They took their bags to the hotel, and Jonathan checked them in and asked the bellboy to take their bags up to their room.
He had the cab driver take them to the gallery where Jennifer's dad worked.
They got out and went inside and Jennifer asked the saleslady if he was in.
"Yes, he's on the phone".
"Ok, thank you".
A few minutes later, she heard him hang up and walked back towards his desk.
"Lynnette, can you take this painting and put it aside for a Mr. Donald Willingham, please? He'll be by this afternoon to pick it up".
He turned and saw Jennifer.
"Jennifer, sweetheart! What are you doing here?"
"Hi, Pa". She gave him a huge hug.
"My boss offered me the opportunity to come with him on a trip and I couldn't pass it up".
She turned and gestured to Jonathan.
"Pa, this is my boss, Jonathan Hart. Jonathan, this is my dad, Stephen Edwards".
"Pleasure to meet you sir. You have a wonderful and intelligent daughter".
"Thank you, son, I'm quite proud of her. When did you get here?"
"Just now. We flew overnight".
"What are your plans?"
"Well, we are going to go find something to eat. We keep calling it breakfast but I guess it won't be".
"No, it won't be. Take some advice from your old dad. Go get something to eat, and then head to your hotel and go to sleep. When you wake up, you'll be back on the right time".
"Well, I was going to see if you wanted to have dinner with us tonight".
"I do. But trust me, you'll be tired. Tomorrow night, sweetheart, I promise".
"You're on".
"Where are you staying?"
"We have a suite at the Ritz".
"Nice place."
"Mr. Edwards, you have a phone call. A Mr. Lawton from Germany".
"Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry, I better take that. Come by in the morning and we'll figure out dinner. I love you".
"I love you, too. See you tomorrow".
She gave him another hug and then she and Jonathan headed out.
"Thanks for going with me to see my dad, I haven't seen him in a long time".
"No problem. I enjoyed meeting him".
They headed back to the Ritz and had a late brunch in the hotel restaurant before heading up to their room.
They came into their room and looked around. Jennifer selected the smaller room and gave Jonathan the bigger one.
"Did you bring an alarm clock with you?"
"No, I didn't".
"So, there's one in my room. I'm going to run to my meeting, and when I get back, I'll set it for in the morning".
"Perfect. I'll probably be up when you get back. I think I want to read some. I'm not tired just yet".
"Great. I know this great bakery over on Duval Street, that makes the absolute most amazing scones."
"The raspberry cream ones are the best."
"Yes, I agree. I'll pick some up for us".
"That sounds great".
She watched some tv and read a little, and then right when she was getting sleepy, Jonathan returned.
"Hi, how was your meeting?"
"Good, good."
"Suddenly, I'm very sleepy. I guess Pa was right, it hits you like a brick".
"Yeah, he wasn't kidding".
"So, it's 6 p.m. now. If we sleep 12 hours, that will have us waking up at 6 a.m.".
She went and found her cosmetic bag and dug out some gummies and brought them back to him.
"Take these. Trust me. It's melatonin, all natural, not habit forming. You will sleep like a baby".
He took them and chewed them.
He took his tie off, and untucked his shirt. He had just gotten his shirt off when she appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, problem. You have my bag and I have yours".
She caught a glimpse of his chest as he turned around.
Holy hell...he was ripped. He was toned. He had at least a 12-pack, and was rippled in places she didn't think possible.
She diverted her glance as they swapped bags.
"Night".
"Night".
***The next morning***
Jennifer woke up and realized that it was 7 a.m. She hadn't moved all night.
She climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Jonathan woke up when she came out of the bathroom. He caught a glimpse of her in her t-shirt and panties.
She is so damn gorgeous.
They were both showered and dressed by 8, and headed out to get some breakfast.
Thankfully, most places had American breakfasts on the menu along with traditional English ones.
They swung by the gallery and saw her father again for a few moments.
"Where shall we meet for dinner, Pa?"
"My house. Walter was so excited you were in town he insists on cooking. Jonathan too".
"Thank you, sir. That's very kind".
"Oh, I'm so excited! I love Walter's cooking".
"Come at 5, sweetheart. You know the address. I hate to cut this visit short, but I have some things to attend to".
"No problem. We'll see you tonight".
They headed out of the gallery and went and did some shopping. Jonathan was very patient as Jennifer selected several outfits and bought several pairs of shoes and lounging pants and work blouses and new nightgowns.
They carried all her bags and boxes back to the hotel, and then had a late lunch.
Finally, around 4, they headed to her father's.
***Stephen's house***
Jennifer rang the doorbell when she and Jonathan got to the doorstep.
"How long has your dad had this house?"
"Since I was in middle school, I think".
Walter came and let them in.
"Miss Jennifer! So great to see you!"
"Hi Walter!"
She gave him a big hug.
"Walter, this is my boss and my friend, Jonathan Hart. Jonathan, this is Walter. He takes care of my dad better than anyone else can".
"Pleasure to meet you sir".
"Likewise. Miss Jennifer, I made all your favorites".
"I can't wait! I introduced Jonathan to pickle wrap dip a few weeks ago. He loved it so much he made it again just a couple days later".
"That's some good stuff".
"Well, you're in luck. I made pickle wrap dip, I made some artichoke dip, and I made some homemade ravioli pockets for dinner".
"Oh, I haven't had those in forever! You'll love them, Jonathan".
"What are they?"
"Think of regular ravioli, with cheese or meat inside and sauce outside. These are like 5 times the size of traditional ravioli, but the cheese and sauce and everything is on the inside. It's like oversized ravioli, inside out".
"Sounds wonderful".
"I'm going to go wake your father from his afternoon snooze. Fix yourselves a drink".
Jennifer poured Jonathan a wine spritzer, and then made herself one.
A few minutes later, Stephen came and joined them.
"Hello you two".
"Hi Pa".
"Hello, sir".
"Did you two enjoy your day in London?"
"Yes, we did".
"Jennifer did her part to quell the economic crisis".
"Jonathan! I did not".
"I was kidding. You left one or two things for the other shoppers".
"Sweetheart, I have something to give you".
"You do?"
"Yes. When you were born, your mother put some money aside for you, and then when her father died, she put her share of the inheritance into that account, and when your mother died, she left control of the account to me. When your grandmother died, and when my parents died, I added your share of the inheritance to that account as well. I got a notice in the mail just before I came to London this trip, sweetheart, that the bank is closing. So, I claimed the account, and had them give me a cashier's check made out to you. I figure you are old enough now to do with it what you want to and put it in whatever bank you choose".
Jennifer was shocked.
"I see."
He handed her the check.
It was six figures, and those figures were pretty high.
"I don't know what to say… I surely didn't expect this".
"It wasn't a secret, sweetheart. It just never came up".
"Did Mama leave me anything else?"
"There's a box for you at the house that's for your wedding, if you ever have one. And there's a box of Christmas ornaments up in the attic that are yours. I haven't looked in the safety deposit box in a long time, but I can't recall anything in there that she expressly left for you. And of course, when my time comes, you will get all of my things then, so if you didn't get it before then, you'll get it that day".
"Can we not talk about that?"
"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, sweetheart. I promise. Fit as a fiddle".
Walter came and told them that dinner was ready, so they headed to the dining room.
Just as Jennifer predicted, Jonathan loved his ravioli pockets.
"So, sweetheart, do you think you'll stay in New York much longer?"
"I don't have any plans to go anywhere else. Although, now that you gave me that cashier's check, I might buy an apartment and move out of the one I'm renting".
"I thought you liked your apartment".
"Well, I did. I had some trouble recently, and my landlord isn't willing to fix it, so I've been thinking about moving when my lease runs out".
"What kind of trouble?"
"Well, I was on the phone with Jonathan, and someone started banging on the door. So, he and I hung up and he called the cops. And the person kept banging. I don't mean knocking, I don't mean knocking loudly, I mean banging like they were trying to break the door down. So, Jonathan came over and I let him in, and then the person grabbed my arm and Jonathan had to separate us. And then the police got there and told me the guy was an escaped mental patient from the hospital a few blocks away. He was slurring his words and not making sense. So, anyways, I asked the landlord for stronger locks and even said I would pay for them if he would have them installed and he said no".
"That's preposterous!"
"I agree. So, I decided I'm going to buy some locks and have them installed and then when my lease expires, I just might move".
"I think you should".
"Well, now I can afford to".
They had a pleasant dinner, and then went back to the living room to sit with Stephen some more.
"What are you two doing tomorrow?"
"I have no idea. We haven't talked about. I dragged Jonathan shopping everywhere today, so if he wants us to do something together, then he gets to pick".
"Of course, I want us to do something together. I was thinking we could go to some museums, or take a Thames River cruise".
"That sounds fun".
Jennifer turned to her dad.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
"Well, as it turns out, I have to go to a gallery in Germany. So, I'll be flying out in the morning, and I'll stay a week or so and then come back".
"What a shame. We haven't had a full visit in so long".
"I know, sweetheart, but we will one day, I promise".
Jennifer snuggled up to her dad while he and Jonathan talked politics and sports and business. She was impressed by his knowledge on politics.
Around 9, they decided to head back to the hotel, and Jonathan called to get them a cab.
"Pa, it was so good to see you. When will you be back in the states?"
"I'm aiming for 3 months, sweetheart".
"Wonderful. Maybe my boss will let me have my vacation then so I can come spend several days".
"I think that can be arranged".
Jonathan winked at Jennifer.
Jennifer and her dad shared a big hug, and then he and Jonathan shook hands.
"Great to see you again, son. Thanks for taking care of my only kid, here".
"My pleasure".
Jennifer said goodbye to Walter, and he packed them up some goodies to take with them.
"Especially for you, Miss Jennifer".
"You're the greatest, Walter".
They had a nice ride back to the hotel.
"How about a drink in the hotel bar?"
"I don't think so. I think I want to take a bath and head to bed".
"Bed sounds nice too. I can't wait to tell Max about the ravioli pockets".
"I haven't had those in ages. I'll probably make some in the next couple of weeks and put them in the freezer".
They got out of the cab and headed into the hotel.
They had just stepped into the lobby when someone tapped Jennifer on the shoulder.
She turned around.
"I thought that was you. Jennifer! How are you?"
"Hello, Elliott. How are you?"
"Better now that I've run into you. I've missed you. Can we go somewhere and talk?"
"I don't think we need to do that. And besides I have a bit of a headache and was just headed to lay down. It was nice to see you".
"Jenny, wait. Don't you miss us? Don't you miss what we had?"
"Frankly, no. I'm much happier without your constant criticisms and your selfishness. And you know I don't like to be called Jenny".
He tried to brush a curl off her face, but she moved.
"You know I never liked the name Jennifer. Jenny is just more...sexy. You look so beautiful. Are you living in London now?"
"Yes, actually. I just moved here".
"Wonderful. Maybe I'll see you around".
"Maybe you won't. Goodbye, Elliott".
She quickly walked away and headed to the elevator that Jonathan was holding for her.
As the doors closed, he turned to her.
"Are you ok?"
"I don't want to talk about it".