Jennifer and Morgan didn't say a word to each other. Jennifer was trying to figure out if she should reveal how she knew her date.
The waitress came by and told them there had been a mix-up in the kitchen, and that she would take their orders as soon as it was resolved.
"In that case, can you bring us all another round? You can put it on my bill. And darling, would you care to dance?"
"Certainly".
He took her hand and led her to the dance floor.
"Do you think she caught on that we recognized him?"
"I'm not sure. I'm still mad with her about this morning".
They shared a few dances and then went back to the table.
The waitress came and took their orders.
After a nice meal, they all paid their bills and headed out.
"It was nice to meet everyone. Thanks for coming, have a great night".
They all exchanged pleasantries, and then Jonathan and Jennifer were headed to the car.
"Jennifer-wait".
Jennifer turned around and walked back to Morgan.
"Yes?"
"Do you have any time tomorrow? I can't have drinks Monday night, so I thought we could hang out tomorrow. We could grab lunch maybe, or get a pedicure".
"Sure. I tell you what, why don't we meet for brunch at Magellan's, on 85th? My treat".
Jennifer turned around and got in the car before Morgan could say anything.
Jonathan could tell she was pissed, and put his arm around to make her feel better.
"Come on, don't let her ruin our romantic evening".
"Romantic? I don't call eating dinner across from someone who obviously doesn't regard me as a friend pretending to be my friend and her boyfriend who physically assaulted me in the street particularly romantic".
"I wasn't talking about them. We haven't turned on the romance yet".
"I'm sorry. I just can't figure out what made her turn against me. And I would like to think she doesn't know he assaulted me in the street, but then again, she purposely lied to me about the brunch place, so that tells me she probably does know".
"Darling, I would never tell you who to be friends with, but assuming she is aware that her date pushed you in the street and threatened you, and considering she lied to you about where you all were meeting for brunch, it seems to me that she isn't that great of a friend".
"Yeah, I'm starting to see that. But what I can't figure out is why. Why would she do this? Maybe she's jealous that I have you and she doesn't".
"Maybe. But even if you had never met me and you and I had never began a relationship, she and I wouldn't ever be together. She's too plain for me".
"She's too plain? Darling, she's far from plain".
"Maybe. But she's nowhere near as gorgeous or sparkly as you".
"Awww".
She leaned over and kissed him a few times.
"Darling, I have a surprise for you".
He leaned over and nuzzled her neck.
"When do I get it?"
"When you figure it out".
They pulled up to the Plaza and got out.
They laced their fingers together and walked to the elevator.
As soon as the elevator doors closed, he took her in his arms.
He ran his arms up and down her back as he kissed her passionately.
He backed her up against the wall and moved his kisses to her neck.
He reached down and pulled her dress up, and caressed her butt cheek with his hand.
"Is that my surprise?"
"Mmmhmm".
"The whole night?"
"This dress doesn't allow for panty lines, darling. It couldn't be helped".
The elevator arrived at the penthouse and they hurried inside.
He unzipped her dress as they came in and scooped her up in his arms.
He used his foot to kick the door shut, and carried her to the bedroom.
She was sucking on his earlobe and driving him absolutely crazy.
He laid her on the bed and tugged her dress off her. He quickly stepped out of his suit pants and then climbed on top of her.
"I want you".
"Come get me".
She kissed him long and slow, with lots of passion. He reached behind her and undid her strapless bra and tossed it on the floor.
She kissed him as she undid his tie and pulled it off him. She started unbuttoning his dress shirt.
He moved his kisses to her neck and shoulder.
"You…are….so….gorgeous…."
"Jonathan….now, honey."
He made sure they were both protected and then he quickly entered her and she wrapped her legs around his waist.
A few minutes later, they climaxed together and held each other as they tried to enjoy it.
Jennifer looked over at the clock. 12:43.
Jonathan was focused on her nipples.
They made love for several more hours, and finally fell asleep around 4 a.m.
"I love you, you gorgeous redhead".
"I love you too, you handsome sailor".
He kissed her a few times and they snuggled up together, and fell asleep.
***Later that day***
Since they were up all night, they slept till almost noon.
Jennifer woke up first and went and made coffee and cinnamon rolls.
She was on the couch working on her laptop when Jonathan got up.
She was in gray yoga pants, and one of his t-shirts, and her hair was pulled up on top of her head.
Jonathan thought she was absolutely adorable.
"Morning".
He leaned down to kiss her.
"Morning."
"Have you been up long?"
"Only about half an hour. I made cinnamon rolls, they're on the stove. And the coffee should still be hot".
He headed for the kitchen.
She put the computer down and followed him.
"I borrowed one of your t-shirts, I hope you don't mind".
"You can help yourself to anything of mine, darling."
She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head against his back.
"I love you, you know that?"
He turned around and picked her up and set her on the counter.
"I love you too".
She kissed him and scratched his back for a minute.
"What do you want to do today?"
"Well, I need to go to my apartment and get some more clothes and do some laundry".
"Well, I have an errand I need to run, so why don't I do that while you go to your apartment?"
"Sure".
He fed her a bite of cinnamon roll, and she took a sip of his coffee.
"Ok, I should go get ready".
She hopped off the counter and kissed him and then headed to the bedroom to shower and get ready.
He came and got ready with her after she was out of the shower, and they left together.
"After my errand is done, I'll come back and pick you up."
She nodded.
"I love you".
"I love you too".
She kissed him and got out of the car and grabbed her bags.
She got all settled in her apartment and got her laundry started and packed a garment bag of stuff she wanted to take back to Jonathan's with her.
She was working on her laptop while she waited for her laundry to be finished.
She compiled everything she knew about Regent Airlines and their dirty dealings with the FAA. She started writing and was amazed that it pretty much took on a life of its own. Before she knew it, the article had pretty much written itself.
She called her boss and got clearance to publish it as a featured piece.
She decided to load everything onto her external hard drive just to be safe, and then closed the laptop.
She started doing basic household stuff, like clearing out her answering machine, and going through all the mail.
Just as she finished all that, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi, I'm looking for a Jonathan Hart".
"I'm sorry, he's not here right now, can I take a message?"
"Yes, please have him call the Japanese office when he gets in. Thank you".
"I'll see that he gets the message."
She hung up and was in the kitchen when Jonathan got there.
"Hi handsome".
He came over and kissed her and hugged her for a long time.
"Hi gorgeous".
"You had a phone call. Number's by the phone. They said it was urgent".
She went to switch out her laundry while he was on the phone.
He came and found her in the laundry room.
"Baby, I have to run to the office and fix some business issues. How about you and I meet for dinner tonight at 8? Wear your best dress, and I'll have the car service pick you up at 7:30."
She nodded.
"I love you".
"I love you too".
He headed out and she finished her laundry, and then took a long bubble bath.
She picked a dress that Jonathan hadn't seen before. It was dark purple with black sequin vines and leaves on it. It was knee length, with spaghetti straps and a strappy back. She paired it with black strappy wedges. She sprayed on some of his favorite perfume, and put her hair up just the way he liked it.
She packed another bag of things to take to Jonathan's, and set it by the door.
The car service was there right on time, so she ran downstairs, completely forgetting her bag.
James drove her to the secret location, which she recognized immediately as Magliano's Italian restaurant.
She thanked him and walked inside.
Jonathan was sitting at a table.
"Hi".
"Hi."
He came to her and kissed her.
"I rented out the restaurant so we would have this entire place to ourselves".
"How thoughtful".
She slipped her coat off and he pulled out her chair for her.
He poured them each a glass of champagne and handed it to her.
"To the most beautiful woman in the world".
"Awww. To the most romantic man in the world".
They clinked glasses, shared a couple kisses, and then drank.
"Darling, the phone call that I got at your place was pretty important. As it turns out, Tashi, in Japan is having some difficulties running it by himself. I tried to fix things from the New York office, but I wasn't able to fix much. So, it looks as if I'm going to have to go back to Japan sooner than I planned."
"How long will you have to stay?"
"Possibly 6 months".
"I see".
"I will fly back as often as possible, I promise".
"Jonathan, I turned down a lucrative assignment for you."
"What do you mean?"
"I had the chance of a lifetime, to live in Italy and report on European assignments. And I turned it down, to stay here with you".
"Jennifer, if I could stay here I would. But if the person I put in charge can't do it, it falls to me. It's my company".
"So put someone else in charge who can handle it".
"I don't think you understand, I need to be in a relationship where I'm free to do whatever work I have to do".
"I can't give up my job to follow you all over the globe, Jonathan. That's not fair".
"Babe, I make enough money that you don't have to work. Ever. We can be together wherever I am".
"Jonathan, I am not a journalist because it pays the bills. I am a journalist because I love it, it's my passion. I would never ask you to give up your passion and I can't believe you expect me to give up mine".
"Jennifer-"
"Are you 100% going to go back to Japan?"
"Yes. I am flying out tonight at 11".
"Well, I hope you have a safe flight."
She stood up and finished her champagne, and then glared at him.
"You know, I really loved you. And silly me, I thought you loved me too."
"I do love you".
"Just not enough to put us before your job".
"I'm sorry, Jennifer."
"I'm sorry too".
She walked out of the restaurant and took a cab back to her office.
Jonathan sat there, stunned.
After a minute, he pulled a little box out of his jacket pocket.
He opened it and stared at the engagement ring he had bought that afternoon.
"Well, I guess I won't be needing this".
***Monday Morning***
Jennifer got to the Times at 9.
Everyone was buzzing about her article.
She went to her boss' office.
"Hi, you got a minute?"
"Sure. Great article by the way. You really did some awesome work".
"Thank you".
"So, how can I help you?"
"Remember when you asked me about working overseas?"
"Yes".
"So I turned it down because of personal reasons. But those reasons are no longer important, so I was wondering if there were still any overseas assignments".
"Well, that one is gone, but there is one in Australia. You would be confined to Australia, but there would be a lot of work available".
"How soon do I need to be there?"
"Your last day here will be Friday. You will start there on Monday".
"I'll take it".
"Are you sure?"
"I'm positive".
"Ok. I will call it in".
She went to the breakroom and got some coffee and then went to her desk.
Around 11, Ava stopped by her desk.
"Hi. Jessica asked me to put these on your desk".
She placed a beautiful vase of pink and white roses on her desk.
Jennifer dug for the card.
"I love you, I hope we can work this out. Jonathan".
Jennifer looked at Ava.
"Want some flowers?"
"What happened?"
"He's going back to Tokyo for 6 months this time. I told him that I gave up an international assignment to be with him, and he suggested that I give up being a journalist for good. So, we aren't together, he left for Tokyo last night, and I just agreed to move to Australia for an assignment".
"You're moving too?"
"Yeah. Friday's my last day."
"Ok, that's it then. Girls dinner, Wednesday night. Our last one".
"With me and Morgan not speaking? That's sure to be a fun time".
"Come on, you can't just move without saying goodbye to us".
"Fine. You and Cassie and me. That's it. No guys".
"Deal. Where do you want to go?"
"I'm not picky. How about Misago?"
"Sounds perfect. I'll make the reservations".
"Thanks".
"I hate to see you go, like this".
"I know. But maybe a change of scenery will do me some good. And thanks for not saying I told you so".
"Don't mention it".
Ava headed back to her desk, while Jennifer started cleaning out hers.
She found the letter that stated they were needed to testify before Congress.
She called and made arrangements to testify in 3 months, when they had an open date.
She spent the rest of the day finalizing things and clearing up loose ends.
As hard as she tried, she couldn't get Jonathan out of her head.