Morning all. Is everyone ready for a new writing prompt? I know I am more than ready to start this day. I have a huge to do list that the elves definitely increased in the night. Mostly because I’ve added things like wrapping Christmas gifts to the daily list as I have finally managed to secure both paper and tape. I know both, at the same time. Which you wouldn’t think would be so difficult but the tape keeps disappearing. But that is my lunch time adventure. For now, we have the prompt. so Timers set and off we go.
Not entirely sure what the story is but I kind of like the characters.
Wednesday, December 3rd: He pulled his gloves off slowly.
He pulled his gloves off slowly. It was deliberate and slightly menacing. Kevin watched and wondered if Austin meant to look like some sort of movie villain or if it was an unintentional side effect. Many things Austin did were designed to intimidate.
Kevin couldn’t fault them, they were intimidating. He just knew better.
Austin was born into a powerful family. They had wealth and control. For all of Austin’s life they ran enough of the city that it felt like they ruled the world or at least pulled the strings behind the curtain. People did not cross the Armstrong family.
Yet their power was not absolute, despite what they seemed to believe and project. Austin himself had very little power. He was given an allowance each month. It was a very generous allowance, more than many people made in a year even though Austin complained bitterly about the ‘miserly’ amount.
The bitterness was due less to the amount and more to the fact that it was half of what his older brother received. Anything less than the amount the favorite son received was a mere pittance regardless of the amount.
Austin was given the allowance and allowed to go his own way. From what Kevin learned he was not well regarded by the rest of the family. He was given enough to maintain the image, after all if one of the Armstrongs looked like they weren’t prospering then it could reflect poorly on the family as a whole.
Once the monthly stipend was given the rest of the family more or less wanted Austin to go away and try not to do anything that would publicly embarrass them. Beyond that, they didn’t care where he was or what he did, as long as it wasn’t involved in any of the family business.
Kevin did his research there once dealing with Austin became a routine occurrence. The family tried to bring him into the business repeatedly. It never ended well. While Austin wasn’t dim, he lacked the capacity to focus on anything that wasn’t himself. His world began and ended with his wants, his desires and his perceptions.
His inability to see anyone else’s point of view led to several very spectacular failures, while his inattention to anything that wasn’t himself caused others. Both led to his banishment from the family owned businesses.
They were more than content to let him be someone else’s problem.
Keven fought down a smile as he recalled Austin’s brother Trevor’s assessment of him. It had been quite colorful and thinking of it always helped when Austin put on a show. While Kevin wasn’t usually one for prying with Austin, it was essential to know exactly how much his powerful family would back him up.
‘Although they aren’t as powerful as they once were,’ Kevin thought smugly as he watched Austin pace the room. He gripped his gloves with his right hand and slapped them into his left as he paced the length of the room, gaze roving as though he was conducting an inspection.
Ten til Midnight 