"Darling, I am going to call my lawyer right now."
"Why? He hasn't been able to stop her so far".
"Jennifer, be reasonable. He will be able to stop her. And if she doesn't stop, then we will sue her for libel".
Jennifer read the article while Jonathan called his lawyer.
It said that Jonathan and Jennifer had been sleeping together and that she was causing him to lose Hart Industries, and that he was using her for the publicity and that he didn't really love her. Jennifer was incensed.
Jonathan hung up the phone and told her that his lawyer had promised he was going to file papers and have Paige served first thing Monday morning, with a very threatening letter, that would tell her that she either stopped the harassment and printed a full-page retraction, or she would be sued for defamation of character, harassment, libel, and invasion of privacy.
He called Stanley and had him issue a statement that his private life was just that, and that the things being printed about him and Miss Edwards weren't true.
He hung up the phone and wrapped an arm around her.
"Now, back to the celebration".
She was reading the Daily.
"Jennifer Edwards has had her fair share of men; if the number of times she has been around the block could be measured in distance, she would be a multiple marathon winner. Anyone who has been with her is advised to visit their local health department for a free well-check". She had tears in her eyes.
"This is so cruel."
"Jennifer-"
"Jonathan, I swear it's not true. You are only the third person I have been with, and all of them have been in what I thought were serious relationships".
"Jennifer, you don't have to explain anything to me. I love you. Your past is just that-your past. I don't have a spotless record either, but I wouldn't be with you if I thought that you were anything like what Paige is making you out to be".
The phone in their suite rang.
Jonathan picked it up. It was his lawyer.
They chatted for a few minutes.
"Ok, thank you Doug".
He hung up the phone.
"Doug said his brother is on the board of directors for the NY Times, and they are at a lake house together this weekend in Tahoe. He said he told his brother that he was going to be serving Paige with a cease and desist and a retraction demand, and his brother read the articles, agreed with us, after Doug explained the situation, and long story short, his brother called Paige on the phone and left her a message demanding that she retract it in the very next edition, full page, full apology."
"Good. I hate to wish negative things on people, but I hope she is fired".
"Something tells me she will be. You can do what you want, but I am proceeding with the lawsuit against her".
"I would love to continue with it. Paige has never really been held accountable for her actions, and it's long overdue".
She wiped the tears away, and tried to focus on him, but her thoughts kept coming back to the articles.
They showered and then got dressed and held hands as they walked over to the spa.
They had their couple's massage first. Jennifer asked for extra deep tissue and Jonathan did too. An hour later, they were both completely relaxed.
They were given a chance to redress, and then taken to the mud room and given suits to put on. They climbed into the hot mud tub, and the spa attendant came and told them they had an hour to stay in there.
Jonathan pulled her onto his lap and tried to cheer her up.
"Babe, we are going to win this".
"I just want it to stop. I want to live my life with you, and not have everyone else reading about it".
"I want that too, darling. And I promise you that I am going to do everything I can to put a stop to this".
"I believe you, I do. I just feel bad, it seems that ever since you met me, I have brought you nothing but negativity and negative energy".
"That's not true, darling. You have made my life so much better just by being in it, and you love me, with your whole heart, like nobody has ever loved me before. You make me want to be a better person, I swear it".
She laid her head on his chest and he hugged her.
"Darling, what are the chances that after we get married, we could move away and live on a secluded island somewhere and not have to deal with people?"
"Slim to none. But what a great idea".
She leaned up and kissed him.
She got behind him and started rubbing and scratching his back and working the hot mud into his shoulders.
"That feels amazing".
After a few minutes, they switched, and he did the same for her.
"Babe, we still have about 20 minutes left. We could take these suits off and-"
"Jonathan. There are cameras".
"I was just going to say that we should soak in here as long as possible because the mud has many healing properties and maybe we can take some with us for later".
She was laughing and rubbing his face. "You are incorrigible".
She kissed him and put her hands on his chest.
"After this, we get to shower off the mud and then we get a full body lotion application, and then a steam bath".
"Sounds lovely".
"You will love it, I am sure".
They found a warm spot in the mud, and she climbed onto his lap.
He kissed her slow and tenderly till the timer went off. The attendant appeared and explained to them the procedure.
"You are going to step only on the black mats and go in this room and shower with your suit on, then take it off and hang it up. You can shower again if you need to, and then grab a towel. Go to the next room, and when both of you are in there, hit the red button on the wall to start the steam bath for 5 minutes. It's just the two of you today, so you will have privacy. You can redo the timer as long as you want up to 30 minutes".
"Is the steam really hot?"
"It's a hot tub with the steam on top".
"Perfect, thank you".
They went into the shower room together, and then did the lotion one at a time. Jennifer was in the steam bath when Jonathan came in.
"Did you enjoy it?"
He had a sheepish grin on his face as he got into the bath.
"Darling…how was it?"
"Jennifer, I feel violated."
"Do you really? I loved it".
"Yes. If that lotion applicator had been a human being, other than you, I would have it brought up on charges".
She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
"It's not funny, babe."
"You are so adorable".
She kissed him and he reached up and started the steam.
Jennifer looked around the room.
"Darling, there aren't any cameras in here".
"Oh? I believe you might be right".
He crushed his lips on hers and pulled her onto his lap. She straddled his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
After several long kisses, he picked her up a little and she lowered herself onto him. After they were joined together, she leaned forward and rotated her hips. He was moaning and kissing her, she laced her hands into his and pushed against them. She opened her hips a little more and he started rotating with her.
"Jenn…..iiii….fffer…"
She leaned forward to kiss him and they went over the edge together.
He pulled her close to him and kissed that one spot on her neck.
She slid off him and sat next to him, with his arms still wrapped around her.
He reached up and started the steam, and then resumed kissing her.
After the steam ended, they climbed out and dried off, and got dressed.
They headed back to their room and decided to go for a walk on the grounds.
She held on to his arm as they walked the trail.
"It's so gorgeous out here. Everything is so peaceful".
"Yes, it is pretty quiet. It's nice to be able to relax".
They found a bench that was in a gorgeous little courtyard garden, and sat down for a little bit.
"I love being here with you….wish we could do this all the time".
"Wouldn't that be nice?"
He leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. I love that you wanted to make my birthday so special".
"You are special, your birthday should be special. You make every day special for me".
She leaned up and kissed him.
They sat out there a little longer, and then went back to their room to get ready for dinner.
After dinner, Jennifer nailed down some of the wedding questions she had for him, like whether he wanted the groomsmen to be in suits or tuxes, what kind of cake he wanted for a groom's cake, and what kind of rehearsal dinner they wanted.
They were sitting in front of the fire, and she had all the wedding stuff spread around them.
"Darling, do you want to write your own vows?"
"Sure, if you want to".
She ran through how she wanted the wedding to go, for the most part. He was on board with what she wanted, for the most part.
"There is one thing I want to make sure we do, and that is I don't want you to see me at all in my dress until I walk down the aisle. So, we can't do our pictures till after we are married".
"Fine with me".
They selected a few caterers and photographers to meet with, and talked about some possible venues, and Jennifer made a lengthy to-do list.
She put everything back in the bag and rested her head on his shoulder.
They were laying on the futon and she stretched out alongside him.
"How about a back scratch, Mr. H?"
"Absolutely".
He rolled over and she climbed on his back and started scratching all over.
After about 45 minutes, he was practically in a coma. She climbed off him and snuggled up beside him. She started kissing his cheek and running her fingers through his hair.
She got up and grabbed his hands and pulled him up.
"Baby….come on".
"hmmm?"
"Honey…come on".
She got him to stand up and then led him to the bed.
They climbed into bed and he wrapped his arms around her, and they fell asleep.
***Sunday***
They woke up and had breakfast in bed, and laid around a little bit, before packing the car and heading back home.
When they got home, they were unloading the car and Max came out to help them.
"Hi folks, have a nice time?"
"It was great".
"Did you have a good weekend, Max?"
"Miss Edwards, your father called. He wants you to call him right away. He was pretty upset. The number is written on a pad in the study".
"Oh, thanks Max. Darling, I better go call him".
"I'll get the bags, it's alright".
She kissed him and headed to the study.
She called her father, and his secretary answered. They put her through.
"Hi, Pa?"
"Young lady, the things I am reading about you and Jonathan are reprehensible! If this is true, you can give back that bank book and cancel any part I was going to have in your wedding right now".
"It's not true, Pa. The person who wrote it is Paige. She is trying to get back at us. Jonathan's lawyer is handling it".
"Jennifer, it's not just your reputation that's at stake, it's Jonathan's and mine as well. I suggest you straighten this out".
"I'm trying, Pa. Honest".
"Well I suggest you try harder. She is making you out to be a harlot and I won't have that".
"You know me better than that".
"Jennifer, if what she is saying is true-"
"It's not. It's not true. And besides, I am a grown woman, and I can choose to be with anyone I choose to, I don't need her permission or anyone else's."
"You certainly can. However, what you cannot do is run our family's name down in the press".
"Pa, I am not running anything down, Paige is. And I told you, Jonathan's lawyer is handling it".
"Jennifer, I have to go. But I'm warning you-any more of this nonsense and I will rescind my blessing and the account".
He hung up.
She came out of the study with tears in her eyes, and went upstairs to unpack.
Jonathan heard her go up the stairs and followed her.
"Babe, you ok?"
"He's upset. He saw the papers and what's been posted about us, and said I am running down the family name, and that the press is making me out to be a harlot. He said that if it doesn't stop, he will rescind the bank account he gave me for the wedding and his blessing".
He didn't say a word, he just went and hugged her.
"I told him your lawyer was handling it, but he didn't seem to care. Jonathan, I am so sick of all this. I swear, my being involved with you has brought you business troubles, my father business troubles, I am sure we have disrupted Max's life, I didn't mean for any of this to happen, I swear it".
"Jennifer, all that matters here is we love each other. I built Hart Industries from scratch, and if it fails I can build it again. You aren't the reason for my business troubles, but you are the reason for my happiness. My complete and total happiness. Your dad is just going to have to get used to the fact that you are a grown woman and making your own choices".
"I just feel like I am the common denominator here".
"No, babe. Paige is. She is doing this to hurt us. She could have walked away, and left us alone but she chose to be vindictive. And that's what I don't understand, she is acting like she and I were a couple, when we barely spent 10 minutes together. You were the one who was kind, and caring, and genuine. You are the one I fell for, and nothing, I don't care if we lose everything, is going to change the way I feel about you".
He pulled her onto his lap, and tried to make her feel better.
"Jonathan, I hope your lawyer can get through to her. But, she knows a lot about me, and I am scared that this could get uglier yet".
"If she ups the ante, so will we. We could always call a press conference and tell the world what happened, and steal her thunder".
"That might be a good idea".
"I will call my lawyer tomorrow and see if he thinks that's a good idea".
She nodded.
After she had calmed down some, they went downstairs. Max had prepared a fabulous dinner for them, and that lifted her spirits some.
They spent a quiet night, just relaxing and watching a movie.
***New York***
Paige answered the phone at her apartment.
"Hello? Yes, I ran the last story. My photographer hasn't been able to capture them, so you are going to have to provide me with a lead or tell me what story you want printed next, if he can't find them".
She listened for a moment.
"Oh, just wait till her father reads that in the morning paper. He will lose his mind, and the power couple won't know what hit them".