Saturday, April 27, 2013

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.”

Saturday, April 20, 2013

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.            

Saturday, April 13, 2013

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.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

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.