~ Chapter 14 ~

The afternoon was flying by. John and Kate were still at Java, having consumed a great many mugs of coffee as they brainstormed ways to get Alex out of Marlena's life. Suggestions were made, then quickly discarded, each one seemingly less viable than the one that had preceded it. John rubbed his hand across his chin pensively.

"The guy's clever, I'll give him that. Whatever we choose to do has to be so sneaky that he'll never see it coming."

"He is a psychiatrist, John. It'll be almost impossible to manipulate him or play any kind of mind game. With his training, he's got the upper hand in that area. Besides, he's clearly focused on Marlena, to the exclusion of everything else."

"Don't remind me," John growled, still seething that their original plan for Kate to distract North had been such an abysmal failure.

"I tried, really."

She couldn't keep the hint of a whine from her voice. Unaccustomed as she was to being ignored by a man – especially when she worked hard at her seduction – she was mortified that her feminine wiles had produced no visible effect where Alex was concerned.

"I'm starting to think that he's nothing but a cold fish. He probably doesn't have any physical designs on Marlena. He just sees her as some kind of weird experiment."

John snorted in disbelief.

"Don't forget, I saw him kissing her. He gave me this mumbo jumbo about it being some transference thing, but I don't believe a word of it. That quack wants to sleep with my wife!"

John's voice had risen. Kate reached over and grasped his hand gently with hers in an attempt to calm him.

"I didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to offer some reassurance, but I can see you're beyond that. Maybe we should continue this in private."

Glancing around, John noticed the curious stares directed their way by several patrons. He glared at them, and they averted their eyes, but he decided it would be prudent to heed Kate's suggestion.

"Good idea. We can't risk going to the penthouse, though, 'cause North might be back there already. Knowing him, he'd find some way to eavesdrop on us."

"There's always my suite."

"That works for me. Let's go."

As they drove in their separate cars towards Kate's hotel, each of them was lost in their own thoughts.

Once he no longer had conversation to occupy him, John began, once again, to worry about Marlena's safety. While he knew it was unlikely that Alex could have tracked her down, the man was just devious enough to be hatching some kind of plot designed to ensure that Marlena never regained her memory.

"This guy has too much influence on my wife," John muttered to himself, "and I've got to stop him – whatever it takes."

Meanwhile, the wheels were turning in Kate's mind, too.

"There has to be some way that I can help John, and help myself at the same time. Think, Kate! How difficult can it be?"

As she approached the hotel parking garage, the perfect solution popped into her head.

"That's it!" she exulted.

Now all she had to do was put her scheme into action, and make sure that John came along for the ride.


It took ages for Kate to convince John of the soundness of her plan. In addition to doubting that it would have the desired outcome, he feared that it might actually push Marlena towards Alex.

"Oh, John, of course that won't happen. Remember what we discussed. He's not going to change his focus one iota, no matter what we do. The person we need to work on is Marlena. She's the weak link."

John's expression darkened.

"I'd prefer you not take cheap shots at my wife," he snarled.

"No, no. You misunderstood. I didn't mean that the way it sounded. What I'm saying is that North has an obsession we simply can't shake. He's clearly immune to my charms. Marlena, on the other hand, used to love you…"

"She still does," John corrected her forcefully. "She just doesn't remember."

"You're right. She still does. So, my thinking is this. You have to get her to experience those feelings again, in the present. And the way you've been going about it hasn't worked so far."

"You got me on that one. It seems that, the more I remind her of our love, the more she withdraws from me. I don't understand it."

"You're pressuring her. Pushing her too hard." Sensing that John was about to protest, she put a finger to his lips. "I know you're eager for her to go back to being the person you've always known, but you've got to try a new approach."

"You really think this will do the trick?" John couldn't hide his skepticism.

"I do. Right now, Marlena's feelings for you are dormant, locked away somewhere in her brain. All she sees in you is someone who's constantly throwing the past at her and expecting it to come flooding back. If you ease up, it allows her the space she needs."

"But us spending more time together. What will that accomplish?"

If I'm lucky, it will get you to start looking at me the way you used to.

"Like I explained before, it'll make her jealous. She'll realize what you mean to her when she starts to feel threatened by me."

John sat quietly, pondering all that Kate had said, as she waited expectantly for his response. Finally, he looked up and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"Well, since nothing else has worked and I can't seem to come up with anything better, we'll give this a try. Why don't you come to the penthouse tonight for dinner? That ought to set things in motion."

"I'll be there, wearing my sexiest dress," she promised.

After ushering John out, Kate leaned against the door's hard surface and closed her eyes. A satisfied smirk appeared on her face.

"You are not going to know what hit you, John Black. Let the games begin."