The men dropped Max back at the condo, grabbed Stephen’s things, and Jonathan and Stephen stopped at Hart Towers before heading to the airport. Stephen walked to a café for some coffee while Jonathan headed into the building. He needed to run something by his secretary before he picked the ladies up. Jennifer was coming to his town, and he needed to make sure he introduced her to certain people. He thought of about 75 couples… 150 people off the top of his head, and he was pretty sure he was missing some.
As he got off the elevator, there was a bounce in his step he hadn’t noticed before. He loved this office, and being able to show it off to Jennifer made him feel a bit like a kid in a candy store. He really wanted her to love it as much as he did. Jonathan put his hand on half of the “H” door handle on the glass door into his office waiting room, and pushed, singing out, “Good afternoon, Kimberly!” as he did.
Kimberly Ray worked for Jonathan Hart almost since the day he opened in 1969. She was older than him, by a good 20 years, and had an almost motherly love for him. Kimberly had enjoyed watching him grow this company nearly as much as watching her own son. At the sound of Jonathan’s voice, she looked up from her desk and asked, “All right. Who is she?”
Jonathan stopped in his tracks, looked behind him, and then back at her, “Who is who, Kimberly?”
She eyed him carefully. “Mr. Hart. How long have I worked for you?”
“Um… seven years now?”
“Seven years.” She repeated slowly and paused for effect. Jonathan continued his walk across the room, and sat on the corner of her desk. She sat back in her seat, tilting away from him ever so slightly. “And in seven years, do you know how many times you have nearly danced into this office?”
“Do tell…” he grinned at her.
“Once,” she huffed at him.
“Once?”
“Once. In seven years.”
He gave her a couple of seconds to continue, but when she didn’t, he asked, “And?”
“And… And since I’ve seen you be excited about good deals, big money, and amazing connections, I know your behavior doesn’t change. You are as even-keeled as they come. Nothing has ever sent you dancing into the office. That means there is only one thing that could make you behave that way… You have met a woman… so again, I ask… Who is she?”
Afresh he grinned at her. “Ahhh, nothing gets past you, young lady! And that is what I wanted to talk to you about today.” He stood up and gestured towards his office door, “Please, step into my office…”
Standing up, Kimberly grabbed her notebook. She was pretty sure some serious notes were about to be taken. She then followed him in, shutting the door behind her.
Jonathan walked around and sat behind his desk, Kimberly, across the desk from him. “I need you to pull together a party… tomorrow night. Someplace nice, but on the quiet side. If we need to shut someplace down for the evening, I am willing to pay for that.”
“What type of party?”
“An engagement party.”
“Engagement party,” she repeated from behind her notebook before the words registered. Kimberly stopped, peering over her reading glasses at her boss. “I’m sorry… what? Who is the guest of honor?”
“An engagement party.” He leaned on the desk, “The guest of honor is my fiancé. Her name is Jennifer Edwards.”
“Edwards.” Jonathan watched as dots began to connect for Kimberly. “Isn’t that gentleman you’ve had with you this week an Edwards?” she questioned.
“Yes, he is. Stephen Edwards is her father.”
“Art dealer…”
“And an art dealer, yes. That worked in my favor this week.”
She let that angle slide, “OK… someplace intimate with a dance floor.”
“A dance floor! Of course, a dance floor. See, you just saved my party.”
“And who do you want to invite. I mean, tomorrow… that’s not a lot of notice for people.”
“Kimberly… Jonathan Hart is officially off the market. How many people in LA do you know who won’t drop everything they are doing to meet the woman who pulled that off?”
“Invite everyone. Check….” She looked at him over her notebook, “Seriously, what’s your maximum on the guest list?”
“Well,” he pulled a sheet of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it across the desk, “I thought of about 150 people off the top of my head, so maybe we should go to 300?” He thought some more as she wrote some things down. “You know what? Just put together a list, and we can go over it tonight before you go home. It’s 3 now. Leonard will land with Jennifer and her mother in about 45 minutes. I will bring them back here before we settle into their hotel for the night. Oh,” he said as an afterthought, “I booked them a suite at the Ritz. Would you make sure it’s ready for them?” He looked at his watch and stood up, “I need to go to the airport. Can we finish this when I get back.”
“I have enough now. If I have questions, we can go over then. I should have most of the details worked out by then.”
“Thank you, Kimberly.” He walked back out of the office and headed to the elevator. He turned back at the glass door, “Oh, any chance you know where to find a black evening dress? I’m guessing she probably wears a 2.”
“How tall is she?”
“5’7” maybe 115 pounds.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“You are amazing.”
When Jonathan arrived back at the car, Stephen was already sitting in the passenger seat, with four cups of coffee beside him. “Ready?” He asked the older man as he climbed into the car.
“Very,” was the answer he received.
Pulling the car from the parking space, Jonathan calmly said, “Then let’s go pick up some ladies.”
Stephen laughed. “You know, Jonathan,” he started, turning towards him. “I need to tell you something before Jennifer is here.” Jonathan met his gaze and then looked back at the road. Stephen continued, “I have never been very thrilled with the guys Jennifer has dated.” Stephen, turned back to the road as well, “As a matter of fact, most of them she didn’t even bring home. I would meet them at ball games or plays she was in.”
“She did say something about not being very serious about most of the guys she dated…” Jonathan offered.
Stephen laughed again. “That might be an understatement.” He looked back at this man. “You are very different. I must apologize for not giving you much of a chance at first. I think you have more than proved you are worthy of not only dating but also marrying my daughter. I am very proud of the man she has chosen to marry.”
***
Leonard landed the plane right at 3:45. Jonathan loved how reliable that man was. Stephen and Jonathan watched the plane pull up on the tarmac. The time from them pulling up until the stairs were in place, and the door opened felt like an eternity to Jonathan.
Then the door opened, and there she was. “Jonathan!” she called, waving. She climbed down the stairs, and he gathered her in his arms, breathing in her scent. “I missed you,” she whispered in his ear. He turned to meet her lips with his, something his heart had longed for since he D.C. It was every bit as good as he remembered.
Suzanne followed her, though Jonathan didn’t notice. However, Stephen did. And like the younger couple, he gathered her in his arms and kissed her deeply.
“Welcome to LA. I am very excited to be able to show you around.” He told them. “And unless you have other plans, I would like to start by showing you my office building.”
“Your town, your lead, Darling.” Jennifer grinned at him.