***Willow Pond***
Jennifer was at home, working on an article. She was deep in the research phase. Her article was on a company that was a front for a ponzi scheme. Jennifer was *this close* to discovering what exactly was going on inside the company.
She had decided she was going to go undercover and expose it herself.
She contacted her source to set it up. She had no idea who this person was, only that they worked there and they went by Charlie.
She and Charlie were communicating strictly by email.
She composed her email, and decided to get straight to the point.
"Charlie-
I have decided to come to the company and go undercover. I need you to help me out-are there any jobs available? It doesn't matter what the job is, I just need to get inside. Please call me-555-1624. Thanks, Louise".
She hit send and went back to the research. The name of the company was Kayser Incorporated, LLC. If her research and her source were correct, Kayser's CEO, David Blaylock was running a Ponzi scheme and promising returns on investments due to the stock cycles of the other companies that he owned that he couldn't possibly be able to make otherwise. Jennifer wanted to get inside, and get the evidence, and then bust him, while shining a light on the employees who were whistleblowing and willing to do the right thing.
The company is located in San Diego though, so she would have to spend the night there while she was undercover. She agonized about what to tell Jonathan though. He wasn't going to want her going alone and going undercover like this. But, she couldn't take him. Everyone would know who he was. She would just have to tell him she was going to a spa or a writer's conference.
She hated deceiving him, but she knew it would work out in the end.
She looked up writer's conferences in San Diego, and they just so happened to be having one the second part of the week that she was planning to be there, so she registered for it, and booked a room at a local spa for the first part of the week, and a hotel the second part.
Now, she wouldn't be lying to Jonathan. But she would be missing him like crazy, because being apart from him for 5 days was going to be hard. She decided to surprise him and book him a reservation for the spa part of her week so that he could join her.
Things had been so busy between them lately. They were like two ships passing in the night most nights. Jonathan was working hard on several deals and it kept him at the office late more nights during the week than not. For the past 3 nights, Jennifer had fallen asleep before he got home.
They were supposed to have a date night tonight and actually eat a meal together, but honestly, Jennifer didn't have her hopes up.
She called him at the office. She glanced at her watch, and saw that it was 1:45.
"Hi darling".
"Hi yourself…What do you want me to make us for dinner?"
"Whatever you are in the mood for is fine."
"How about chicken kebabs?"
"Sure. Is there something else you need from me?"
"Just to hear your voice".
"That's sweet". She could tell he was distracted.
"Jennifer, I'm busy- I have to go".
"Ok, no problem. I love-"
He hung up the phone.
She stared at it for a moment, and then slowly put it back in the cradle.
She got up and went to the kitchen and prepared the kebabs, and after they were marinating in the fridge, she went back to working on her article.
She had an email from Charlie.
"You cannot wait two weeks. You need to come now. I cannot get you a job, but I can get you community service status. So, come with a disguise and a fake name and you will need to fill out some paperwork. I will send it to you. When you get here, call my cell at 555-8789, and I will meet you at your hotel. You need to come now because I seriously think the SEC is about to get involved.-Charlie".
Jennifer called and changed her reservations to tomorrow through the next 5 days.
She worked on her article all afternoon. Around 5, she went and fired up the grill and grilled their kebabs. She figured Jonathan would be home around 6.
She waited and waited, but by 8 p.m., she knew their date night was over.
She ate alone, and then went upstairs and packed her things to go on the trip.
When he got home at 11, she was fast asleep.
***The next morning***
She slipped out of bed at 5 a.m. She quietly got ready and took her bags downstairs.
She had a quick breakfast and made him some coffee.
She left him a note.
"Jonathan-
Gone out of town for work. Be back in a few days. You can reach me at the Marriott in San Diego on Harbor Drive. Maybe some time apart will allow you to focus on your work even more. -J".
She left it under his keys on top of the piano.
She loaded the car and cried as she drove off. Deep down, she knew this was for the best. It didn't feel right because it just wasn't them. But, it was needed.
***Jonathan***
Jonathan woke up around 7, and realized she wasn't in the bed. It took him about an hour to realize that she wasn't even in the house. It wasn't like her to not tell him goodbye, but then again, he didn't really deserve it.
He had been working so hard because he was trying to get things squared away so that he could take time off and just spend it with her. In order to do that, though, he had to get these business deals squared away.
He and the board members were going back and forth about buying a company. Usually they agreed with him, but this time they kept pushing off the vote.
He decided to try and have all of this handled by the time she got back, so that they could go to the ranch for a couple weeks or the cabin. Hell, he would absolutely go wherever she wanted to go.
He had to figure out a way to tell her he wanted to take some time off. He didn't want her to worry about him, but he was just burned out and needed a sabbatical.
He thought about calling her, but he didn't want to disturb her. He decided to send her an email instead.
He went downstairs to the study and opened the laptop. Her email was still open.
Charlie had sent an email back to her titled "Meeting you".
He clicked on it, and saw that it was a short message.
"I will meet you at your hotel room tonight after dinner. We can have drinks if you want, just let me know. So excited to finally be able to show you all of it. Call me tonight when you check in. -Charlie".
Jonathan was intrigued. She hadn't told him about this at all, but then again…they hadn't exactly spent a lot of time together lately.
He left the house and headed to the office.
***Jennifer***
Jennifer stopped and shopped some on the way to San Diego. Check in time was 11, so she had some time to kill.
She stopped and got a gourmet coffee, and opened the sunroof and turned up her music.
She pulled up to the Marriott and checked in.
She went to her room and got settled.
She got out her travel laptop and opened her email. She called and left a message for Charlie that she would be in her room the rest of the day and to come by anytime.
She took a luxurious bubble bath, and ordered in room service.
She called Jonathan at the office.
"He's in a meeting, Mrs. Hart, and asked me to take a message."
"Ok Kelly. Can you just tell him I'm in my hotel room and give him this number? Thank you".
She hung up the phone.
She decided to keep herself busy researching and keep her mind off of Jonathan.
Around 4, there was a knock at the door.
She went and opened it. There stood a lovely young woman, about 10 years younger than Jennifer.
"Mrs. Hart?"
"Yes?"
"Hi, I'm Charlie".
"Oh, hello! Please, please come in".
Charlie came in and sat down on the bed. Jennifer joined her.
"I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare-It's just that we have been emailing this whole time, and I honestly thought that since your name is Charlie, I had been corresponding with a man."
"No harm done. My name is really Charlotte, but I was a tomboy as a kid and my grandpa shortened my name to Charlie".
"I see".
Charlie pulled out a bunch of files for Jennifer.
"Ok, so you can keep these. These are copies I made for you. These show that the CEO took in money from these people, and I highlighted their names. The people believe they are getting insurance from him. And then these are bank statements that show that he deposited the money from these people into his own account."
"Oh, perfect! Thank you!"
"How did you stumble on this story?"
"Well, Interestingly enough, I was in the beauty salon last week, and heard a lady talking about how her mother was taken in by a company. She paid faithfully on insurance for about 24 years and then when she needed it, they wouldn't honor it. So, when I got home, I decided to research them, and I called up one of my professional contacts, and asked if they knew anyone with ties to the company and they gave me your extension."
"Perfect. Well, hopefully your story will be what brings down the CEO".
"Who is the CEO?"
"Damon Westbridge. He inherited his father's business, and built it into this empire. All of his sons have high executive positions, and his wife is on the board. They all protect each other. Up till now, nobody has been able to infiltrate their tight circle".
"I see. Are all the family members in the office every day?"
"The wife isn't. But she comes to all the board meetings. His sons, Maddox, Preston, and Zeke are there every day and run things in the dad's absence. Damon is there every day but Friday, typically".
"So, what do you do there?"
"Well….I am in payroll. But I have another connection as well".
"What's that?"
"Preston Westbridge is my ex-husband".
"Oh my. That complicates things, I am sure".
"Yes, it does. That's why I was willing to meet you and give you the evidence but I wasn't willing to just come out and speak up".
"I understand that completely. Now, I promise you that I will keep your name out of the article. And I never print anything unfavorable or inaccurate about the subject of anything I write. And in this case, the family won't be the subject. The subject will be the other employees who are trying to help the victims."
"Perfect! We have made some plans, so as soon as the SEC shuts down the business, we will take our contact sheet with the victims names and numbers on it, and contact them. We are going to have a silent auction and cocktail party, we are going to have a few benefits and we are basically going to do whatever we can to pay back what they lost because by the time this all goes through the courts, it will be years before they see a dime."
"That's so great that you guys are going to help them out. That part will definitely be the focus of my article".
They chatted some more and went over all the evidence, and then Charlie left.
"Thank you so much!"
"Oh, and I decided that it would be better if you didn't come volunteer. We don't want the family to see you and get suspicious. So, if you want to volunteer with this, then maybe you could volunteer for one of the benefits?"
"Absolutely".
"I will get you more evidence, until the SEC gets involved."
"I tell you what. This is my home address. Mail everything you have to this address. I work from home most of the time anyways."
Jennifer wrote down the address and handed it to her.
"Perfect. I will send you whatever I can find before the SEC raid. I am confident that someone is calling them by the end of next week."
"Thank you so much for coming and helping me with this, I really appreciate it".
"Thank you for exposing it and spotlighting what we are doing for the victims".
Jennifer gave her a slight hug and then Charlie left. Jennifer ordered room service and then sat down on the bed and called Jonathan.
***Willow Pond***
Jonathan had just come in and changed clothes. He grabbed something to eat while he was downstairs and took it upstairs. He was changing clothes in the bathroom when the bedroom phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi darling".
"Hi. Where are you?"
"At the hotel in San Diego".
"Get a nice room?"
"It's ok. It's lonely without you". 'Just like our house has been the past few weeks', Jennifer thought.
"How long do you think you will be there?"
"Not long. My source for the story has really come through, so I think I might be able to shorten my trip."
"What is your story about?"
"I can't say just yet…but it's going to be big".
"Is that all you are doing in San Diego, working on a story?"
"Yes, what do you mean?"
"Your friend, what's his name, Charlie was it, left a message for you stating that he couldn't wait to meet you at your hotel".
"Jonathan-"
"What exactly will you two be doing at your hotel?"
"Jonathan-"
"There's more to this "working on a story" bit, isn't there?"
"Jonathan-"
Just then there was a very loud knock on the door.
"Hang on, someone's at my door."
She went to get it. It was room service. She had put the phone down, and Jonathan could hear a male voice.
"Thank you so much, and here's a little something for you".
"Thank you very much".
Jennifer came back to the phone.
"Ok I'm back".
"I would hate to keep you from your precious Charlie".
"Jonathan, I don't like the tone you are taking or what you are accusing me of. This isn't like you. I don't know what is going on with you, but something sure the hell is. I have never given you a reason to be suspicious of me before, and I am sure not going to start now. I'll have you know that the person at the door was room service with my dinner. I will be home in a few days, and maybe, just maybe, you will be back to your old self by then. And for what it's worth, I love you".
She hung up the phone. She felt the tears in her eyes and tried to stop them, but lost. She turned on the TV for company, and ate her dinner, and then changed and got ready for bed.
***The next morning***
Jennifer woke up around 7 and couldn't go back to sleep. She wanted so badly to call Jonathan and apologize, but for what? She hated it when they fought, and she just wanted to make peace with him. But this time, he was jumping to conclusions without knowing the real story, and without even asking her what was going on. She decided not to call him, on the off chance that they would argue again and it would put her in a bad mood.
She opened up her travel laptop and sent him an email instead.
It simply contained one sentence.
"I love you".
She hoped he read it and that it was all he needed.
***Jonathan***
Jonathan woke up and showered and headed for the office. He stopped and picked up breakfast, and was there pretty early.
He had slept fitfully, as he always did when he and Jennifer had a disagreement.
He hated fighting with her, and he hated being distracted by work to the point where they didn't talk, but sometimes things couldn't be helped. He opened up his laptop, and began pulling up work documents that he needed to go over before his meeting. His computer dinged, indicating that he had a new email. He opened it and saw that it was from Jennifer.
He read it, and responded right away.
"I love you too. Can we try again with another phone call tonight?"
He hit send and then printed the documents.
Shortly around 10, he stepped into his meeting.
***Jennifer***
Jennifer worked on her article all morning, and around lunch time, she realized she was having a hard time concentrating. She was restless. She needed to hear his voice. She wished like hell he had come to San Diego with her, but she knew if he was like his old self, she wouldn't have gotten much writing done. If he wasn't, they would have both been miserable.
She picked up the phone and called his office.
"Hi Kelly. Can I speak to Jonathan please?"
"Hi Mrs. Hart. He just stepped into a meeting. Would you like me to go get him?"
"No, that's alright. I tell you what, do you know what time his meeting will be over? I can call him back".
"Let me see. He will be meeting with Kayser Incorporated till 1, and then-"
"I'm sorry. Did you say Kayser Incorporated?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Ok. Can you just tell him that I called and have him call me?"
"I certainly will, Mrs. Hart".
Jennifer hung up the phone and stared straight ahead in disbelief.