get her out of China and into a safer city.” He couldn’t meet Sehun’s eyes, the ones that cared for his daughter more than he could ever fathom, “You dragged her into this mess,” He slammed his hands onto the desk, making the older man in front of him jump, “I need you to help me get her out before I don’t have her anymore.”

“Sehun… there’s something I need to tell you, it’s about the Lee Clan and—” The opening of his office door made his words vanish into thin air as his eyes landed on you walking into the room with a washcloth in hand. You noticed the thick air swirling around you, but didn’t know what to say; there was a moment of silence before your father cleared his throat, “Y/N, for the time being, I’m sending you and Sehun to Spain, the Granada branch to be exact.”

“The Granada branch?” You walked to the desk and stood next to Sehun, “We haven’t been there since before you hired the boys.” Glancing up at Sehun, the slightly bleeding gash on his face was odd since he usually wasn't the one caught with injuries, Chanyeol was. You handed him the washcloth and he lifted it up to his cheek to place it over the gash.

“I know, but I can’t have you being a target of another clan… You won’t be there forever, just until the coast is clear and everything has died down here.” Sehun looked down at you, your face slack as you turned your attention back on your father, “That means that you’re not to get into any trouble, you’re not to be involved with Sehun’s jobs whatsoever.”

“What?” You hissed, “I’m capable of doing it with him!” Standing your ground, you were determined to make him see your side, “I have to learn how to—” The slam of hands against the desk cut you off as your father stood from his chair.

“No, Y/N and that’s final!” A knock at the door had the tension between them standing still, unwavering, as they kept eye contact, “Come in.” The office door swung open to reveal your brother and Chanyeol, your heart fell into your stomach as your eyes met his; Chanyeol’s eyes fell dark behind Kris, they stayed glued to you while they took their spots next to you and Sehun.

“We’re here to give you Mr. Im’s payment.” Kris’s voice flowed smoothly as he laid a suitcase on the desk, your father’s face relaxed upon seeing the case that was full of money.

“No issues this time?”

“He handed it over with ease.” Kris continued, his eyes bounced between you and Sehun to Chanyeol, whose face was taut, anger swarming behind his eyes.

“Chanyeol, you’ll be partnering up with Kris to continue the jobs here in Shanghai until they’re finished.” He pulled the case from the desk, heavily eyeing the darkness Chanyeol was exuding.

“What about Sehun? He’s my partner.” He rasped, flicking his gaze to the older man in front of him.

“Sehun and Y/N are being moved to the Granada branch in Spain for the remainder of our stay here in China. It’s no longer safe to keep Y/N here.” You swallowed hard hearing yours and Sehun’s name being put together in front of Chanyeol, knowing exactly how he was going to react when you were out of your fathers view, “Now, if there is nothing else to be discussed, I need to talk to Kris in private so, Chanyeol, Sehun, Y/N, you may excuse yourselves.” All three of you bowed before taking your leave to the hall, with the click of the door, Chanyeol was on it.

“How cute, daddy is sending his beloved daughter and her new toy to Spain.” He laughed watching you ignore him, “C’mon baby, I’m just playing.” He reached for you and to his surprise, you brushed his hand away.

“Don’t talk to me.” Chanyeol scoffed at your ‘command’ and reached for you again, this time he gripped your shirt and yanked you to him, “Hey—”

“Don’t be like that, Y/N. You shouldn’t talk to your boyfriend like this.” Sehun grabbed his wrist and held onto your shoulder as he pulled him off of you.

“Don’t put hands on her, or you’ll have me to deal with.” Chanyeol scoffed again, his anger becoming apparent as he pulled his wrist from Sehun’s grip.

“Deal with you? You think that since she’s done with me that she’ll finally give your ass a chance?” Sehun stood next to you, with a flat expression, trying to hold back his own annoyance.

“Enough, Chanyeol.” You pushed him out of your space and away from Sehun, it’s not like he needed saving, but you needed space before you acted out.

“What’re you on about, Y/N? Am I wrong? Are you two actually a thing now? It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet and you’ve already spread your legs for him? I’ve always known you were a slut—” Before Chanyeol finished his sentence, Sehun landed a closed fist to his cheek, Chanyeol’s body stumbling as it took the blow.

“Sehun—” You grabbed his arm, pulling him away from Chanyeol before going to see if he drew blood, upon first look his face seemed okay; reaching out to him, he smacked away your hand.

“Man, you’re really something you know that? Always living in my shadow, pining after things that are mine—if it weren’t for my family, then you wouldn’t even be here right now!” His fists were balled, ready to attack Sehun, but you knew that he wasn’t much of a fighter, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t start a fight.

“That’s enough!” You stood between them, blocking Chanyeol from Sehun, his eyes were swirling vortexes of inky darkness as they glared daggers into Sehun, “Sehun, go home.” He glanced down at the back of your head, surprised by your command.

“But—”

“No buts, go home and pack. I’ll be there soon.” He reluctantly took his leave, leaving you in the hall with Chanyeol. His blood was boiling by the time he got to the car, he wanted to put him in his place, but not with you there.

“God… why am I so stupid…” He looked up at the window he knew that was the one leading to you and Chanyeol, growling a sigh of anger before getting onto the motorcycle.

The moon sat high in the sky as he drove down the small roads, his eyes periodically switching from the road to the navigation screen to make sure he wasn’t missing any turns. He was thoroughly exhausted, 19 hours stuck on a plane ride to Granada from Shanghai wouldn’t have been too bad except you didn’t talk. Even when you landed in Granada, you didn’t speak to him; he had no clue what Chanyeol had said to you, but he knew it had to be something he said, you were never this quiet.

“We’re here…” Sehun hummed inside the car as he pulled into the garage of the little house that stood in between others that looked similar to it. You stepped out of the car and walked around to the back of it to open the trunk and pull your suitcase out before walking to the door that led to the inside of the house. He sat in silence as he tried to gain the energy to get out of the car and go inside when his phone dinged from his pocket; he pulled it out to see a message from an unknown number.

“This is Suho from the Granada Branch, the CEO gave me your number to contact you. Welcome to Spain, we will be meeting up ten days from now. I will contact you again soon.” His eyes read over the message once more as he got out of the car, he ignored his luggage that was sitting in the trunk, and then closed the garage door as he walked into the house. He couldn’t wait to make it into bed, he turned off every light that was on while making his way to the bedroom; he stripped out of his clothes until he was in nothing but his boxers and crawled into bed, he was too tired to even notice that you were lying on the other side until you whispered his name.

“Sehun…”

“She speaks.” He rasped, closing his eyes to the sound of your voice, he waited for you to respond, but when you didn’t, he rolled over to face you, “What’s wrong…?” You shuffled over to his side, his arms reflexively wrapping around you. Your body in his arms was such a new feeling that it made his heart race; it pounded so loudly in his ears, it became the only thing he could hear, it was so loud that he worried you could hear it banging on his chest.

“Teach me how to fight…” He barely heard you over the freight train in his ears, but he knew exactly what you asked.

“No. Your father forbid me from getting you involved in any sort of—”

“I don’t care. The only kid he cares about is Kris because he’s his blood, I’m not even his, so why would he care if I died?” Your voice harshly cut your father into pieces, denying the years of love he poured into you.

“Is this what you've been thinking about since your conversation with Chanyeol?” He could feel you tense up in his hold at the mention of his name, it had to be, just had to, because you’ve never questioned his authority before and now all of a sudden you’re worried about your father's actions?

“Sehun please… it would give me peace of mind that I know how to defend myself if it ever came to it and I could help you with the jobs you get…” Your voice fell and became muffled in his chest, he let the idea roll around his brain, trying to outweigh the negatives with positives and the more he thought about it, the more apparent his answer became.

“Only if you promise to listen to everything I tell you…” He couldn’t say no to you, if anything that just meant that he could watch you all hours of the day and make sure you were okay.

“I promise.”

The sound of a gun firing echoed through the makeshift shooting range Sehun set up. With ten days of training, your aim was almost as good as his, if not better, “How many points?” He asked, pushing off the wall to walk up next to you. You lowered the gun and tried to eyeball the holes in the body target.

“228, body and headshots counted… I think… ”

“You think?” Walking up the target, he knew exactly how many points you made, he counted with each shot, but he just wanted you to learn how to count your shots, “You were off by two points, 230 is how many you hit. With how many rounds you set off, that’s a great number.” He pulled down the bullet hole-riddled target and made his way back to you when his phone dinged from his pocket. Shoving the target under his arm, he pulled out his phone to see a text from an unknown number.

“This is Kai from Granada Branch, we have a job tonight. Please come to HQ at 21:00.”

“Who’s that?” He looked up from his phone at the sound of your voice to see you standing in front of him.

“I have to meet the Granada Branch leaders in less than six hours…” He shoved his phone into his pocket and walked past you, ignoring the lingering question in your eyes.

“Sehun…”

“I don’t think you’re ready to come with me.” Even agreeing to teach you was hard enough for him, but actually taking you into the line of fire was another agreement he wasn’t ready to settle on.

“C’mon…” You whined, keeping on his heels, “You know my aim is spot on, and you already said I could help you on the jobs—”

“Hold on.” He turned around to face you, your bodies colliding as he continued his train of thought, “I said I would help you learn self-defense techniques, and right now you need to be more worried about the sparring match we’re going to have.” Your plush lips began to frown with your bottom lip jutting out a bit to form a pout. Sehun’s heart fluttered seeing such an innocent expression on your face, he was never the one to be on the receiving end of your pout, and he now understood why, “How about this… if you can take me down in our match, I’ll let you tag along?” Your beautiful eyes smiled with the upturn of your lips.

“I think that’s a good deal.”

“Do you know what the job is?” You asked, looking up at him.

“No.” He was short with you, not for any particular reason besides the fact he was in work mode.

“Are you still upset that I kicked your ass in our match?” He glanced down at you, his eyes catching the small smile that played on your lips.

“I’m not upset. I’m just focused is all—”

“Sehun?” The calling of his name made him turn his gaze onto the man standing in the doorway of a once closed door. Green hair messily fell from its middle part, dark eyes looked him up and down, sizing him up; he held an air of arrogance, an air that meshed with Sehun’s laid back attitude.

“Kai?!” Your scream startled Sehun as he watched you run up to this unknown man who accepted you with open arms, “Holy hell, how have you been?” The arrogance he showed faltered when he held your body close to his.

“We’ve been good, Y/N.” Another voice appeared behind Kai, a man with dark cherry hair emerged beside him, as well as another with obsidian locks.

“I’m assuming you guys know each other.” Sehun huffed, the man let go of you for you to turn around to face him, your face glowed with such happiness that he’s never seen before.

“Yes! Kai, Suho, Lay, and I practically grew up together when I was living in Granada.” You walked back over to Sehun to grab his hand and tug him closer to the guys, “This is Sehun, originally from the Seoul Branch, but we’ve been spending the past month in China.”

“With your father, correct?” The red-haired man asked and you nodded your head.

“He sent me here because of some trouble in Shanghai that he thought wouldn’t find me here—” You gasped and then quickly regained your composure, “I’m sorry, Sehun, let me introduce you. This is Kai.” The man with green hair nodded his head, “Suho.” Sehun looked at the man with the red hair who slightly bowed his head to him, “Last, but surely not least, Lay.”

“Always putting your big brother last, huh?” Lay laughed a bit, nudging Suho who was rolling his eyes.

“So…” You hummed, “What’s this job?” Sehun looked down at your hand that was clutching his own. Why were you still holding onto him?

“Wouldn’t you like to know, I thought your dad was keeping you out of this line of business.” Kai crossed his arms, pretending to be giving you ‘a talking to.’

“He is, but since Sehun is here alone, I’m helping with the jobs… Do not tell dad. He’ll kill Sehun before even coming after me.” You was right, the one thing he asked of Sehun was to keep you out of trouble or harm's way, but here he was sending you into the battlefield with little training.

“Alright, follow me.” Lay began to lead the way with everyone following him, “Tonight’s job is just to sell firearms to the north side of the city.”

“You mean, smuggle firearms into a different district.” Sehun stated and Lay laughed.

“Your father really knows how to pick them, doesn’t he, Y/N?” You looked up at Sehun whose eyes were focused on Lay, but you could see the slight blush come up to his cheeks from being teased.

“He’s good at his job, that’s for sure.” He felt you lean into him as you walked, the heat from your body didn’t help the blush that was already growing darker at the feeling of your touch.

“Please continue with the details, Lay. We have to be at the drop off spot in 30.” Kai hissed and Lay sighed.

“Fine.” He walked through the doorway of the automatic doors that lead to the parking garage, “Three guys from the district will be meeting up with us in the abandoned parking garage of the old mall.” Approaching the black van, Lay opened the back doors to reveal large carbon fiber trunks, “They’re just paying for the trunks and then we’ll be out of there, easy peasy.”

“Sounds like it!” Your grip on Sehun’s hand tightened with the slam of the van doors. Were you scared?

You were quiet the whole car ride to the drop spot, which only confirmed Sehun’s suspicions—you were scared, “Hey, Sehun.” Kai appeared beside him, his voice pulling Sehun out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Are you sure that it’s a good idea to bring her along? If the CEO—”

“He won’t as long as everything goes as planned… I have no doubt about her being ready to start doing this kind of work.” Sehun kept his gaze on you as you talked with Suho and Lay, acting like everything was normal and this is where you wanted to be and not where you needed to be. The roar of an engine entered the parking garage and he could already feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he watched a black van pull up next to theirs. The engine turned off and three men jumped out of it, the closer they walked to the back of the van, it became apparent that they were young, but they held themselves well. He returned his gaze back to you, your eyes were wide and alert as you stared at the unknown men who were standing rather close to you, Suho and Lay, “Kai… go take her spot and send her my way.”

“You got it.” Kai made his way over to you and whispered something into your ear, you looked at Sehun who motioned you to come over to him. You began to walk over to him and he noticed one of the guys watching you.

“You okay?” He asked and you inhaled deeply.

“Not really…” You whispered, “They have bands around their wrists…”

Bands?

“It’s okay, you can stand here with me.” Wrapping his arm around your back, he rested his hand on the gun that was resting just behind your hip, “You know you’re always safe with me.” Your weight relaxed into him and your head fell back onto his chest, normally he would be nervous, but right now his eyes were trained to the man who was keeping his eye on you. With every switching of your stance, he watched you like he was trying to learn your movements before they were even made. Sehun kept you close until every trunk was put into the back of the other van and the guys were in the car and gone.

“What are you talking about, Y/N?” Suho asked, falling down into the couch, “You think the Lee Clan is after you? Here? In Granada?”

“I saw their wrists, they had the same tattooed bands that Yuta had as well as the other guy who hunted us down and cornered us into an alley.”

“I think you’re just being over-reactive here, Y/N. You really think they would set foot out of Asia into a completely different country just to get you?” Lay laughed as he pulled open the fridge to pull out a beer, his normal teasing not helping your emotions.

“You think I would just automatically jump to conclusions if something just didn’t seem right? I’m telling you, those three guys are with the Lee Clan.”

“And I still think you’re overreacting.” Lay took the spot on the couch next to Suho, twisting the cap of the beer of the bottle with his shirt. You rolled your eyes and started to leave when Sehun walked into the room with Kai in tow.

“Woah, where are you headed?” He asked and you put your hand out.

“Home, can I have the keys, please?” You avoided his stare as you asked for the car keys, you didn’t need to go worrying Sehun if you were really just overreacting.

“Do you want me to come with you?” He put the keys into your hand and you began to answer when another voice rumbled from behind you.

“She’s a big girl, Sehun. Stay and hang with us for a while, hanging out with her can get boring after a while.” Lay teased once more, you turned around on your heels and pointed at him with the keys gripped in the same hand.

“Fuck you and your tiny dick, Lay.” The room filled with yells and laughter of the others as you walked out, your anger already starting to boil over.

“Y/N, wait.” Sehun called out to you and you stopped in your tracks to turn towards him, “Make sure that you call me if anything happens, okay?” You hummed in response and continued on your way down to the car. You rode home in complete silence beside the rumble of the engine, you needed to collect your thoughts, calm down, and think about the transaction again. Was it all of them or just the one or two? Did they seem like they would come after you?

You were too wrapped up in your thoughts to turn on the lights in the house, you threw your phone onto the coffee table and made your way to the bathroom. You thought a shower may help bring you back down to earth and calm you down from your night, standing in the hot water always seemed to bring you back to your normal self. Stepping into the shower, your toes flinched at the chilled tiled floor; you turned the dial, the head released thousands of lukewarm drops onto your skin. Within moments, the bathroom was filled with steam from the scalding water, you didn’t quite think to wash, you just wanted to stand in the water, letting it beat down against your back until your mind was free.

You stepped out of the shower and wrapped yourself in a towel to go into the bathroom and throw on anything that was in reach which so happened to be a pair of your sweats and Sehun’s shirt that smelled of him. The closing of the front door reached your ears, spooking you a bit, “Sehun?” You called out, with no response you made your way out into the dark living room, the only thing casting a glow into the room was the street light outside. Glancing at the door to the garage, the deadbolt on it was flipped to locked; your eyes panned through the living room when a shadow in the kitchen sent chills down your spine, “Who’s there?!” You yelled, trying to keep your nerves under control.

“You finally noticed me?” His voice was as smooth as cream but as cold as ice, “It only took you a minute, I expected more from the heir to the clan.”

“What are you talking—”

“Heir? That’s hilarious. She’s nothing but a terrified child.” You flicked your glare to the patio where another voice radiated from. The growing fight or flight bubbled inside of you to the point where you needed to make a decision—and fast.

“Why don’t we just save Mark the trouble and kill her now?” A voice whispered behind you, you jumped at the curl of fingers around your shoulder—you made your decision.

Tossing your head back, you connected with the face of the man behind you, his hands slipped from your body and you tried to rush to the table where your phone was when you were cut off by the man in the kitchen, “Looks like she’s got some fight.” You threw a kick to his chest for him to grab your leg and pull you to him; you slid and hit the floor hard with a groan as your head bounced off the hardwood, “C’mon, Y/N!” He growled, wrapping his hands around your throat.

“I’m sorry I pissed off Y/N, Sehun. I didn’t think she would get so upset.” Lay apologized from behind the wheel of the car. He sighed a bit while pulling out his phone and dialing your number.

“It’s okay. Ever since she’s been a target, upsetting her has become too easy.” The phone rang and rang, but you didn’t answer, “That’s weird…”

“What is?” Suho asked from the backseat.

“She didn’t answer…”

“Maybe she’s asleep already.” Kai answered this time, but he knew that wasn’t the case, you couldn’t sleep alone. He dialed the number again and put it on speaker phone to see if you would answer this time; he watched as the ‘dialing’ text turned into a timer, meaning you answered the call, “Y/N? We’re on our way to the house—” He was cut off by the sound of your screaming and yelling mixed with the grunting and groaning of a man on the other side of the phone, “Y/N?!” He yelled while looking over at Lay, “She’s in trouble…”

“Fuck!” Lay stepped on the gas, speeding through the tiny streets as fast as he could to get the house. All Sehun could do was listen to your pained screaming on the other end of the phone until the line went dead.

“Y/N?!” He yelled just as Lay turned onto his street. Sehun couldn’t wait until the car came to a full stop before jumping out of the car and running up to the front door with Suho and Kai behind him. Smashing the password into the keypad, the door unlocked for the sound of a gun firing to come from behind it. Sehun pushed it opened for a body to fall in front of it, his eyes scanned the floor to see two bodies with kitchen knives buried in the face of one and in the chest of another as well as the one in front of the door with a bullet between the eyes.

“Holy fuck…” Suho whispered.

“Where is she?” Lay asked for you to emerge from behind the door, gun in hand. Sehun’s eyes flicked up to you, your body covered in blood and gashes, your face easily matching one that had been through war.

“Still think I’m overreacting, Lay?”

41 notes · View notes

222425alexandrabishop · 4 years ago

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Podcast Notes

Madam: The Story of Flora Mackenzie

Flora was the most famous brothel keeper in the history of New Zealand

Christian

Interview when prosecuted when she was 74.

A real character, crazy stories.

'Famous Flora' Play named after the brothel that Flora ran

A fictionalised play but has some direct quotes from her life.

Born in Auckland, 1902*

Mangere, mostly farmland at the time. All horse races, introduced to the queen. She was a society girl.

Crossed her legs instead of tying her legs by the ankle

Mum was quite absent, Dad was a bigwig in manly business circles

She was chaperoned until she was 28, taught sex was for marriage

Trained initially as a nurse, wasn't a good fit. She didn't like authority

Left NZ and spent time with the bohemian crowd in Sydney

She developed a talent for Fashion Design, opened Ninette Gowns

It was high fashion, had a particular market she knew how to cater to. She came from that class and she could cater for it. Fitting rooms had great glamour.

She took care of her customers, purchased the best, sent drawings

Some of her gowns are in museum collections

1930s - Shes a successful business woman, unmarried and determined to be a business success

How did she become a hard drinker/brothel keeper in the 60s/70s

Sex work in Aotearoa

Was very different to European

1869 Contagious Diseases Act, police got women with contagious diseases as a criminal sanction - Called instrumental rape

Flora came on to the scene when the law had been overturned

1973 - Domestic Purposes Act

Forms of contraception could be employed but there was a huge stigma

Attitudes in early 20th century was complex

Flora - it happened by accident in the 40s

Flora’s Lifetime

Lived in apartment in ring terrace

She rented some of the rooms to people

Girl was a 'business secretary' Flora wanted help and girl told her she was a prostitute

Flora decided to keep her on, before long there was a few sex workers and Flora started taking a cut of it.

Boardy house - old name of brothel

Overseas men were greeted with more than just fresh milk, were interested in New Zealand women. They treated them differently, spent money and chivalry on them.

Women were surprised by an articulate form they provided

She became a madam by fault, she didn't see what was wrong with it - one opinion

another opinion was they thought she started before the first world war, working within the society circles.

Many servicemen thought they were good time girls, sending money back to floras.

She was known as 'Flora' to men coming over from overseas.

Could have been between 30s-40s for coming in to the prostitution circle.

1943 she appeared in court for the first time. Charged for being in possession of 3400 cigarettes. Men had left them. She was fined $25 pounds.

Cigarettes used as a form of currency. Dodged heavy time war taxes

Makes sense she got involved with sex work in world war II

Love story between Flora and an American serviceman.

He died in the war and never came back which broke her heart and sent her to drink - one opinion

She became a sad woman because she drank too much, or sad because she was trying to numb the pain.

I dont think she smoked? - opinion (I think she definitely smoked)

Definitely shunned by polite society.

by 1958 she shut down her fashion business and worked in brothel

Became alcoholic, tried to get help from AA

Mixed milk with spirits and kept in the fridge, drank in front with AA

When arrested she suffered badly

Had vice policeman, through whisky in his face because she couldn't drink too

Two dearest friends, Anna Hoffman - Billy Farnell - (Shanghai Hills some of her furniture is there) Quite protective of her memory.

Alec Layland - Did an extensive interview when she died. He was the head of the Auckland vice squad and busted her three times.

'She would never see anyone in trouble'

A trap was laid and money given to young detective, he had to signal police when she took her clothes off, didn't and an hour later and walked out. He spent the money

Wasn't unusual at the time, police understood at the time and didn't really want to interfere.

She had an inside line on the criminal underworld. Bit of fraud going on.

Alec introduced her to his boss and she introduced them to a line of girls, offered them to the boss.

Dealings didn't always go smoothly, appeared in court 6 times, only twice in prison

Premises had undergone a transformation to cross in the living room, bibles, single beds, large ornate bible, Jesus saves pamphlets. resulted in a hung jury.

Newspaper article, cars parked outside famous flora was going to be announced but there were some quite important people outside.

It was a luxurious, Japanese aesthetic

Girls were sometimes dressed up in gowns she had designed

Revolving bed, built in sound system, mirrors above the bed.

Lots of positive testimonials about her.

Flora was pro choice and pro contraception, saw her business as part of the feminist cause

She saw herself as someone who helped women who were in peril

She saw that sex should be before marriage. She was also hesitant about single mum benefits

She reckoned the government was running a brothel

She had strict policies, only hired europeans, or half or quarter cast Maori - she was racist

She'd hold on to the girls bank accounts

Trafficking - You don’t have control over your money.

Possible that the women who worked for her were totally okay with it but that might not be the whole story

Becky Bennett - First NZ Police Officer - She never tried to close her down, Betty said she was invited to Floras,

Becky used to put her to bed if she was off her face.

Had a couple of big Alsatians.

Floras drinking got the better of her, she became unwell and unkempt - the famous name went to a different location.

Died July 8th 1982 at 79 years old.

Tried to donate her house to Salvation Army, they wouldn't accept it. Rumour is she gave it to the man who delivered her whisky.

Was a black sheep in her time but today she would have been a legitimate business woman.

Lot of her life is mysterious.

Mystery woman.

Did she/Didn’t she - it was her final private moment.

#week1

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shitmodelmanagement-blog · 7 years ago

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If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck....

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/13/style/mario-testino-bruce-weber-harassment.html

Male Models Say Mario Testino and Bruce Weber Sexually Exploited Them

For a fashion model, success is the ability to incite desire. The job requirements often include nudity and feigning seduction; provocation is a lever for sales. In the industry, boundaries between the acceptable and the unacceptable treatment of models have been etched in shades of gray.

This has allowed prominent photographers to cross the line with impunity for decades, sexually exploiting models and assistants. The experience, once seen as the price models had to pay for their careers, is now being called something else: abuse of power and sexual harassment.

Fifteen current and former male models who worked with Bruce Weber, whose racy advertisements for companies like Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch helped turn him into one of the foremost commercial and fine art photographers, have described to The New York Times a pattern of what they said was unnecessary nudity and coercive sexual behavior, often during photo shoots.

The men recalled, with remarkable consistency, private sessions with Mr. Weber in which he asked them to undress and led them through breathing and “energy” exercises. Models were asked to breathe and to touch both themselves and Mr. Weber, moving their hands wherever they felt their “energy.” Often, Mr. Weber guided their hands with his own.

“I remember him putting his fingers in my mouth, and him grabbing my privates,” said the model Robyn Sinclair. “We never had sex or anything, but a lot of things happened. A lot of touching. A lot of molestation.”

In accounts going back to the mid-1990s, 13 male assistants and models who have worked with the photographer Mario Testino, a favorite of the English royal family and Vogue, told The Times that he subjected them to sexual advances that in some cases included groping and masturbation.

Representatives for both photographers said they were dismayed and surprised by the allegations.

“I’m completely shocked and saddened by the outrageous claims being made against me, which I absolutely deny,” Mr. Weber said in a statement from his lawyer.

Lavely & Singer, a law firm that represents Mr. Testino, challenged the characters and credibility of people who complained of harassment, and also wrote that it had spoken to several former employees who were “shocked by the allegations” and that those employees “could not confirm any of the claims.”

Those who said they were on the receiving end of unwanted attention felt the choice was clear: acquiesce and be rewarded with lucrative ad campaign work, or reject the approach and risk hobbling, or destroying, a career. Many said they still would not speak publicly.

In fashion, young men are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Male models are “the least respected and most disposable,” said the former model Trish Goff.

“It was general practice to give a model a heads-up about a specific photographer who we knew had a certain reputation,” said Gene Kogan of his time working as an agent at Next Management between 1996 and 2002.

But, he said, “If you said you were not going to work with someone like Bruce Weber or Mario Testino, you might as well just pack it in and go work in another industry.”

As in Hollywood, allegations of harassment and assault have been aired periodically over the decades with little lasting effect. From agents to stylists to fashion brands, the system has traditionally seemed more invested in preserving its image of perfection and glamour than in recognizing its bad actors.

Regular revelations of abuse of female models — as far back as a “60 Minutes” investigation of modeling agencies in Paris in 1988 — faded away. Agents accused of raping young models in their charge continued to work. The photographer Terry Richardson, after being accused in one documentary of sexual assault of female models, continued to work for major fashion brands until reporting on the producer Harvey Weinsteinchanged the landscape.

The Mentor

When Madonna had her first daughter, the person who photographed her baby pictures for Vanity Fair was Mr. Testino, 63. He was also the man who immortalized the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton. In 2014 he received an OBE. He recently photographed the February cover of Vogue, featuring Serena Williams and her daughter. Known for his ebullience and charm, he is adored by celebrities, and has worked with such brands as Michael Kors, Burberry and Dolce & Gabbana.

Two models have also complained about his behavior in the course of photographing Gucci campaigns in the ’90s.

“If you wanted to work with Mario, you needed to do a nude shoot at the Chateau Marmont,” said Jason Fedele, who appeared in those campaigns. “All the agents knew that this was the thing to excel or advance your career.”

The nude work bothered him less than what he believed were sexual come-ons. It was as if Mr. Testino were gauging which “moves” might work, Mr. Fedele said — “whether it was a comment or a reach for the towel, and he definitely reached.”

“He was a sexual predator,” said Ryan Locke, who succeeded Mr. Fedele with Gucci.

Mr. Locke said that when he told other models that he was going to meet Mr. Testino, “everyone started making these jokes — they said he was notorious, and ‘tighten your belt.’”

The casting took place at Mr. Testino’s hotel. Instead of greeting Mr. Locke in the lobby, Mr. Testino was in his room, where he opened the door in a loose robe, Mr. Locke said. Then they got into a stalemate about whether the model needed to go fully nude for test pictures.

After Gucci hired Mr. Locke for an ad campaign, Mr. Testino was aggressive and flirtatious throughout, Mr. Locke said. On the last day of the shoot, as they were taking photographs on a bed, Mr. Testino said, “I don’t think he’s feeling it. Everybody out,” Mr. Locke recalled.

“He shuts the door and locks it. Then he crawls on the bed, climbs on top of me and says, ‘I’m the girl, you’re the boy.’ I went at him, like, you better get away. I threw the towel on him, put my clothes on and walked out,” Mr. Locke said.

Tom Ford, then the designer for Gucci, said he had not been present and could not know what happened. He said he was sympathetic to anyone who had been harassed, but also cautioned that if a photographer needs a shot of a model’s face on a bed, there are very few angles to get it from.

Former assistants said that Mr. Testino had a pattern of hiring young, usually heterosexual men and subjecting them to increasingly aggressive advances.

Hugo Tillman was not long out of Occidental College when he started freelancing as a photo assistant for Mr. Testino in 1996. Mr. Testino took him and his mother to lunch and told them he wanted to mentor him. “I really liked him — I really looked up to him,” Mr. Tillman said.

He moved to Paris and began working full time as Mr. Testino’s fourth assistant, and was soon promoted to third. “It seemed like what Robert Altman would show, a fantasy of fashion.” But, he said, “I was often made to feel uncomfortable on shoots, asked to massage Mario in front of other assistants, models and fashion editors.”

One night after a dinner, Mr. Tillman said the photographer grabbed him on the street and tried to kiss him. A few weeks later, while on a business trip, Mr. Tillman met Mr. Testino in his hotel room. Mr. Testino demanded that the assistant roll him a joint, then threw him down on a bed, climbed on top of him and pinned down his arms, Mr. Tillman said. Mr. Testino’s brother came into the room and made the photographer get off Mr. Tillman.

Lawyers for Mr. Testino said Mr. Testino’s brother “is adamant that no such incident ever took place.” Mr. Tillman’s former girlfriend confirmed in an interview that he relayed this story to her at the time. He also submitted testimony regarding the experience to the New York City Commission on Human Rights last December.

“I was scared,” he said of the hotel room experience. “I didn’t know what was going to happen.” Mr. Tillman quit the next weekend, and is now a fine art photographer, who has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London and the Shanghai Biennale.

Taber, a model who worked with Mr. Testino for much of the late ’90s and early 2000s (he used only his first name professionally), described Mr. Testino as a friend until he stuck his hand down the back of Taber’s pants, and showed up at his hotel room asking for sex. “He was a mentor who took it a step too far,” he said.

“Sexual harassment was a constant reality,” said Roman Barrett, an assistant to Mr. Testino in the late ’90s who said the photographer rubbed up against his leg with an erection and masturbated in front of him.

“He misbehaved in hotel rooms, the backs of cars and on first-class flights,” he said. “Then things would go back to normal, and that made you feel gaslighted.”

Another assistant to Mr. Testino, a decade later, said he had his pants pulled down and buttocks fondled while on the job. Yet another said that Mr. Testino masturbated on him during a business trip. Both were granted anonymity because they feared career repercussions.

Even those who worked for Mr. Testino without experiencing the most direct harassment were affected. “I saw him with his hands down people’s pants at least 10 times,” said Thomas Hargreave, a shoot producer who worked frequently with Mr. Testino between 2008 and 2016. “Mario behaved often as if it was all a big joke. But it wasn’t funny. And the guys being placed in these situations wouldn’t know how to react. They would look at me, like, ‘What’s going on? How do I deal with this?’ It was terrible.”

Lavely & Singer, the law firm that represents Mr. Testino, said in a letter in response to these accounts that the individuals who spoke with The Times “cannot be considered reliable sources.” They wrote that Mr. Tillman had spoken well of Mr. Testino before, and called his mental health into question, so it “would be extremely reckless” to rely on him as a source. Regarding Mr. Fedele, who complained about private nude shoots, Mr. Testino’s lawyers said that the model had been photographed nude by others and had posted a nude picture of himself, taken by Herb Ritts, to Instagram in 2015. They also wrote that Mr. Hargreave and Mr. Barrett were disgruntled former employees.

“I was pushed around, overworked, underpaid and sexually harassed daily,” Mr. Barrett said. “That’s why I was disgruntled.”

“I’m telling the truth because this needs to stop now,” Mr. Hargreave said.

Selling Sex

As Calvin Klein, who created a hypersexual image for his brand with the help of Mr. Weber, recently told The Times, “I picked the images the same way I always did: what got my heart racing.” (Mr. Weber has not worked with the brand that bears Mr. Klein’s name since 2008.) Whatever it takes to get that shot has been acceptable.

“We sell sex,” Mr. Ford said.

Jessie English, a female photographer who spent three years as an assistant primarily to male photographers before going out on her own, described the attitude she saw on fashion shoots this way: “If I need to touch you between your legs or grab your breasts so you get the right look on your face, that’s just the way it is.”

Fashion and media brands say it is up to agencies to protect models, while the agencies say it is up to the brands not to hire photographers with bad reputations. For their part, the photographers say they do what they do to get the best picture — which is what the clients want.

And no union exists for models, whose youth and eagerness for a measure of stardom make them disinclined to complain.

“Models are not educated about what is or is not acceptable behavior, and often don’t even have the vocabulary to express their experiences,” said Edward Siddons, a model turned journalist.

“Male models are paid much less and they do not become icons, because the culture is about objectifying women to sell things, and people are deeply uncomfortable with that happening to men,” Mr. Ford said.

“I knew that if people didn’t want to have sex with you and people didn’t find you beautiful, you weren’t much inspiration,” Taber said. “The models that got jobs are the ones stylists and photographers are into. I also wanted people to like me, especially the most powerful people in the business. I would almost get offended if they didn’t want to have sex with me. That’s how I got groomed. That’s how it worked in my mind.”

Advances often take place in casting sessions and private photo shoots, Mr. Fedele said, reflecting partly on his experience with Mr. Testino. “Those are the pivot points for photographers to test the waters on whether or not it’s going to be a challenge for them to get to you,” he said. “Because if you do get the job, the majority of the time you’re not naked and you’re not in a swimsuit. So what’s really happening is that these guys are gauging whether you’re open or shy or close-minded or, quite frankly, whether you’re gay or hetero and willing either to flirt with them or to submit to an advance.”

Breathing Exercises

Since the 1970s, Mr. Weber, 71, has been one of the most important commercial and fine art photographers. His name has become “synonymous with erotically charged depictions of good-looking young men,” The Times wrote in 1999.

In 2005, he photographed the model Robyn Sinclair for Ralph Lauren. They worked together on numerous other jobs. According to Mr. Sinclair, “breathing exercises” — both in person and over the phone — were a repeated feature of their relationship.

“It’s like I was willing and unwilling at the same time,” he said. “I wanted to work.”

Models say that Mr. Weber was given to private audiences with young men, on long walks during lunch breaks and private visits in his room.

“They even have a term for it: ‘He’s going to get Brucified,’” said Rudi Dollmayer, a Swedish model who shot with Mr. Weber three times.

“It’s presented as an option, but it isn’t really,” Erin Williams, a female model on two of Mr. Weber’s campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch, said of working nude. In testimony to the New York City Commission on Human Rights, she wrote: “The models that didn’t go nude were always cut on day two, and those who did would stay for additional shoot days. The boys who would socialize with Bruce after the shoots, alone in his hotel room, would get booked for longer with the carrot of a major campaign being dangled in front of them.”

In 2011, during a shoot for Vogue Hommes International in Miami, Mr. Weber summoned the model Josh Ardolf, then 20, to a private room. Mr. Weber photographed him in the nude and then, when Mr. Ardolf seemed uncomfortable, led him through an exercise.

“I was guiding his hand,” Mr. Ardolf said. “We did the chest, the shoulders, the head. Then I finally put his hand on my abs. Did the breathing. Right after that, he forced his hand right on my genitals. I was first in shock. I didn’t know what to think. I backed up. I felt very, very uncomfortable and very sick.”

“I felt helpless,” Mr. Ardolf said. “Like my agency said, he has a lot of power. He’s done a lot of large campaigns. That was in the back of my mind. ‘I can’t screw this up. I already made it this far.’”

Mr. Weber mentioned future campaigns when he followed up with Mr. Ardolf in a series of phone calls in subsequent months. He repeated the exercises over the phone and asked Mr. Ardolf to touch his genitals and stimulate himself, Mr. Ardolf said.

“The first thing I was told about Bruce was that he puts people in really precarious situations,” said Terron Wood, a model who shot several ad campaigns with Mr. Weber between 2007 and 2010.

His first job was for Ruehl, a now defunct Abercrombie brand, when he was summoned alone to Mr. Weber’s hotel room.

Mr. Weber put his hand on Mr. Wood’s forehead and told him to close his eyes and breathe in deeply. Then Mr. Weber moved back and began taking pictures, telling Mr. Wood to grab his shirt, which he was to pull up or down. From there, Mr. Weber instructed him to do the same thing with his shorts.

“After going as high as Steve Urkel, the only option was down,” Mr. Wood said.

Eventually, Mr. Wood’s genitals were displayed, with Mr. Weber continuing to photograph him.

“It unfolded slowly,” Mr. Wood said. “He’s directing you, and the peak moment is when you’re fully exposed and being told to hold it. ‘Hold that pose.’ And you’re wondering what the pictures are even for. Because you’re not on set. You’re thinking, ‘This isn’t what I’m getting paid for.’”

He also felt guilty, he said, knowing that he’d agreed to show Mr. Weber his penis only because “he was the photographer for Ralph Lauren.” Mr. Weber did end up booking him for a Ralph Lauren campaign.

Bobby Roaché, a model who went for a casting with Mr. Weber in 2007 and left after he said the photographer tried to “stick his hands down my pants,” described the reaction from one of his agents: “That’s all he did? You should have gone further.”

The model Monty Hooper said Mr. Weber told him he had “to learn to be more vulnerable” at a test shoot at the photographer’s TriBeCa studio in 2014. At the shoot, Mr. Hooper stopped undressing before revealing his genitals, so Mr. Weber led him through a breathing exercise. “If I’m more vulnerable,” Mr. Hooper said he was told, “I’ll go a lot farther in my career modeling.”

“He was hugging me really closely,” Mr. Hooper said. Disturbed, he thanked Mr. Weber and left. After that, he said, the amount of work he was sent for dried up immediately.

Mr. Hooper was roommates with a number of models in an apartment maintained by Soul Artist Management, many of whom worked with Mr. Weber. “This is big for you. You have to nail this,” the agency’s founder, Jason Kanner, told one of them, Jason Boyce, before a test shoot, according to a lawsuit Mr. Boyce filed in December in New York State Supreme Court against Mr. Weber, Mr. Kanner and Little Bear Inc., the production company run by the photographer’s companion and agent, Nan Bush.

In his complaint, Mr. Boyce said that Mr. Weber groped him and kissed him. In a response filed in late December, lawyers for Mr. Weber described the entire complaint as “false.” (Mr. Kanner indicated he would respond as well this month.) Mr. Boyce’s lawyer is Lisa Bloom, who represented Harvey Weinstein at the time he was first accused of sexual misconduct but who more often represents harassment claimants.

At the lawsuit’s announcement — which Mr. Weber’s lawyers described as a “defamatory press conference” in their filing — Ms. Bloom produced another roommate, Mark Ricketson, who said that Mr. Weber also led him through an inappropriate exercise in 2005, when he was 18.

“I have used common breathing exercises and professionally photographed thousands of nude models over my career, but never touched anyone inappropriately. Given my life’s work, these twisted and untrue allegations are truly disheartening. I’ve been taking pictures for over 40 years and have the utmost respect for everyone I’ve ever photographed. I would never, ever, try to hurt anyone or prevent someone from succeeding — it’s just not in my character,” Mr. Weber said in his statement to The Times.

Jeff Aquilon, a longtime muse whom Mr. Weber discovered in 1978, said in December that he had never had a bad experience with the photographer.

“What I’ve heard over the last couple of days is so uncharacteristic of what I would expect out of him that it kind of blew my mind,” Mr. Aquilon said. “I did speak to him a day or two ago. I said: ‘Bruce, I can’t believe what is out there. Sorry to hear what you’re going to have to go through here.’ He just said, ‘Will you pray for us?’ I said I definitely would.”

#shitmodelmgmt #shitmodelmanagement #Mario Testino #Bruce Weber #Abuse of power #Mentor

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worldhotelvideo · 7 years ago

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[https://youtu.be/zhcfG6SXB8Q] Welcome to Villa Dubrovnik, Croatia (Europe). The best of Villa Dubrovnik in Dubrovnik. General services available are: wifi available in all areas. beach, snorkelling, diving and water sport facilities (on site). In the section of restaurants you can enjoy: breakfast in the room, room service, special diet menus (on request), snack bar, restaurant (à la carte), bar and breakfast options. To relax, the establishment has manicure, sauna, massage, body scrub, beachfront, swimming pool, spa/wellness packages, back massage, private beach area, sun umbrellas, spa lounge/relaxation area, beauty services, couples massage, light therapy, pool/beach towels, spa and wellness centre, neck massage, waxing services, pedicure, full body massage, spa facilities, head massage, indoor pool (seasonal), fitness centre, body treatments, hand massage, fitness, pool bar, facial treatments, sun loungers or beach chairs and foot massage. With regard to transport, we will find shuttle service (free), car hire, accessible parking, airport pick up, secured parking, airport drop off, airport shuttle, shuttle service and airport shuttle (additional charge). For the reception services we will be able to have currency exchange, safety deposit box, luggage storage, express check-in/check-out, ticket service, concierge service, tour desk, newspapers, 24-hour front desk and private check-in/check-out. Within the common spaces we will be able to enjoy library, outdoor furniture, sun terrace and garden and terrace. For the leisure of the family we can dispose of babysitting/child services. The function of the cleaning services have included dry cleaning, laundry and ironing service. If you travel for business matters in the facilities you have meeting/banquet facilities and fax/photocopying. We will be able to highlight other possibilities as air conditioning, heating, facilities for disabled guests, lift, soundproof rooms and non-smoking rooms Book now cheaper in http://ift.tt/2yhXfTL You can find more info in http://ift.tt/2gapwRJ We hope you have a pleasant stay in Villa Dubrovnik Other hotels in Dubrovnik Hotel Dubrovnik Palace https://youtu.be/u1clV6ysH84 The Pucic Palace https://youtu.be/Rh5idqde-As Hotel More https://youtu.be/hfatLeSTNtc Grand Villa Argentina https://youtu.be/VKfbCkxvwMc Hotel Ariston https://youtu.be/SWz1j9RliXM Royal Princess Hotel https://youtu.be/bFQf6tHRkDA Hotel Excelsior https://youtu.be/y4nKN0CaznA Villa Orsula https://youtu.be/-utBDoPBsqc Rixos Libertas Dubrovnik https://youtu.be/5I5bN9Vh0Vw Sun Gardens Dubrovnik https://youtu.be/Jt8pg_tRoag Other hotels in this channel Kangte Wangfu Hotel of Resort And Conference https://youtu.be/BWTpzco3kcc Savoy Beach Hotel & Thermal Spa https://youtu.be/87EYzZWKdD0 The Ampersand Hotel https://youtu.be/GAy4OP2iwDk Trump International Golf Links, Scotland https://youtu.be/Qz2bNd3VMPI Wuhan Oriental Jianguo Hotel https://youtu.be/_9zfI5FE9tA Holiday Inn Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao https://youtu.be/8Kx4seKDd3I Ibis North Point https://youtu.be/km6fPiT5JOQ Blakes Hotel https://youtu.be/LUR8duD-cI0 Holiday Inn Cordoba https://youtu.be/AM6j2kj6CJo Villa La Massa https://youtu.be/tdjOoxQ4qz0 Rosewood San Miguel https://youtu.be/LUrs9RJ6GVY SLS Hotel South Beach https://youtu.be/3M1zzg7dCfc Oak Inn https://youtu.be/icZfXYrKsHE Leigh House Hotel https://youtu.be/J-0cCOyy3fY Waldorf Astoria Jeddah - Qasr Al Sharq https://youtu.be/EoNVAdJ0r5w We hope you have a pleasant stay in Villa Dubrovnik All images used in this video are or have been provided by Booking. If you are the owner and do not want this video to appear, simply contact us. by World Hotel Video

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jobsearchtips02 · 5 years ago

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Stock market live today: New quarter, Dow futures drop 200 points, reopening plays down premarket

The front facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in New York City, New York, U.S., June 26, 2020.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

This is a live blog. Please check back for updates.

9: 14 am: Pfizer surges on vaccine promise

Shares of drugmaker Pfizer surged more than 6% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the company said its vaccine, in partnership with BioNTech, showed positive data. Covid-19 patients has neutralizing antibodies after receiving the vaccine.

“We are encouraged by the clinical data of BNT162b1, one of four mRNA constructs we are evaluating clinically, and for which we have positive, preliminary, topline findings,” said Kathrin U. Jansen, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head of Vaccine Research & Development, Pfizer. “We are dedicated to develop potentially groundbreaking vaccines and medicines, and in the face of this global health crisis, we approach this goal with the utmost urgency. We look forward to publishing our clinical data in a peer-reviewed journal as quickly as possible,” the company said in a release.

Pfizer said if the vaccine receives regulatory approval, the drug companies are expecting to manufacture up to 100 million doses by the end of 2020 and potentially more than 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021. — Fitzgerald

9: 08 am: Reopening names rebound after revised jobs data, vaccine report

Stocks of companies that would perform best under a reopening of the U.S. economy rebounded before after a positive private payrolls report and a report that Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine saw positive results. Airlines, which had been among the largest laggards in the premarket session just one hour ago, rose across the board. United gained 6.2%, American added 3.2% and Southwest advanced 2.6%. Cruise-line company Carnival added 1.7% while mall owner Simon Property Group climbed 2%. — Franck

9: 04 am: Stock futures turn positive on vaccine news

Shares of Pfizer jumped 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday on news the company’s Covid-19 vaccine —in partnership with BioNTech — helped immune response in patients with the deadly virus. The study results showed the vaccine created neutralizing antibodies. BioNTech rose 7% in premarket trading before halting for news pending. The report said the drug did cause a fever and other side effects. The study results were released online and have not been released in a journal yet. Stock futures turned positive on the news, also helped by the strong ADP jobs report. — Fitzgerald

8: 38 am: Job gains could fade and rebound could be threatened by surging virus outbreak

As the second half begins, the resurgence of Covid-19 is threatening the economic rebound and the jobs recovery. Several economists told CNBC they are not yet ready to change their forecasts for a bounce back in the third quarter, but they are monitoring the situation as states close some activities or hold off some reopenings in response. Economists expect 2.9 million jobs were added in June, but several say July data could show job losses if more of the economy is shut down. In the second quarter, economists expect the initial shutdowns resulted in a more than 30% contraction in gross domestic product. By the third quarter, economists surveyed by CNBC/Moody’s Analytics expect a median gain of 13.5% for the third quarter. —Domm

8: 22 am: Private payrolls rise 2.37 million in June, May’s number revised

Businesses continuing hiring workers in June following the coronavirus shutdown. Private payrolls rose by 2.369 million in June, a bit below the 2.5 million estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones, according to ADP. Another bright spot of the report was the revised May reading, which initially saw jobs lost. May’s number went from an initially reported loss of 2.76 million to a gain of 3.065 million. — Fitzgerald, Cox

8: 15 am: Beyond Meat soars after China announcement

Shares of Beyond Meat jumped more than 10% in premarket trading after the company announced a deal with Alibaba to sell its meatless burger patties in Freshippo grocery stores in mainland China. Beyond products will be in 50 locations in Shanghai by the end of this week and another 48 locations in other cities by September. —Pound, Lucas

8: 02 am: Reopening names down in premarket after eight states report record cases

Stocks popular among investors betting on the reopening of the U.S. economy slid in premarket trading after eight states reported all-time highs of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday. Fears that government will be forced to re-impose strict distancing and travel limitation hit stocks of travel and retail stocks especially hard. Airlines including American Airlines (down 2%) and car-rental company Avis (down 2.2%) comprised some of the biggest laggards before the bell. Cruise-line operator Carnival retreated 2.4% while retailers Kohl’s and Gap lost 2.8% and 1%, respectively. — Franck

7: 59 am: Second quarter best in decades

U.S. equities wrapped up their best quarter in decades on Tuesday as markets recovered from the historic sell-off triggered by the coronavirus. The Dow gained 17.8% in the second quarter, posting its best quarter since 1987, while the S&P 500 finished the period with a near 20% gain, its best since 1998. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite soared 30.6% for the quarter, the most since 1999. The Nasdaq was the first of the major averages to make back all of its coronavirus losses.— Fitzgerald

7: 52 am: Senate passes extension for PPP

The Senate agreed to extend the Paycheck Protection Program through Aug. 8 just hours before the program was set to expire. About $660 billion has been approved for use in the program, with about $130 billion remaining. Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida Republican who is chairman of the Small Business Committee, said on Twitter that “what we really need to pass very soon is targeted help for those who need a second round of aid.” —Pound, Associated Press

7: 51 am: ADP expected to show 2.5 million private payrolls added in June

Economists expect the ADP private sector jobs report to show 2.5 million payrolls were added in June. The 8: 15 a.m. ET report is viewed as a preview of sorts for the government’s employment report, which is due Thursday morning. The government report is expected to show that 2.9 million jobs were created in June, up from the 2.5 million in May, according to Dow Jones. The ADP number does not correlate with government data many times. For May, ADP showed a decline of 2.76 million jobs. Economists had expected a substantial 8 million decline in May payrolls, and were surprised by the gain. — Domm

7: 50 am: FedEx shares jump after earnings beat, JPMorgan upgrade

Shares of FedEx jumped more than 11% during premarket trading after the company’s fourth quarter results beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom line as consumers flocked online amid the pandemic. Separately, JPMorgan upgraded shares to an overweight rating, based on the company’s ability to hike prices.

CNBC PRO subscribers can read more about the firm’s bull case here. – Stevens

7: 35 am: New quarter, Dow futures sink 200 points

In the first trading day of the third quarter, U.S. equity futures ticked lower and pointed to losses at the open on Wednesday. Dow futures dropped about 220 points, or 0.9%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.6% and Nasdaq-100 futures slid 0.4%.

On Tuesday, the Dow climbed 217 points, or 0.85%, to close out the best quarter for stocks in decades. The S&P rallied 1.54% and the Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.9%. — Fitzgerald

— with reporting from CNBC’s Patti Domm.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

from Job Search Tips https://jobsearchtips.net/stock-market-live-today-new-quarter-dow-futures-drop-200-points-reopening-plays-down-premarket/

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hermanwatts · 5 years ago

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Science Fiction New Releases: 04 April, 2020

Shanghaied veterans stranded bootleggers, bounty hunters , and the birth of the Legion feature in this week’s newest science fiction releases.

An Axe To Grind (Four Horsemen Universe: The Guild Wars #4) – Jon R. Osborne

The Omega War may have ended, but neither Earth nor the galaxy are at peace. Bjorn Tovesson III, commander of Bjorn’s Berserkers has returned to Earth. Bear Town is a smoldering ruin, and the Berserkers’ reputation is in the gutter. As Bjorn tries to chart a course for the Berserkers’ future, ghosts from the past haunt him.

Meanwhile, the Information Guild and the Union Credit Exchange clash over the future of the Galactic Union’s economy. The Information Guild seeks to eliminate the red diamond standard, giving it sole control of the currency system, but the Union Credit Exchange harbors ambitions to become a guild in its own right. Both sides wage battle by weaponizing politics, piracy, and disinformation.

While Bjorn hunts the aliens responsible for murdering his father and slaughtering many of the Berserkers trapped on Earth during Peepo’s invasion, he receives an offer too good to pass up. Despite the Mercenary Guild suspending contracts, Bjorn could make the credits needed to bring his plans to fruition.

Can Bjorn put aside the past? Who will control the galaxy’s economy? The Omega War may be over, but everyone still has an axe to grind.

The Bar at the End of the World (The Watchers #1) – Tom Abrahams

A starving city. A renegade bootlegger. A battle for the future of mankind.

Zeke is a bad guy. He didn’t choose to be. It’s just who he is. It’s who he has to be to survive in a post-apocalyptic world where trust is as scarce as water.

He’s got nobody. No family. No friends. And he left behind the woman he loved for her own good.

But it’s time to change. After a brush with death far out in the wasteland, he decides he’s done risking his life to help his greedy bosses control who gets to drink water and when.

Now, he’s stranded in a bar in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the perfect kind of ruffians who can help him go back and make things right. Armed with renewed purpose and a one-of-a-kind muscle car, Zeke hunts for redemption, seeks retribution and, maybe, just maybe, he can get his girl back while he’s at it.

Cyborg Corps – J. N. Chaney and Chris Winder

Warren Prescott is a veteran amputee who can’t catch a break.

When the VA calls him in for an experimental procedure to restore his leg, Warren is amazed. Finally. he will be able to feel the warm sand beneath his feet again, or so the doctor promises.

Lying on a table, Warren is told by the doctor that everything is going to be okay. He’s going to have a brand new leg…and a much better life.

Too bad it was all a lie.

The next time Warren opens his eyes, four centuries have passed. Somehow, he’s standing in the middle of a battlefield, stuck on a distant alien planet, far away from home.

To make matters worse, his body appears to be entirely synthetic. He’s a cyborg, nearly indestructible and enhanced for extreme combat.

Now, with centuries of time missing from his memory and no idea how to get home, Warren is left with no choice but to fight against those who would see him enslaved… and free as many of his brothers as possible along the way.

Gods and Legionnaires (Galaxy’s Edge: The Savage Wars #2) – Jason Anspach and Nick Cole

The Coalition is reeling. New Vega and its other worlds have fallen beneath the boot of the newly allied Savage marines, and the death count continues to rise at a staggering rate. One thing is clear: the war to come will be a fight for the very survival of the species. For both sides in this conflict, now is the time to become what fate, and victory, demand.

The Savages—post-human monsters who believe themselves to be gods—are intent on remaking civilization in their own violent and pathological image. Yet their alliance is tenuous. Among the many tribes of the Uplifted, as they call themselves, the struggle for supremacy rages on. All know that in the end there can be only one tribe. One leader. One truth.

Meanwhile humanity’s last, desperate hope is the formation of a new kind of fighting force: The Legion. Those select few who are hardy enough—or foolish enough—to undertake the relentless, grueling, and merciless candidate training will have the chance to be transformed into mythical heroes… or die trying. They will be pushed beyond their physical and mental limits as they seek to survive an unforgiving planet, lost and derelict ghost spaceships, and worst of all, the cold, unflinching brutality of Tyrus Rechs. At the end of this crucible, only the one percent of the one percent will earn the right to be called…

… Legionnaires.

Hypertek (Skiptracer #1) – Micky Neilson

Blake Harley is a Skiptracer—a kind of bounty hunter—on the faraway construct-world of Concourse Prime. Hired by a corporate client to secure an overdue product, he’ll make some quick cryp and be on to the next job. Easy.

Except, this job is anything but simple. The product is tied to the immensely powerful and ultra-secret Hypertek, leaving Blake with a choice: be a good soldier, or refuse to help MagnaCorp become the most powerful entity in the system.

Another problem: everyone else in Concourse Prime is gunning for the product as well, from the demi-humans ruling its seedy underbelly to the CEOs inhabiting its gleaming superscrapers—people far more sinister than Hypertek.

Blake fights to survive while he wrestles with his decision. In the end, it’s just one big threat that could plunge humanity into an all-out interstellar conflict. What’s the big deal?

Rebel Sword (Galactic Knight #1) – Peter Bostrom

Private Lucas Walker never thought he’d be a hero. As a grunt in United Federation of Sol’s peacekeeper force deployed to Pluto’s tiny moon Nyx, the furthest barren hellhole in the solar system, he thought his career was all but over even before it began. He day-dreams of lightsabers, vampires, battlecats, wizards, and all things sci-fi and fantasy while he repairs sand-clogged equipment and mops floors.

Then everything changes.

A spatial-temporal vortex opens on Pluto, and out pours an army. A deadly force intent on capturing Earth and enslaving humanity in its quest for universal domination. All universes, all galaxies, all planets–all will kneel and submit to The Dominion.

The crap has hit the fan. UFS marines are overwhelmed. The odds look grim. Humanity teeters on the edge. The future of civilization now depends on Private Walker and his ragtag band of misfit UFS peacekeepers, armed only with weapons stolen from the enemy. He needs to figure this hero thing out fast, or all is lost.

Terminal Fallout (Ruins of the Galaxy #7) – J. N. Chaney and Christopher Hopper

A dying planet’s citizens cry out for rescue, but no one can save them all.

With the Galactic Republic in Ruins, and Capriana Prime uninhabitable after Moldark’s assault, Magnus and his team are left to pick up the pieces. Hundreds of thousands of refugees need to be evacuated before time runs out.

But the Gladio Umbra aren’t without their own problems.

In desperate need of rest, Colonel Caldwell arranges for the gladias to take refuge on a neutral planet. But Moldark’s defeat prompts several key team members to reassess their roles and make decisions that will dramatically shape the Gladio Umbra’s future.

Meanwhile, lingering questions remain about Master So-Elku as he amasses strength on Worru. Magnus is forced to decide what can be done to stop the Luma leader and his relentless quest for power.

That is, if Magnus can keep his team together.

Titan’s Legacy (Children of Titan #5) – Rhett C. Bruno

Ten years have passed since the end of the Titan Conflict. Now, the Titanborn stand on their own. And even though the war might be over, tensions between them and Earth have never been higher.

Malcolm Graves has spent the last decade living on Titan, the last place he’d ever expected to retire. But he’d made a vow to his daughter: protect her son Alann until his dying breath.

But when an old rival on Earth makes a threat against Alann’s claim as heir to the throne of Titan, it’s time to dust off the old pulse pistol and silence him. One problem. After he sets off to return to Earth for one last time, he awakens from cryo to find a stowaway. Desperate to see the worlds beyond Titan after spending his young, privileged life sequestered there, Alann had snuck aboard.

Together, they’ll have to survive the perils of Earth as enemies old and new gun for the future King of Titan. One wrong move, and it’ll be war again. A war that, this time, humanity may not survive.

Science Fiction New Releases: 04 April, 2020 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

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businessliveme · 6 years ago

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Lotus Announces Comeback With All-Electric Supercar, Geely Cash

On Tuesday in Shanghai, Lotus announced a concept for the first fully electric British hypercar, the Type 130.

Unveiled on the morning of the first day of this year’s Shanghai International Auto Show, the Type 130 would be the first all-new car from the Hethel, England-based automaker in 11 years.

The news arrived after word that Lotus parent company Geely would begin manufacturing cars in China, working from a new, $1.3 billion factory in Wuhan. A spokesman from Lotus declined to say when the factory would open but said the new vehicle would not be built there but at company factories in England.

But having come through a sporadic sales history in North America and an ownership change in 2017 to the privately held Chinese automotive giant Geely, Lotus executives say the new electric vehicle marks a turning point for the 71-year-old brand. If all goes as planned, the million-dollar Type 130 will serve as the halo car for a new generation of Lotus motor cars.

“It’s a statement of intent: Electric is part of the strategy going forward,” said Phil Popham, chief executive officer of Lotus. “For Lotus, it has to be all about the driving experience—and electric will drive the value of every car we make.”

Despite releasing scant details of the new car, and only a vague rendering at the Chinese show, Lotus said the Type 130 is in “advanced stages of development.” A physical representation of the car will be revealed along with full specifications later this year in London, Popham said. Production numbers are expected to be very low, though the CEO said he has already received letters of intent from several eager buyers.

The news of the Type 130 came with the additional announcement of the Lotus Evora GT4 Concept, a track-only racer with a lightweight carbon body, a 450-horsepower V6 engine, and a top speed of 170 mph. Both cars are examples of a renewed push at Lotus—after a roughly £1.5 billion ($1.97 billion) investment from Geely—to gain relevance in the key U.S. and Chinese automotive markets.

“Awareness is high for us in the U.S., but familiarity is low,” Popham said. “We consider ourselves a 71-year-old startup.”

Last year, Lotus sold just 1,630 vehicles globally; 228 of those were in the U.S. But there is indeed plenty of history to leverage. During the 1970s and ’80s, the brand was known for its racing success and association with the jet set—not the least of whom was James Bond himself. In 1978, Mario Andretti won America’s last Formula 1 World Championship as the driver for Lotus. Lotus cars such as the Esprit were beloved for their supercool style—élan strong enough to make owners overlook their famously quirky mechanics, tight interiors, and sometimes lackluster build quality.

As relatively fresh blood at Lotus—he joined in October last year—Popham seems to realize the potential to capitalize on the considerable brand heritage. He talked auspiciously about the millions of dollars Geely, which also owns Volvo and Polestar, has invested in the group, allowing it to begin work on a 2.3-mile track and experience center at company headquarters; a public restaurant; and a company museum. Lotus employs 1,100 people; between 300 and 500 additional hires will be added before the next five years in offices in China, the U.K., and Detroit, he said.

In time, there will also be a Lotus SUV and other sports cars built on new platforms, he said.

Popham also mentioned Lotus would consider opening a classics department where versions of fan favorites—the Eclat, Esprit, and Europa, say—could be restored with dead stock or modern components. Aston Martin, Jaguar, and Land Rover have successful programs doing the same.

When asked if Lotus would ever bring back the ’70s-cool wedge-shaped Esprit in particular—this was the one that became a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me—Popham eagerly if noncommittally nodded: “At some point, we’d love to have a car called Esprit again.”

The post Lotus Announces Comeback With All-Electric Supercar, Geely Cash appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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shenzhenblog · 6 years ago

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The Truth : Starting-Up and Facing Failures

Hit play and listen to this while reading: Eye of the Tiger

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Forward and share with all start-up founders, aspiring entrepreneurs and people who are looking start their own business. We deserve to know better and to know the truth.

Everyone writes about start-ups, entrepreneurship, starting a business, how to do it, but not many people tell you the dangers, the risks and the impacts you have to face when you ultimately fail. There had been sometime now that I keep hearing this slogan coming out of many Silicon Valley blogs and websites,

“Fail Fast And Fail Often”

these words capsulize the time of this new era which we are living in right now, the rise of the millennials. Gone are the days that it was everyone’s ambition to be a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer, we are now in a world where an entrepreneur is the coolest thing to be after the likes of young successful entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerburg (Facebook) and Steven Spiegel (Snapchat). These are the entrepreneurship miracles of our time, and they give us millennials, a new hope that we could someday also build such an empire of our own. But the truth being, not everyone gets to a billion dollar valuation, an IPO, or even funding, some don’t even get to make it past their first year, just like my company, LEPOULET.

Background Story

I been doing some form of business since I was old enough to remember, selling my toy trucks to my brother when I was 5, taking my Dad’s shaver and demanding he pays me to have it back when I was 7. My first real business venture was when I am 9 years old, I partnered up with my table buddy, Alastair P. and coughing out a few dollars of our little allowance we have back then to buy and sell little figurines, erasers, toys, rocket balloons to our primary school classmates. We slowly expanded our business to start selling to the older kids from the other levels as well, raking in a good profit for a 9 year old school kid. From then on, I was convinced that starting businesses is something I want and will do when I grow up.

My second venture was when I was 13 years old; I borrowed two hundred dollars from my dad and went out to buy boxes of party ribbon spray from a party supplies store near my home. I then hired my younger brother, cousins and had my dad drive us to Singapore’s busiest bar street, Clark Quay, on New Year Eve to sell them. We made two thousand dollars that evening and went to buy a big bowl of Haagen Dazs ice cream to celebrate. Let me tell you, that feeling was exhilarating!

Fast-forward 15 years later; having tasted these micro successes at a young age, I decide to embark on a bigger entrepreneurship adventure, opening my first restaurant on my 28th birthday with my buddy/business partner, StevC.

LEPOULET

Lepoulet, a new age rotisserie bar nested in the heart of booming Shenzhen, China, introducing French herb roast chicken paired with rice in an Asian twist. Till now, doing this was probably the most exciting and yet frightening time of my life. I quit my job in the luxury lifestyle industry, uprooted myself, moved to Shenzhen, China, devoted to a long distance relationship and embarked on quest of the great adventure of entrepreneurship.

It first started with an idea, then we went on to concept and design followed by the actual construction. Construction was a nightmare; it was delayed by 3 month when we clashed with Lunar New Year, the biggest holiday in China, this pretty much ate up all our capital. The restaurant finally opened on March 15th 2018.

I could say it was a little too ambitious and a little too ahead of its time. We had a good run and then ran right into a million other problems, and then, we failed.

Facing Failure

The closure of Lepoulet left me whole lot dirt to clean up and face, but also a lifetime of memories and experience. Lets face it, most start-ups fail, and over 70% of new restaurants shutter within their first year.

This is not my first time failing, I been rejected from college applications, jobs applications and girls, countless of times. For me, facing rejections and failure was extremely hard, there is too much in me of that Asian pride and the judgmental looks from my friends, family and mostly my parents certainly didn’t help. The cost of failure in Asia, especially so in Singapore was huge; the pressure, the labels, the comparisons between yourself and your peers, especially so with the introduction of social media where all your dirty laundry is aired to the public and all you see from everybody’s online lives just seems so, perfect.

I can tell you from experience, the first time failure happens, you are terrified, all your hopes, effort, aspirations are all sliding down the gutter into an endless pit of broken dreams.

The second time it happens, you are apprehensive, deeply concerned, but you know its not over until you say it is, until it is “pronounce dead by a certified doctor”.

The third time, the third is just another number in your book, you smile and it and say to yourself, “ lets get started on the fourth”.

1. Don’t Be Afraid To Fail

No one really cares when you do, there is just too much noise and distractions in this world and no one really cares about your failures, and how fabulously you failed. People are all failing around us, but yet no one really talks or writes about it because failure is boring. The biggest enemy here is in fact yourself, being able to face your failures, acknowledging it, accepting it and wear it like a badge of honor, a battle scar that you know will propel you to the next level.

2. Find Your Purpose

Life changes and adapts all the time. We all want different things in different stages of our lives, and it is important to know what your purpose is, what is meaningful to you and what matters the most. Find that and keep to that, your failures wouldn’t matter then, and success will come naturally.

3. Live Different Experiences And Meet Different People.

Try to live a different life, try to experience different things, go to different places and talk to different people. Your life experiences help mold and shape how we see and react to the world around us, it helps us grow as an individual and plus, it makes good stories.

4. Leave Your Comfort Zone.

I am not a fortuneteller, but yet I have safely for-told the fortunes of my family and peers before me. 7 years ago before I left for the United States, I told my mom that I am going to predict what my cousins and most of my friends in Singapore are going do, they are going to have a stable job, apply for a HDB (Singapore’s public housing), get married, have a kid, buy a car, and have a next kid, and upgrade to a private Condominium if income allows. Fast forward to 2017, seven years later, all these came true for my cousin, and it happening to my friends who are having their first baby now. Nothing is wrong with that life option, but yet, I do hear from a lot of them about regrets and how they would have, could have and should have done things differently. And now, 7 years later, I might still be single with no house nor children, but I have lived in Las Vegas, Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, started 3 businesses and traveled around the globe, doing what I love and am proud of. Leave your comfort zone and be the fish out of the water, and live. If there is something you want to do, or dream of doing, go do it if you could, but stop making excuses and complaining about it later.

Failure is something to be prized and praised. Failure is feedback. Failure is moving forward. It’s conscious and exerted effort toward something you’ve never done before. It’s incredible.

To the brave souls who are struggling with failure right now, if your business failed, or is failing right now and don’t think you can go on, know that you are lucky to have your shot, something that many people didn’t even get the chance to. And with the experiences of heartbreak of a failed business, you are going to come out stronger and also know that you got me, Justin O if you ever need a shoulder to cry on [email protected].

Just like how Rocky Balboa put it in his last movie,

“ It ain’t about how hard you hit.

It’s about how hard you can get hit

and keep moving forward.”

Don’t be afraid of failures and go for what you want whether is starting a business, a new relationship or new job. It is possible that you might fail or get rejected, but it’s more likely that you wont. Better to experience the brief, temporary pain of failure then to live forever with a sad regret for all the things you were too afraid to do in life.

So stop judging yourself and do it again, but this time, do it better.

Source: Justin Ong

The Truth : Starting-Up and Facing Failures was originally published on Shenzhen Blog

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newsintodays-blog · 6 years ago

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Pressures on Didi intensify after latest passenger killing

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/08/30/pressures-on-didi-intensify-after-latest-passenger-killing/

Pressures on Didi intensify after latest passenger killing

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s largest ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing has suspended its carpooling service after a passenger was killed, and is likely to face tighter oversight that will squeeze driver numbers and extend customer waiting times.

Logo of Didi Chuxing is seen at its headquarters building in Beijing, China August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

The incident, which follows a similar grisly killing by a Didi driver in May, triggered public and government backlash – and created an opening for rival services to chip away at Didi’s dominance in China, industry analysts say.

“There is certainly room for others to serve the market, and such incidents expose an apparent weakness in Didi’s business model: aggressive expansion without adequate control of the integrity of the drivers on their platform,” said Bill Russo, head of Shanghai-based consultancy Automobility Ltd.

Didi founder Cheng Wei and President Jean Liu issued a lengthy and deeply apologetic letter late on Tuesday, saying “our vanity overtook our original beliefs.” It was a humbling move for a Chinese company celebrated as a homegrown “unicorn” in state media.

The company controls 90 percent of the Chinese ride share market, according to a Bain report in May. Didi says it makes 10 billion trips a year.

Valued at $56 billion in a fundraising round last year, Didi is trying to expand globally and is considering a giant initial public offering as early as next year. It bought rival Uber’s China business in 2016.

But now it may need to tap the brakes. This week, regulators in major cities, including Beijing, Chongqing, Dongguan, Guangzhou and Shanghai, ordered company officials to suspend drivers without proper operating licenses and stop new registrations for unqualified drivers, government statements and local media said.

Tougher safety measures and driver screenings are likely, analysts said. Already, Didi says it rejects tens of thousands of unqualified driver applications every day.

Didi had already faced mounting public frustration over waiting times and concerns that it had not done enough after the May killing. Drivers complained that working for the company had become less lucrative.

In a statement sent to Reuters on Wednesday, the company said it would “do everything we can technologically and institutionally to prevent crime,” adding that it uses technology to improve efficiency.

It added that based on an eight-hour day, its drivers made 6,000 to 7,000 yuan ($873-$1,018) per month, roughly three times the 2,120 yuan minimum wage in Beijing.

In 2016, the official Beijing Youth Daily newspaper reported that drivers earned more than 10,000 yuan per month at the height of the subsidy war between Didi and Uber, which made them popular employers at the time.

There are more than 80 businesses with licenses to operate in what the Bain report said is a $30 billion Chinese ride-hailing sector, which includes Tencent-backed (0700.HK) Meituan Dianping, CAR Inc and Geely Holding Group’s CaoCao Car.

Meituan and five other companies either declined to comment or did not respond. CaoCao Car said in a statement it only hired full-time drivers and used no privately owned cars.

Signs were already emerging last year that hailing a ride with Didi was getting harder. In June 2017, average driver response rates fell 13 to 40 percent in some densely populated areas across China’s largest cities compared with a year earlier, according to data Didi sent to Reuters in January.

Didi declined to provide updated numbers, or data on wait times. However, domestic media reports this year include complaints over long wait times.

Li Qiangzhi of the state-backed China Academy of Information and Communications Technology told the China News Service this month that between March and July the number of ride calls accepted by all Beijing ride-hailing service drivers fell 22 percent, while the time to respond to a call was 3.4 times longer on average.

REGULATORY BACKLASH

Didi’s popularity in China has amplified the outcry and passenger frustrations.

In China, the number of rides per day on Didi’s platform rose to 20 million from 14 million after its deal with Uber in 2016.

That year, the government imposed stricter regulations, such as a rule in some places requiring drivers to have a permit to work and live in the city where they drive, which excludes the large pool of migrant workers.

Didi said Wednesday it supports 30 million drivers, and rides have surged to over 30 million a day.

The sudden regulatory scrutiny in the five days since the killing could signal a shift for Didi and the industry.

“Chinese technology companies have a culture of moving fast and breaking things, and while Didi got a free pass from the regulator for the first incident … it is unlikely to get off scot-free the second time,” Richard Windsor, a technology analyst, wrote on his Radio Free Mobile blog.

Transport officials in Dongguan, in southern China, told Didi that it had far more drivers operating in the city than the total number of ride-hailing drivers registered there, The Paper, an online news site, reported.

“There are still a large number of drivers and vehicles that do not have the regulatory qualification to operate,” it cited Dongguan transport officials as saying.

DRIVER GRUMBLING

Didi is also contending with dissatisfaction among drivers, with at least eight strikes in different cities across China in the past year, local media have reported.

Some of the strikes protested how much Didi collects from drivers, while others were over fines drivers had to pay after regulatory changes, the reports said.

Like passengers, drivers have other companies to choose from.

Four Didi drivers in Beijing told Reuters the company had in recent months persuaded them to obtain a certificate to register their cars as vehicles used for ride-hailing, an unpopular step.

“If we register our car, the car is forced to be scrapped after eight years. No one actually wants to get a certificate,” said one, surnamed Zhang.

Those four, as well as three other current or former Didi drivers, said they were frustrated with Didi’s cancellation of subsidies after the deal with Uber.

Even changes such as stricter dress standards for drivers in its premier service made life harder, they said.

“Last week, some people complained that my car is smelly. Didi then lowered my rate and cut 600 yuan ($87) out of my earnings. That means I did one week for nothing,” said one Beijing driver, surnamed Yang.

Additional Reporting by Yilei Sun in BEIJING and Beijing and Shanghai Newsrooms; Editing by Tony Munroe and Gerry Doyle

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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smartwebhostingblog · 6 years ago

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Pressures on Didi intensify after latest passenger slaying

New Post has been published on http://dubrovnikoutthere.com/pressures-on-didi-intensify-after-latest-passenger-slaying/

Pressures on Didi intensify after latest passenger slaying

Logo of Didi Chuxing is seen at its headquarters building in Beijing, China August 28, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

Didi founder Cheng Wei and President Jean Liu issued a lengthy and deeply apologetic letter late on Tuesday – a humbling move for a Chinese company celebrated as a homegrown “unicorn” in state media.