***Thursday***
Jennifer was at work and hit a dead end in her research. The people who pulled off the art heist were all willing to give interviews and had, in fact, given several interviews. However, the victim had basically become a recluse after the trial.
She contacted a guy in the legal department who did PI work on the side and asked him to see what he could find out.
Around 1, Millie stopped by her desk.
"So, you coming to Supper club tonight?"
"Yes, Jonathan is picking me up at 6".
"Jonathan? You mean the hottie from last month?"
"The one and only. We had dinner last night at my place, we are doing Supper club tonight, and we have a date for tomorrow night".
"Seriously? Wow, when you hook them, you really hook them".
"You're telling me. I asked him to dinner to ask him about the trust thing, for tomorrow. But he took an earlier flight and came by my place and ended up staying for dinner and then he told me last night that he had planned on asking me out for this weekend tonight at Supper Club ever since the last one".
"Get it girl!"
"Sandstone, Edwards! That's enough chit chat! This is a workplace, not a beauty salon".
"I'll see you tonight".
Millie slinked back to her desk and she and Jennifer both got to work.
Jennifer was all prepared to leave at 4, but her boss had other ideas.
"This article needs to be proofed, again".
"Oh, come on, I proofed it 4 times. I'm meticulous about that, you know that".
"Well, it needs to be done again, and you aren't leaving till it is".
She rolled her eyes and took her article back to her desk and proofed it again.
She turned it in again at 4:45, and turned to walk out of the office.
"Edwards-where do you stand on your latest article?"
She turned back with an irritated look on her face.
"I'm almost finished with it. It's coming along quite nicely".
"It had better be on my desk tomorrow morning at 8".
"Well, considering I'm scheduled to be here until 9 and you don't ever unlock your office till 10, we both know it won't be. I will have to you by the original deadline, of tomorrow at 5".
She grabbed her things and clocked out, without another word.
She quickly hailed a cab and hurried home, so she could change and be ready when Jonathan got there.
She decided to be comfortable. She put on some red palazzo pants, black sandals and a black sleeveless top.
She was changing purses when Jonathan knocked on the door.
She opened it and invited him in.
"Hi, come on in".
She closed the door and then hugged him a minute.
"Just let me finish switching purses and I'll be ready".
"Take your time".
"Oh, it won't take me that long".
A few seconds later she was finished.
"Ok, I'm ready".
She went and turned a light on, and then locked the door behind them.
They stepped into the elevator.
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"You look gorgeous tonight".
"Thank you".
They walked out and Jonathan opened the door of a limo for her.
"We're taking a limo?"
He climbed in after her.
"I use a car service sometimes when I'm in town. After what happened with the cab driver last night, I decided it might be best to use them today".
"Good idea".
She turned to him and straightened his tie and then patted his chest.
"Thank you. I have the worst luck with ties".
"You do? You had it almost perfect. It just needed a woman's touch".
Pretty soon, they were at the restaurant.
They walked in and found that they were the first ones there. They got a table for 10 and sat down.
Millie and Hayley arrived then, and then Mark and Evan. Hayley had brought a new guy, Will, and Evan had brought his girlfriend, Tricia.
Millie and Jennifer ordered cocktails, and Jonathan ordered a couple appetizers for the table.
The waitress brought their drinks.
Millie raised hers up.
"To making it through the worst day ever with the most unreasonable boss ever".
"I'll drink to that". Jennifer clinked glasses with her and then took a long gulp of her Cape Cod.
Jonathan leaned over.
"Bad day at work?"
"I wouldn't say bad day. I would say bad afternoon, sort of."
"Yeah, the boss man caught us chatting and acted like we were kindergartners caught playing at nap time. And then to punish us, even though we stopped when he told us to, he made us do all these unreasonable things".
"Unreasonable how?"
"Like he handed me an article that I turned in to him and had me proofread it again right when I was going to walk out the door. I'm meticulous about my articles, I would never turn anything in that had to be proofread, that's just not me. And he knows that. And he insisted that I proof it again, so I sat down and did so. And then he tells me that I have an 8 a.m. deadline tomorrow for the rest of my current article."
"What did you say?"
"I told him that since I wasn't scheduled to be there until 9, and he never unlocks his office till well after 10, that he and I both knew that my article wouldn't be on his desk at 8 a.m., but that it would be there by the original deadline of 5 p.m.".
"You got off easy. He made me completely rework my article and then had me fill out a sheet indicating how I spent every minute of the day yesterday".
"He's just being ridiculous. If he keeps this up, I will quit".
"Me too. I might just transfer to the Post".
"I've been toying with the idea of working freelance. I would probably give that a shot".
"Has your boss always been like this?"
"No. And as long as we've worked there, we've been friends. Everyone knows that. I mean, it's not a secret. And he's never had a problem with us chatting till yesterday".
"And it's never affected our work, either, not the least little bit".
"I think he's jealous."
"Why?"
"Jennifer, it's no secret, he's always had a thing for you".
"What? Ben Porter has a thing for me? Please. If that's the case, he needs to take lessons in how to show a girl you like her, because he certainly doesn't act like it".
The waitress came and took their orders, and then left them again.
Jennifer was excited to try the Chicken Mole, and Jonathan stuck to his favorite steak and scallops with loaded mashed potatoes.
"So, after this, why don't we go back to my place and have a drink?"
She nodded.
"I'd like that".
Jennifer finished her drink and then ordered a sparkling water with ice.
She fed him a bite of her chicken mole, and he fed her a grilled scallop.
"That's amazing".
"Yeah, yours is pretty good too".
Everyone was watching them and could see what was happening, except them.
Jennifer insisted on paying when the bill came and Jonathan finally let her.
Everyone went outside and took a group photo, and then headed their separate ways.
Jonathan called for the car service again, and they took it to his apartment.
He held the door open for her as they came inside.
He made them both a cocktail and they relaxed on the couch some.
"So how long are you in town this time?"
"Sunday night".
"That's nice".
"What do you normally do on the weekends in New York?"
"Well, I like to go for a run in Central Park, and maybe brunch at Spin Tower. And if there's a musical or a play I want to see, I usually get tickets for that as well".
"Those are all good ideas".
"What were you thinking?"
"I'm not sure, really. I like the running idea".
"Do you run often?"
"Yes, at least once or twice a week. And I swim laps in my pool in California".
"Lucky you. I would give anything to be able to swim each day".
"So, besides running, what else do you like to do?"
"Well, I take a weekly yoga class on Tuesdays. And I love a good Sunday matinee".
She finished her cocktail and leaned forward to set it on the coffee table.
"So, where are we going tomorrow night?"
"Well, all the arrangements have been made. It's a surprise, and I'll pick you up at 6:30".
"How dressed up do I need to be?"
"Dressy".
"I love how you always keep me on my toes, Mr. Hart".
"Well, I do try to keep things exciting. However, you still have the medal for surprising me with the marriage thing".
She chuckled at him.
"It was a surprise to me too".
He picked up a remote and turned on the stereo and wrapped an arm around her.
"This is nice".
"Yeah, it is".
The phone rang so he leaned over and answered it.
"Hello? I see. Ok, we will be right down".
He hung up.
"That was the driver of the car service. He said if we are going to take you back to your apartment, we need to do it now because he is going off shift in an hour".
"Oh that's ok. I can take a cab".
"This late at night? Absolutely not. I won't hear of you doing that, it's not safe for a lady to take a cab at night in the city. I'll have the car service take us back to your place and then I'll take a cab back here later".
He took her hand and led her to the door.
"Oh, hang on a minute".
She went and grabbed her glass and took it to the sink and rinsed it really quickly.
"You don't have to worry about that, Jennifer".
"You don't have to clean up after me, Jonathan."
She grabbed her purse and then his hand and they headed to the elevator.
She snuggled up to him in the car as they rode along.
'God, he smells so good'.
They arrived at her apartment and he walked with her to the door.
They came inside and she kicked her shoes off.
"Make yourself comfortable".
She headed to the bedroom and threw her hair up into a ponytail and put on a pair of capri sweats and an old college t-shirt.
He was sitting on the couch when she came out.
"Want to watch some tv?"
"Sure".
She turned the tv on and they caught the last few minutes of a news magazine program.
"Tonight, on In Focus: How much time do you spend really kissing your partner? Research suggests that the best way to further your relationship is to keep the lip locks coming. Researchers in Italy found that couples who spent at least 10 minutes a day kissing had a healthier, stronger relationship than those who spent less than 10 minutes a day kissing. So, pucker up guys and gals, and don't forget the chapstick. Up next….your nightly news".
"Do you believe that?"
"I don't know. I mean, affection in a relationship is important, but kissing isn't the only way to show affection. And I suppose if I didn't want to kiss the person I was seeing, I wouldn't want to be seeing them at all, really".
"I agree. Gifts are nice and experiences and adventures are nice, but sometimes all you need is a kiss or a hug or just to be touching the other person".
They watched through the end of the news and then Jonathan decided it was time to go.
She walked him to the door.
"Thank you for dinner, and I will pick you up tomorrow at 6:30".
"I can't wait".
He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her for a minute, and then looked at her.
They slowly moved their heads together till their lips were engulfed in the most passionate kiss either of them had ever experienced. He pulled her closer and used his tongue to part her lips and explored her mouth. He could feel her lean into him. She lightly grazed his lip with her teeth and rubbed her hand up and down his back while they kissed.
It was absolutely the best kiss either of them had ever had. Both of them saw rocket ships and stars and fireworks.
He finally broke the kiss and gave her a little shy smile.
"Goodnight, Jennifer.
"Goodnight Jonathan. I'm so glad you came over".
"I'm glad too. I'll see you tomorrow".
Another sweet kiss and he was out the door.
She shut and locked the door behind him and then leaned up against it.
'Oooh Boy'.
***Friday***
Jennifer was the Times. It was absolutely pouring outside, and the only place she wanted to be was home, curled up on the couch. She had just turned in her article and was now working on another one. It was just before lunch, and she had made plans to meet Millie across the street for lunch.
"Jennifer, you have a delivery".
Ashleigh, the receptionist came and put some things on her desk.
There was a bouquet of flowers that had to be one of the most gorgeous arrangements Jennifer had ever seen. The vase was clear crystal, and caught the light at every angle. It was filled with galaxy orchids, purple poppies, and white roses. She dug for the card and opened it.
'Until tonight….Jonathan'.
"They are absolutely beautiful".
"And you have this as well".
She handed her a shopping bag with 2 wrapped boxes inside.
She pulled the card off and opened it.
'For tonight….Jonathan'
Millie called her desk phone then.
She picked it up and looked at Ashleigh.
"Thank you, Ashleigh". She then turned her attention to the phone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it's me. I'm leaving now".
"Ok, I will too".
She hung up the phone and took her packages with her and went to Millie across the street at Brooklyn Avenue Deli.
***Brooklyn Avenue Deli***
Jennifer walked in and saw Millie in line and grabbed them a table.
Millie came to the table and held it so Jennifer could get her lunch.
She was back in a few minutes.
"What did you get?"
"Grilled cheese, side salad and tomato soup".
"I did the same, except I didn't do the salad and I did minestrone instead of tomato soup".
"I love soup on rainy days."
"Yeah, me too".
"Ok, so how did it go with Jonathan last night?"
"None of your business".
"That good, huh?"
"No, not really. I mean, nothing happened. We went to his apartment to have a drink after we left Supper Club".
"Fast forward".
"So, then his driver told him he was about to go off shift, so we came back to my place, because he didn't want me taking a cab at night. And he stayed a little while at my place, and then went home".
"And….?"
"And he's the greatest kisser to ever walk the earth. There, are you happy now?"
"I knew it! Tell me all about it".
"What's to tell? It was just an awesome kiss".
"Maybe I'll be lucky enough to experience it sometime".
"Over my dead body!"
"Ha! I knew it! You are into him".
"Ok, fine. So I admit it".
"What's in the bag?"
"I'm not sure, really. He and I are going out tonight, and he sent me flowers and these things. I'll unwrap them when we get back to the office".
Their lunch arrived then, and they both enjoyed it immensely.
"I wonder if it's going to rain all day".
"I hope not. News said it was supposed to clear out by 5. I'm supposed to go to a rooftop party tonight".
"That sounds fun!"
"What are you and Jonathan doing?"
"I have no idea. He said it was a surprise. All he told me is that he will be at my place at 6:30 to pick me up. So that means Ben better not be an ass today like he was yesterday".
They finished their lunch and then headed back across the street.
They went into the bathroom.
Jennifer unwrapped the bigger box first.
"Oh, my goodness. I cannot believe it!"
"What is it?"
"The dress that I've been eyeing for weeks-he bought it for me and in my size too".
It was an off the shoulder black cocktail mini dress with a bright blue floral lace overlay. Jennifer couldn't wait to put it on.
She opened the smaller box. Inside was a pair of black studded Jimmy Choo heels.
"Jennifer, those are absolutely gorgeous!"
"They are, aren't they?"
"You should wear them now and for the rest of the day so you will have them broken in when it's time for your date".
"Good idea".
She slipped them on and then gathered her things.
"Ok, now I'll go to my desk first. You stay here and count to 100 and then go to yours so he can't get mad at us".
"Millie, that's insane".
"Do you want to be on time for your date tonight? Just trust me".
"Fine. But I'm waiting in the lobby. I'll look at the newsstand while I count".
"Ok, you do that".
Jennifer headed to the newsstand while Millie headed to her desk. When Jennifer saw Ben duck out of the office, she ducked in behind him and headed to her desk.
She spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make the time crawl so she could get to her date with Jonathan.