Don't Save It All For Christmas Day
Sameen kicked off her shoes and curled her toes in the deep, plush carpet of her hotel room. Closing her eyes, she let out her breath in one long, tired stream. All day long she had been on her feet following Alonzo Quinn from one meeting to another, and now she wanted to relax.
She looked at her watch. Maybe she could try to give Joss a call later. Maybe it was nothing to worry about, but the fact that her boss was refusing to answer any of the messages she was leaving didn't make sense. What seemed even more strange was the fact that she hadn't heard from Joss since that last call over two weeks ago.
Sameen pulled the pins from her hair and let the long brown locks fall over her shoulders. Unbuttoning her blouse, she made her way to the large bathroom. A long soak in the sunken tub and then some room service sounded good. Turning the knobs on the tub, she watched at the water rushed out of the tap. At least something was still normal in her life. Taking the lid off the bottle of bath bubbles, she poured a healthy amount in and watched as the bubbles grew.
The sound of a phone ringing broke into the moment. Turning off the water, Sameen hurried to the main room.
"Hello?" she spoke into the receiver, a part of her hoped it was Joss on the other end.
"Sameen?" Joss asked hesitantly.
"Joss, it's you," Sameen breathed a sigh of relief. "I've been trying to call you for weeks!"
"I've been trying to call you for weeks," Joss returned. "Where have you been?!"
Sameen frowned at the question. "You don't know? Cal didn't tell you?"
"Why would Cal tell me?"
"I'm on an Asian business trip with Alonzo Quinn—have been for over two weeks," Sameen revealed the information.
"What do you mean? I thought you went home for the holidays." At least that is what the office had told her when she called to find out why her receptionist was avoiding her.
"Nope. I was asked to accompany our boss."
"Where are you?"
"Currently? Japan. Tomorrow we go to Hong Kong for three days." Sameen lay down across the King-sized bed and closed her eyes. The travelling was one thing, but the endless hours of standing and/or sitting for meeting and lunches and tours, was taking a toll on her feet and sanity.
"I didn't know that we had anything developing in Asia," Joss mused. Had she missed something in one of the meetings?
"Apparently he wants to expand 'Quinn Enterprises' overseas. A B-n-B in Shanghai sounds romantic, don't you think?" Sameen asked sarcastically.
Joss shook her head. Lately, nothing was making sense—not her trip out to Pennsylvania; not John; not what had happened with Taylor; and most certainly, not her life.
"When are you coming home?"
Sameen shrugged. "I don't know. Right before Christmas, I think."
"Who is taking care of Szymanski?"
"I gave him to my cousin. Don't worry, the cat is in good hands. Unless you want me to ship him out to you," Sameen made her offer again to reunite feline with owner.
"I don't think so."
"What's wrong?"
"Everything. Nothing."
"And here I thought you were going to die from boredom in that middle of nowhere town. What about that guy—John? Isn't he helping to keep you warm on cold nights?" Sameen teased.
"It's not like that, Sameen."
"It could be," Sameen replied saucily. "If you gave it a chance."
"It's deeper than that. John lost custody of his foster son."
"What do you mean 'lost custody'?"
"Long story that involved a misunderstanding, a pond, and Cal Beecher."
Sameen sat straight up. "Cal Beecher? What does he have to do with this?"
"That's the nothing part, I think. Apparently Cal missed me, so he showed up here." How had Sameen not known that Cal had flown out to look for her.
"How did he find you?"
"You gave him the address," Joss said with a twinge of regret in her voice.
"I never gave him your address. In fact, I had that under lock and key."
"That's what he told me when he appeared in the driveway."
"When?"
"A week and a half ago."
Sameen's mind quickly added dates. "That was right when I came out here with Alonzo. What did he want?"
"Other than bring me back to California?"
"He has an agenda, Joss. I think it's the same one that brought me out here."
"I don't understand."
"Why else would Alonzo Quinn want me to accompany him thousands of miles overseas on a business trip that any other assistant could have gone on? Why did he need your assistant? And why would Cal chase you across the continent? Right at this moment?" Sameen asked.
Joss felt her stomach turn sour. Cal had never really been obnoxious or cunning—at least that she could remember. Perhaps a bit overbearing when it came to their relationship, but he had never come off as cunning or conniving. Those terms were better left to his Uncle Alonzo.
"Something is up, Joss."
"I know," Joss admitted, but right now she had to worry about reuniting John with Taylor. It was the least she could do. "Sameen, remember when you told me that you were involved with that super-secret agency before you came to me?"
Sameen's eyes darted right, then left. "Yes. What about it?"
"Was it true?"
"Maybe," Sameen answered ambiguously.
"Well, I need that maybe to do me a favour. Can you use your...mad skills to get some information on a caseworker by the name of Kara Stanton?" Joss asked.
Sameen leaned over to grab a pen and paper. Quickly she jotted down the information.
"She arrived in Lawerence Township approximately six months ago—seemingly out of nowhere. Somehow she knows John, so she either served with him in the Navy or she is related to someone who did," Joss continued.
"Are you sure Kara Stanton is her real name?"
"I don't know. That's why I need you. Think you can do it?"
"I'll do my best. Let me get in contact with some people, and I'll get back in touch as soon as I can."
"Thanks, Sameen."
"What if I can't get in touch with you again?"
"I'm sure we'll talk again. Or you'll find a way."
"Thanks. Talk to you soon, Joss. Bye."
"Bye."
Sameen hung up. For a long moment she was deep in thought. Something was going sideways and she needed to get to the bottom of it. But for now she had to help out her friend. Dialing quickly, she waited for the line to pick up.
"Hey, Michael, it's Sameen. I need you to do me a favour and look someone up."
*******************
"How is your vacation?" Alonzo Quinn asked into the phone.
"I wouldn't call it a vacation, Uncle. It's more like a business trip," Cal replied.
"I stand corrected. I was expecting to hear from you last week," Alonzo admonished as he picked up the fork and knife to cut into his perfectly cooked Kobe steak.
"There were a few bumps in the road."
"But I take it that you located Joss Carter?"
"I did."
"And...?" Alonzo prompted.
"Her grandmother's home sits on some of the most prime real estate I've ever seen," Cal relayed.
Now his interest was piqued. "How prime?" Alonzo asked.
"Enough to put us in the black for ten years."
"What's the problem?"
"Problem?" Cal echoed. "Why would there be a problem?"
"Because if you had secured the deal, you would have started the conversation with details of when you plan on returning back to California," Alonzo replied in a condescending tone. "Also, I would have had that land deal FedEx'd to me already." He forked a large bite of steak into his mouth and chewed slowly.
"I'm...working on it."
"I'm sure you are," Alonzo said sardonically.
"It's complicated, Uncle."
"Then make it uncomplicated. I plan on leaving this company to you, Calhoun, but I can't leave it if I can't depend on you." Alonzo paid extra attention to his steak, waving off the server who came toward his table.
"Joss is being a little stubborn."
"She has an achille's heel; all women do," Alonzo said confidently. "You need to find it and expose it. Do what you have to, to get that land."
"But—"
"There are no 'buts' about it, nephew; grab the land, get the girl, then get home before Christmas. That's an order," Alonzo's tone was no nonsense and left no room for arguing. He hit 'end call'.
"Whatever you say, Uncle," Cal said to no one on the other end.
**********************
Joss knocked softly on the door frame of the workroom but John didn't bother to look up from his task. She stepped inside.
"John?" she asked over the sound of the electric saw. She took for granted that he hadn't heard her. "John!" she repeated a bit louder.
Intent on his task, John kept his head down. He stopped when Joss placed the coffee mug in front of him. Turning off the saw, he removed the protection goggles. He flicked a gaze upward.
"Thanks," he said, but he didn't touch the mug.
Joss sighed. "John...you need to take a break."
"I'm fine, Joss." He didn't want to fight. Not now.
"You've been down here for hours. I think you need to take a break," Joss tied to soothe without sounding patronizing.
"I'm busy." John replaced the goggles and hit the power button to restart the saw. Joss reached over and pulled the power cord from the wall. "What did you do that for?" John demanded angrily, but his throat was raw with unshed tears.
"You need a break, John."
"I don't need a break! I need to finish this—this..." His mind tried to find the right word but came up blank.
"Have a cup of coffee with me. Please," Joss said softly. She could see that he was hurting and she wanted to try and take some of it away.
John threw down the saw with a bit more force than necessary. "And do what, Joss? Talk? Pretend that my heart isn't breaking? Pretend that my world hasn't been yanked out from under me? Pretend that if I go to bed, that I may want to wake up in the morning?" he stated sarcastically.
"I think talking might help," Joss offered.
"My heart is shattered, okay? I want to lay down and die right now." Nothing in his life—including the loss of friends and loved ones and fellow servicemen in his lifetime—had ever prepared John Reese for the most incredible pain to ever been inflicted on his heart.
"I know..."
"You know?! You know, what? How I'm feeling? What I'm going through?" John shot back savagely.
"I meant..." Joss began.
"I don't care what you meant!" With the swipe of his arm, John cleared off the table. Every item flew off in various directions to land on the floor. Whimpering in fear, Bear stood up from his pillow and hurried out of the room. The silence that filled the room was beyond deafening.
Joss bowed her head. "I understand, John. I had people I loved ripped away from me." She looked up and held his gaze. "We're going to get thru this. You have to have faith."
"Faith?" John mocked with a short laugh. "What do you know about faith, Joss?"
"John."
"You didn't have faith in me or that I was going to come back to you. You didn't have faith in Sara. And you sure didn't have any faith in love. Now you're going to stand there and tell me to have faith in a system that took away my second chance to get it right with someone I love. Forgive me if I don't believe you."
"I deserve that," Joss admitted.
"What you deserve is to leave and not come back."
Joss took a step forward. "I understand."
"What do you understand, Joss? Can you understand what it's like to have your heart ripped out for the whole world to see? Can you understand what it's like to feel the air being sucked out of your lungs when your heart is ripped out of your chest?" Anger and sadness were in John's voice.
Joss didn't answer.
"I lost everything," John admitted in defeat.
"You didn't, John. We can get him back."
"We? What is this 'we'? You don't even like Taylor. You never cared for him."
"I—" Joss started to contradict the accusation but stopped. Part of what he said was true. But that was before she lost her heart to the sad orphan that reminded her of herself.
"I knew it."
"You don't know anything, John." Joss turned around to leave.
"Before you go, tell me why you left—and don't lie."
Joss turned back around. "Why did I leave? Because you lied to me. You strung me along with promises of forever, then the moment you were free you kicked me to the curb for someone new."
"I didn't do that."
"Yes, you did! How could you forget?" Joss tried not to raise her voice but she was losing patience with John. It didn't help that her heart was breaking all over again.
"What do you mean? I have only loved you."
"What about Jessica? Did you forget about her the way you forgot about me?"
John was flummoxed. "Jessica?"
"Jessica Ardnt. The woman you were going to have to marry because she was..." Joss stopped, unable to finish the sentence.
John's eyes narrowed. "She was what?"he prompted her to finish her accusation.
Joss closed her eyes, swallowed. "Pregnant. With your child."
John sighed. "It's not what you think, Joss."
"Your letters stopped. I was alone. Then I heard about Jessica. What was I supposed to think?" Joss's voiced quavered. "I ran because I didn't want to be reminded of you anymore. I ran because my grandmother and I had a stupid fight over you. I ran because I was young and stupid and thought I knew everything about life."
The room was dead silent.
"That morning, Grandmother and I said horrible things to each other—and the last thing she said to me was that if I left to never think about coming back," Joss confessed. "And the last thing I said to her..."
Joss swallowed a sob. She bowed her head.
"The last thing I said to her was that I would rather die than ever step foot on this property again. And...and that I never wanted to see her again." The tears flowed fast and hot. Joss raised her head.
"There. You know the truth now. Happy? I wasted all of those years because of pride and selfishness. And if you think for two seconds that my heart isn't still broken, then you're wrong. All the time I was away, I tried not to think about you and wonder if you were happy with her. And I wondered what she had that I didn't."
"Joss, the baby wasn't mine."
Struck dumb, Joss hurried out of the room. John stood in the middle of the room, trying to absorb the confession. Meanwhile, outside, the blizzard raged.