***Wednesday***

Jennifer had taken the afternoon off in preparation for her day-date with Jonathan. As far as her boss was concerned, Jennifer had a doctor's appointment that afternoon.

Jennifer had told Jonathan to meet her at the secret location at 12:30, so she made sure to be there before he was.

As soon as he arrived, he hopped in her car and they headed out.

They chatted as they drove along, and he kept trying to get her to give him hints about where they were going.

"Now darling, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?"

"I guess not".

She thought he was so cute trying to figure it out.

As soon as he realized they were headed to an afternoon baseball game, his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

They walked in, and got their concessions, and then headed to their seats. He usually sat in a box, or behind home plate, but she had gotten them tickets a little farther up so they would have more privacy.

They found their seats way high up and sat down.

"This is so nice and cozy".

"I've never been up this high before".

"It's nice and quiet up here. Just you and me".

"So, it is".

Jennifer put her feet up on the chair in front of her, and leaned against his shoulder.

Jonathan began to dress his hot dog.

"Are you a mustard and ketchup girl?"

"Yes, and relish, tomatoes too. Sometimes chili and cheese, sometimes just cheese. I have to really be in the mood for a hot dog".

"I can tell".

"What about you-what toppings do you like?"

"Ketchup, mustard, and relish, and the dog has to be charred to perfection".

He fed her a bite.

"That's pretty good".

"Best ballpark snack ever".

"Oh, that's easy. Soft pretzel and a rainbow sno-cone".

"Peanuts, darling. Peanuts are the best ballpark snack".

"I like those too. But in the heat of summer, when it's sweltering and there's no breeze, you can't beat a rainbow sno-cone".

After she finished her pretzel and he finished his hot dog, they curled up and watched the game for a bit. Jonathan caught her a homerun ball in the 5th inning, which tied the game.

"You know something? Day dates with you are kind of fun".

"You know something? Day dates with you are fun too".

He leaned over and kissed her a few times. They were staring into each other's eyes and sharing some light kisses when the security guard came up to their section.

"Hey you two, this is a family-friendly place. No hanky-panky".

Jonathan rolled his eyes.

"We'll keep that in mind, thank you".

He left them alone after a minute or two.

"It's going to be hard to go to work tomorrow after such a fun afternoon today".

"Yeah, I know what you mean".

"We should play hooky once a week, darling".

"I'm good with that".

"I get one day a week off, so what do you say to a 4-day work week?"

"I would love it. But Fridays are usually busy at the office, so it would have to be in the middle of the week".

"What a shame".

"How did you get one day a week off?"

"I negotiated".

She scratched his chest some and kissed him a few times.

"We better knock it off before the morality police come back".

"I can't wait to get you alone where we can be as immoral as we want".

"Jonathan Hart, I'm still a good girl deep down".

"I know. It's one of the many qualities about you that's my absolute favorite".

"All your qualities are my favorite".

They shared an innocent kiss and then decided to head down to the lower level.

The Dodgers won the game, so Jennifer and Jonathan headed out as soon as it was over.

"Want to drive us home? I trust you with my car, darling".

"Sure".

He drove them back to her apartment and they went inside.

"Want to take a nap, honey?"

"Yes, I do".

In no time, they were both undressed and in bed, with their arms wrapped around each other.

Jennifer had made the room really dark, and turned on the fan.

They fell asleep pretty easily, and slept for about 2 hours.

She woke up to him kissing her neck and running his hands up and down her side.

"What a wonderful way to wake up".

"Yeah, it's my favorite way to wake up too".

They spent a few hours making love and enjoying the intimacy before they got up.

"How about a pizza, in bed?"

She nodded.

"I love nights like this with you".

"Yeah, I love nights like this with you too".

***A Week Later***

Jennifer was at home, working on her latest column. This week's topic was how to hook the man of your dreams, and how to tell what his intentions were. Jennifer was almost finished typing it when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Jennifer, hi. It's Susan. I was calling to invite you to a dinner party at my house, and before you say no, my husband promises he will be on his best behavior, or he'll skip it all together".

Jennifer chuckled.

"I promise to behave too. Yes, I'll be there".

"Wonderful, it's tomorrow night, at 7. Dressy".

"Got it. See you then".

She hung up and got back to work, smiling about being able to see Jonathan for longer than a couple of hours the next night.

***Jonathan***

Jonathan was headed back to his office. He had just finished the longest meeting he'd ever had. The only reason it had gone so long was the person he was meeting with had refused to meet him in the middle and agree to the deal Jonathan was proposing.

He approached his office as he made his way down the hall.

"Deanne, I think I'm going to head out for the rest of the afternoon. I'm beat".

"I understand, sir. And here are your messages".

"Thank you."

He took the messages into his office and sat at his desk. He leafed through them and found one on the bottom from Susan.

He picked up the phone and called her.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's Jonathan".

"Hi. Thanks for calling back. Are you free for a dinner party tomorrow night?"

"Yes, I am".

"Great. It's at 7, at my house, and wear a suit. See you then".

"Sounds good. See you then".

He hung up and then gathered his things and headed home.

***Later that Night***

Jennifer was in her apartment, doing the dishes when there was a knock at the door.

She turned the water off and went and opened the door.

"Hi".

"Hi gorgeous".

He leaned down and kissed her.

"Did Susan call you?"

"Yes, she did".

"Good, she called me too. Now, tomorrow night, you and I get to spend the night at the Four Seasons downtown, so pack a bag. We can ride to the party together and then after the party is over, we can head to the hotel."

"Darling, what if someone sees us?"

"They won't, I promise".

"How long can you stay?"

"Till the morning".

"Wonderful".

She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him again.

"Did you eat yet?"

"Yes, I did".

"Me too".

She walked around turning out the lights and then they headed to bed.

They both got more comfortable and climbed into bed. Jennifer slipped on a nightgown Jonathan hadn't seen before, just before she scooted over close to him.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her shoulder.

"I missed you today".

"I missed you too".

"How did your meetings go today?"

"Horribly long, but I held my ground".

"Held your ground on what?"

"It's a long story. But basically, there's a company that I own. Another businessman wants me to basically trade him that company for his, but I know as soon as my company becomes his, he's going to shut it down without any notice. I don't think that's fair. I'm willing to purchase his company, but not at the expense of my employees".

"Good for you. Everyone should just listen to you anyways".

She ran her hand across his chest.

"How was your day?"

"Crazy. My boss called an unexpected meeting this afternoon, and switched some roles around. Funny thing is, he didn't give us any reason for it".

"Well, speaking as a boss, sometimes it's necessary to make changes and sometimes it's necessary to keep the reason for the change to yourself".

"I love it when you speak like a boss".

She kissed his neck a few times.

"You would have loved being around me today, if that's the case. I had to get on my employees for not working."

She leaned up and looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"There's a column in the paper, Miss X or something. And they were all sitting around reading it and talking about it, and the phones were ringing off the hook, and nothing was getting done. So, I had to tell them to get back to work, and to discuss the pitfalls of dating in your 30's later".

"Were they saying that they liked it, or they hated it?"

"Oh, they loved it. They kept saying how it was so true and could apply to any of them".

"Darling…there's an event I want us to go to together. It's next Tuesday."

"What is it?"

"It's the Los Angeles Progressive Restaurant tour".

"What in the world is that?"

"Well, you purchase tickets, and then you start at one restaurant for drinks and appetizers, and another for entrees and salads, and then another one for dessert and after-dinner drinks".

"Sounds lovely. But I'm not ready for us to go public yet, and someone might see us".

"Jonathan, we have to go public at some point".

"I know that, and we will, when the time is right".

"The time isn't wrong, Jonathan".

"Why is this so important to you?"

"Because I'm tired of hiding. I'm tired of being hidden. And I'm starting to seriously think that you are ashamed of being seen with me in public or something".

"That's not true, Jennifer. I am not ashamed at all. I just don't want to deal with the press".

"Jonathan, I work in the press".

"I understand that."

"I don't think you understand anything. I think you are seriously embarrassed to be seen with me in public".

"I've taken you in public, many times, Jennifer. If I was embarrassed, that wouldn't have happened".

"You took me in public where nobody we know would see us. That doesn't count".

"Jennifer-"

"Look at the facts. You sneak over here, you hid me in a room at your house when Max came home unexpectedly, you won't take me out to dinner here in the city where we live, you only want to be seen in public with me an hour away where we know nobody. Admit it, I embarrass you".

"You don't embarrass me. I told you, the press is always on me, about who I'm dating and my private life. And I just wanted to keep our relationship secret for a little while before they caught wind of it, that's all".

"Have you ever kept a relationship secret from them before?"

"No".

She rolled off him and got up and put her robe on.

"Jonathan, I'm not the kind of person who likes to make demands. But I will fight for what is important to me. Either we go public, or we're done. I can't do this anymore".

"Jennifer-"

"No Jonathan, I'm serious. What's it going to be?"

"It's not the right time for us to go public".

"Well, then it sounds to me like you made your decision. So, now I'm making mine. We're done".

She got up and headed to the kitchen, while he got up and put his clothes back on.

He came into the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Baby, don't do this. Let's work this out".

"Goodnight, Jonathan".

He kissed her forehead.

"When you're ready to talk about this, call me".

She unlocked the door for him and he left.

She locked the door behind him and leaned against it and cried.

***The Next Day***

Jennifer was at the office, trying everything she could to keep from thinking about Jonathan.

"Edwards, can I see you for a moment?"

"Sure".

She got up and headed to her boss' office.

"So, you being Miss X is still a secret. But the paper got a phone call this morning…Miss X has been offered an incredible opportunity. I cannot force you to do it, but I wanted to at least offer it to you. A publishing company, Orion Publishers, they want Miss X to write a book about dating in your 30's, and they want you to go on tour to promote it".

"I can't do that, everyone will know it was me".

"I think it's a great idea. Just think about it. We have two weeks to tell them yes or no".

"If I say yes, would I still work here?"

"Yes, you would write the book here in the office, according to their deadlines. And the tour would be mostly on the weekends".

"I see. I'll let you know".

She returned back to her desk, to find that she had gotten some deliveries, most notably a large crystal vase filled with fresh pink roses and purple lilacs. She dug for the card and opened it.

I'm sorry we fought and I hate that you broke up with me, because of me. Please give us another chance. Jonathan

The other delivery was from her father. He always sent her flowers the week her mother died.

This vase was white, with just a hint of shimmer, and was filled with pink gladiolus, her mom's favorite, along with Bells of Ireland, white Gerber daisies, and yellow tulips.

Your mother would be so proud of you, as am I. Love, Pa.

She teared up at his thoughtfulness, and then got back to work.

***Hart Industries***

Jonathan headed to the breakroom to get a drink, and once again he found his employees discussing Miss X's column.

"It doesn't make any sense. Her column the last 8 weeks was about dating in your 30's. Now it's about business and stuff like that. I miss the dating column".

"Yeah, me too. I tried to read it this morning, but it was so boring".

They got up and headed back to work. Jonathan noticed they left the paper behind, so he picked it up and took it back to his office.

He quickly skimmed the first half of the column, finding nothing too terribly interesting about it. It was only when he got to the second half that he began to get interested.

"A certain Los Angeles businessman who is just as well-known for his personal life as he is his business pursuits is rumored to be selling his company, just to buy another one. Apparently, the plan is that he's going to do an even trade, even though the recipient of his company has no plans to keep it open. The employees will literally go home for the day, not knowing that it's their last day to be employed. There will be no severance, no extension of benefits, nothing. Even the stock certificates they have will be worthless. Perhaps the way to circumvent this is for the employees to remind their boss that they work there. Give the boss a big HI whenever they see him. Remind him that he might be the one making this decision, but it's the employees who will hurt from it the most".

Jonathan put the paper to the side, and began to prepare for his next meeting.

Deanne buzzed him a few minutes later.

"Mr. Hart, you have a phone call on line 1. A Miss Jennifer Edwards".

"Thank you".

He reached over and picked it up.

"Hey".

"Hi. I don't have long to talk, I just wanted to say thank you for the flowers".

"You're welcome. I meant what I said on the card, I'm sorry we fought."

"I'm sorry too, but I haven't changed my mind".

"Can we talk tonight after the party at Susan's?"

"I'll think about it. No promises".

"I promise you, if we can just talk things out…"

"I have to go Jonathan. I'm at work, and I don't want to get upset".

"I'll see you tonight. I'm so glad you called".

"Bye Jonathan".

"Bye Jennifer".