***Willow Pond***
Two weeks later, Jennifer has heard from Sienna almost every day. She has proven herself to be a very valuable asset to the Gallery. She got a room at a boarding house for domestic violence survivors, and seemed to like it.
Jennifer was heading to the gallery to check on things, and to drop off a few pieces.
Jennifer got to the gallery and parked, and went inside.
Sienna was at the front desk with Lauren, the museum director.
As soon as Jennifer came in, Sienna jumped up and hugged her.
"Hello, sweet girl".
"I am so glad to see you! I can't wait to show you what I have been working on".
"Well, that sounds great. I can't wait to see it".
Jennifer handed Lauren the pieces she and Jonathan were putting in the gallery.
"These are for permanent display".
"Perfect! Thank you, Mrs. Hart".
"My pleasure. And look, I know that we open in 5 days, but I wanted to talk to you about a secret, surprise project. Do you think we could go to your office for a minute?"
"Sure."
They looked at Sienna.
"We will be right back".
Jennifer grabbed her hand. "I promise I will fill you in".
Sienna nodded.
Jennifer and Lauren went to Lauren's office, and shut the door, because it was a secret conversation.
"Hey, how is Sienna working out?"
"We love her. Everyone here loves her. She is so sweet and helpful".
"Thanks, I am glad to hear that".
"How did you meet her?"
"Well, just between you and me, she showed up at our house in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. She and her boyfriend had been driving and had a fight, and she needed to use a phone. She said we were the first house she came to after he kicked her out of the car".
"Interesting. Well, she's a great receptionist, and has great computer skills and she also has an eye for interior design".
"That's great! I got the impression that she has never been able to use her skills to the best of her ability".
They got down to business. Jennifer told her all about the secret project she had in mind, and Lauren told her that they could most definitely make it work. They went and scouted out the location where it would take place, and Lauren marked it 'Reserved'.
"I will bring the necessary supplies tomorrow, and we can get started".
"Sounds perfect".
Jennifer and Lauren went back to the front desk.
Sienna was eagerly waiting for them.
"Mrs. Hart, the caterer called and confirmed for opening night. And the guitar player you called said he isn't able to come, but his roommate is, except he plays saxophone. He left his roommates number, in case you want to call him".
"Perfect! Thank you".
She put the message in her purse.
"How are things at the boarding house?"
"Great! The other girls are really nice, and I feel safe there".
"Do you think you are finally going to be on your own, for good?"
She nodded.
"We talked yesterday. I told him I was never going to come back to him again, and he seemed to accept that".
"Good. I hope you realize you deserve so much more, sweet girl".
Sienna nodded.
"Listen, Jonathan and I are opening a survivors wing of a hospital. We are going to be offering counseling and other services for survivors of domestic violence. We want you to not only participate, but to also share your story at our fundraiser".
"I would be honored to, thank you".
"Well, I will see you tomorrow. Thanks ladies".
Sienna and Jennifer hugged and then Jennifer headed back home.
***Willow Pond***
Jennifer had gathered all of the supplies for the secret project and had them wrapped and bundled together when Jonathan got home. He didn't see them, because she hid them in the dining room.
She was sitting on the couch when he came in.
"Hi darling". He leaned down and kissed her.
"Hey sailor". She returned his kiss and added one of her own.
She got up and made him a cocktail, and they sat on the couch together for a while.
"Did you go to the gallery today?"
"Yes. Things look outstanding! We are definitely going to be ready in time for the opening next weekend. And Lauren raved about Sienna, and what a great employee she is."
"Glad to hear it".
She snuggled up against him.
"I am so glad you are home. This house is lonely when you aren't here".
"The office isn't much better".
He leaned over and kissed her.
After about 20 minutes of romance, Jennifer got up and refilled her cocktail.
"What do you want for dinner? We can grill something, or order something, whatever you want".
"How about we order in? What about BOA steakhouse?"
"Sure."
Jennifer called and placed the delivery order. Jonathan got a cowboy ribeye and a baked potato, while she got the chicken and a baked potato.
"What do you want to do tonight, darling?"
"Spend time with you. Nothing better than that".
She leaned up and kissed him.
They watched an old movie while they ate dinner, and then afterwards, they gave each other massages.
Jennifer was straddled on Jonathan's back, rubbing out his shoulders.
"Darling, do you know of any nice, respectable, young, good looking single men at the office?"
He craned his neck to look back at her.
"Are you looking to replace me?"
She playfully swatted him.
"No, don't be silly. It's for Sienna. I just keep thinking if she could meet someone who would treat her nice, like she deserves, maybe she would stop going back to Jeff and allowing him to be so ugly towards her".
"Darling, that isn't our business. We can't force her to make better choices".
"I know…I don't want to force her. I just want to find her a better option, and put it right there in front of her…."
"Jennifer…we are helping her as much as we can. I know you want to keep helping, because you are so good hearted, but we have done more than most".
"I know. I can't help it. She was so scared that night she showed up here. I just want everyone to find what I found with you, so that they can see how wonderful life can be".
She climbed off his back and laid next to him.
He rolled her underneath him, and wrapped his arms around her.
"Darling, if everyone had what we have, then what we have wouldn't be special anymore. And I love what we have, because nobody else has it".
He kissed her nice and slow.
"That's a very good point".
"How about I make another very good point?"
"We've got all night".
***The next day***
Jennifer woke up when Jonathan's alarm went off, and went downstairs and made them breakfast.
Jonathan came down and joined her. She had made him coffee, and his favorite Spanish omelet.
"What's your day like, darling?"
"Meeting, meeting, meeting, missing you, meeting, meeting, coming home to you".
"That's cute."
She reached over and squeezed his chin.
"What about you?"
"Well, I am going to do some things at the gallery for a bit. And, then hopefully this afternoon, I can work on an article for a little bit. And of course, I will be missing you too".
"Darling, as soon as the gallery opening is over, what do you say to us going to the mountains for a week?"
"I say can we go right now?"
She reached over and kissed him.
She got up and did the dishes, and was standing by the sink, when he came up and wrapped his arms around her. They swayed back and forth for a bit and he kissed her neck some.
"I hate leaving you, darling".
"I hate it too".
She turned around and wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.
He picked her up and set her on the counter and started squeezing her back.
"Darling….your meeting. You're going to miss it".
"I'm the CEO. It can't start till I get there". He was kissing her neck and she was scratching his back.
"Dinner tonight, La Scala?"
She nodded.
After a few romantic moments, he kissed her again and headed to his meeting.
Jennifer went upstairs to shower and get dressed.
She got an idea while she was getting dressed, and went to the phone.
After she had made her phone call, she finished getting ready, and then headed to the gallery.
***Hartstone Gallery***
Jennifer pulled up and parked, and went inside and got a dolly. She was going to unload her car with the pieces from the special project.
One of the gallery hands, Patrick came out and helped her.
"Why thank you, Patrick. These need to go to the middle hallway, where the special project is going to take place".
"Yes ma'am".
Jennifer went inside the gallery and saw Sienna sitting at the desk.
"Hi sweetie, how are you?"
"I am great, Mrs. Hart. How are you?"
"Great. We are only a few days from the opening, so I brought the pieces for the special project".
"I can't wait to see what the special project is".
"It will be a good one, I promise you that. Listen, how are you doing outside of here? The boarding house working out?"
"Yes ma'am. And I am meeting my parents for dinner tonight. Not much, but it's a start".
"Great! I hope it goes well. I am glad to see you are getting back on your feet. I tell you what, invite your parents to the gallery opening. On me."
She handed her two tickets to give them.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hart, I appreciate that! I hope they will attend."
Jennifer noticed Patrick coming in and bringing her pieces. She caught a long glance that he shared with Sienna, and the smile on Sienna's face as he headed to the exhibit.
Jennifer went and moved her car now that he was done unloading.
As soon as she pulled into the spot, her car phone rang.
She answered it.
"Hi darling". Jonathan was the only one who called her on the car phone.
"Hi darling. Listen, Kelly just told me that I have a meeting tonight, so we are going to have to push dinner from 6 till about 8. So, why don't I pick it up and bring it home with me?"
"Ok, that's fine. I will call and place the order for pickup at 7:30".
"Sounds perfect. I love and adore you, Red".
"I love and adore you, Jonathan Charles".
They hung up and she went back inside and got to work on the gallery.
She worked till about 4:30, and then headed out.
***Hart Industries***
Jonathan was in his next to last meeting of the day. Things were stressful and tense. He hated negotiating when he was trying to merge with or buy a company, but there were cornerstones to the way he did business and some of them were not negotiable. For example, he refused to buy a company and not protect the employees who already worked there. He refused to buy a company that was known for unscrupulous business practices. He valued respect and dignity above all else and insisted that all employees be treated that way.
Several members of the board wanted to just purchase a company and clean house, but he wasn't willing to do that. In this last meeting, he and a few board members came to blows over that fact. Keeping the employees would make it more costly in terms of training, but to Jonathan, it was worth it.
He walked from the conference room back to his office.
Kelly was packing up her things to leave for the day.
"Mr. Hart, your 5:30 is waiting for you in your office. See you tomorrow".
"Thanks Kelly. See you tomorrow".
He walked in, and headed to his desk. After dropping his files on the desk, he looked around and didn't see anyone. He walked over to the bar and made himself a cocktail.
When he turned back around, Jennifer was sitting in his desk chair. She was wearing a black lace halter teddy.
"Hello sailor".
He chuckled.
"You are my 5:30 meeting?"
She got up and went to him.
"That's right".
They embraced and shared a passionate kiss.
"This is one meeting I hope lasts all night".
He set down his cocktail and picked her up, and carried her to the couch. He laid her down and climbed on top of her.
"Do you like my new lingerie?"
"No. I love it".
She started unbuttoning his dress shirt and loosening his tie…
He started kissing her neck as she reached down and undid his pants.
"Is everyone gone for the day, darling?"
"Yes I believe so. But just in case…"
He got up and locked the door and then rejoined her on the couch.
"Is there an agenda for this meeting?"
"Yes, I believe there might be. First, we are going to introduce ourselves". He kissed her.
"Then, we are going to talk about why we are here". He kissed her neck some.
"Mmm…"
"And then, we have to decide what we are going to do….are we going to go through with the merger, or are we going to back out?"
"I'm all for the merger, but only if we can merge more than once".
She reached down and pushed his pants off him, and held him in her hands.
He kissed her. "I think that can be arranged".
She guided him to where she wanted him.
"Darling, we also need to put it to a vote".
"I see. And how do we do that?"
"We usually say yes or no".
"Hmmm…. I could use some more convincing".
He began to thrust into her, and kissed and suckled her nipples at the same time.
"Yes, Jonathan…..yes".
"The vote passes…."
They exploded in passion together and laid there on the couch, panting.
"Well I would say that merger was successful".