"I should probably take that, darling".
"Go ahead. I need to run some things by Stanley, so I'll be right back".
She walked over to the desk and picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
"Jennifer, sweetheart, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Pa. Just fine".
"What's this I heard on tv about you being kidnapped?"
"I ended my relationship with Elliott and he is telling everyone I'm kidnapped in retaliation".
"Young lady, I won't be ok till I see you with my own eyes. Why don't you come home next weekend?"
"Sure Pa, I'll be there. How about Thursday afternoon to Sunday?"
"Sounds great. Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm fine, swear it".
"Ok, I love you sweetheart. See you next weekend".
"Love you too".
She hung up and sat there for a second.
Jonathan came back in a few minutes later.
"Everything ok?"
"Yeah, he was just worried about me. He wants us to come for a visit next weekend. Can you take Thursday and Friday off?"
"I can take Thursday off. I'll have to conduct a conference call on Friday though. Where exactly is your father's house?"
"About 45 minutes north of Dulles Airport".
"I can rent an office for Friday."
"You mean it? It's a go?"
"It's a go".
"Yay! I'm so excited! I haven't been home in ages".
She stood up and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"Darling, if you want to stay and work the rest of the day, I can call a taxi".
"Nonsense. I will call Max and he'll come get you".
"Ok, if you think he won't mind".
"He won't mind".
He called Max and asked him to come get Jennifer.
He walked her to the elevator and rode with her to the lobby.
"I'll be home around 5, darling. And you and I will have the whole evening to ourselves".
"That sounds heavenly".
He kissed her goodbye when Max pulled up and she got in the car.
"Thanks Max. Bye darling".
"Bye honey".
She and Max drove along, listening to the radio.
"So, I don't know what he told you about himself, or what he hasn't, but let me just say, he couldn't be more of a son to me than if he was my own blood".
"That's basically what he's said".
"Good. So you can understand that I don't want to see him hurt, and while I would never pry into the personal dwellings of yours and his relationship, I just hope that you aren't like the others who are just after him for his money".
Jennifer was offended, and took a minute to figure out how to respond.
"I am nothing like that. Jonathan and I are together because we want to be, because we love each other".
"I hope that's the case".
Jennifer was silent the rest of the way home.
She basically spent the afternoon avoiding Max, in an effort to keep her temper in check.
Jonathan got home at 5 and found her sitting on the couch.
"Hi darling".
"Hi".
"Mr. H., Miss Edwards, dinner is ready".
"Thanks Max".
"Darling, I have a bit of a headache. I think I'll pass on dinner and just go lie down".
"Are you sure? Want me to get you some headache medicine?"
"No, I'm just going to go lie down".
She headed to the bedroom and he headed to the kitchen.
"Max, did something happen this afternoon with Jennifer?"
"Not that I know of. Why, is something wrong?"
"She's not feeling well. She's going to lie down and not eat".
"She and I had a pleasant ride home, I gave her my standard dad talk, and then she's been here in the house ever since. She's been quiet, but it's not like I was talking to her constantly either".
"What do you mean you gave her the dad talk?"
"I mean I gave her the dad talk. I told her that you couldn't be more of a son to me if we was blood, and that I didn't want to see you get hurt and that I hoped she was here with good intentions and not just after you for your money. She said she wasn't like that and I was happy."
"Max, honestly? You said all that to her?"
"Yeah, I did".
"So that's why she doesn't feel well. You basically called her a gold digger".
"Oh Mr. H., I didn't mean it like that, honest. It's just hard for me to see you put so much effort into a relationship with a lady and then it not work out".
"That's unavoidable, Max. And I'm willing to take the risk. But my relationship with her isn't going to work out if you are calling her a gold digger".
"I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, honest. I was just trying to look out for you".
"And I appreciate it. I do. And she would appreciate an apology".
"Sure thing, Mr. H."
"I better go talk to her".
Jonathan got up and headed to the bedroom.
Jennifer was laying on the bed with tears in her eyes.
He came and sat next to her.
"Max told me about your conversation with him in the car. I'm sorry he said that to you. I'm not defending him, but he's not a mean spirited person, darling."
"And I'm not a gold digger, Jonathan. I'm not after you for your money".
"I know that, and he knows that too. He was just being protective".
"Maybe I should get a hotel room".
"No, that's not necessary. This is my house, and you are more than welcome to stay here".
"I was just so offended I didn't know what to say".
"Well, he wants to apologize, if you'll let him".
She nodded.
She got up and washed her face and they headed to the kitchen.
"Miss Edwards, I apologize about insinuating that you are after his money. I shouldn't have said that. I'm real sorry. It's just like I told you-he's like a son to me and I don't want to see him get hurt, and not everyone he's been with has had the best intentions".
"Thank you, Max".
"For the record, Jennifer isn't anything like anyone else I have dated. She's 1000 times better".
"Thank you, darling".
She leaned up and kissed him.
"Can I fix you a plate, Miss Edwards?"
"Please. And I insist on doing the dishes tonight, since you cooked".
"We can argue about that later, Miss Edwards".
He made her a plate and took it to the table for her.
She and Jonathan tried to get him to eat with them, but he wouldn't.
"I'm headed to a poker game. I'll see you two in the morning".
"Night Max".
"Have fun, Max".
"Thanks".
He headed out and they finished their dinner.
"Darling, he looked so upset. I feel bad".
"Don't. He'll be fine. I don't think he meant to overstep, but sometimes he has poor delivery."
"Oh, I think we all have poor delivery sometimes".
After they finished eating, Jonathan and Jennifer did the dishes together and then they went to relax for the rest of the evening.
She had him lean against her and she gave him a chest rub while they watched a movie.
They made it almost through the end of the news before they focused on each other instead of the Tv.
She got up and put on a pink nightgown that he loved and came back and joined him in bed.
"Darling, do you notice anything about this mattress?"
"Nothing in particular. It's not too firm, but not too soft".
"It's the same kind as the one you had in Australia".
"Really?"
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"And there's one at the penthouse as well".
"How wonderful. I promise you'll love it".
He changed into his pajamas and then joined her in bed.
She snuggled up to him and he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm so glad you are here with me".
"I'm glad I'm here with you too".
"What do you want to do tomorrow?"
"Well, I have a few ideas for an article that I need to jot down and get organized. And I was thinking I might take a walk on the beach".
"I have a meeting in the morning, but I can be home sometime around early afternoon".
"Wonderful".
She leaned up and kissed his neck a few times.
"This is so crazy. 2 days ago, I didn't know how in the world I was going to get away from Elliott, and now I'm here with you, a world away from where I was".
"And after you left the restaurant that night, I didn't think I'd ever see you again, and now you are here with me and everything is perfect".
He rolled on top of her and kissed her.
"Absolutely perfect".
They spent the next few hours making love and then fell asleep all wrapped up together.
***Several days later***
Jonathan woke Jennifer up when he was ready to leave.
"Bye darling, I love you. I'll see you this afternoon".
"Bye honey, I love you".
She gave him a few kisses and then went back to sleep.
She slept for another hour and then got up and showered and got dressed.
Around 10:30, Max found her in the living room.
"I'm going into town, Miss Edwards. You're more than welcome to come with me if you'd like".
"No thanks, I think I'll just stay here".
"Ok, see you later".
Jennifer worked on her article ideas for a couple hours and then took a nap on the couch.
Jonathan came in around 2 and found her asleep. He leaned down and kissed her and then covered her with a blanket and went to change clothes.
She woke up when he came back in the room.
"Hi".
"Hi, have a nice nap?"
"I did".
She sat up and curled up next to him.
"How was your meeting?"
"It was productive, actually. I think we are moving forward, which is a good thing. The board voted the way I was hoping they would, which was to give Tashi a chance to run things without me".
"That's wonderful".
"Yeah, I was pretty excited".
They decided to go take a walk on the beach, and headed out there.
They held hands and walked a pretty good ways.
"So, now that you are back from Tokyo, how often do you think you can come to New York?"
"I'm not sure."
"It's going to be so weird to be there without you".
"I know, but we'll make it work".
She stopped walking and they turned towards each other.
"I don't want to just see you on the weekends, Jonathan. I want all of it, I want to wake up with you in the morning and I want to go to bed with you at night and I don't want to have to live my life from phone call to phone call."
"Well, I want all that too. And at some point, I'll be able to move to New York full time, but I can't do it just yet. Maybe in a few months. But in the meantime, I'll be there as much as I can be, and you can fly to me on the weekends some too".
"I'm sorry, I know I'm being selfish. But I'm going to be turning 30 next year and I'm ready to start going after what I want".
"As well you should".
He leaned down and kissed her a few times, and they made their way back to the house.
About halfway back to the house, the waves started getting pretty high, so he picked her up and gave her a piggyback ride.
He carried her all the way inside and set her down.
Max was back and was making dinner.
"Hey you two-what do you want for dinner? We can do lasagna, we can grill something".
They all agreed on lasagna, garlic bread and salad.
"Darling, I brought you something. You get to pick. You can have your surprise now or later".
"Oh that's not fair. I love surprises. I pick now".
He went and got it and brought it back to her.
She opened it and found a brand new silver laptop with all the accessories and software, plus a new laptop bag.
"Darling, I love this! Thank you".
She leaned up and gave him tons of kisses.
"Anything for you, darling. And that is yours, it's not on loan from the company like the last one was".
He made them both a cocktail while she sat down and got her computer all set up.
Max let them know when dinner was ready, and they joined him in the kitchen.
"Smells wonderful, Max".
"Yeah, smells great".
"Hope you like this, Miss Edwards, it's an old family recipe".
"I'm sure I will, Max".
After a nice dinner, Jonathan and Max watched a game on tv while Jennifer worked away on her laptop in bed.
She almost had her whole article written when Jonathan came in.
He changed into his pajamas and climbed in bed next to her.
"Almost done?"
"Almost".
He turned on the tv while she finished typing.
About 20 minutes later, she looked over at him.
"I'm sorry, darling. I tend to zone out when I'm working".
He kissed her shoulder and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She finished her article and saved it and put the laptop away.
She came back and climbed into bed with him.
"I didn't mean to ignore you-I just get so focused".
"It's ok, I understand".
"I'm so excited to see my father tomorrow, and show you his house".
"A weekend away will be fun. I'm excited to meet your father".
She scooted over closer to him and nestled into the crook of his shoulder.
"Darling, my father is extremely traditional. He isn't going to let us stay together. At most we will be down the hall from each other".
"I see. Well, then we better get it out of our system right before we go".
"What a great idea".
He rolled on top of her and kissed her.
They made love for a few hours and then fell asleep in each other's arms.
***The next day***
They were up early so they could get ready to go to her father's.
Jennifer basically took all her bags since she would be staying on in New York afterwards.
Max made them some of his famous breakfast plates, and they said goodbye to him and headed to the airport.
As soon as they were in the air, they opened their plates to eat. Max had made them each an omelet, some toast, and a side of bacon and a side of sliced fruit.
He had also sent them with a thermos of coffee and a carafe of fresh squeezed juice.
"This was so thoughtful of him".
"I think he is afraid that you won't come back after your conversation with him in the car. So, this is his way of making it up to you and to me".
"I would never refuse to come to your house because of one conversation with him".
"I know that. That's what makes you different from the others".
He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
Before they knew it, they were landing at Dulles.
He had reserved them a car, so they took it to her father's house.
They pulled up and she was telling him all about the estate.
"This is gorgeous".
"Yeah, it's very pretty this time of year".
They got out and unloaded some of their bags, and Walter came out to help them.
"Hi Miss Jennifer!"
"Walter! So good to see you!"
She gave him a huge hug.
"Walter, this is my boyfriend Jonathan Hart. Jonathan, this is Walter Mendelson, he's like Max for my dad".
"Nice to meet you, sir".
"Likewise".
They shook hands and then Jonathan and Walter carried the bags in.
"Jennifer my sweetheart, is that you?"
"Hi Pa! Gosh, I've missed you".
She gave him a huge hug.
"Pa, this is my boyfriend, Jonathan Hart. Jonathan, this is my father Stephen Edwards".
"Jonathan Hart?" Stephen shot Jennifer an angry look.
"What the hell is he doing here?!"