***Willow Pond***
Jennifer was at home, working on an article. She was investigating some nurses who were working to erase the stigma that surrounded women's mental health.
She was almost finished with her article and was about to submit it when the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer, hi. It's Marcia. I have great news for you!"
"Good, I could use some!"
"Well, your book has been approved for publishing, and they put an advanced order of 500,000 copies, along with giving you an advance. They want a book tour, a press junket, and we already have several media outlets wanting you to do interviews".
"That's wonderful. When do I have to leave?"
"3 days".
"How long will I be gone?"
"2 weeks".
Marcia gave her a list of the cities and told her she would call her back with the rest of the arrangements.
"Congrats, Jennifer. You did good!"
"Thank you, Marcia. I'll talk to you soon".
She hung up the phone and called Jonathan at the office.
"Hi darling".
"Hi sailor. What time do you think you will get home tonight?"
"5 or 5:30".
"Perfect. I am going to order us dinner, can you pick it up on your way home?"
"Sure. Are we celebrating something?"
"We certainly are. Tonight calls for La Scala, and you and me, no interruptions, no distractions".
"My kind of night".
"Mine too. I will see you when you get home".
"I love you, Red."
"I love you, Jonathan Charles".
She blew him a kiss and hung up the phone.
She went upstairs and started getting her clothes ready to pack. It always took her at least a day to plan it all out. She also put on his favorite black negligee. She got out the large suitcases and put them on the window seat.
She was so excited. She hoped that Jonathan would be able to come with her at least for part of the tour.
After she got her outfits squared away, she went downstairs and made them both a cocktail. She always tried to have a cocktail waiting for him when he got home.
She figured she would go visit Max tomorrow before she left town. He always looked forward to her visits. It had only been a few months since he had gone to live in the facility. For now, he was holding his own, but his doctors had told him it was only a matter of time at this point.
Jonathan had taken his moving out pretty hard, but Jennifer had been there to pull him through. Max was more than just a friend to them. Aside from Jennifer, he was all the family that Jonathan had.
She grabbed his calendar off the study desk and grabbed hers so that she could map it out.
If everything stayed the way it was, Jonathan would be able to fly to New York with her, and stay with her till Sunday, when she went to Boston. From there, it would be Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, Denver, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and then home to Los Angeles. She would then have two weeks of California dates for book signings and media appearances. It would be a whirlwind, but she was excited.
She just needed Jonathan to get home so that she could tell him.
***Hart Industries***
Jonathan was finishing up at work, and was about to leave. He was anxious to get home to Jennifer, and hear what her good news was. He had finished putting the files in his briefcase when Kelly came in with a message for him.
"Mr. Hart, this was delivered by messenger just now".
"Thank you".
He opened it as she left the office.
It was a simple piece of paper, typed.
"If you don't go through with this deal with Freemont Corp, your wife will be in danger. Your choice".
No signature. No return address on the envelope.
He called the company that messengered the letter to him, but they couldn't give him any information.
He was livid. How was he supposed to respond to this without knowing who he was up against?
He called Stanley into his office.
"I want you to investigate everyone associated with Freemont Corp, and see what you can find out. And I want a detailed report about what the results will be if I merge with them, and what my other options are, such as buying the company outright, etc".
"Right away, Mr. Hart".
He finished packing up his files and headed home to Jennifer.
***Willow Pond***
Jonathan picked up what she had ordered from La Scala, and a dozen roses from his regular florist. He called the house on the way home.
"Hi darling".
"Hi. I'm on my way home".
"Great, glad to hear it".
"Not as glad as I am to be doing it".
"I bet. Long day?"
"You could say that. Lots of meetings".
"Where are you now?"
"About 10 minutes away".
"I have a cocktail waiting for you, and I already slipped into something more comfortable and the table is set….all I need is you".
"And all I need is you…forget the rest."
"You are so romantic".
He talked to her till he pulled through the gate.
"Is the front door locked?"
"Yes."
"Well, I'm here, so you can open it now".
"Great".
She hung up and unlocked the door and opened it and found him standing on the other side.
"Hi, Mr. H."
"Hello, Mrs. H."
She kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He broke the kiss and then handed her their dinner and shut the door. He locked it behind them and set the alarm.
"Darling, what other doors did you use today?"
"This one and the one to the patio".
"Ok. I'll check those first".
She took their food to the kitchen. He was running around like a crazy person checking all the doors.
"Jonathan, what's going on?"
"Nothing. Just making sure we are alone, is all".
She stared at him for a minute.
"I'm not buying it, you're up to something".
"Jennifer-"
"Out with it. Come on".
She walked over to him and put her hands on his chest.
"Do you remember when we got married and I swore in our marriage vows that I would always love and protect you? Well, that's what I am doing".
She grimaced at him a little bit, and then decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"Well if you are my knight in shining armor, then I am the luckiest lady in distress there ever was".
He kissed her nose.
"Darling, are you going to change clothes before we eat? I can get it ready while you do".
"That sounds great. I'll be right down".
She got their dinners plated and lit the candles on the table, and poured them some champagne.
He came back down, wearing her favorite sweatpants and a Grey Henley. He looked so sexy in his tight sweatpants.
He brought her the flowers that he had gotten her.
She put them in water and put them in the center of the table.
They sat down to eat, and he lifted his glass to her.
"To my beautiful wife".
They clinked glasses and kissed and then took a sip.
"Darling…what are we celebrating?"
"Well, I got a phone call today. And it seems as if-"
The phone rang.
"Hold that thought, I'll get it".
He got up and answered the phone.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Hart, it's Stanley".
"Hi Stanley".
Jennifer was mad. They had promised no distractions, no interruptions.
She was done with her plate by the time he got back to the table.
"Sorry darling".
"It's alright".
She sat with him while he finished eating, and he was telling her all about his meeting that day with Murray Financial.
She was trying not to be hurt that he hadn't asked her about her news again, but it was hard.
There was a lull in the conversation so she got up and started doing the dishes.
He brought his dishes to her, and after she had put them in the dishwasher, she turned and embraced him.
"Jonathan-"
The phone rang again.
"Sorry honey. Be right back".
She sighed. She left the room and he didn't even notice.
He answered the phone. It was Stanley again.
"Mr. Hart, I did some checking on Freemont's CEO, Grant Matthews. There isn't anything concrete as far as charges or convictions, but multiple business owners have reported that he threatens them with various things if they back out of the deal that he proposed with them. If what they are saying is true, he basically strong arms people into doing business with them."
"Has he followed through on any of them?"
"They all reported that they had been attacked, assaulted, victimized, etc., but there is no concrete evidence that will tie him to any of it".
"I see. Ok, well keep investigating and if you find anything else, let me know. Thanks, Stanley".
Jonathan hung up.
He found Jennifer upstairs in their room.
"I'm sorry darling. That was important".
"Yeah, well, at one time, I was important to you too".
"Jennifer, how can you say that? You still are important to me. You know that".
"Am I? I have been trying to tell you something for the past hour. Every time I start, the phone rings and you run off and answer it. All I wanted was one night with you without any distractions or interruptions. And instead, we've barely spent 10 minutes together without the phone ringing".
"It's business, Jennifer. That's important too".
"Well, it's a good thing that your business is important to you".
"Us. It's important to us".
"It can keep you company the next three weeks while I'm gone".
"Gone? Gone where?"
"That was the surprise. I got a book tour. My book is being published and I have a press tour, book signing tour and will be gone three weeks. I leave in 2 days".
"No. I'm sorry, Jennifer. But I forbid you to go".