Chapter 15

In the couple hours they had, they picked out a white sofa set for the living room with a cherry coffee table, and a king-size platform bed for their room. Anything else would have to wait until after Jennifer moved in.

"Darling," she began as they walked out of the furniture store, "Would you mind terribly if I asked you to take us back to the hotel now instead of lunch?"

"No." He gave her a bit of a pouty look, "disappointed you are leaving me already, maybe…" Jennifer turned to face him, a bit concerned at his reaction until he could keep a straight face no longer. "I'm kidding… If you're ready to go back, I'll take you."

She stepped closer and put her hand on his chest. "Not ready to be away from you… Rather thinking, I'd like to take my mother and have our nails done before we get dressed."

"Then let's go to the hotel. Your Dad and I can get a bite to eat, and then I will have a chance to check on things for tonight, and maybe get some painters lined up for the house next week. I want that completed before you get back."

"Sounds perfect!"

When Jonathan walked into the ballroom, he was in awe of the changes from the last time he was in the room. The two ordinarily drab walls were now mostly hidden behind the dark blue velvet drapery, silver streamers, and sapphire blue and silver balloons. The third wall was windows overlooking the skyline of Los Angeles, which would be a fantastic view of the lights of LA by the time the party started. The fourth wall was the stage where the band was setting up, with the dance floor right in front of it. The decorator noticed Jonathan surveying the room and made her way over to him to discuss other changes she was making and make sure he was happy with the direction the room was taking.

As she pointed and explained, he took in the room. Something about a man on the ladder, hanging balloons and streamers caught his eye. Maybe it was the way that man avoided Jonathan's eyes. Perhaps it was just that there was something kind of familiar about him. Jonathan couldn't put his finger on it. Jonathan started moving to speak to the man when the decorator called for him to approve table cloths for the evening. When he turned back to talk to the man, he was gone.

He turned to walk out, and Kimberly walked in. "Everything looks fantastic; you have outdone yourself," Jonathan complimented her. "Thank you for working so hard on this."

"Absolutely, Mr. Hart. I'm so glad you like it."

Jonathan started for the door and had a second thought. "Kimberly?" he stopped her from walking into the room again. "Do you know each person working on setting up the party?"

"Most of them are hotel staff, so not personally. Why?"

"I'm sure it's nothing. Just something about one of the guys. I don't know. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Which guy, Mr. Hart?"

Jonathan scanned the room again. "I don't know. I saw him on the ladder, and can't find him now. It's probably nothing."

Kimberly watched him for a minute. "Tell you what. I'll keep my eyes open. If I see something that strikes me as odd, I'll let you know. Until then, you probably need to think about going home and getting dressed."

"Actually, I just need to head into the office. I took my tuxedo there this morning, so I wouldn't have to go back home."

"Always thinking. I like that!" Kimberly laughed.

"See you tonight, Kimberly."

Simon Campbell narrowly escaped Jonathan's discovering him, though since they had only had the one conversation, he wasn't entirely sure Jonathan would have recognized him. Still, it was much too close for his comfort. He walked to the phone in the hall and dialed a number.

"Everything here is set. Hart was here... No, he saw me, but he didn't get the chance to recognize me... I was able to get out of the room before he tried." This conversation wasn't going in a direction that made Simon comfortable. "I need to get ready for tonight… Yes. I will be there."

Jennifer pulled the dress from the bag and hung it in the bathroom. She then opened the in-room safe and pulled out the box Jonathan had given her in Maryland. She opened it to look at the emerald and diamond set. It was a gorgeous earring and bracelet set of oval emeralds with a halo of diamonds surrounding each emerald all set in 18-carat white gold. The dress she picked should highlight the jewelry and show off Jonathan's exquisite taste. She wanted nothing more than to make him look perfect tonight.

Jennifer turned on the shower to warm it up while she gathered the rest of her outfit for the evening. Checking the time, she decided it would have to be a quick shower; she needed time to dry and style her hair thoroughly. Nothing frizzy tonight, and if she wasn't careful, it could get frizzy quickly.

She laid everything out on the bathroom counter and stepped into the shower.

One of the best things about being the boss is the personal bathroom in the office, Jonathan mused as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. A shower, shave, and a change of clothes for any need was always handy. He picked up his watch to check the time. People should start arriving in an hour, though knowing LA people, there was a good chance several would want to be "fashionably late." He knew Kimberly would be there in 45 minutes to make sure everything was perfect. He would shoot for around a quarter after the hour.

He told Jennifer he wanted her to arrive in two hours. He wanted her to make an entrance people would remember. Jonathan didn't want anyone to miss her entrance or try to upstage her. He wanted the room full when she walked through the door. When Jonathan asked Kimberly to inform people this was an engagement party, he purposely told her not to mention Jennifer's name. The air of mystery was one he enjoyed.

He double-checked his hair and made sure he didn't miss anything in his shave. Then he started getting dressed.

Simon arrived after the party started. Not too early, not too late. He didn't want any attention to himself. The party was in full swing as there were probably already 150 people there. A live band was playing popular hits and some of their own music, and the dance floor was full. The bar was open, and the buffet was full. He did not see Jonathan Hart yet, so he made his way around the room, talking to several people he knew.

When Jonathan arrived, he was pleased to see the party was going full force. The band Kimberly had booked was very talented. They went between popular songs of the day and more traditional music. He seemed to have the right mix of both the younger and older crowd, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. He started working his way through the crowd greeting people by name as he went.

He checked his watch, finding he still had a good 45 minutes before she arrived. Jonathan was trying to make the best of the time. He greeted people as he saw them, calling each by name, hugging, shaking hands and laughing with them. Of course, the main topic was always the same for each conversation. The question of the evening: who is she? He just smiled and promised when the time was right.

Turning from chatting with an employee of Hart Industries, Jonathan spotted Drew and Susan Kendall. Walking towards them, Jonathan declared, "Hey! It's the newlyweds!" He hugged and kissed Susan's cheek, shook Drew's hand, "How are you two? I don't think I've seen you since the wedding."

"We need to do something about that, Jonathan. That was almost nine months ago now." Drew said.

"Yes. I think we need a double date soon," Susan suggested. "The question of the hour is, what is her name, Jonathan?"

Jonathan smiled at her, "I'm sorry, Doc. Not yet. Soon though."

"Hart!" came a shout from behind them.

Jonathan turned around and smiled. "Elliot Manning…"