***Chapter 3***

***Hart Industries***

Jonathan was in his office. Jennifer had been gone almost a week now. He was still planning on going to Boston tomorrow, but they hadn't spoken since her first day in New York, when they had fought again.

He missed her, and he was mad at himself for them fighting, but dammit, he was going to protect her at all costs.

His business merger was still going back and forth. Someone had sent him a picture of him and Jennifer from the society pages a few months ago, and Jennifer had been X'd out. On the back they had written "Just do what you're told and she will be ok".

Jonathan was incensed. He put Stanley on the case and briefly considered calling Jack to see if he could go protect Jennifer.

He was torn. He wanted to protect her but he didn't want to make her feel like a prisoner.

In the end, he decided her safety was more important. He called a few security firms and hired one of them, and placed a call to Jennifer in New York to let her know.

The plan was that they would accompany her everywhere. There would be three men with her at all times. When she came to her hotel room, there would be one man outside her room all night long, and the adjoining room would have a security guard in it as well. When she got to her room, they would check it out before she would be allowed in. She would hate it, and lord knows he knew he would hear about it. But, it was necessary, and only temporary.

The Freemont deal had taken another turn. They were making more and more demands. Jonathan was waiting till Stanley was finished investigating where the envelopes and threats were coming from before he signed the papers. His plan was to give into their demands, and then sell the company and take care of the employees better than Freemont was doing now. Or maybe he would keep the business and restructure it.

He called Jennifer's hotel and left an urgent message for her to call him. Depending on how the conversation went, he might just fly out tonight and watch over him herself.

***New York***

Jennifer was leaving a tv station. She had just given another interview. This afternoon, she was doing a speak and sign, sponsored by the local chapter of her sorority. She was looking forward to it, and she was in a great mood. She hadn't spoken to Jonathan today, and maybe that was for the best, with all the arguing they had been doing.

As soon as he got to Boston, they were going to have a long talk, the kind where she talks and he listens. Her dad used to call those talks "Come to Jesus" meetings.

She was in the lobby of her hotel and was heading to the elevator. The desk clerk called out her name, and told her she had messages.

"Thank you, so much".

She looked at them.

"Call Jonathan." "Call Jonathan-urgent".

She headed to her suite, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini-fridge and kicked her shoes off. She sat on the bed, took a sip and called him at the office.

"Hello, Hart Industries, how can I help you?"

"Hi Kelly, can I have Jonathan, please?"

"Certainly Mrs. Hart".

She patched her through.

"Hi darling".

"Hello".

"Listen, I wanted to tell you that first of all, I miss you terribly. And the other thing is I got another threat against you yesterday, so I hired you a security team. There will be three guys with you, everywhere you go. When you are in the hotel, one will stay in the room adjoining yours and one will sit outside your room. If you are coming into the hotel, they will check your room before you go in. This is just till I find out who is threatening, or till you get back home".

"Jonathan-"

"Jennifer, please. This is serious, darling. You have to believe me".

"I do. I don't like it, but if you want to do this, I won't stop you. When I see you in Boston though, we are going to have a serious talk".

"That's the thing. I can't make Boston. I haven't been able to close this deal because we are still investigating. As of right now, I will be able to meet you in Salt Lake City".

"Salt Lake City? Jonathan..you say you want to protect me, you want to keep me safe-"

"You will be safe with the security company honey".

"I feel safest when I am with you".

"I know, but I don't want to sign this deal prematurely, and them get to you and me while we are on your tour, and I don't want them to think I am not taking this seriously".

"So this is about you, not about me?"

"That's not what I'm saying".

"Jonathan…look at it from my shoes. If I had gone along with your plan in the beginning, I would have been a prisoner in my own home. I didn't. Now I'm on a book tour and you are trying to hold me prisoner on the tour as well. I can't win with you. There was a time when you and I couldn't stand to be apart for 30 minutes, much less 2 weeks. What happened to that?"

"Jennifer, I told you I missed you terribly. This isn't about you and me drifting, or anything like that. I am trying to keep you safe and I am trying to keep the employees safe. Nobody is trying to hold you prisoner."

"So, that's it? You've made up your mind? I won't see you in Boston, or Chicago, or Nashville, or Dallas or Denver? That's 6 days before I get to see you again?"

"It can't be helped. I swear we will spend some time together just the two of us when you get back".

"Yeah, I've heard that before".

"Jennifer-"

"Jonathan, I'm tired. I love you. I am going to bed".

She hung up the phone.

He slammed the phone down.

He called Stanley in.

"Call Freemont, tell them the deal is permanently on hold till I get back from a business trip. Give them no further details".

"Yes, Mr. Hart".

He buzzed for Kelly.

"Kelly, call Jack. Tell him I need to be in New York tonight, or as soon as possible. I need about an hour to pack and then I can meet him at the airport".

"Yes Mr. Hart".

He ran home and started packing.

***Willow Pond***

He was throwing stuff in a suitcase and frantically thinking to make sure he got it all. He was always in a rush, when he was flying, which was crazy, because they weren't going to leave without him, it was his plane.

After he was done packing, he headed to the airport.

His plane was waiting on him and he took off about 10 minutes after he boarded.

That would put him in New York around nine, and in Jennifer's arms around 10.

He opened his wallet, and looked at a picture from their wedding that he kept in there.

"I'm coming, Red. Just trust me".

***New York***

Jennifer had cried for a few hours after they had hung up the phone. She hated fighting with him, and she was so dang miserable without him. But how was she going to get through to him that she wasn't something he could control? She had feelings and opinions too, and she had some say over what she did. He had never been like that before. And she wasn't buying that it had to do with the threats he was getting against her. He had gotten those before and didn't act this way. Something else had to be going on.

She got up and got a cool compress for her eyes, and laid back down with it. It was a trusted remedy for swollen, puffy eyes.

Her phone rang, and she reached over and answered it.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"No."

"Look, I don't want to do it this way. So, I am coming to New York tonight. I will be there shortly after midnight".

"Darling-"

"I'm on the plane now. I love you Jennifer Suzanne".

"I love you too, Jonathan Charles".

"What do you have scheduled for today?"

"I have a speak and sign this afternoon at 5, and then I was going to go eat at Scarpettas."

"How about you go to the speak and sign, and then get your food to go, and then take it back to your room? I should be there by then, and I will be able to eat dinner with you, after I get to your hotel".

"Alright".

"Jennifer-I promise you, we will get through this".

"Jonathan, if you are coming here, is the security detail really necessary?"

"Maybe not for the whole tour, but certainly for the next few days".

"Ok, fair enough".

"Jonathan?"

"Yes darling?"

"I'm glad you are coming to join me".

"Me too. I love you".

"I love you too. See you tonight".

She blew him a kiss and hung up the phone.

***Hart Industries***

It was after hours. Someone was calling Jonathan's office line. His voicemail picked up.

"You were told to follow instructions and your wife would be safe. Backing out of the deal wasn't part of the plan. You will pay for this, and more importantly, so will she".

***New York***

Jonathan landed at the airport.

He took a cab and had the cabbie stop at a florist so he could buy her some flowers. He called the Plaza and had them deliver a bottle of champagne and two glasses to her room.

She was picking up dinner for both of them, and he was planning on going straight to her room when he arrived.

The cab pulled up to the Plaza, and he grabbed his suitcase, garment bag and the flowers. He paid the cabby, and headed straight to the elevator.

Jennifer was on the 16th floor, room 1612.

He stepped off the elevator, and saw the security detail sitting outside her room.

"Hi, I'm Jonathan Hart. I'm her husband".

"Hello Mr. Hart. She's been in there about 10 minutes".

"Thank you".

He knocked on the door.

Jennifer got up and opened it.

"Hi honey".

She leaned forward and kissed him.

He came on in, and she got his luggage settled.

"I got us dinner. I got you the sirloin".

"All I need is you".

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

She let him kiss her and eventually returned it.

He gave her the flowers that he had brought her.

"I also ordered us some champagne."

"That wasn't necessary".

"Darling, we always celebrate with champagne".

"Jonathan, what exactly are we celebrating?"
"Call it a redux of the other night".

"That would be nice".

They sat down and ate dinner, and then Jennifer got out her notes for the interview she had the next day.

After she went over them, she got up and changed into her nightgown. Jonathan changed into his pajamas.

He joined her on the bed.

"Darling, can we talk about this?"

"Later. I don't want to argue before bed".

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

"I love you".

"I love you too".

He pulled her on top of him.

"Jonathan!"

He leaned forward and kissed her neck on the right side.

"I'm so proud of you".

"Jonathan, this isn't working".

"Give it a minute…" He kept kissing her neck.

"Jonathan…."

"You can't stay mad at me forever, darling".

He rolled her onto her back, and started grabbing her breasts while he was still kissing her neck.

"Jonathan…you can't just ply me with kisses you know".

"Always worked before".

"Jonathan! I'm serious".

"Ok".

He sat up and looked at her.

She sat up slightly and looked him in the eyes.

"I may not work as much as I used to, but my work is still important. It's important to me, it's important to those who read it. Your work is important to both of us, but your work isn't the only one that matters, Jonathan. You had no right to forbid me to come on this book tour".

"I was trying to keep you safe. I got a note in the mail that said if I didn't go through with the Freemont deal, you would be in danger. I can't have that. Last week, I got another note. It was a picture of us, and you had been x'd out. I was only and I still am trying to keep you safe."

"I understand that. But what about coming home and saying "Hey darling, I got a threat against you. Be careful. Or Hey darling, I got a threat against you, how about taking along security on your book tour?"

He nodded.

She turned and straddled him.

"I love you ten times infinity for protecting me. But keeping me prisoner isn't going to make either one of us happy. I have feelings, I have my own opinions, and believe it or not, Jonathan Charles, before I met you, I was very capable of taking care of myself just fine. As far as I know, I have never given you or anyone else any reason to suspect that I cannot take care of myself, and if I remember correctly, my independence was one of the reasons you fell in love with me. So I haven't the slightest why that's a problem now, after all these years".

"I'm sorry, darling. I just love you so much. I am not about to sacrifice you for anything".

"I know. I love you too. That's why I let you in the room tonight. And letting me make my own choices and have a say in what my life will be like isn't a sacrifice, Mr. H."

"You are so beautiful, Mrs. H."

"Don't change the subject".

She gave him a light peck, and rested her head on his chest.

He rolled her over again, and held her as he looked at her.

"If I didn't have you, I wouldn't have a reason for going on. If someone took me from you, I wouldn't know how to function without you. I had plenty of days without you, but it's the ones I've with you that mean the most to me. You are the most important person in the universe to me, and I will always do whatever I can to protect you because I love you more than life itself".

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"

She smiled at him and kissed him a few times.

He ran his hands up her nightgown, and squeezed her breasts.

She took her fingernails and traced his chest hair in between the buttons on his pajama shirt.

They shared a long, passionate kiss, and then he kissed the side of her cheek.

He whispered in her ear, "I have never wanted you more".

She kissed him, and reached down and starting pushing his pajama bottoms down. He was fervently trying to pull her pink thong down. After a few frantic seconds, they were totally undressed and under the covers.

She kissed him deeply again, and did that thing with her tongue that he loved.

She guided him to where she wanted him, and he thrust into her, never once breaking their kiss.

She started asking him something in between kisses?

"Ok sailor….you want it loud…or quiet and passionate….?"

"A little of both".

He continued thrusting into her, and she kept kissing him.

Suddenly, she could no longer stand it. Jonathan knew when it was happening. She was running her fingers through his hair. She tightened her fingers around his hair and started pulling his hair, which only excited him more, and he began to thrust faster.

"Johnnnnaaaaatttthhhannnnn". She barely whispered it.

She grabbed his shoulders and kissed him deeply and passionately as they exploded together. He held her and caressed her as they laid there afterward.

"You still got it after all these years…"

"You're not so bad yourself".

"I hate fighting with you, but making up definitely has its advantages".

She started scratching his back.

"If you had come with me…we could have been doing this all along…."

"I know. But I had to meet with Freemont".

"So, do you think it's Freemont who is threatening me?"

"I do. I had Stanley investigate it, and he found that the CEO of Freemont has a history of attacking, assaulting and strong arming people into doing business with them. But in each incident, it can't be traced to him at all, so there's literally no evidence to tie him to anything".

"I see…"

She hugged him to her and kept scratching his back. He wasn't planning on moving anytime soon.

They kissed and chatted a little bit, and then fell asleep in each other's arms.

***In the room next door***

A man was on the phone. His body guard uniform was lying on the bed. He was staring at a mirror.

"Yeah, he's in there with her. Pretty hot stuff earlier, if you know what I mean…..yeah, I know. I didn't know he was coming either….they were arguing on the phone earlier so I assumed he would stay in LA…yeah, the plan can be adjusted…instead of getting her, we will just get both".

He hangs up the phone.