"Missing? As in you think someone took him?"
"Well, we don't know for sure. We are looking into every possibility. His car is here, and he was signed in yesterday morning, but he never signed out or signed in this morning. He's not in his office and nobody has seen him since yesterday, so we are going to check the cameras and see what we can find out".
"Well, I hope he's alright. I hope nothing serious has happened".
"Me too".
"Alright, well I better start looking at the footage. I love you, gorgeous.".
"And I love you, handsome".
She blew him a kiss as she hung up the phone.
Jonathan tried to get back to work but it was no use. He just couldn't seem to concentrate.
He and Mark Bronson watched the camera footage but couldn't come up with anything conclusive. Stanley was clearly seen stepping onto the elevator, and there was a tiny glimpse of him stepping off the elevator, but nothing after that, and nothing concrete.
Kelly came in just as they finished watching the footage.
"Mr. Hart, Olivia and I personally walked into each and every office, closet, bathroom, stairwell, elevator, and breakroom and we didn't see anything that indicated Stanley had been there, except for his office. But nothing new".
"Thanks. Ok, so we are going to have to carry on without him, and figure it out when and if he turns up."
"Mr. Hart, he has a Mercedes like you-would your key fit his car?"
"No, I don't think so. But that's a good idea-I'll call my friend at the dealership and see if he can help us out. Bring me the calendar, please. See if Stanley had any meetings scheduled for today".
"Yes, Mr. Hart".
Jonathan took Stanley's 4 p.m. meeting and reassigned the other two.
He called the dealership but didn't get very far, since there wasn't an official police report.
Around 2:15 he called Jennifer again.
"Hello?"
"Hi gorgeous. Look, we still haven't found Stanley and he had some meetings this afternoon and I was going to sit in on a few of them anyways because there are a few things that he agreed to that I'm going back on, so now it looks as if I'll be the one conducting the meeting and that means I'll probably be late for dinner".
"Well, I tell you what. What if I feed the kids early and you and I can have a late dinner just the two of us?"
"I love that idea. And I love you. You're the best, baby. See you tonight".
"I love you too".
"Hey, when Sadie gets home today, tell her she can't drive her vehicle again until the oil gets changed and the tires get rotated. She and I can switch cars tomorrow and I'll drop hers off at the mechanic".
"What if we do better than that? She and I can take her car to the mechanic this afternoon and then she can take my car to school tomorrow and I'll take the station wagon".
"I like that even better. I love you, I'll see you tonight".
"Love you too".
Jennifer blew him a kiss, hung up the phone and then left to go get the kids.
When they got home, Sadie was pulling up right behind them.
"Hey-we have to take your car to the mechanic for an oil change and tire rotation, so let's do that now".
"Ok".
An hour later, they were back at home.
"Ok kids, snack time and then homework time".
"Alright!"
The kids ran off to the kitchen, while Sadie hurried upstairs.
Jennifer got them a snack and then started working on dinner for the kids.
She started working on dinner for her and Jonathan while the kids were eating.
"Mom, you always eat with us".
"I know, but Daddy had a late meeting tonight, so I told him I would eat with him when he got home".
"Mom can I sleepover at Zoe's tomorrow night?"
"Sure, if it's ok with her mom".
"Her mom lets her have as many friends as she wants sleep over whenever. Even on school nights".
"Good for her. Her mom also has a house with 20 bedrooms and a live-in maid".
"And she can go to bed whenever she wants, and she can have ice cream whenever she wants to. Even for breakfast".
"Well, Zoe's mom must not have a lot of rules for Zoe to live by".
"I wish we didn't have rules".
"Yeah, my friends don't have rules either. Drew Tucker is my age and he's allowed to cuss and everything".
"Jordyn's got a point, Mom. Can we just try, for one weekend, to live without rules? Where we can do absolutely anything we want no matter what?"
"Not a chance".
The kids all yelled and screamed at Jennifer to give in, but she held firm.
"I am not letting you guys do whatever you want, it's not happening, so stop asking! Now, if you'd like, I can tighten up on the rules, such as no tv during the week or no electronics during the week, or no driving anywhere except to and from school? Bedtime directly after dinner. No radio in the car, no talking at the dinner table. No sleepovers on the weekends, just chores. Want to give those rules a try?"
"No", they all grumbled.
"Rules aren't meant to be fun, rules are meant to keep you guys safe. And believe it or not, you three have it pretty damn good here, so if I were you, I would be a smidge more grateful and do a hell of a lot less complaining. Now, I'm going upstairs and I don't want to be disturbed until your father comes home. Jordyn and Ryan, clear the table when you're through eating. Sadie, you are in charge of washing the dishes and loading the dishwasher. If any of you touch the dinner in the oven, you won't live to tell about it. And I don't want to hear a peep out of any of you!"
Jennifer poured herself a glass of wine and headed upstairs for a bubble bath.
The kids finished their dinner in stunned silence, as it was very out of the ordinary for Jennifer to blow her top like that.
Jonathan came in about an hour later.
"Hey kiddos, how was school?"
"Daddy, Mommy said we aren't allowed to talk".
"Ok, well, I'm sure she didn't mean that you can't talk to me. Someone fill me in".
Sadie gave him the rundown on their discussion.
"And then she told us to finish our dinner without talking, and poured some wine and she's been upstairs ever since".
"I'll go talk to her. But when we come back downstairs, I want all three of you to apologize. Your mom has a hard job-she takes care of all of us better than we could ever take care of her or take care of ourselves. And she doesn't make the rules to be mean, she makes the rules to keep all of you guys safe and healthy and to teach you discipline so that when you grow up and move out one day, you'll know how to take care of yourselves. So again, when she and I come downstairs, I expect all three of you to apologize to her".
"Ok".
Jonathan went upstairs and found Jennifer in a bubble bath, with the radio on and the lights out. She had an eye mask and candles lit everywhere.
He didn't say a word, he just walked over and turned off the radio and then leaned down and kissed her.
"Hi. When did you get home?"
"Just now. I've been downstairs talking to the kids".
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I asked them how school was and Jordyn told me that you said they couldn't talk at all".
Jennifer chuckled. "I'm glad someone listened to me".
"Sadie filled me in. I set them straight and told them to straighten up".
"I feel horrible for blowing up at them, but you should have seen them-they were all three yelling at me about relaxing the rules. So I explained that I was not going to just let them run wild and that if anything, I was going to tighten up."
"I think they got the message".
He helped her out of the bath and she slipped into some pajamas and her cozy fuzzy slippers while he slipped into some comfy clothes.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him.
"Any word on Stanley?"
"None so far. I stayed at the office to run one of his meetings today but they rescheduled till tomorrow so I stayed anyways and went through the footage one more time just in case we missed something. It's so strange-it's like he stepped on the elevator and then just never stepped off. So that means he had to have gotten off at some point in the building where the cameras don't pick it up. But we tested that when we put the cameras in, so that leads me to believe that someone moved the cameras, and that means they probably had deceptive reasons for that."
"Darling…Stanley is strong. He'll find a way to get back to safety."
"I hope so".
They went downstairs to have their dinner and as soon as they walked into the kitchen the kids made Jennifer leave.
"Go sit in the living room until we tell you".
"Ok".
She went and sat in the living room and a few minutes later, Jonathan came out to sit with her.
"What is going on in there?"
"Well, I've been sworn to secrecy. But I can tell you this. Before I went upstairs, I told the kids I expected them to apologize to you, so I think they are working on a physical apology and not just a verbal one".
"Ahhh. Well, it's nice to be appreciated".
The kids came in the room then and told them they could come into the kitchen.
They followed the kids into the kitchen and saw that the table had been set and there were candles lit and fresh flowers from the garden on the table.
There was a big "I'm sorry" card that the kids had made for her on the table.
"We're sorry we gave you a hard time. We love you and we don't want anyone else as a mom or a dad".
"Yeah, what Sadie said".
"Ditto".
They all three piled on Jennifer and gave her big hugs and kisses.
"Ok, all is forgiven. Thank you for setting the table and for apologizing. Now, up to bed. Twins, get a shower. And make sure you wash everything please".
"Everything?"
"Yes, everything".
"Trust me son, one day the girls will be glad you know how to do that".
"Night Mommy".
"Night Mom".
"Goodnight. I love you both, and I'll be up to kiss you goodnight and tuck you in in a little while".
When they were finally alone, they had a romantic dinner and then did the dishes together.
They cleaned up the kitchen and then headed up to bed together. As promised, Jennifer went and kissed the twins goodnight and tucked them in and was glad to find them already asleep.
She settled into bed with Jonathan. They were just about to fall asleep when the phone rang.
He reached over and got it.
"Hello?"
He talked for a few minutes and she could tell it was serious.
"Ok, thanks for checking it out. Save that and I'll look at it in the morning".
He hung up and turned out the light.
"Everything ok?"
"That was the head of security. He said he went back and accessed the elevator cameras and Stanley actually got off the elevator on the 3rd floor, and exited to the right, as if he was going to the parking garage. So he checked out the parking garage cameras and the one on the 3rd floor, where Stanley parks was disconnected".
"Who would want to kidnap Stanley? He's the most obedient person ever."
"I have no idea, but I am bound and determined to find out".
The Next Morning
Jennifer got up when Jonathan's alarm went off and got the kids breakfast and ready for school.
They were able to have a quick breakfast with Jonathan before he left for the office.
Everyone ended up leaving at the same time. The twins were less than thrilled to have to ride in the station wagon.
"It's just for one day, that's all".
After the kids were loaded up, Jonathan came around and kissed Jennifer goodbye.
"I love you more than anyone else in the world. I am the happiest and luckiest man alive simply because I get to come home to you every night."
"Awww…you're so romantic. I love you too".
She gave him some sweet kisses and then they all headed out.
Jonathan headed straight to Hart Industries.
He had a meeting first thing, and then he wanted to focus on finding Stanley the rest of the day. After going over every inch of the building and parking garage, they still hadn't found anything. He called Herschel Gray and officially declared Stanley as a missing person.
He was going over the footage again, frame by frame when Kelly poked her head in.
"Mr. Hart, Joseph Bunch from PrairieView Incorporated called. He wants to meet with you at 4:30".
"Fine".
When they finished watching the footage frame by frame, Herschel took a report and told Jonathan he would be in touch.
"Thanks, I appreciate it".
Since he had a few minutes before he had to go into the meeting with Joseph Bunch, he called Jennifer.
"Hello?"
"Hi darling. I have a meeting that just got added to my schedule. I'll be home right after that, I promise".
"Hi. I'm glad you called. Did you tell Sadie she could spend the night with Megan at the beach house alone?"
"Yes, I did".
"What the hell were you thinking? She is 16, Jonathan. Who knows what could happen if she were to stay there alone!"
"Exactly, she's 16, not 6. And she won't be alone, Megan will be there with her. And if she needs us, we can be there quickly too".
"Jonathan! She's not old enough to stay at the beach house alone! And now I get to be the bad guy because you told her yes without consulting me".
"What's the big deal? She's not moving in, she's just spending the night with a friend."
"The big deal is what if she has a party? What if someone breaks in? What if she and Megan aren't responsible?"
"We will cross those bridges when we come to them".
"Jonathan…we had an agreement. Big decisions like this we consult each other".
"This isn't a big decision. This is not a big deal, honest".
"This is a huge decision! I can't believe you told her she could spend the night alone in a house miles away from us!"
"Look, we aren't getting anywhere. Can we argue about this later?"
"Fine."
"I love you".
"Bye Jonathan".
Jennifer slammed the phone down and went to tend to the kids, while Jonathan got ready for his meeting.
He read over the file and realized that Stanley had signed a deal that called for them to work exclusively with PrairieView.
Kelly showed Joseph Bunch into Jonathan's office right on time.
"Hi, I'm Joseph Bunch".
"Hi, I'm Jonathan Hart. Please, make yourself comfortable. I was looking over this file and it seems that my executive agreed to partner my company with your company. I'm afraid that's a decision I am not comfortable with, so we will be terminating the partnership today".
"No, I'm afraid we won't be. You are going to calmly get up and come with me, and you will say nothing out of the ordinary to anyone".
Joseph Bunch pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Jonathan.
"Do exactly as I say or I'll kill you".