Chapter 16

  

 “Brianna, where the hell is Jon?” Paul threw the question at her as he walked through the doorway to her office. “I’ve left voicemails, sent texts and e-mails and he’s not answering.”

“I don’t know Paul. All he told me was that it was personal business and he wasn’t available – for any reason.” Brianna shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Well fuck! If you don’t know then no one does.” He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. “He picked a great fucking time to go AWOL. The tour starts in a week!  He knows better than to just disappear at this point!” 

Paul’s reaction and his obvious tension confirmed Brianna’s suspicion that something unusual and very serious was going on with Jon.  “Well, I guess between you and I, we’re just going to have to run things the best we can until he surfaces.”

Paul just grunted. “Let me know if you hear from him will you?”

“Sure.” Brianna watched him leave the room and sighed. Things around the office weren’t getting any easier.

Over the last few weeks Jon’s mood had gone from bad to worse. She’d finally come right out and asked him what she was doing wrong or what she’d done to upset him. He’d tried to reassure her that she hadn’t done anything, that he was just trying to work through some stuff, but she wasn’t sure she believed him. 

Scrubbing her hands over her face, Brianna wondered if there was enough caffeine in the world to get her through the next week. Between her anxiousness about her first tour, her desire to do a good job and putting out fires during Jon’s frequent disappearing acts – not to mention trying to keep a handle on what was happening with the Soul – she was putting in long hours with little sleep as she double and triple checked all the arrangements required. At least having the private plane meant she didn’t have the hassle of coordinating flight schedules. The hotels and Jon’s personal requirements were enough of a headache.  I hope the actual tour is easier or I don’t know if I can survive it!   The ringing of her phone interrupted her thoughts. With another sigh, she sat up, reached for the phone and forced herself to focus on the latest brushfire.  “Brianna speaking.”

When Dr. Latham entered the room and rounded the desk to take a seat, Jon reached out for Dorothea’s hand. She squeezed it and took a deep breath. “So what’s the verdict? Did the chemo work?”

“Unfortunately not as well as I had hoped.” Dr. Latham didn’t sugar coat it. The time she’d spent with Dorothea told her complete honesty was the best way to communicate with her. “Surgery is still not an option.”

Heart sinking, Dorothea let out a shaky breath and nodded.

Jon wasn’t so accepting. “So when do we start the next round?”

Dr. Latham eyed her patient. “Are you up to that?”

Dorothea didn’t need to look at her husband to know what his opinion was. She was more tired than she’d ever been in her life and felt like she’d been run over by a Mack truck.....more than once, but she’d promised she’d give it everything she had. “Yes. Let’s give it another shot.”

“Okay.” Dr. Latham searched Dorothea’s face for a moment, then nodded. “I’ll set it up and let you know the schedule. In the meantime, get plenty of rest and bulk up on fresh fruits and vegetables.”

During the drive home, Dorothea debated long and hard, but finally took a deep breath and braced herself for the argument she knew her next words would start. “I think it’s time to tell the kids.....the family.”

“No!” Jon’s jaw tensed. “It’s not necessary.”

“Yes, it is. You’re about to hit the road and I’ll need someone to take me to my appointments. You know how they wipe me out. There’s no way I can drive myself without risking an accident. And I’ll need help with the kids on the bad days.”

Jon’s mind raced to find another way, but came up empty. She was right She did need help. But still.... “Okay, we’ll tell my parents. They can help you when I’m away. But not the kids. Jake and Romeo are too young to understand and there’s no point scaring Steph and Jesse.”

“We can’t wait too long.” She paused, debating, then forged ahead. “This is the last time Jon.”

“What do you mean?”

“This round of chemo.....it’s the last one. If it works, fantastic, but if it doesn’t....that’s it. I’ll take whatever time I have left and spend it with my family.”

“You’re giving up!” He accused.

“No, I’m not, I’m being realistic. I will fight through this round, but if it doesn’t work, I’m not going to spend the rest of my life throwing up my toenails and feeling like my guts are being ripped out one inch at a time, and my head will explode at any minute! Not to mention being so tired I can barely drag myself out of bed to care for my children.” She shook her head. “No. No more. This is the last round.”

Jon’s eyes grew wet and he swallowed heavily, but didn’t argue. As much as he loved her, he couldn’t ask her to suffer like that without a substantial chance of success.

When he stayed silent, Dorothea knew she’d won that round.....but she wasn’t done yet. “You should tell the guys.” She held up a hand to stop his protest. “You need a support team around you on the road.”

“No. I don’t need people giving me pitying looks and treating me like I’m a fragile piece of glass...or constantly asking me how you are.” As selfish as it sounded, he needed the tour to give him a distraction, an....escape...from what they were facing. “No. Not yet. Not unless we have to.”

Dorothea bowed to his decision. They were his friends after all and he was right about how they would react. But...“Then Brianna needs to be told.”

“No.” Jon’s response was instantaneous. “It’s none of her business.”

Dorothea dug in her heels. “Yes it is. You’ve been a bear to deal with lately and that isn’t going to get any better. She’s going be taking the brunt of your temper on the road, and she’ll have to be your buffer with the guys and the crew. If you don’t want her to get fed up and quit, she needs to know why. Plus there may be times when I need her to be our go between. It will all go a lot easier – for all of us – if she’s aware of the situation.”

“But....”

“Jon.” She reached over and laid her hand on his arm. “You hired her to deal with the outside world so that you could focus on what’s important to you. Is she doing a good job?”

“Yes.” He admitted. “Better, even, than I’d hoped.”

“Do you trust her?”

“Yes.” Even though he’d only known her about six months, he didn’t have to think about his response....it was an instinctive, gut reaction.

“Then give her the information she needs to do the job you – we – need her to do.”  Having presented her case, Dorothea sat back and let him think about the points she’d raised.

They made the rest of the drive in silence.

Just after lunch the next day, Brianna tossed her phone into her purse, checked the contents of her briefcase and headed out the door.

She paused by the front desk. “Evelyn, Jon just called. I’m on my way out to the house.”

“Okay. Oh! Can you take this with you? It’s from Paul. It’ll save me couriering it.” The receptionist held out a thick envelope.

“Sure.” Brianna put it in her briefcase, and with a wave, was out the door.

The trip to Red Bank was smooth and uneventful –even the weather co-operated - but she had a feeling her visit was going to be anything but. Something in Jon’s voice when he asked her to come to the house gave her the impression that whatever he wanted to talk about wasn’t a pleasant subject. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse. What’s he going to do now? Cancel the tour? Double the length of it? Fire me? She could drive herself crazy with hundreds of possible scenarios and she was too tired. Whatever happens, happens. I’ll deal with whatever he’s going to throw at me......after I have a nap.

Parking in her usual spot, she sat for a moment, then surrendered to the inevitable and headed for the house.

Dorothea answered the door. “Hi. Come on in. Jon’s in the office.”

“Hi. Thanks.” Brianna toed off her boots and started down the hallway.

“How’ve you been? You look tired.” Dorothea fell into step with her.

Brianna shrugged. “Last minute tour details, and first tour nerves. What’s your excuse?” In her opinion, Dorothea looked like shit. She was pale, her eyes looked a little sunken and had dark circles under them.

Dorothea managed a weak smile. “Life.”

Reaching Jon’s office, Brianna knocked and hearing his grunt, entered. She was surprised to see Dorothea follow her in and round the desk to stand beside her husband.

Uh oh. United front. This can’t be good. “Hi Boss. What’s up? Oh! I’ve got a package here from Paul.”

Jon took the envelope and set it aside. “Tour contracts. Thanks.” He toyed with the pen lying on his desk. Dorothea nudged him. He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “I want to apologize for being...”

“A bear.” Dorothea provided helpfully.

Jon scowled, but didn’t argue the description. “And for being unavailable so much lately and leaving you to look after everything on your own. You’ve done a great job, by the way.”

“Thank you.” If this meeting was to let her go, it was certainly off to a strange start. After a moment’s silence, she took a chance. “Jon, is there something you need me to do?”

“No.” Another nudge from his wife had him raking his hand through his hair with a sigh. “Yes. I’m going to need you to run interference for me for the next while, especially on the tour.”

“Okay. Who are you trying to avoid?”

“It’s not that so much...” He really didn’t know how to say it. Another rake of hand through hair. Another sigh. “I’m....” He glanced at his wife. “We’re going through some....stuff, and it’s taking a lot of my time and attention. I won’t be available for the staff and crew like I usually am. I’ll need you to pick up the slack, to be the.....buffer....between me and them.”

Great so much for the tour being easy. She was torn between dread at the added work load and pride at the confidence he showed in her abilities. “Okay.” What else was she going to say?

“Oh for...” Dorothea gave her husband an exasperated look, then locked her gaze with Brianna’s. “I have cancer.”

Holy shit! To say Brianna was shocked would be an understatement, although it did explain a lot – Jon’s vile mood, his frequent disappearances, Dorothea’s appearance...all made sense now. “I’m sorry.”

Dorothea just nodded. “I start my second round of chemo soon. We’re telling Jon’s parents, but no one else.” She paused. “The kids don’t know.”

Brianna understood the request for silence on the issue. “Got it.” Her gaze switched to Jon. “So....are you cancelling the tour or at least some dates?”

“No.” Jon’s one word response left no room for discussion.

                                                                                              

As she fought to hide her surprise, the full extent of what it all meant began to sink in. A dull ache started behind her eyes.  Fuck! Full tour while his wife is undergoing cancer treatment? And they’re not telling anyone? And I’m supposed to be his ‘buffer’ for that? Note to self: add body armour and Valium to list of tour essentials!    

“Jon, would you go check on the kids for me please?” Once he’d left the room, Dorothea took the chair beside Brianna. “As you can see, Jon isn’t dealing with this real well. He doesn’t want to talk about it, he doesn’t want to accept what the outcome might very well be.” She swallowed. “But you and I are more realistic. It’s in my pancreas, and the prognosis isn’t great.”

Brianna didn’t know what to say, so she just kept quiet and let the other woman talk.

“As it’s probably already occurred to you, Jon’s going to be more difficult than usual to deal with, especially since he refuses to tell anyone – including his bandmates – about the situation. I’m sorry that you’re going to have to take the brunt of his moods. That’s one of the reasons that I fought and insisted that you be told. You needed to know to understand his behaviour and his needs. I’m relying on you to help him through this. I’ll keep you updated on my condition so you’ll know what mood to expect. There may also be times when I’ll need you to be a go-between for us.”

She paused and searched Brianna’s face. “I’m really sorry to dump all of this on you. I know it’s a lot to ask.....to expect. But instinct tells me I can count on you to help him – us – through this. Can I?”

When it was put that way, what option did she really have. “I’ll do my best.”

Chapter 15

“Bite me Alex! My life is no business of yours anymore, and I sure as hell don’t give a shit about yours! It’s not my fault that sales slumped at the same time wife number three wanted to own an island in the Caribbean. The judge said you have to pay so you have to pay.  Guess she’ll just have to settle for eating at home instead of restaurants for a couple weeks. Blame your lawyer, he wrote the prenup. Maybe you should check with him, and see if it would be cheaper to just divorce her. After all, her time is just about up isn’t it? Time to move on to wife number four?”

“Now now Brianna, your bitterness is showing.”

She snorted. “Gee I can’t imagine what I have to be bitter about.”

“Neither do I. You were treated fairly.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.” She waved a hand in the air, not wanting to have the same old argument with her ex-husband again. “Whatever. It’s also not my problem that your new assistant is making a mess of the office and not living up to your expectations. Maybe when you interview candidates you should focus more on their qualifications to do the job rather than their potential as your next conquest.” She smirked. “After all, you won’t find too many that meet all your requirements.....like I did.”

Alex snorted, but refused to admit just how right she was, and what a huge mistake he’d made letting her go –at least as his assistant. “So you refuse to help me?”

Brianna rolled her eyes at his surprised tone. Talking to him was like talking to the wall – except the wall was a better listener!  He truly didn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to jump at his call to help him. “Sorry, I’ve got a new job now, with a boss that actually appreciates my abilities and treats me with respect and politeness.” Until recently anyway. “I don’t have time for anything else, even it if I did feel so inclined – which I don’t. You’ll have to find another sucker Alex, I’m done being your doormat.  Goodbye.”

Hanging up, Brianna blew out a breath and covered her face with her hands. Men! Or maybe it’s just the CEO types. She prided herself on being able to cope and understand their temperaments and reactions, but she was beginning to wonder if she wasn’t as good as she thought. Something was going on with Jon, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure it out.  For the last couple weeks, he’d cancelled her trips out to the house, often didn’t return her calls and when he did, he was curt and abrupt. She’d gone over and over every aspect of her responsibilities and their recent interactions, looking for some cause of his obvious displeasure, but came up empty. Besides, up until now, if he’d had a problem with her performance he was very upfront about it.

Her thoughts were disturbed by the ringing of her phone. A glance at the display had her wondering for an instant if she’d conjured him. She took a deep breath before answering, bracing herself for whatever his mood might be. “Hey boss. What’s up?”

“I need you to come out to the house. There’s a pile of correspondence that needs to go out and I need to talk to you about my schedule.”

“Okay. Sure. When do you want me to come out?”

“Now.” His tone indicated she shouldn’t have needed to ask.

Brianna winced. “Right. I’m on my way. I’ll see you in a bit.”

The only response she got was the click of a disconnecting line.

She sighed and began packing up her briefcase. Doesn’t look like his mood has improved any.

Waiting for the gates to open to allow her to pass through, Brianna took several calming breaths and reminded herself that she was capable of dealing professionally and ably with whatever awaited her inside.

Stephanie opened the door. “Hi. Come on in. Dad’s in the office. Hope you brought body armor...he’s in a mood.”    

“Thanks for the warning.” Brianna grimaced. “How’s school going?”

“Pretty good. I like all my teachers so that helps.”

“Yeah, it sure does.” Brianna agreed with a smile. “Wish me luck, I’m going in.”

“Yell if you need first aid.”

Brianna laughed and started down the hallway. Reaching the office, she hesitated then knocked on the door. She took the grunted response as assent and entered. Her “Hi Boss” was greeted with another grunt and a brief glance as she sat down.

“Here. These are ready to go out.” Jon held out a file folder full of correspondence without looking up from reading his email.

“Okay. Thanks.” She handed over a folder of her own. “Here’s the latest batch.”

With another grunt he set it aside.

Brianna sat quietly looking through the folder he’d given her and waited for him to speak. Normally they chatted easily and pleasantly during their meetings, but today she sensed she was better to keep silent.

Finally, he sat back and picked up a piece of paper that was lying on his desk. He read it over several times, debating, then held it out to her. “These dates need to be blocked off on my schedule.”

“Whole days?” Her brows rose in surprise as she took the paper and read it quickly. They were in full on album promotion and the tour was scheduled to start in a little over a month. While she hadn’t been through this before, she doubted this was a good time for him to be taking so much time off. But he was the boss. It was his business, his life.

“Yes, whole days!” Jon snapped.

“Anything I can help with?” The professional in Brianna made her ask despite the risk to her neck – and possibly her job.

“No.” Jon struggled to bring his temper under control. “I’ve got some personal business to take care of.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure you’re not disturbed.” When he didn’t say any more, she prodded him gently. “Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

She stood. “Is Dorothea around?”

His head snapped up. “What do you need her for?”

Brianna’s brows rose at his aggressive tone. “I haven’t talked to her in awhile, I just wanted to say hi.”

A muscle flexed in his jaw “I’ll pass it on. She’s busy.”

 Okaaaay. She stood and put the file in her briefcase. “I’ll be going then. See you later.”

His grunt followed her out the door.

“We need to tell her.” Dorothea spoke from the doorway. She’d heard the end of their conversation as she walked down the hallway, but wasn’t fast enough to catch Brianna.

“No we don’t.” He argued without looking up. “It’s nobody’s business but ours.”

 “You’re treating her like an incompetent...servant. She deserves to know why you’re crankier than a bear with a belly full of cubs and that it has nothing to do with her. And as closely as she needs to work with you....” Dorothea trailed off and studied her husband’s stubborn expression for a moment.  “We need to figure out how to tell the kids too.”

His head snapped up. “There’s no point in scaring them.  On the days you don’t feel well we’ll just tell them you have the flu or something. It’ll only be for a few weeks.”

“For the first round of treatments.”

Jon frowned. “Positive thoughts, remember honey.  Worrying about what might happen never helped anyone.”

“Neither does sticking your head in the sand and pretending it can’t happen!” She sighed. “Honey, I’m going to fight this with everything I’ve got....but we’ve got to be realistic....”

“No!  You heard the doctor. She said radiation and chemo are our best options...our best chance to shrink the tumour so that they can operate.”

Yeah but her eyes told me that chance was slim. And she’d done her own research. The prognosis was not good. But she wouldn’t take away his hope. She wasn’t giving up her own either, but she also had to be realistic. She would keep her promise to fight as hard as she could, but if it looked like it wasn’t going to work, she would do what she always did  - whatever she could to make sure her family had what they needed.

And that meant not fighting with him now. Walking behind his chair, Dorothea wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his neck. “Okay honey.  I hear you. We’ll leave it be.”

As she walked to the door she stopped to frown at him, remembering.  “But you need to stop being such an asshole to Bri.  If she quits, especially this close to the tour, you’ll be screwed – and not in a good way. Plus, she doesn’t deserve it.”

Jon sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I know.  I’ll be nicer. I promise.”

Dorothea nodded and turned to leave, a sad smile curving her lips. She knew this was hard on him and she had a feeling it was only going to get worse. She hoped they both had enough strength to see it through to the end.            

Chapter 14

Jon sat with Dorothea in the waiting room of the doctor’s office. The beige walls with their generic pieces of art and months old magazines scattered on various tables did nothing to distract him. Unable to sit still, he rose and paced around the room. – again.

“Honestly Jon, if you’re so anxious to get back to work, go!  Your yo-yo routine is driving me nuts!” Her voice was sharper than necessary, but her nerves were starting to get to her too.

“No, it’s fine. I want to be here with you.” He sat down again. If she wanted to pretend that his pacing was due to impatience to get back to work, he would play along...even though they both knew that wasn’t the reason for his nervous energy. “What did the doctor say again?” He didn’t need to hear the words repeated, they were etched on his brain – and the knife of fear that was piercing his heart – but the silence in the room was giving his imagination too much time to work.  He was terrified her constant fatigue, stomach pain and nausea were symptoms of something more serious than a virus.

“Just that the test results were back and she wanted to go over them with me – us.” She repeated the words automatically and fought to ignore the part of her heart that knew that they don’t call you in for good news....and that doctors don’t send you for CT scans and MRIs on a whim, and she didn’t want to remember the huge biopsy needle.

When the nurse called their names they stood and instinctively reached for each other’s hands. The walk to the examining room couldn’t have been more than fifty feet, but it felt like fifty miles. The five minutes waiting for the doctor felt like five hours.

“Dorothea, Jon thanks for coming in.” Dr. Lewis greeted them with a faint smile as she entered the room and took her seat behind the desk. “So the results of your tests came back.” She didn’t believe in mincing words, preferring to come straight to the point – particularly in cases like this. “I won’t beat around the bush.  It’s not what I had hoped for. The biopsy confirmed what I suspected from the symptoms you described, the CT and MRI.” She paused. “I’m afraid it’s cancer.”

Jon’s mind went blank as he tried to process that dreaded word. He knew he should be asking questions....saying....something, but he couldn’t form any words.  Although they knew this was a possibility, he really thought it was going to be something benign – or maybe a simple infection or some such thing that could be cured with a few pills. After all, he’d always had that golden horseshoe. Everything he’d really wanted, he’d gotten.

Apparently that lucky streak didn’t extend to his wife.

Dorothea closed her eyes for a moment and reached out to squeeze Jon’s hand. When she opened them again, she focused on the doctor. “Is it just in my pancreas or has it spread?”

“From what we can see it’s only in the pancreas, but the tumour is too big to operate.”

Something in her face and tone told Dorothea more than her words. “It doesn’t matter though does it.”

It wasn’t really a question.

Dr. Lewis met Dorothea’s gaze and let her sympathy and regret show. “No it doesn’t. I’m sorry.”

Dorothea nodded and swallowed heavily. “How long do I have?”

“Whoa whoa WHOA! Hold on a minute!” Jon sat forward. “There are treatment options, right? We can fight this!”

“Jon...”

“NO!” He cut off whatever his wife was going to say. “No Dot. We don’t just give up. We fight!” He squeezed her hand. “Just like every obstacle we’ve ever faced. When I wanted a career in music but no one thought I could do it, when your family didn’t want you to marry me and told you I’d only make you miserable, when people said a woman could never run a successful dojo, when Doc almost killed me, when I was stupid and almost drove you away.” His lips twisted into a wry smile. “The odds have been against us for most of the time we’ve been together, but we’ve always made it through. By fighting for it. Together. This is just another battle. Another fight. We’ll win this one too.”

Dorothea’s eyes filled with tears.

Jon turned to face her fully. “Dotty, you fought to create this family and keep it together when everyone said it would never work. You proved them wrong. You can do it again. I know you can!”

Dorothea blew out a ragged breath, squeezed his hand and nodded.  “I know. I just want to be aware of what I’m in for.” Turning back to the doctor, she stiffened her spine. “So what’s our next step?”

Dr. Lewis smiled gently. She didn’t want to give them false hope, but she wouldn’t take it away either from them either. And a positive attitude could only help her through the ordeal she was facing. Unfortunately, when it came to pancreatic cancer, by the time symptoms appeared and diagnosis was made, it was already at an advanced stage. Less than twenty percent of patients survived a year. “I’ll refer you to Dr. Latham, a friend of mine who’s an oncologist at Sloan-Kettering. She specializes in pancreatic cancers. She’ll go over your options with you.”

“And in the meantime? What can I expect?”

“More of what you’ve already experienced....abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue. I’ll give you something for the pain and nausea. Rest when you need to.  You’ll have to just try different foods and see what your body can tolerate.” She handed over the prescriptions. “I’m always here if you have any questions or just need to talk.”

“Thank you.” Dorothea stood and shook her hand. Jon followed suit.

It was a silent ride home. Both were lost in their own thoughts and, quite frankly, didn’t know what to say.

At the house, Jon stopped Dorothea before she opened the door. “Honey.....I....I...”

Slender fingers stopped his bumbling words. She smiled and kissed him. “I know. Thank you. I love you too.”

“Mommy! Mommy! You home!” Jake came running out of the house to hug his mother.   

“Did you miss me?”

“Yep! I no yike it when you go away.”

Jon had to look away from his wife who was struggling to keep it together, his eyes stinging with his own tears. “I’ll make dinner tonight.”

“Yay! Pizza!” Jake ran into the house to tell his siblings.

“I’m sorry, I never thought....are you going to be able to eat that?” Jon frowned and cursed himself for his thoughtlessness.

Dorothea shrugged. “We’ll find out. If not you can make me a grilled cheese sandwich.”

                   

                                                                                                                          

The evening was pure torture. They tried to act normal for the kids’ sake. It wasn’t easy, but Jon thought they’d done a good job of it.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” His daughter’s question revealed that they weren’t as successful as he’d thought.

“What do you mean?” Dorothea frowned. She wasn’t ready to talk to anyone about it yet.

“I don’t know, you just seem.....off.”

“I’m just tired sweetie. I’m fine.” She stood and started to clear the table. “Why don’t we watch a movie tonight?”

“Yay!” Jake jumped off his chair. “I go wake up de TV!”

“I get to pick the movie!” Jesse glared at his sister. “It’s my turn and I don’t want any stupid chick flick!”

“Nyah nyah nyah.” Steph curled her lip at him. “I don’t want a stupid blood and guts movie.”

“Me either!” Dorothea agreed.

Jesse considered for a moment. “Fantastic Four?”

“Okay.” Steph agreed.

“I’ll clean up. Go relax.” Jon urged his wife.

“Thanks.”

When he walked into the living room ten minutes later he found Dorothea surrounded by their children, but instead of watching the movie, she was watching them, taking in every expression, every laugh.

It broke his heart.

“I’ve got to go to the office to make a phone call for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

Sitting behind his desk, Jon put his head in his hands and fought to bring his emotions under control. Pull it together man, she’s going to be alright. You’ve got to be strong for her. She’s going to be alright.

Any other outcome was not an option for him.

Giving himself a last mental shake, he took a deep breath, stood and went to join his family.

Chapter 13

A week later, Brianna was running errands on her lunch hour when Evelyn called to tell her that Jon was in the office.  As she hurried out of the store, the dark sky that had been threatening rain all day finally opened up and doused the city. Naturally, as soon as the first drop hit asphalt, all the cabs disappeared. Luckily she was only a few blocks from the office.

Practically running all the way – quite a feat in three inch heels – she made it, arriving only slightly damp.....almost. She was forced to stop at the corner and wait for the light to change. A big SUV rushed to beat the yellow light and plowed through a large puddle, sending a wall of water over Brianna, drenching her. Spluttering and mumbling curses under her breath, she continued to the office.    

“Oh my.” Evelyn grimaced at the sight of a dripping Brianna. “Is it raining that hard?”

“No some asshole hit a puddle at full speed and tried to drown me.” Brianna plucked at the white silk tank top that was sticking to her...everywhere.

“Some people are so inconsiderate.” Evelyn shook her head and stood. “I’ll see if I can find you a towel. Do you have any clothes you can change into?”

“Not really. All I have are a new pair of yoga pants I just bought.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll find out if Dorothea was right about Jon not caring how I dressed.” She glanced at her watch. “I wonder why he didn’t call me to meet him?”

“I’m sure he’ll understand.” Evelyn assured her. “I told him you were at lunch. He’s meeting with Paul right now, so I thought I’d give you the heads up.”

“Thanks.”

In her office, Brianna peeled off her sodden skirt, dried herself with the towel Evelyn had managed to scrounge up for her and pulled on the yoga pants. There wasn’t much she could do about her shirt except wring it out as best she could. The clammy silk clung to her like a second skin, revealing every curve and hollow. The air conditioning in the building didn’t help matters either. She made a mental note to always keep a change of clothes in the office. You picked a great day to wear white!

She’d taken down her hair and was squeezing water out of it when the door between her office and Jon’s opened. Standing in the doorway, he smirked at the sight of his usually neat and prim assistant looking dishevelled. “That’s quite the fashion statement.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “Yeah I thought I’d start a new trend.”

“The wet zen look?”

“Ha ha. You’re in a witty mood today.”

Jon shrugged, her obvious disgruntlement amusing. “I was talking to Lemma. Must have rubbed off.”

“Uh huh.” Hanging the towel neatly over the back of a chair to dry, Brianna kept her back to him and plucked at the material covering her breasts, trying to lessen the display before turning back to face him. “So what brings you into the city?”

“Dorothea had an appointment so I thought I’d come in with her instead of calling you or getting you to come out to the house.” He glanced at the wall sized calendar with events marked in different colours. “What’s that?”

“The big picture of your calendar. Black for band, blue for football, red for family and green for charity events.” She explained.

He studied the very full board and wrinkled his nose. He’d never realized his time was that thoroughly booked up. “That’s ugly.”

“That’s your life.”

They wandered into his office and sat down.

“What’s up?” Brianna forced herself into work mode despite her self-consciousness in regards to her attire....and the cold that was sinking into her bones from the damp silk.

“Tour dates are filling up. I wanted to go over them with you and explain how this works and what I need you to do.”

“Okay.” She leaned over to see the dates he’d scratched on a piece of paper. He was pretty technologically capable, but some things he still liked to see on paper.

While they were talking, Brianna tried to ignore her discomfort and focus on what he was saying, but it wasn’t easy. Between the wet material and cool air, her nipples were so hard they hurt and shivers wracked her body every few minutes.

It wasn’t any easier for Jon. He’d wondered how long her hair was and what it looked like down. The answer caused a stirring in his groin and an itching in his fingers. Then there was the lace details of her bra that were clearly visible.....and the highbeams pointing at him didn’t help either.  And every time she shivered, it just brought his attention back to her predicament.

After twenty minutes, he couldn’t stand it anymore. Reaching behind his head, he grabbed the neck of his t-shirt, pulled it off and tossed it to her. “Here. Go put this on before you catch your death. Your teeth are starting to chatter.” He hoped she took it as an act of kindness and not the self-preservation that it was.

Brianna wanted to protest, but she was too cold. “Thanks.”

When Dorothea walked in ten minutes later, her brows rose at the sight of her bare chested husband and his assistant wearing his shirt, her tousled hair hanging in waves halfway down her back, looking like she’d just gotten out of bed. “Something going that I should know about?”

Brianna quickly explained the situation, watching the other woman’s face carefully.

Dorothea winced in sympathy, winked and squeezed her shoulder. Turning to Jon she reached into the bag she was carrying and tossed him something. “Good thing I bought you new shirts today.”

He leaned back against the tiled wall that felt cool despite the steaming water spraying from the shower head at the other end of the enclosure. His eyes closed to better appreciate the sensations that were shooting through his body like lightning bolts with her every touch.

Slender hands smoothed lather over his shoulders and pecs, fingers weaving through his matted chest hair in search of the nailheads of his nipples. When she found them, she paused to play.

A groan escaped him as first her fingers, then her lips teased the sensitive paps. When her tongue joined the game, he bit his lip and shivered. He reached out to pull her closer, but she slid through his hands as she slowly dropped to kneel between his feet, her mouth blazing a searing trail on the way down to her prize – which had risen to meet her.

Nudging his legs further apart, manicured nails scraped lightly up his inner thigh, sending his anticipation soaring. One gentle hand cupped his sac, her thumb stroking and stretching the loose skin. The other hand rose to explore the hard pillar of flesh that signalled his desire. From base to swollen tip, her fingers traced every ridge and crevice, teasing him, making him harden even more. His breath hissed through his teeth, his hands clenched in an effort to resist the almost overwhelming urge to stop her and put an end to the torture.

But the pleasure she was doling out – and the need for more – kept his hands at his sides. What couldn’t be held back was the deep groan that was ripped from his throat. When her mouth joined in, he had to brace his legs to keep from collapsing onto the floor. Her tongue tasted him slowly and thoroughly, like she was savouring an unexpected treat. By the time she was finished, his entire length was glistening and throbbing.

Sinking lower, she gave her attention to his sac, licking and kissing the soft skin, then  taking first one ball, then the other into her mouth and sucking. When she dipped lower yet to flick her tongue over the bare, sensitive spot behind, his toes curled.

“Fuck, sugar!”

The low throaty chuckle that was her answer only made him tense more in anticipation of what she was going to do next. He sucked in a sharp breath at the feel of her mouth enveloping him, swallowing him whole. As she backed off her tongue slithered over his sensitive flesh. When just the tip remained behind her lips, her tongue swirled over and around it, giving special attention to the underside of the ridge at its base.

A shudder shook his body and he reached blindly to clench his fingers in her hair and tug. “You’re killing me!” The words were forced out through gritted teeth.

Her response was to take him deeper….and hum.

He almost came out of his skin. His heart was pounding, he was dripping in sweat and it felt like a thousand volts of electricity was firing through his nervous system. “Jesus sugar! Enough teasing! Suck it!”

Finally relenting, she began to slowly move back and forth, swallowing him then releasing him, over and over, sucking lightly. His hips bucked, augmenting her rhythm, sinking even deeper into her mouth.

As his passion rose and the end approached he opened his eyes to watch his aching flesh slide in and out of her mouth. Amber eyes gleamed up at him.

Jon’s eyes flew open. What the fuck?! He rubbed a hand over his face. Oh man. This is not good! Get her out of your head. Going down that road only leads to trouble. But chastising himself wouldn’t help. He couldn’t control his dreams. Chalking it up to seeing Brianna in that wet tank top was what sparked it, he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

But his throbbing cock wasn’t going to make it easy for him. He ached. Glancing at his wife sleeping beside him, he debated waking her up to help him, but he reminded himself that she needed her rest. So instead, he rose from the bed and headed for the bathroom to take care of it himself.

Standing in the shower, hot water pounding down on him, he wrapped a hand around his demanding flesh and pumped. He closed his eyes and pictured his beautiful wife – naked.  As his hand moved back and forth, his passion quickly rose once again. Speeding up his movements, he rushed towards the finish line. Just as he reached the point of no return, dark brown hair became auburn and brown eyes turned to glowing amber.

“Fuck.” Dispassionately, he watched his body pulse out its release, the water quickly washing the milky fluid down the drain and blew out a breath. If he couldn’t get this under control he was going to have to let Brianna go. His wife and family were more important than any employee….no matter how good she was. 

Chapter 12

Heading out to Red Bank a few days later, Brianna ran through the list of items she needed to go over with Jon and hoped she didn’t forget anything.  The album was due to be released in a few days and his calendar was filling up fast with promotional interviews and events. Add to that the finalizing of players contracts for the Soul and it made for a very busy boss.

When she parked and climbed out of the car she looked around, surprised that Copper wasn’t there to greet her as usual. Her knocked was answered by Jake.

“Bianna!” He wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tight.

“Hi buddy!” She hugged him back. “What have you been up to?”

Before he could answer, they heard a cry, followed by Dorothea’s voice. “Copper! If you don’t stop knocking him over I’m going to put you outside!”

It was a sad looking Romeo that gazed at Brianna from his mother’s arms a minute later.

“Hi Dorothea. Hey little man. You okay? Did mean old Copper knock you down?”

Romeo sniffed, but managed a small smile.

“Yeah. For about the fourth time today.” Dorothea sniffed and grimaced. “Somebody needs a diaper change. Whew! Definitely a Bongiovi.” She started for the stairs, but threw a last comment over her shoulder. “Jon’s in the office.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

As she headed down the hallway towards the office, Jake fell into step beside her.

“We seed a mooie yeterday.”

“Yeah? Which one?”

“Magagassacar.”

“Did you like it?”

“Yeah. Der was aw dees anmals in de zoo....”

Sitting behind his desk, Jon could hear his son giving Brianna the play by play of the movie. He grinned.

“An den the pengins knocked dem out and dey ‘scaped. An dey went to dis jungle and der was furry anmals,” he frowned, trying to think of what they were called. “Dey wook wike waccoons, but not.”

Brianna had to search her memory for the trailers of Madagascar she’d seen on TV recently. “Lemurs?”

The small brow cleared and he nodded vigorously as they reached the office doorway . “Yeah! An de wemurs payed moosic and sang and danced. I wike to moo it, moo it.”

Brianna fought not to laugh out loud as he shook his little hips and danced across the room. “I see you got your Dad’s dance moves.”

“Hey!” Jon frowned. “Are you saying I’m a bad dancer?”

“Let’s just say you’re no Fred Astaire....or Joey Fatone.” Her brows rose at his mutinous expression. “Are you denying it? I’ve seen you dance remember.”

His lips twitched, but he still mumbled defiantly. “I’m not that bad.”

“Dey pay Daddy to shake hims ass. Wike dis!” Jake wiggled his butt so hard he almost fell over. “Wight Daddy?”

Jon glanced at Brianna to see her hand covering her mouth, her shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter, golden eyes sparkling. He wasn’t doing much better. His jaw hurt from clenching it to keep from laughing out loud and both of them had tears streaming down their faces. It took him a several moments before he could speak. “That’s right buddy. But we don’t use bad words like that remember?”

“But dat’s what you said.”

“I know, but I’m a grown up. When you’re a grown up you can say bad words too.”

Jake gave a long suffering sigh. “Okay.”

Brianna wiped her face. “Ah Jakey...you’re a trip.”

“Where I going?” Jake frowned in confusion.

“Nowhere.” She hugged him. “That just means that you’re fun.”

“Oh. Okay. I wike fun.”

“Daddy and Bri need to work now buddy. Maybe you should go see if Copper knocked down your blocks again.” Jon smiled fondly at his son.

“Okay!”

They watched him run out of the room before getting down to business. They’d just finished going over the band related items when Dorothea came in, sat in the chair beside Brianna and handed over a piece of paper.

“I got the calendar from Steph and Jesse’s school.” She caught Jon’s expression. “Don’t look at me like that. Brianna asked me for it.”

He turned the steely look on Brianna who just raised her brows. “I’m not promising anything, I just thought you’d like to have the full, complete picture of all your options when you’re deciding on your schedule.”

Jon just grunted and looked down at the papers on his desk. “Where are we at with signing that kicker and the backup quarterback?”

“The final meeting – and hopefully signing – is set for the fifteenth, so I....”

“WHAT?! Fuck! I told them I was unavailable that week because of the release of the album! Where am I that day?”

“Boston, so I...”

“God dammit!  They knew I wanted to participate in that meeting! How the fuck can I do that when I’m in Boston?” He stood and started to pace his face turning red.

If he had been a cartoon, steam would have been coming out of his ears. Brianna glanced at Dorothea, who rolled her eyes, and sat back to wait for him to get it out of his system and let her get a word in.

“Doesn’t anyone ever fucking listen to me? Who’s the fucking boss here anyway? How the fuck can I be in two places at once? Is it really that difficult a concept to grasp? It’s not fucking rocket science! Am I surrounded by incompetence?”

Dropping his head back onto his shoulders, he spoke to the ceiling. “Can I not find one person who can do the job I ask them to?”  He swung around to glare at Brianna. “We talked about this! This is your responsibility! How the fuck could you let this happen?”

Dorothea sat forward preparing to respond to her husband’s uncalled for rudeness, but Brianna caught her eye and shook her head. After a moments internal debate, Dorothea sat back, curious to see how her new friend would handle her temperamental husband.

When he didn’t get an immediate answer Jon grit his teeth and growled at his assistant. “Well? Are you going to say anything?”

“So...” Brianna ignored the rant and continued her explanation of the schedule as if he’d never interrupted. “...I pushed the meeting back an hour and booked one of the meeting rooms in the hotel that has video conferencing capabilities. I know you get a lot of information from the ‘vibe’ in the room, and that you like to see the people you’re talking to in these situations. You’ll be able to do that this way. The contracts and notes from the other board members will be couriered to me before we leave for Boston. I know it’s not perfect, but apparently there’s a firm deadline with these players. If you want them, the fifteenth is the only day available, and this was the best way I could find to meet both commitments.” Sitting back, she calmly waited for his reaction and decision.

“Well?” Dorothea couldn’t resist.

Jon just grunted. He wasn’t about to admit to the guilt that was nibbling at his conscience.

“Why didn’t you say that sooner?” Dorothea had to ask.

Brianna shrugged. “I was waiting for him to finish venting. I figured he needed to get it out of his system.”

Dorothea choked on her laughter, reached out and squeezed Brianna’s arm. “Nicely done!”

Another disgusted grunt – along with some mumbling about women and being outnumbered - came from across the desk. “Jakey! Come help me!  Mommy and Bri are ganging up on me!”

The blonde toddler came running in, sliding to a stop next to Brianna’s chair, small fists lifting into a boxer’s stance. “I hep you Daddy!”

“I don’t know,” Brianna was skeptical. “Are you tough enough to take on the monster?”

Blue eyes rounded and looked huge in his small face. “Monster? What monster?”

“The...tickle monster!”

Before he could blink, Jake found himself pulled into Brianna’s lap, surprisingly strong fingers finding all his sensitive spots. Shrieks of laughter echoed around the room. Even Jon couldn’t hold on to his anger in the face of his son’s happiness.

It seemed that he’d brought yet another woman into his life that knew how to manipulate his emotions. Where did these masochistic tendencies come from?

Chapter 11

His heat reached out to her even though the only place they were touching was their lips. Petal soft, they brushed hers once....twice...before settling in for a more thorough taste. His flavour exploded in her mouth as his tongue slipped inside to tangle with hers.

A soft sigh escaped her as his mouth left hers to slide across her cheek and explore the contours of her ear. The day’s growth of stubble scraped the delicate skin of her neck like fine sandpaper, sending sparks along her nerve endings. She kept her eyes closed to better soak in the sensations he was generating throughout her body.

His head lifted, but before she could protest, calloused fingertips caressed the lush mounds of her breasts.  From base to tip, two fingers moved in gentle circles spiraling in ever smaller rings over velvet skin until he reached the pebbled tip. He plucked and stretched the nipples until they swelled and lengthened.

Next it was those soft lips again, followed by the slight rasp of his tongue as his mouth explored her plump flesh. When he reached the taut peak, he flicked it with just the tip of his tongue. Raising his head, he shifted his attention to her other breast, giving it the same treatment. Back and forth his head swivelled, teasing her.

His hair felt like silk between her fingers as she clutched him close. “Please!”

In response to her plea, he closed his lips over the nipple and sucked lightly. When she sighed and arched her back, pushing her flesh deeper into his mouth, he obliged her wordless request and began to suckle her like a hungry infant. Back and forth he alternated until both nipples were swollen and throbbing. Her gasps and cries when he scraped his teeth along the length of her turgid peaks were music to his ears.

The blood ran like fire through her veins, her desire increasing with every pull of his lips....but it wasn’t enough. She wanted more. “Please!”

He didn’t ask what she wanted. He knew. But he wanted to explore more of her body first. Releasing her breast, he moved downwards, caressing her stomach with hands and mouth, tongue dipping into her navel.

When he spread her thighs wide and settled in between, her muscles tensed in anticipation of what was to come.....pun intended. But satisfaction wasn’t in his immediate plans for her.

His hot mouth left a wet trail along the inside of her thighs from her knee right up to where her drenched and pulsing core waited for him. There he settled in to feast and tease. Fingers traced her cleft, then held back the swollen folds, opening her for the assault of his tongue.

Licking, stroking, sucking, biting.....she experienced them all. Several times he brought her close to the brink, but wouldn’t let her go over.  Her heart pounded in her chest until she thought it was going to explode. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her body ached to feel him inside her, to hold him tight while he thrust deep and took her to paradise.

The fingers still buried in his hair, clenched and she opened her eyes to glare down at him. “Stop teasing me! Please!”

 “But I love hearing you beg for me.” Blue eyes twinkled up at her.

Brianna jolted awake. What the hell?!  She was not just dreaming about having sex with her boss! Rolling over, she punched her pillow and tried to go back to sleep. But her body was still throbbing, aching, screaming for release. With a groan she rolled over again and reached into the drawer of her bedside table and pulled out her vibrator. Flipping the switch to high, she slid the toy in, closed her eyes and tried to picture her usual faceless lover while she focussed on giving her body what it needed. It worked for a few minutes, but just as she was cresting the peak, the features of the man above her became crystal clear, and the bright blue eyes watching her sent her over the edge. Damn!

Finally satisfied – her BOB being more reliable in that department than any man she’d ever met - she set aside the toy, rolled over and drifted off to sleep.

Waking several hours later, the memories had her groaning. She couldn’t believe she had an erotic dream about her boss! Hopefully it was because of the amount of time she’d been spending with him lately due to the approaching album release and tour prep.....and her lack of male companionship...otherwise she was in trouble.  And she didn’t want to be. For the first time in a long time she had a job that she actually enjoyed, and where she felt....visible....and appreciated. She didn’t want hormones and bodily needs to interfere with that. She had to get it under control before the tour. Maybe it was time to put some energy into finding a boyfriend.

Mid morning the building’s doorman buzzed her. Turning away from the intercom, Brianna frowned. Why were Dorothea and Stephanie here? When the expected knock came she checked the peep hole, and opened the door. “Hi.”

“Hi. I hope we’re not disturbing you. I probably should have called first, but we were in the neighbourhood and I thought we might be able to talk you into joining us.” Dorothea greeted her.

“We’re going shopping for new school clothes.” Stephanie explained.

“Come on in.” Brianna stepped back so that they could enter and hoped that her face wasn’t as red as it felt. After the events of the night before, looking Dorothea in the eye was a little nerve rattling to say the least. “Have a seat.”

“So you do know how to dress casual.” Dorothea grinned at Brianna’s denim shorts and peach tank top as they followed her into the living room. “I was beginning to wonder.”

Brianna laughed. “Believe it or not, this is my usual summer non work wardrobe.”

“Good. I was afraid you were one of those fussy society women who have to be dressed to the nines and made up like she’s about to walk the red carpet before she’ll set foot out of the house.” Dorothea wrinkled her nose.

The blush that had just started to leave Brianna’s face returned in force. While she was most comfortable in jeans, for the years of her marriage she could have been the poster child for Dorothea’s description. Her husband insisted that she always look ‘presentable’ and not like a ‘poor relative’. It was one part of her previous life that she didn’t miss.

Before she could respond, Stephanie distracted both of them. “Is this one of Uncle Tico’s?” She was across the room staring up at the painting.

“Yes it is. I love his work.”

“Print?” Dorothea asked.

Brianna shook her head. “Painting.”

“Nice.” Dorothea was impressed. Tico’s original paintings weren’t cheap. Obviously Brianna had both taste and means. There was more to this woman than what you saw on the surface. “So will you come shopping with us?”

There was a hesitation before Brianna spoke. “I have to ask, Dorothea....why would you invite me to spend more time with you? I’m just Jon’s employee.”

“There aren’t many women in Jon’s world.” Dorothea explained. “And none that I really connect with and feel I can really talk to.” She shrugged. “I feel comfortable with you and as Jon’s personal assistant, by necessity, you’re going to be spending a lot of time around us. I want to get to know you better. I’m hoping we can be friends.”

“I’d like that.” Brianna was a little stunned, but Dorothea’s reasoning did make a lot of sense. “Just let me change – just my shorts.” She clarified before the other woman could protest.

Several hours later they stopped in one of Brianna’s favourite restaurants in Soho to rest their feet and refuel.  

“So the boys are hanging out with their Dad today?” Brianna asked as they sipped their drinks and waited for their food.

“Yeah.” Dorothea raised crossed fingers. “I just hope they’re all still in one piece and the house is still standing when we get home.

“It’ll be okay.” Stephanie assured her mother. “Grandma’s on standby if there’s a problem....and Jesse programmed 911 into the speed dial.”

“Thanks Steph. That makes me feel sooo much better.”

“We better not tell Jakey that we were with Brianna though. He’d be upset.” Stephanie looked at Brianna. “He’s got a crush on you.”

Brianna smiled fondly. “He’s adorable.”

Finished their meals, they were sitting back with iced coffees before hitting the stores again. Brianna followed the trail of condensation down her glass with a fingertip and gathered her courage. “Dorothea can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“How do you deal with it? The lifestyle and the madness?”

“The trappings of my husband’s job you mean?”

Brianna nodded.

“Well. For starters, I don’t think of him as a rock start and I make sure I don’t treat him like one.  He goes off to work and does what he needs to do to be successful at it. And when he comes home he takes out the garbage, takes the kids to school and walks the dog. If there’s an event I want to go to – or Jon really wants me to go with him – I suck it up, paste a smile on my face and walk the carpet. Otherwise I keep the kids and I away from the photogs. I want to keep our lives as normal as possible.”

“You don’t mind being alone for big chunks of time? Dealing with the kids and everything by yourself?”

“Sometimes.” Dorothea admitted. “But I don’t mind being alone. I’m comfortable with my own company. And it’s really only for a few weeks at a time. It’s really not much different than being married to a travelling salesman. And if something comes up that I really need some help with, John Sr. or one of my brothers-in-law, or one of our friends is always available.”

When Stephanie went to the bathroom Brianna took the opportunity to ask the question that she’d never been able to figure out the answer to. “And what about what might be happening on the road?” She wasn’t sure she’d have been able to accept that part.

Dorothea’s lips twisted slightly. “That was the hardest part. And we had our....issues....in the past.” She paused, searching for the right words to explain it. “I guess what it came down to was whether I loved him and the life we were trying to build enough to ignore the odd indiscretion that was based on physical urges and had nothing to do with feelings.” At Brianna’s skeptical look, she smiled. “It didn’t happen as often as everyone thinks, and not for years. The worst, of course, was when the band first made it big. They had everything – booze, drugs, women – literally thrown at them and they got lost in that world for awhile.”

Dorothea sipped her drink, not sure why she felt compelled to make Brianna understand. “I knew the man Jon was becoming – the man he could be - before the madness took over. When it looked like he was going to take a different path – one I didn’t want to be a part of – I walked away. It didn’t take very long for him to see the damage following that path could cause and come back to me. We had a long talk about our goals and values and came to an agreement. He knows what I’ll accept and what the ramifications are if he crosses that line.” She paused and sipped again. “Relationships are held together by love, trust and respect. And there can be no true love without the other two. My trust has taken a hit or two over the years and been a little bruised, but nothing bad enough to break it.” She laughed briefly. “And of course I don’t go near the tabloids or what passes for ‘entertainment news’ programs. Most of them are more interested in stirring up shit to up their ratings than anything. The bottom line is, I love him and I know he loves me and I trust him not to do anything to purposely hurt me or the family we’ve created. The rest doesn’t matter.”

Brianna understood what she was saying but still wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to cope. Infidelity, physical or emotional, was betrayal.....wasn’t it?

Stephanie returned and stood beside her mother’s chair. “Can we go to Kenneth Cole next?”

Chapter 10

David noticed Jake trudging up to join them. “Hey Jakey. Where’s your dad?”

“In da house wif Mommy, being a kiss ass.”

All three adults burst out laughing.

But Brianna could see the sadness shining in the little boy’s eyes. “What’s wrong Jakey?”

“Jesse and Colton won’t wet me pay ball wif dem. Dey say I’n too wittle.” His bottom lip came out and quivered.

Brianna looked around for some way to distract him. “Do you want me to push you on the swings?”

She was rewarded with a big smile and sparkling blue eyes. “Okay!”

Within minutes, instead of tears, his laughter could be heard as he soared higher and higher with every push.

“BRIANNA!  Watch out!”

Jesse’s voice raised in warning had her turning just in time to catch the football that was hurtling at her head.  Lining up the laces, she sent the pigskin soaring back to Colton in a perfect spiral. The boys stared at her in stunned awe.

“Wow! That was awesome!” Colton complimented her as they approached.

“Yeah!” Jesse agreed. “Where did you learn to throw a football?”

“I have brothers and lots of male cousins.” Brianna explained.

“Do you want to throw the ball around with us?” Jesse invited her.

Brianna was flattered by the invitation, but she could see the disappointment settling over Jake’s features. “Thanks. Maybe another time.” She glanced down at her dress and sandals.  “I’m not dressed for football. This outfit is more for swings.”

Jake grinned and smiled smugly at the older boys. “Push me pease Bianna!”

“Okay buddy.”

Half an hour later Jake finally got tired of the swings and they headed back up to the house to get a snack. Picking up drinks and a variety of food from the smorgasbord that Dorothea had set out, Brianna was settling Jake at a table next to the grass when she heard a squeal. She turned to see Romeo toddling toward her, his mouth curved into a wide grin, his Uncle Tony standing behind him laughing.

“Hey little man!” She crouched down and held out her arms.

He’d almost reached her when Copper rushed passed him. Wagging tail met toddler – not hard but enough to upset his precarious balance and send Romeo to the ground. Dark eyes filled, two fat tears spilling over to run down his cheeks and the full bottom lip came out. There was silence for a few seconds, then the sobs started. He held his arms out to Brianna.

“Oh, come here.” She picked him up and cuddled him. “You’re okay. Copper didn’t mean to knock you over.” She leaned back to look him in the eye, feeling his ragged breath on her cheek. “Do you want to go find Mommy?”

Romeo nodded sadly.

“Okay. We’ll go find her.” She looked at Tony.

He nodded. “Go ahead. I think she’s in the house.”   

They found Dorothea in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, one hand pressed to her stomach. Brianna frowned at the look on the other woman’s face.

“Dorothea?  Are you okay?”

Startled, Dorothea straightened and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Something I ate isn’t sitting well with me. I hope it’s just me and there isn’t something out there that’s going to make people sick.”

Cries calmed to sniffles, Romeo held his arms out to his mother and as she took him, she noticed the tears drying on his face. “What’s wrong Little Man?”

“Wagging dog tail met walking toddler, toddler hit the dirt.” Brianna explained. “I don’t think he’s hurt though, he just sat down a little hard.”

“Aww...did mean old Copper knock you down?” Dorothea rubbed his back, smiling when he nodded solemnly. “Should we go get a cookie and see what Daddy’s up to?” Her glance returned to Brianna. “I saw you with Jake on the swings earlier. I didn’t invite you here to look after my kids. You’re supposed to be enjoying yourself.”

“I am.” At the older woman’s sceptical look, she grinned. “Really. I am. They’re great kids and I enjoy spending time with them.”

“And they like you too. I just don’t want you to do it because you think that Jon or I expect you to. It’s not a requirement of your job.”

“Understood.”

They’d barely taken three steps outside before they were hailed.

“Bri!” Jon waved and started towards them, an older man by his side. “I want to introduce you to a local legend.”

“Uncle Southside!” Brianna grinned and held out her hand. “Wow! What a pleasure to meet you!”

John Lyon smiled smugly as he shook her hand. “See Sweetbutt, I told you she’d like me. I’m the comforting, distinguished, favourite uncle.”

Jon snorted. “The dirty uncle who likes the girls to sit on his lap, maybe.”

Southside Johnny just grinned and waggled his eyebrows at Brianna. “Works for me.  Especially when she’s as beautiful as Brianna.”

Brianna blushed and grinned while Dorothea just rolled her eyes. She’d heard Southside’s views on his place in the world – especially where women were concerned – many times. He was a great musician and a lot of fun...and he was full of shit a lot of the time.

“Anyway,” Jon brought the conversation back to him so that he could get to his original reason for introducing John to his assistant. “Southside’s planning a show in Asbury and asked me to come. What’s my schedule like for September?”

Brianna reached for her Berry. “Well, it’s filling up fast with album stuff, but I’m sure we can arrange something. What date?”

“WHOA!” Dorothea put her hand on Brianna’s arm and gave her husband her version of a stink eye. “No work today!  You promised Jon! This is a day to relax and enjoy the day with our friends.”

Southside’s hands went up in a defensive gesture. “Sorry Boss Lady!” He winked at Brianna and mouthed “I’ll call you later”.

Brianna grinned and nodded, but obediently put her phone away.

Jon eyed his wife trying to determine how serious her anger was. He decided it was safer to try and placate her. “I’m sorry honey. You’re right. I promised. It can wait a couple days.” He leaned over to kiss her and noticed Romeo’s sad expression, his head lying on his mother’s shoulder. “What’s up with the little man?”

“Copper knocked him down with his tail.” Dorothea explained.

“Poor guy.” He rubbed his son’s back. “Hang in there buddy, that whole walking thing will get easier...and you’ll be bigger than Copper one day.”

The rest of the day was filled with fun, food and friendship.  Brianna helped Dorothea and Matt’s wife Desiree organize games for the kids and Jon handed out the prizes. When the sun finally slipped down below the horizon, John Sr. and Jon’s brother Tony set off fireworks over the river.

Afterwards, a tired group wandered off to their homes, Brianna included. She had offered to stay and help finish cleaning up, but Dorothea assured her it was under control so she headed back to the city. 

She was a little surprised at how much she had enjoyed the day. Instead of feeling like an outsider, or an employee as she generally did at gatherings organized by her previous bosses, especially the first time, Jon’s family, friends and associates had welcomed her and treated her like one of them. Today she had felt included, not someone on the edges of the group....and she liked it. It gave her high hopes that she was really going to enjoy this job.

Jon watched his wife climb into bed and lie back on the pillow with a sigh. He reached out to play with a lock of hair that curled around her shoulder. “It was a good party, don’t you think?”

“Mmm.” She yawned and rolled onto her side to face him.  “I think everyone had a good time.”

They updated each other on what was going on in their friends’ lives.

Dark brows came together in a slight frown. “Do you think Brianna enjoyed herself?”

Jon eyed her curiously. “Why are you so concerned about my new assistant? First you call her personally to invite her to the party and now you’re worried about whether she had a good time?”

“Because, my perfectionist control freak, as I’ve explained to you before, for you to be the husband and father the kids and I need you to be, you have to be happy and fulfilled with your life. And for you that means being able to focus on your music, football and finding new and better ways of helping those in need – without having to deal with the aggravating details of all of it. And for that you need a good assistant that you trust. You’ve had such a hard time finding someone with the abilities you’ve been looking for, but it looks like you’ve finally found her.” She paused. “You always say it’s hard to get into the inner circle and even harder to get out. But for Brianna to do her job well she needs to be inside. I want to make sure she feels included and comfortable here.”

Jon stared at his wife trying to decide whether to be grateful....or terrified. “You know, if I wasn’t sure that you loved me, I’d be scared.”

“Why? Because I know you so well?” Dorothea snorted. “You should be impressed. It’s not like you make it easy to figure you out.” 

“What?” Her frown was back, causing his brow to crease in one of his own.

“I can’t quite figure Brianna out either. She seems friendly, pleasant and easy going.  She’s great with the kids and they really like her.....”

“But?” He urged when her voice trailed off.

“I don’t know. Did you notice the way she was dressed today?”

Oh he’d noticed alright. The sun kissed bared skin of her shoulders and upper chest had drawn his eye all afternoon, not to mention the floaty skirt that made his fingers itch to slide underneath.....but he was sure his wife didn’t want to hear that. “What about it?”

“Well...I told her casual and that’s what she wears. I’m just wondering if that’s casual for her, or if she even knows how to relax.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s just because she hasn’t been around us very long. I guess time will tell.” She winced and pressed a hand to her stomach as a sharp pain shot through her abdomen.

“Honey? What’s wrong?” Jon’s voice reflected the concern in his face. He’d seen her flinch, and she’d been a little...off…all day.

“My stomach’s been bothering me all afternoon. I think it’s just protesting something I ate.” She smiled and leaned over to kiss him. “I’ll be fine tomorrow.”