Chapter 42

Thanks for all the kind words! I love hearing from everyone, it inspires me to keep going. Sadly, I still have no rights to STFBE. I do this for my enjoyment (and yours).

After work on Tuesday, Sue invited Jack for dinner with her and Lucy so they could talk about the meeting she had scheduled. Wes Barkley was a Yale graduate with a degree in special education and communications. Sue thought it was only natural he would be an inspirational speaker. Her second thought while trying to keep her panic about meeting him in check, was that he had come from an affluent family, and had gone to an elite university. Her mind flashed to a softer spoken version of Myles. What had she gotten herself into?

Lucy had finished up the dinner dishes and offered to take Levi for a walk while Sue and Wes talked about the opportunity he had to offer. Sue was excited, nervous and self-doubting all balled into one.

At six thirty Jack arrived to go over wedding plans. Sue had forgotten she made plans with him. Jack offered to stay and listen to what he had to say with her, but she declined.

"Jack, thank you, but I think it would be best if he got to meet me. The me I am when I'm alone. The individual. If this is something worth thinking about, we'll talk later, and I'm sure he'll get to know you quite well." She said, trying to not bruise his ego.

"You sure?" He asked. Sue nodded. "OK. How about if I take Levi for a walk with Lucy?"

"Sure." Sue said as confidently as she could muster.

Just before seven, Jack and Lucy took Levi out for his walk around the park. Sue waited at the door for her guest to arrive. Sue kept an eye in the peep hole, and at exactly seven, a young blond man wearing khakis and a teal polo rapped on her door. Sue pulled away, looking almost confused. She opened the door but left the chain on.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yes. I'm Wes Barkley. I have a seven o'clock appointment Ms. Thomas." He said. He showed her his license. Sue blushed slightly.

Sue unlatched the door and asked him in. Levi greeted him at the door, wagging his tail.

Sue said holding out her hand. "I'm Sue Thomas. Nice to meet you."

"You too Ms. Thomas." Barkley said.

"Sue, please." Sue corrected. "Would you care for something to drink? Coffee, soda, tea, water?"

"Coffee would be wonderful. Thank you." He answered. Sue quickly made a fresh pot and rejoined him.

"Please Ms. Thom… Sue, don't be nervous. I already like you. I already want you to come work for us. I'm here simply to convince you to like us." He explained with a charming smile. It was almost too charming Sue thought.

Wes Barkley was tall, lean and good looking. He stood six feet tall, broad shoulders, fit. His hair was sandy blond with sparkling blue eyes and a million dollar smile. Most women would swoon at his feet, but it only made Sue more cautious.

Sue smiled at Wes, thankful he was trying to make her comfortable and had put the pressure on himself. "Well, then, tell me about your program." Sue said.

"We tour nationwide, and Canada, trying to inspire positive interaction rather than negative." Wes began.

"Bullying…" Sue asked.

"Yes. Bullying is a huge problem amongst young people. With the increase in popularity of social networks and internet access, it's more prevalent than ever. What we try to do is make people of all ages understand that it's OK to not like someone and have differences with people, but it's not OK to be mean treat them badly." Wes said.

"So basically, it's the old adage, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Sue offered.

"Yeah, something like that." Wes chuckled.

"How do you take your coffee?" Sue asked. Wes looked at her curiously.

"How did you know the buzzer just went off?" He asked.

"I can smell the coffee. That's usually my indicator when Levi isn't here." Sue laughed.

"Ahh…" He smiled. "Milk and two sugars, thank you."

"If you'll excuse me." Sue said exiting the room. Wes walked around the living room looking at the pictures. He spotted one of the team, one each of Sue and Lucy's families, one of Sue and Lucy together, and the last was Sue and Jack. Sue returned with two cups of steaming coffee.

"Here you go." She offered him his cup.

"You're very close to your team?" Wes asked.

"Yes. We're all close friends." Sue answered.

"Will a separation be an issue for you?" He asked.

"How do you mean?" Sue inquired.

"You wouldn't see them much, or at least, as much." He took a sip of the coffee. "Sue, I am looking to make you a full time speaker on my positive thinking, positive actions tour."

"What exactly will that mean for me? Time and travel?" Sue asked.

"You would travel a lot. Most of it will be locally, at least at first. You would travel up and down the east coast. We have quite a few people who prefer the west coast, and we're looking to set up an office in California to meet that need." He answered.

"How many days at a time? What's the schedule normally look like?" Sue asked.

"We do weekends and summer events, but it's mostly limited to the school year. You would work and travel from thirty to fifty hours a week." He explained. Sue's eyes opened wider with surprise.

"Wow, I didn't realize." She commented.

"Most people don't." Barkley agreed. "Have I scared you off already?"

"No." Sue said. "So, tell me more…" Sue urged. The pair sat and drank their coffee discussing the finer details of the job opportunity. He then handed Sue a piece of paper with an offer on it.

"Think about it. Let me know what you're decision is." He said as he got up and headed to the door. "Sue, it was very nice meeting you. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call." He said handing Sue his card. "Whatever your decision is, I wish you the best. You're quite the inspiration." He said as he shook Sue's hand.

"It was nice meeting you too Wes. I'll call in a few days." Sue said as he turned to walk down the hall. Jack and Lucy appeared, following Levi as he trotted up the stairs.

"Hi!" Lucy called. "Was that Wes Barkley just leaving?"

"Yeah." Sue nodded as they all turned back into the apartment. Levi headed straight for his water bowl.

"He's hot!" Lucy gushed. Sue stared at her smiling in agreement, but not saying anything because Jack was staring.

"Levi, you're thirsty!" Sue exclaimed. "I have his number if you want it." Sue whispered as Lucy passed her.

"And we stopped to buy him a bottle too!" Jack said.

"Yeah, the ice cream vender in the park gave us a bowl for him when we bought the water." Lucy laughed.

"Oh, let me guess, he ran into his little friend?" Sue asked. Lucy agreed.

"He was playing hard, that's for sure!" Jack laughed.

"So, how'd it go with Mr. Barkley?" Lucy asked.

"Good. Wes gave a very good spiel about the company, and what we'd be doing, and a very generous offer." Sue explained.

"We?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, the company… the speakers." Sue answered, knowing where he was going with his question.

"What did you think? You still interested?" Jack asked softly.

"Yeah." She answered just as softly. "What do you want to do for dinner? Or did Levi tire you out too much?" Sue teased.

"I could go for something. What did you have in mind?" Jack asked. Lucy suddenly felt like a third wheel and made herself scarce by ducking into her room.

"I thought maybe I could run to the store, grab a few things and make dinner at your place." Sue suggested.

"Sounds good. I'll grab a shower while you're shopping. Unless you want some company." He asked.

"Nope. I would rather you smell nice." She teased.

XOXOXOX

Sue stood at the stove in Jack's apartment stirring thin pieces of chicken, beef and pork around a frying pan. In another she stirred thin slices of carrots with bok choy, celery. Jack joined Sue in the kitchen washing mushrooms.

"That smells in-cred-ible!" He said smacking his lips.

"Thanks." Sue smiled. She occasionally poured sesame and olive oils into the pans along with soy sauce. The air was pungent with the fragrance of garlic, onions and vegetables and sautéed meats. The mushrooms joined the meat, and shortly after, they were all added to the veggies and topped rice that was drizzled with soy.

"Hmmmm." Jack muttered as he took a big mouthful of the mixture. "This is awesome." He said stuffing another bite into his mouth.

"Slow down before you choke!" Sue scolded. Jack chuckeld.

"So, what made you want to cook tonight?" He asked.

"I thought we could talk. We need to go over the details of the wedding, well the guest list anyway. You also need to make sure the guys are all set. And I thought maybe we could talk about the job offer?"

Jack's food intake slowed and his crooked smile appeared.

"You're really interested in this, aren't you?" He asked. Sue nodded unable to hide a smile.

"I am. Is this silly?" She asked.

"Is what silly?" Jack asked taking another big bite of his dinner.

"Getting excited about the possibility of this new job. I worked so hard at becoming an FBI agent, and I have a position I love… but this new adventure, it excites me." She paused. Jack said nothing, just watched. "It is silly, isn't it?"

"No. Honey, if you're excited by this, then pursue it. What did he say would be a schedule?" Jack asked.

The pair chatted through the rest of dinner. They discussed the job, the offer, the possible schedule, and her having to leave the FBI. Jack grabbed a beer and a water for Sue and they made their way to the living room. Jack started a fire and dimmed the lights. He sat next to Sue, wrapping his arm around her and sipping his beer.

He and Sue made a list of everyone they could think of, they want to invite. They talked over the entire wedding party, including Levi being the ring bearer. Sue told Jack all about the dresses, and gushed with pure excitement as she got into the details for the entire event.

"So, wait a minute…" Jack interrupted. "You mean to tell me, you found a woman in a little shop down town that is making a card box to match our cake? Wow! I can't wait to see that!"

"It's going to be perfect." Sue gushed.

"Sue, we could get married at city hall, alone, and it would be perfect, as long as it was you and I exchanging vows." Jack said as he leaned in to kiss her tenderly on the lips. Sue blushed at his compliment and smiled into their kiss. "I love that you still blush when I kiss you." He said as he leaned to her once again.

"So, we should probably plan a honeymoon soon." She began, being as calm as possible.

"Honeymoon's all set." He announced.

"Did you book the flights?" Sue asked.

"Flights? Who said anything about needing flights?" Jack smiled.

"Oh, so we're going to drive? Probably for the best." She said.

"Hmm, I don't remember saying anything about driving anywhere." Jack teased.

"Oh, come on Jack! Tell me! Where are we going on our honeymoon?" Sue pleaded.

"No. It's a surprise." Jack insisted unable to hide his smile any longer.

"Jack!" Sue playfully slapped his arm. "Come on! How am I going to know how to pack?" She paused. "How am I supposed to know what I will need to have for clothes? What's the weather?"

"I'll take care of all that. And, besides, this is going to be our honeymoon. Who said you're even going to need clothes?" He said and quickly ducked away, laughing heartedly. He pulled her into his arms, more out of self-defense than passion, kissing her to distraction. When their lips parted, he pulled back enough for her to read him. "We might not even get out of bed, never mind leave our room." He smiled at Sue's surprise and kissed her passionately once again.