Stranded in Paradise ( 2014 )

In Len Connor taking over the helm of successful Denver-based online retailer Connor.com from his father, its HR director, fifteen year employee Tess Nelson, who was also Connor Sr.'s right-hand person, is tasked with letting affected staff know of their termination in Len's streamlining aka downsizing of the company. What Tess did not envision was that, instead of the promotion to VP she was expecting, she too is part of that downsizing in Len's decision to outsource the HR functions, she who is eligible to apply for that consulting position. What Tess decides to do is secretly attend an HR conference at a Puerto Rico resort to which she was scheduled to attend on Connor.com's dime before her dismissal, attending now in order to network to get a new job. Starting with the taxi ride to Denver Airport, nothing seems to go right on this trip for Tess. What may change for Tess is meeting two people in Puerto Rico, Carter McConnell, who travels the world volunteering on humanitarian projects, currently on the UN's clean water project, and ex-Hollywood actress and now Puerto Rico resident Stella Demur, in combination with Hurricane Alana seemingly on track to hit Puerto Rico's shores. In the process, Tess may evaluate her life and question if she is truly happy, a corporate job which was entrenched into her psyche by her mother, Mona Nelson, due to Tess' father abandoning the family when Tess was a toddler.—Huggo