The Tortelloni Account

A romance! Yes! But not the usual
domestic. This is a tale of boardrooms, business and the
perseverance of a young woman in a male dominated
environment. The setting is the world of ships and the sea
with overtones of major criminal fraud.
Jane
Ashton, single mother of a teenage daughter, is employed as
a personal assistant, PA, to a wealthy business tycoon, a
John Skirton. They are close associates, a working
friendship which has matured over several years and provides
Jane with an above average income and an exceedingly
comfortable lifestyle. Her daughter is at a private school
and their home environment in Rochester is a well appointed
apartment. Her security of employment appears unexpectedly
threatened and then her future prospects are altered in a
dramatic fashion. She becomes involved in a Shipping Company
and seafaring, opening new and exciting experiences. She is
to meet an older man who may become her romantic interest
for many years. It is not an easy relationship as their
particular personal histories create problems in trust and
belief for their joint future together. Jane's daughter,
Anne, has an important role within the evolving scene. The
circumstance of an only child in a single parent family and
her own personal experiences earlier and subsequent to her
Mother's first steps in this burgeoning romantic
liaison.
A collision between cargo freighters
offshore from Beachy Head in the English Channel occurring
some twelve years before the period of the storyline
features significantly in the romantic saga as does the
earlier business activities of Jane's employer mentor.