Chapter Six

It took several more messages, either through her service or through Max, but they managed to arrange for dinner. Jonathan promised to pick her up at 7pm sharp in the lobby of her hotel. Normally Jennifer would insist on taking her own car, but she'd had enough of LA drivers that day. If she had to, she'd call a cab. She was pretty sure they had cabs.

Jennifer went through her closet knowing full well she didn't have anything suitable for a date. She packed for work and the AIDS Benefit, not for dinners with handsome men. Her Aunt Renee would have scolded her. Darling, you should always be prepared for dinners with handsome men…and breakfasts .

She missed her Aunt Renee. The older woman, the most stably unstable force in her life, disappeared not long after her marriage to her seventh husband, Justin. He convinced Renee to give up all her worldly possessions and then had the bad taste to die at the reception. Renee decided to go on the honeymoon on her own and Jennifer never heard from her again. It had been a terrible blow for Jennifer, who spent countless hours wondering what if she could have done anything at all to change Renee's fate.

But that was thinking not suited for the day, which was ripe with possibilities.

She rearranged her schedule so she could knock off early, which wasn't a problem. She wouldn't be able to go into the Malibu Hills with the team until Friday afternoon, when they held their next scheduled training. So she was down to mostly archive work and researching the final details. She had a line on some pictures that would be coming in from another library in DC, so she could spare the time to find the right outfit for a casual dinner with Jonathan Hart while she waited.

She wasn't far from the Beverly Center and there had to be at least one cocktail dress to be found in that massive retail destination.

An hour became two and then three. By the time Jennifer dropped her bags on her bed, she was already unforgivably behind schedule. A garment bag from Bullock's laid across the crips white duvet, along with a smaller selection of parcels from a myriad of other stores. Jennifer snatched the bag with the distinctive VS logo and sailed into the bathroom to get ready.

By 6:45 she was eyeing herself critically in the mirror. The saleswoman had been right - the bra was everything she promised. Wonderbra, indeed. And the dress, cut just above her knee had a nice clean silhouette that helped to accentuate her legs. It wasn't really narcissistic to admit they were her best feature, surely. She decided to wear her hair up, swirled into a french knot. She had been spending too much time indoors, lately, and her tan was fading a bit making her freckles stand out even more, which was something she hated, but she didn't have time to change her mind again.

She tried not to think of the next few minutes - the awkward moment when she approached Jonathan Hart with his memory of her fully intact. Truthfully, they didn't even know one another. However she might have been a little ashamed of her antics to get his story, if she wasn't also still nursing a grudge that he didn't give her a chance to prove herself.

But that was all moot now, wasn't it? They were starting over with a fresh slate. She ran her hands over the pinstriped material of her Donna Karan and straightened her spine. Her breasts looked fabulous.

The wonders of modern shapewear, she thought, as she conducted one last inspection in the mirror.

Slipping a gold bracelet over her hand and stepping into a pair of stilettos that would frighten a lesser man, she deemed herself ready to go.

She spritzed her bottle of Trésor twice before stepping into the mist, grabbing her clutch and heading out the door.

Jonathan wasn't nervous, persay , but he wasn't entirely sure how the evening was going to go. He asked a beautiful, intelligent woman to dinner and she said yes. There wasn't anything foreign about that.

Yet there had been an adversarial quality to their previous non-interaction in London that gave him pause all the same. As he did in matters of business, though, he simply stepped up into the unknown and hoped for the best.

He held the flower, a stunning red rose, in his hands. It was one of Max's beloved hybrids, grown in the postage stamp-sized lot they called a backyard. Jonathan tried to encourage Max to enter his roses in competitions, but the older man had no interest. For him to present Jonathan with blooms, not once but twice, for his date meant that Jennifer Edwards had his seal of approval.

Jonathan once asked Max how the older man knew it was a good idea to take a chance on a kid like him. Max's eyes twinkled and he chuffed Jonathan on the ear. "I just know. I gotta sense about these things, kid."

The elevator doors opened and a handful of people spilled into the high-ceilinged space of the lobby. Jonathan had to look twice at the vision heading his way. He had, if he was being fully transparent, daydreamed about what Jennifer would look like on this date. However the reality of her, glowing and smiling, blew even his active imagination out of the water.

He could swear her legs went all the way to her throat, emphasized with the needle heels that added enough height that she was nearly eye-to-eye with him.

Her hair, the color of glowing embers, was twisted in an elaborate knot on the back of her head, leaving her elegant neck bare. A constellation of stars, like powdered cinnamon, chased down her throat and over her shoulders. Her current dress might have been more demure than her last one, but it was snugly tailored to perfection.

He was thankful he hadn't chosen his own blue pinstripe suit, as they would have ended up a little too coordinated. He'd gone with charcoal instead, and followed Max's advice for a muted red tie. He snuck in a visit to the barber for a freshen up and a quick shave at lunch. The reflections, multiplied by the many glass surfaces in the cavernous lobby, showed a very attractive couple.

Jennifer stopped an arm's length away from him. She fiddled with the clasp on her bag, before ducking her chin and her gaze away from him in what he suspected to be an uncharacteristic show of nerves. From what he'd read of her - and lately, he'd been reading a lot of her - she wasn't shy.

"Jennifer Edwards," Jonathan closed the distance between them, holding his hand out. When she laid her fingers on his, he brought her knuckles to his lips. He surprised himself with the gesture, but her charming flush was worth it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Officially."

The lobby moved around them, echoing in the cavernous space, while they watched one another in a beat of awkward silence. Finally Jennifer chuffed out a nervous laugh.

"Is this weird? It feels a little weird."

"Maybe a little weird." He didn't let go of her hand and she didn't pull away. For Jonathan, the moment felt like it was out of time. Like a videotape that played slightly out of sync with the sound. A reverberation of recognition and memory that didn't quite line up to reality, and he was transfixed.

"Where are we having dinner?" Jennifer asked, slipping her hand fully into his as he turned to lead her away.

"Here." He answered simply and Jennifer stopped, her hand jerking from his. One look at her narrowed eyes told him she'd drawn an incorrect conclusion. He hoped to see her hotel room tonight, but he wasn't about to invite himself. And certainly not before dinner. "The lounge on the 34th floor. Have you been there?"

"Oh ." She looked abashed and relieved as shook her head. "No. But I've heard it's amazing"

"Then let's give it a whirl"

Jennifer chuckled at his joke. The restaurant was renowned for the fact that it revolved, offering a stunning 360 degree view of Los Angeles. The concept was, perhaps, a little past its heyday but Jonathan loved it anyway. It was where he'd held one of his first meetings with foreign investors and he considered it a lucky place ever since.

With Jennifer's hand back in his, he believed his luck still held. He led her to the glass elevator that would take them up. When the gold doors closed, both of them turned to watch as they rose. The setting sun washed the cityscape around them in copper. Light glittered over glass, sparking and flashing as they moved. It was almost blindingly intense.

"It's so beautiful." Jennifer looked out over the milling city as they rose higher and higher into the sky, the vista miniaturizing with the growing distance.

"Yes." Jonathan agreed, but he wasn't looking at the view.

He only had eyes for Jennifer.

A/N: 1) i did so much stupid, useless research for this chapter. Does anyone even care? Bullock's, the Beverly Center, the perfect DKNY dress. just embarrassing. 2) they're at the bonaventure in DTLA. I ate there once in the 80s and remember nothing about it except it was cool and my mom and I got lost on the way there. 3) it's fate that the wonderbra was invented in 1993, don't you think? 4a) I recall and like the scent of Tresor 4b) also shotout to my homegirl Isabella Rossellini because her ads were fire. 5) thanks to L for the dress inspo or else i might still be scrolling through pictures trying to find The One. 6) sorry Aunt Renee. RIP.