***Chapter 2***
***Friday***
Jennifer and Jonathan were having breakfast. He didn't want to go to work, but he had meetings lined up that he couldn't miss.
"Lunch today, darling?"
"I would love to, but I am supposed to have a meeting where lunch is included".
"Oh, ok. Maybe another day then".
He kissed her goodbye several times, and headed out.
She did the dishes and then went to the study to work on another article.
Around 10:30, there were some flowers delivered.
The card wasn't signed, but she assumed it was from Jonathan. He always sent her pink roses and bells of Ireland. The card said "Can't wait till our lunch today at The Bistro".
Jennifer smiled at how sweet and thoughtful he was, and how he must have cleared his calendar for her. She called the Bistro.
"Hello, this is Mrs. Hart, can you tell me what time the reservation for Hart is?"
"12:30, ma'am".
"Thank you".
She went upstairs and showered and put on one of his favorite dresses and got ready.
She headed out the door and to the Bistro and went inside and got them a table.
After an hour, it was clear he wasn't coming.
She left the Bistro and headed towards Hart Industries.
She was sitting in her car at the light, and looked over towards L'Orangerie.
She did a double take, since she couldn't believe her eyes.
Jonathan and Teresa Owens were coming out of the restaurant, together.
Jennifer snapped a photo with her phone, and headed home.
***Willow Pond***
Jennifer came in and went upstairs and changed clothes. She tried to get back to work on her article, but she couldn't concentrate.
Why would Jonathan send her flowers about going to lunch if he wasn't going to show up? If he had gotten called away, he would have called the restaurant and told her. She decided to do some redecorating. She went upstairs and cleaned out her closet, and then started reorganizing the bathroom drawers and cabinets.
She was just about to start on the linen closet when Jonathan came in.
"Hi darling".
"Hi". He noticed that she made no move to stop what she was doing and kiss him or hug him. She didn't even turn around.
"What are you doing?"
"Cleaning out the linen closet".
He walked up and put his arms around her.
"Sounds invigorating".
She continued to organize the linen closet, and he eventually moved away from her and went and changed clothes.
"What do you want to do about dinner? We can go out, if you'd like".
"No thanks. I'll just make us something here".
She headed downstairs and into the kitchen.
She quickly threw together a pasta dish and put it in the oven to bake. She was tossing a salad when he came into the kitchen.
"Jennifer, do I have time to return a few work calls before dinner?"
"Yes, I think so".
"Great". He turned and left the kitchen and went to the study.
About 20 minutes later, she went to tell him dinner was ready.
As she got closer to the study, she heard him talking on the phone.
"Yes, today was great. I can't wait to do it again, hopefully for longer next time, and somewhere more private".
Jennifer couldn't believe what she was hearing. She went over to the bar and loudly got out a glass. She opened the wine fridge and grabbed a bottle and loudly set it on the top. She poured herself a glass of wine and then took it to the kitchen.
She had plated their dinners and had them on the table when he came back in.
"Looks good, darling".
"Thank you".
He could tell something was bothering her, but he didn't know what it was.
After a rather quiet dinner, she did the dishes and then went upstairs.
She took a long bubble bath, and was in bed reading when Jonathan came into their room.
As soon as he climbed into bed next to her, she reached up and turned out the light.
***Saturday Morning***
Jennifer woke up early and went for a run before Jonathan got up.
Running was always a great way for her to clear her head and organize her thoughts. She ran for several miles and then turned around and ran back home.
She came in through the back door and found Jonathan sitting at the table.
"There you are, I was worried about you".
He got up and pulled her into a hug.
"I'm fine, I just went for a run. Have you had breakfast?"
"I did. I made you some too".
"Thanks".
She ate and then went upstairs to shower.
Jonathan followed her and was shaving while she was showering.
She thought about things in the shower, and decided to be as normal as possible with Jonathan, and wait to see if anything else happens. She didn't want to spend her day arguing with him.
"Darling, what time is our dinner party tonight?"
"I think it's at 6. You can check the calendar on the desk".
The phone rang and Jonathan answered it. She heard him say "Sorry, wrong number".
She turned the shower off, and opened the shower door.
"I'm coming out now, don't look".
She told him that every time she took a shower and every time, he always looked.
She stepped out and wrapped the towel around her and looked over at him. He hadn't even turned his head. His back had been turned towards her the whole time.
She was hurt. That was one of her favorite things they did, her telling him not to look and him sneaking one anyways. Usually, when she would catch him she would wag her finger at him and grin. For him to not even try to look really bothered her.
She went to her closet to decide what to wear to the party that night.
She had picked out a basic black halter gown with rhinestones, but now she wasn't so sure.
She quickly threw some clothes on and decided to go shopping.
Jonathan was downstairs in the study when she came down.
"Jonathan, where are you?"
"In the study".
She breezed in there and quickly kissed him.
"I'm going out, I'll be back later".
"Wait darling, come here". He pulled her on to his lap, and wrapped his arms around her and started kissing her neck.
"What?"
"We haven't spent any time together in the past couple days".
A million thoughts were running through her mind, such as 'Who's fault is that?', and 'Gee, I wonder why?!'. She chose to not confront him just yet….
She let him kiss her neck a little bit, and she lightly scratched his back while he did. After a few minutes, she was ready to get up.
The phone rang, which gave her a good excuse.
"You answer that, and I'll be back soon". She kissed him again and left.
She ended up at a really trendy boutique in LA, Belle Gray. She looked at all of their evening gowns, and decided on one for that night-a silver one shoulder beaded pleated chiffon mini dress, with a back piece. It would show off her legs for sure. The other dress she picked up was a black lace dress with a high slit and ruffled edge, with cap sleeves. She bought some strappy black heels to wear with both of the dresses and a new black clutch, and then checked out.
She stopped by a tanning place and got a spray tan, and then headed home.
She grabbed the mail and then came inside.
She sorted the mail on the piano, and then headed to the study to tell Jonathan she was home.
He was on the phone.
He motioned for her to come to him, so she did.
He pulled her onto his lap, and put the phone on speaker.
He gave her a long kiss, while the guy he was talking to on the phone rambled on about business figures and acquisitions.
He kept kissing Jennifer, until she broke the kiss and grabbed a notepad.
She wrote "We need to start getting ready. It's 4:30".
He nodded, and grabbed the pencil from her.
"You go first, I need to wrap this call up".
She nodded and kissed him again, and then headed upstairs.
As she was passing the piano, she stopped to open her mail.
There was a big plain white envelope that was addressed to her.
No return address. Just a smiley face sticker where the return address should be.
She pulled out some photos and a folded up note.
The note said "If it was my husband, I would want to know". The note was typed, and was signed "A friend".
She put that to the side and looked at the pictures. They were all of Jonathan and Teresa Owens at the restaurant. In one picture, they were just talking, in the other, it looked like he was whispering in her ear, and in the next one, he had his arm around her and was holding her close. The final picture was of them in the parking lot, with Teresa and Jonathan in Jonathan's car.
Jonathan was still in the study.
She could hear him still on the phone.
Just as she was about to go upstairs, he called out to her "Darling, I have to go to the office to deal with something-we are going to have to take separate cars to the party. I will meet you there".
She didn't say anything and just went upstairs. She decided to wear the black lace gown instead of the silver one.
All she could think about were those photos. They looked innocent. There wasn't a photo that was the smoking gun by any means. So, that left the question-should she believe him when he surely says that they were just talking as friends. Or should she believe that there's something more to it, like the person who sent her the photos wants her to? When you look at the pictures by themselves, there's nothing to see. But when you add it to the fact that she was stood up by him at lunch, and she overheard the phone call where he was saying he couldn't wait to do it again, it looks bad.
She decided to watch him at the party that night. Teresa Owens would for sure be there, since she was best friends with the hostess. However, Harold wouldn't be. He had been released from jail on an ankle monitor and was on house arrest.
She made herself look exceptionally beautiful makeup wise, and did her hair in a half up, half down, with curls type of thing.
On a whim, she threw some clothes into an overnight bag and, put that in the car. If Jonathan was acting shady at the party tonight, she wouldn't be coming back here with him.