"Sure, how can I help?"
"Jennifer and I are together. We are committed to one another and that's not going to change. But Fallon, she won't take no for an answer. And I've tried being nice. I've tried being direct. I've tried being indirect. I don't want to involve the authorities, but I'm about to".
"Tell me everything".
"Well, you set us up at dinner that night. And I told her then, very firmly and directly, that I wasn't interested. And then she started calling my office, upwards of 20 times a day. I instructed my secretary to tell her I couldn't speak with her, and then to not give me the message. That was 2 months ago, at least, and she's still calling. She's seen me out at restaurants and tried sending beer and dessert to my table. A few weeks ago, Jennifer was in town for the weekend, and she stayed here while Max and I went to a Lakers' game. Fallon showed up, barged in, and refused to leave, and she told Jennifer that I was her boyfriend. I came home from the game, and found them here in the living room. I was very frank with her, and told her that Jennifer is the only woman I'm seeing and that's not changing. I had to ask her to leave at least 2 times before she did. And then, she started sending me things. She has sent me flowers, bottles of champagne, and tonight, she sent these. That envelope has pictures of herself in a bubble bath. She also sent me underwear that she wants me to wear. And that box has sexual stimulation pills that she bought at a vitamin store somewhere. This has to stop".
"I agree. I'm sorry, Jonathan. She is very, very sweet. But she gets obsessed. And when she gets obsessed on something, it's very hard to get her to let go of it."
"I would say she's past obsessed".
"I would agree with that. And my hope is that you can convince her to back off and leave us alone".
"I'm going to be really honest with you. I will give it my best shot, but I don't know that I will have much effect."
"We appreciate you trying".
"Yes, we do".
"Jennifer, I'm sorry she keeps trying to butt into your relationship with Jonathan. At the time that I set him up with Fallon, I had no idea that you were in the picture".
"Well, I wasn't. It's complicated, but we weren't talking and had no plans to ever talk again, really".
"If anything good came from me meeting Fallon, it's that it helped me realize how I really feel about Jennifer".
"How sweet".
"Are you two coming tomorrow night to dinner?"
"Yes, we are".
"Is it formal?"
"No, just dressy".
"We'll be there".
"Great. I promise, I'll give her a call tonight, and I'll see you two tomorrow night".
"Thank you, we appreciate it".
Jonathan saw Susan out, and then they headed to the kitchen.
"Ok, Max. We can have dinner now".
"Great. I just got it all ready".
They had a lovely dinner and Max even lit them some candles.
"Ok you two. I'm off to a poker game. Have a nice evening".
"Night Max".
"Night Max".
"Hey Max, Jennifer and I are going to Aspen to go skiing this weekend. You're more than welcome to join us".
"No thanks, Mr. H. I don't do snow".
"Got it, Max".
After a very romantic dinner, they did the dishes together and then headed to the living room to watch tv.
Jennifer gave him a back scratch while they cuddled, and got him all relaxed and sleepy.
"Darling, I don't think we can go to the thing at Susan's tomorrow. I mean, you can go, I just don't think I can go".
"Well, I don't want to go without you".
"It's just, I didn't bring anything dressy-dressy."
"I'm sure it will be fine, darling".
"Darling, how long do the poker games usually last?"
"Depends. I don't think Max will be back till at least midnight".
"Hmmm".
He got up and held his hand out to her.
She took it and he led them to the bedroom.
"What do you say we get in our pajamas and then I'll give you a surprise?"
"I love surprises".
She quickly put on some pajama shorts and a tank top.
After he was in his pajamas, he led her back to the living room.
"Ok, put on this blindfold".
"Got it".
She put on the blindfold and waited patiently.
He poured them some wine, and then she heard him turn on the radio.
A few minutes later, she felt him grab her hands and pull her up to her feet.
He took her blindfold off and she saw that he had lit about 25 different candles.
"Dance with me?"
She nodded.
They shared several dances and just stared at each other.
"You are the most beautiful woman ever created".
She leaned up and kissed him.
"And you are the most handsome man ever created".
He leaned down and kissed her.
"And I could have kicked you for inviting Max to go on our ski weekend. That's supposed to be romance time, mister".
"I know. But I just feel so bad going off and leaving him all the time".
"Well, I suppose that's a good reason".
"Did I promise you romance?"
"Jonathan!"
"I'm kidding".
She leaned her head against him as they danced, and rubbed his back some.
After their song ended, he turned off the radio and blew out all the candles and they took their wine to the bedroom.
They spent the next few hours making love till they fell asleep in each other's arms.
***The next day***
Around 4:30 in the morning, Jennifer woke up to go to the bathroom.
She climbed back in bed and snuggled up to him.
He woke up and wrapped an arm around her.
"You ok?"
"Mmmmhmmm. I just wanted you, that's all".
She nestled against his shoulder, and then started kissing his neck.
"Again?"
"Mmmhmmm".
He rolled over and made love to her and then they fell back asleep for a bit.
When his alarm went off, he quickly turned it off and let her sleep.
He got ready for the office as quietly as possible, and then kissed her forehead and left her a love note on his pillow before heading out.
Jennifer woke up around 9 and immediately found the love note.
Darling-had to run to the office, will be home as soon as I can. I love you-Max is at the track but left you breakfast instructions-Jonathan
She got up and grabbed a shower and then headed to the kitchen.
Max had left her instructions on how to use the coffeemaker. After she got the coffee started, she opened the fridge and found that he had mixed her up an omelet.
She made herself breakfast and was really enjoying the peace and quiet, when the phone rang.
"Hart Residence".
"Hi, I was hoping you would answer".
"Hi honey".
"Listen, are you dressed?"
"Yes, I am".
"Good. One of my associates is going to bring somethings by the house. I told them to ring the doorbell two times so that you will know it's them".
"Ok. Any chance you can get away for lunch?"
"I wish. Unfortunately, I have to have a meeting with the head of an electronics company from Las Cruces that makes computer switches, and he's only in town for today. Supposed to leave tomorrow".
"Well, I hope it goes well".
"I love you, more than you know".
"I love you too. I can't wait till you get home".
She blew him a kiss and then hung up the phone and finished her breakfast.
She was relaxing on the couch when the doorbell rang twice.
She got up and answered it and found several ladies on the other side.
"Hi, we are looking for a Jennifer Edwards".
"That's me".
"Jonathan Hart sent us."
"Come on in".
Jennifer watched in amazement as they brought in racks of clothes, shoes, and all kinds of supplies.
"So, he told us that you have an event tonight and you need dressy-dressy clothes. Not formal but not casual. So, he sent you this note, and as soon as you read it, we can get started".
Jennifer took the note from them, and opened it.
Darling-pick out 4 outfits, on me, plus whatever you need to go with them. Let the ladies take care of the rest. You deserve this! I love you! Jonathan.
She teared up at his thoughtfulness.
"Ok, what are we doing first?"
"First, you come over here, and we are going to get you all glammed up."
She sat in the easy chair while they applied a gloss to her hair and gave her sort of a mini-facial. Afterwards, they gave her some cucumber slices for her eyes and then gave her a mani-pedi. Afterwards, they took her to the sink and rinsed her hair, and then wrapped her up in a swami, and then she got to pick out the outfits.
They were the best stylists she had ever known. They helped her make sure that everything was fitting correctly, and even made some alterations to a few pieces.
"Do you all own a boutique or something?"
"Yes, we do. We are on Rodeo Drive, and our men's suit store is adjoining to us. Mr. Hart gets his suits tailored at our men's store".
"Ahh…it's all making sense".
She picked two dresses, and two tops and pants, and 4 pairs of shoes, plus two purses.
The stylists flattened her hair for her, and gave her some makeup samples and skin care samples.
"I cannot thank you ladies enough. This was so wonderful".
"You're welcome. Here is our business card, and if you ever need us, just drop in".
"Thank you".
Just as they were leaving, she heard the garage door open.
"Hi darling".
Jennifer ran to him and jumped in his arms and kissed him.
"You are the most wonderful man I've ever known and I don't deserve you".
"I take it you liked your surprise".
"I loved it. And I'm going to go put on one of the outfits right now".
She kissed him and then disappeared into the bedroom.
After a few minutes in the bathroom, she emerged in a pair of black and grey plaid wide-legged pants, a sparkly black ¾ sleeve blouse with a v-cut, and some bright blue peep toe stilettos.
"Gorgeous, baby. Simply gorgeous".
"Thank you".
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him a few times.
"So, what else did you get?"
"Two dresses, and another pants and top outfit, a few pairs of shoes and two purses. And I promise, when we get home from the party tonight, I'll make sure to properly show you my appreciation".
"You're on".
She quickly changed out of her new outfit, into some lounging clothes.
They had a couple of hours to relax together and share a cocktail.
"How was your meeting, darling?"
"Long. We finally had to stop, and we will pick it up tomorrow".
He noticed that she had circled some want-ads.
"How was breakfast this morning?"
"Peaceful. Serene. And so, so, yummy".
They sat on the couch, kissing and cuddling till it was time to head to Susan's.
***The Kendall's***
Jennifer and Jonathan pulled up and parked, and then he came around and opened the door for her.
"Thank you, darling".
They walked to the door together and Jonathan rang the bell.
A few seconds later, Susan answered the door.
"Hi! Come on in".
"Thank you".
She closed the door behind them.
"So, I talked to Fallon. And I think I got through, but I'm not positive. She told me she understood, but I suppose time will tell".
"We appreciate you trying".
"Now, as a medical physician, I must caution you against taking those pills she sent you. I had a bottle of them analyzed, and they are what I like to call ticking time bombs. You take enough of those and an undesirable effect will happen-they could damage your heart, liver, kidneys, all three. It's just a matter of time. They are full of synthetic material, and synthetic materials aren't good for your body".
"I will heed your advice".
Susan's party was full of mingling, cocktails, dinner and dancing. Jonathan and Jennifer shared several dances, and everyone was in agreement that they were made for each other.
"It's like whatever they have, it's visible. You can see it when he looks at her".
"Yeah, and when she looks at him".
"Who would've thought it would be a redhead that would finally get him to settle down?"
Towards the end of the evening, the men went outside to smoke cigars, and the ladies stayed in the living room chatting.
"Jennifer, I just love your pants".
"Oh, thank you. they're very comfortable".
"Everything Jennifer wears is darling".
"Susan, you're very kind".
They started asking Jennifer questions, trying to get to know her.
"How long are you in town for?"
"I'm not sure. I quit my job, so there's nothing keeping me from being here with Jonathan. We haven't decided how long I'll stay this time though".
They spent about 20 minutes chatting with her, and then the guys came back inside.
"Ok, ladies, next week, we are having a girl's night. Drinks, appetizers, whatever else we get into. Does Tuesday work for everyone?"
"Works for me".
"Fine with me".
They all looked at Jennifer.
"You in?"
"You all want me to join you? Sure, I'd love that".
"Of course, we want you to join us".
"Guys, while they are doing their thing, how about we do poker?"
They all agreed it was a great idea.
Everyone started leaving, so Jonathan and Jennifer got up to go as well.
"This was such a lovely evening. It was so lovely to meet you all".
"We love you, we hope to see you soon".
They said their goodbyes and headed home.
"That was such a fun evening".
"Yes, it was".
They pulled up to Jonathan's house, and pulled into the garage.
As they got out and went inside, neither of them noticed Fallon sitting across the street from them, watching them through binoculars.
"Soon, Jonathan. You will be mine, soon".