Following Your Dreams Without Support by M.J. Kane

In life, there are times when we follow the mold of what is expected from us. What type of grades we bring home from school, where we decide to go to college, who we date, and what type of career path we choose to follow. You trudge along without thought or care, content to be stuck in the mold.

What happens when you realize all of your hard work has been done for someone else? What about your ambitions and desires? Do you stay on the path, or do you break free and do what makes you happy?

Yasmine Phillips is no longer satisfied with her life.  After working for her family’s business for the past four years, she’s determined it’s not what she wants to do with the rest of her life. After the end of another failed relationship, she decides enough is enough, it’s time to take care of herself and find her own happy. After months of research and planning, she is ready to see her desire to be a Fashion Consultant come to fruition. Confident in her skills and experience, she has no doubt her parents will support her entrepreneurial spirit.

Or will they?

Excerpt:

Nervous, I took a deep breath, steadied my voice, and let Zack and Ms. Belinda’s positive comments about my business calm me. If strangers could believe in me, why wouldn’t my family? I glanced at both of my parents. Keep it simple, concise, and to the point. Anything else and they would lose interest.

“I want to thank the both of you for all of the hard work you’ve put into running this business over the years. Your work ethic has not only been taught, it has been instilled in me. Seeing you guys have your dream come to fruition has made me want to follow in your footsteps and start a business of my own.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my father’s eyebrows crease.

“What business?” Mom asked.

I cleared my throat. “I want to be a fashion consultant.”

The room went silent. I glanced over at Brandon who’d taken sudden interest in the bottom of his shoe.

“A fashion consultant?” My mother responded.

I nodded, retrieved extra copies of my business plan from my bag, and distributed it around the table. I opened up my copy and began going over my research information, charts, and business set. My parents remained silent as I went through the details.

“So that’s what you’ve been doing with your time.” My mother shot a knowing look at my father when I was done.

Dad leaned forward to rest his elbows on the kitchen table, his fingers steepled. “How much are you asking for?”

I gave the number and didn’t flinch.

“Are you kidding me?” My mother snapped. “Yasmine, do you know how much it has taken us to get the new place up and running?”

“Yes, ma’am. What I’m asking for is nowhere near as much.”

“That might be true, but you’re asking anyway. What I don’t understand is your timing. We’ve got three hotels to run. Now you want to dip into that budget?”

My father opened his mouth, but my mother silenced him with a raised hand. “For the last three months, your job performance has suffered. Now I know why. Your head is stuck somewhere else entirely. You have no intention of continuing to support this family.”

“What? Yes I do. That’s part of my plan. My goal is to have Dreams become a side business run out of the hotel, not something that is done full-time or off site. My dream is to—”

“Your dream is going to screw this family’s hard work.” Her lips tightened.

I sat back; my spark of enthusiasm fizzled out. “I would never let that happen.”

“I seriously doubt it.” She pointed to the pile of papers spread across the table. “If you were distracted during planning, how are you going to balance that and manage the hotel?”

“It wasn’t just this…I had a lot of stuff on my plate, Mom. Ebony’s wedding—”

“Exactly. It didn’t take much for you to make mistakes. Even though they were minor, they affect everything. I’m sorry, Yasmine. I can’t support this. Our family has worked hard to get things to where they are.”

“But—”

My father held a hand out to both of us. He looked at my mother before he faced me. “Yasmine, what your mother is saying is you came to us with this at a bad time. Opening the new location has been stressful, but thankfully we’ve made it happen.” He shot a sideways glance at my mother; her lips tightened even more. “Investing in a new project before we’ve recouped any money already spent is not a reasonable investment. If you put it to the side and wait for say…six months, then maybe we’ll be able to help.”

“Six months! Are you kidding me? You’re telling me I can’t do what I want to make myself happy. I have to continue to keep your dream alive and kill mine?”

I stood abruptly, my chair scraped against the tiled kitchen floor. Every bone in my body shook as tears welled in my eyes. I was pissed, angry, and disappointed. There was no way to keep it in.

“Excuse me?” My mother pushed her chair back from the table and stood, too.  “This dream, as you call it, paid your way through college. This dream kept food in your stomach and a roof over your head, not to mention paid for that car you’re driving.”

“And I appreciate everything, I really do. But at what point am I going to stop helping everyone else around me and find my own happiness? When can I do something for me?” My breath ragged, a tear found its way down my cheek. I forced myself to ignore it, not wanting to give in to the weakness.

“Well, don’t let any of us stop you,” she spat, her arms spread wide. “You’re a grown woman. If you decide you no longer want to work for this family, you are more than welcome to find another means of gainful employment.”

I gasped. Her words were a slap to my face.

####

 ***TRIVIA QUESTION! What type of trouble did Yasmine have at work?***

A devastating breakup leaves Yasmine Phillips in shambles. Unable to trust another man with her heart, she focuses on the one thing she can control—starting her own business.

When her computer crashes, taking months of hard work with it, she must rely on computer genius Zachariah Givens to save her. A complete opposite of men from her past, she doesn’t expect the passion that ensues. But just as she finds happiness, she learns the truth about the other women in Zachariah’s life.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

M.J. Kane stumbled into writing. An avid reader, this stay at home mom never lost the overactive imagination of an only child. As an adult she made up stories, though never shared them, to keep herself entertained. It wasn’t until surviving a traumatic medical incident in 2006 that she found a reason to let the characters inhabiting her imagination free.  Upon the suggestion of her husband, she commandeered his laptop and allowed the characters to take life. It was that, or look over her shoulder for men caring a purple strait jacket. And the rest, as they say, is history.

No longer a television addict, if M.J. isn’t reading a book by one of her favorite authors, she’s battling with her creative muse to balance writing and being a wife and mother. She resides in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia with her high school sweetheart, four wonderful children, and two pit bulls. MJ can often be found hanging out at the local library where she is director of a local writer’s group, or online connecting with readers and other authors. Other activities she enjoys include: creating custom floral arrangements, assisting her children in their creative pursuits of music and art, and supporting her husband’s music production business, 3D Sounds.

MJ’s debut novel, A Heart Not Easily Broken, Book one of the Butterfly Memoirs, became an instant Amazon Bestseller in Multicultural Romance and African-American Literature and Fiction within hours of publication. It has also spent time on the African-American Women’s Fiction and African-American Romance Bestsellers lists.

You can find MJ on social networking sites, sharing writing tips, talking about music, life, and family. She’s always excited to meet new people. Connect with her via the websites below.

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