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.” 

Chapter 9

The days passed calmly and the Fourth of July was rapidly approaching. Dorothea was finally able to pin Jon down in one place to finalize plans for the party they were throwing. “Is there anyone else we should be inviting?”

Jake looked up from his spot on the floor where he was playing with a toy. “Bianna tomin’?” 

“Do you think we should invite her?” Dorothea asked with a smile. Brianna was coming out to the house once or twice a week now and she and Jake had become buddies.

“Uh huh.” Jake nodded. “Her fun.”

Turning back to her husband, Dorothea caught the look on his face and frowned. “You didn’t mention the party to her?”

“I completely forgot.  It would probably be a good idea for her to be here though and meet some of the people she’ll be dealing with.”

“Don’t make it a work obligation though. I want her to have fun. And make sure you tell her it’s casual dress and....nevermind, I’ll call her myself.”

“Good idea.” Jon agreed, his relief evident. “Do you want my phone or do you have her number?”

“I’ve certainly got your number!” Dorothea shook her head at him. “For a control freak CEO who ‘wants things the way I want them’, you sure are a wimp about making calls like this.”

“But you’re so much better at this stuff than I am.” At her withering look he kissed the air in her direction.

“Kiss ass.” But she couldn’t entirely suppress her smile.

“What a kiss ass?” Jake asked.

Jon grinned and gave his wife a ‘you said it, not me’ look.

“It’s Daddy when he’s trying to get into Mommy’s good books after he’s been a jerk.” Dorothea answered dryly.

July fourth was a typical hot, sunny summer day.  Luckily for Brianna, it was her favourite type of weather – that and a good thunderstorm. There was just something primal and exhilarating about watching Mother Nature flex her muscles in a display of growling energy and electricity.

Driving through the gates of the Bongiovi estate, she parked in what was rapidly becoming ‘her’ parking spot near the house. She stepped out and shook out the skirt of her floral print sundress, bending to pet Copper who’d come to greet her as usual. When Dorothea called to invite her to their annual bash, she’d stressed that it was non-work related fun and to dress casual. But Brianna knew there would be a lot of people there that she would need to work with in the future and she wanted to make a good first impression. So she compromised. Flat sandals instead of heels and a small notebook in her purse instead of her briefcase...and a ponytail. “Hello boy. Where is everyone?”

Copper started towards the side of the house, turning once to look back at her. “Woof!”

Brianna laughed. “Okay, I’m coming.”

She followed the dog around to the back of the house where several tables with chairs had been set up and a couple dozen people were either sitting or mingling around. A group of kids were throwing a football around closer to the river. Near the house a makeshift bar had been set up.

“Brianna!  You made it!” Dorothea had seen her and approached to welcome her. As she looked the other woman over her lips twitched. “You look gorgeous, but is that what you call casual?”

“Pretty much.” Brianna stuck out one foot. “No heels.” When their laughter wound down she smiled wryly. “I wasn’t sure who all was going to be here, Jon being who he is, or whether your idea of casual and mine were the same, so...”

“Ah. I guess I can see your dilemma. But we’re not dressy type people and I want you to be comfortable when you’re here. I should have said shorts and tank. Next time I’ll be more specific. Come on. I’ll introduce you to the people you don’t know.”

They stopped first at the bar where Jon’s brother Matt was mixing drinks. Dorothea introduced them.

“Oh, so you’re the latest lamb to the slaughter.” Matt shook her hand and passed over a glass of wine. “Start with this. It’s Jon’s latest favourite. It’ll go easier on you if you like it too. Let me know if you need something stronger. Nice to meet you. Good luck.”

Brianna laughed. “Thanks...I think.”

After making the rounds Dorothea went to check on food supplies and Brianna sat down to make a few notes before she forgot the conversations she’d just had with the Soul executives.

“Brianna?”

Lifting her head she saw two pre-teen girls standing beside her chair. “Hey Steph.”

“This is Gabi.” She gestured to the blonde girl with her.

“David’s Gabi?”

“Yeah. Hi.” Gabi answered.

“Nice to meet you Gabi.”

“Would you do our hair in that twisty thing like you usually have yours?” Stephanie asked holding out a brush and several bobby pins.”

“Sure.” Brushing out Stephanie’s long tresses, a few quick twists and strategically placed pins and she was done. The girls exchanged places and she did the same for Gabi. “There you go.”

Hands lightly patted the twists.  “Thanks!” With that they took off into the house in search of mirrors.

Glancing around, Brianna tested her memory, matching names and faces of everyone she’d met on her tour of the backyard. Aside from the Soul executives, there were several senior members of the BJM team, friends...and of course family.  John Sr. had been welcoming and charming – she could see where Jon got his charisma from – while Carol had been polite, but more reserved.

There was a lot of nice eye candy to look at too, since many of the men had removed their shirts in the heat. The fact that her gaze was drawn repeatedly to one in particular she chalked up to the fact that he was her boss and she should keep on the lookout for any signals that he needed something, and had nothing to do with the firm, sculpted masculine flesh he was displaying.......that was her story and she was sticking to it. Or maybe she was just horny. Lord knew it had been a long time since there’d been a man in her bed, temporary or otherwise, but between the divorce and starting this new job there had been neither the inclination nor the time to look for one. She’d just have to be satisfied with the battery operated version a while longer.

David caught her eye and gestured for her to join him where he was standing with Paul. As she approached him, the twinkle in his eyes made her wary.

“Did you do Gabi’s hair?” He could pretend he noticed and that it wasn’t his daughter gushing over it that tipped him off.

“Yes.”

“Nice job.” He sipped his drink. “So, Paul and I were just thinking about what you should be prepared for when it comes to the tour.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. So...as you probably already know, our illustrious leader is a perfectionist with a nasty temper. He wants things the way he wants them, when he wants them. Like his coffee. You have to bring it to him at precisely seven am every morning. Cream, three sugars. And he likes mangoes with his breakfast. Fresh ones.” He sipped again. “His hair requires an egg white and lemon conditioning treatment every other day and brushed a hundred strokes every day. And he doesn’t do it himself. And he doesn’t like hotel sheets. He says they chafe his skin. He brings his own. It will be your job to put them on his bed...and of course look after his laundry. And heaven help you if you don’t do it right.”

The last item – his laundry – was the only thing on the list that she could believe. A glance at Paul revealed he was trying not to laugh. “How many poor, gullible assistants have you terrorized with that list?”

Blonde eyebrows rose. “You don’t believe me?”

“Well I’ll give you the perfectionist with a temper who wants things the way he wants them, but that’s as far as I’ll go.” At the men’s curious looks, she snorted. “For starters he likes his coffee black, I doubt very much he wants to be awakened at seven am after he probably didn’t get to sleep until three or four, and I know better than to even mention his hair.”

Paul smirked at David. “Forgot she’s a fan didn’t you.”

David just shrugged. He wasn’t ready to admit defeat yet.  “But there’s some things the fans don’t know that she needs to be aware of.” He turned back to Brianna. “As his personal assistant, you get to be his punching bag.  Whenever one of us pisses him off he’ll take it out on you.”

Hoping he was just being...well...David, she looked at Paul and was relieved to see him shaking his head.

“Come on Lemma, don’t scare her off. Jon may have a short fuse, but he’s fair. He usually only takes it out on the one that set him off.”

“Unless he’s just in a foul mood. Then she still will take the brunt of it.” David argued.

Paul couldn’t disagree. “Well...yeah...but it doesn’t happen that often.” He ignored David’s choking sounds. “And I bet she can handle it.”

“It wouldn’t be anything I haven’t dealt with before.” Brianna assured them. It wasn’t her favourite part of the job as assistant to a CEO, but she could deal with it. “I’m used to being the buffer. I can handle it.”

She had no idea that boast would be put to the test in a way even David could never imagine.

Chapter 8

With the album talk finished, Brianna pulled a folder out of her briefcase. “Here’s the correspondence we discussed yesterday and the background on potential partners for that housing project you asked for. And Cheryl sent her preliminary plan to promote the new album.” At the groans echoing around the room, she managed a surprised expression. “What? Promotion isn’t your favourite part of the job?  Cheryl will be devastated. She was telling me how much you all love it.” Cheryl worked for Island/DefJam and was in charge of publicity for the new album. When she’d called to tell Brianna she was sending over the promotion plan, her exact words were: I know they think this stuff is an evil pain in the ass, but it must be done. And no matter what David tells you, I’m not Satan’s mistress!

“What does Satan’s mistress have planned to torture us with this time?” David moaned.

“Oh, just an epk, some radio spots and interviews, that type of thing. Nothing too arduous.” Brianna assured him.

“Torture! She’s evil, I tell you! Evil!” David argued in a voice that would have made Mike Myers proud.

Brianna just rolled her eyes.

While they were talking Jon had been reading the letters she’d written.  Reaching for a pen, he scrawled his signature across the bottom of them and handed them back to her.  In the process of taking them from him, her hand brushed his and she almost dropped the papers, startled at the spark of electricity that ran up her arm. Her eyes flew to Jon’s, but he was reading her research report and showed no sign of having felt it.

She couldn’t have been more wrong. Jon was very aware of the embers waiting to explode between them....and it made him concerned that he’d made a mistake in hiring her. But she’s doing such a great job! The material she’d put together for his pet projects was nothing short of remarkable – exactly what he’d hoped for and more than he’d expected. They were both adults, not hormone controlled teenagers. They could control themselves. He loved his wife. More importantly, he respected her. He had no wish to cheat on her. He could resist temptation, stay loyal to Dorothea and keep what was turning out to be the best assistant he’d ever had. A statistic in the report he was reading leapt off the page at him and he leaned over to get confirmation. “Is this right?”

His heat and the scent of his cologne seemed to envelope her, overwhelming her senses and scattering her wits. Get it together Bri! Ignore it. He’s your boss....and married! And she didn’t fool around with married men. She’d been there, had it done to her, and she refused to do it to someone else. Forcing herself to focus on the paper in his hand, she nodded and pulled her source material out of her briefcase. “Yeah. Surprised me too, so I double checked. Here’s the full stat report. Did you get a chance to look over the latest batch of mail?”

“Yeah. I made some notes. It’s all on my desk in the house.”

“Do you mind if I go look at it? If we’re done here that is.”

“Yeah. Go ahead.” He waved her off, his attention on what he was reading.

As the door closed behind Brianna, Jon felt the stares of his friends and glanced up. “What?”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea bro?” Richie nodded towards the door.

“You think she’s going to trash my office?”

“Your office? No. But a woman like that could do some serious damage to your marriage if you’re not careful and your wife finds out.”

“A woman like that?”

“Mmm. Beautiful, smart...” Richie began.

“Sassy, good sense of humour.” David continued. “The kind of woman you have a relationship with, not just a fling.”

Jon knew his friends were just looking out for him, but he didn’t appreciate their lack of faith in him. “Don’t you guys think I can control myself?”

“Just wondering why you’d want that kind of temptation around, especially as close as your assistant needs to be.” Richie pointed out.

Jon glanced down again at the report in his hand. “Because she’s that good.”

Reaching the house, Brianna knocked on the door. After a couple minutes it was answered . “Hi Steph.”

“Hi. Come on in.” Stephanie stepped back to let her in. “You going to the office?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll let Mom know you’re here.”

“Thanks.”

Settling behind Jon’s desk, Brianna picked up the first item on the pile he had set out for her.  She was halfway through her first reading of the stack when a noise in the hallway had her looking up.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

“Hi Bianna!” Jake bounced into the room.

“Hi Jakey.” She couldn’t help but smile at the toddler. He was such a happy little boy. “What are you up to today?”

“Nutin’.” He walked behind the desk to stand beside her. “What’cha doing?”

“Going over Daddy’s mail.”

“Oh.”

Returning to the stack in front of her, Brianna continued reading and making notes, but out of the corner of her eye watched Jake wander around the room. An idea struck and she booted up her laptop. “Do you want to play a game?”

His little face lit up. “Sure!”

She lifted him onto her lap and showed him how to play, not surprised when he picked it up quickly.

When Dorothea popped in to say hello, she found them engrossed in the doings of the inhabitants of Bikini Bottom.

“There’s a crabcake!”

“I gots it!”

“You’re not bothering Brianna, are you Jakey?” Dorothea asked.

Jake didn’t even look up from the screen. “No. We paying a game.”

“Mmm.” She walked closer. “Spongebob?”

Brianna grinned. “Yeah. There’s a whole site of free kids games.”

“You’ll have to make sure you tell Obie about that one.”

Later that night, Dorothea watched her husband climb into bed. “How’s Brianna working out so far?”

“Good. Really good. She’s more anal than I am about my schedule and details, and she seems to understand what I’m trying to say and what I need without me having to explain it to death a hundred times.”

“Wow, that’s scary.”

“What is?”

“Someone who understands the way your mind works.”

“You mean someone other than you, smartass?” He shot back.

Dorothea just laughed. “The kids like her. Jakey says she’s pretty and fun.”

“That’s ‘cause she spent two hours playing Spongebob with him today. Maybe I should be giving her hazard pay.”

“If you’re going to do that, it should be for having to cope with the big kids.” Dorothea suggested.

“They don’t seem to faze her. They tested her and she passed with flying colours. She even managed to turn the tables on Lemma when he tried to punk her.”

Dorothea’s brows lifted. “Really?  Good for her.” Her opinion of Brianna grew even more. If she could handle David, she’d survive just fine. “You should tell her that she doesn’t have to dress for the office when she comes out here though. The corporate look is nice and very professional, but she might as well be comfortable. Especially if she’s going to play with the kids.”

Jon looked at her like she just asked him to flap his arms and fly across the room. “Right. Like I’m going to tell a woman what she should wear. You trained me better than that honey. If you think she should dress differently, you tell her.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. I will.”

Jon leaned over to kiss her neck. “Are we finished talking about my assistant now?”

“Is there something else you want to talk about?” She smirked, the expression in her eyes knowing and amused.

“Talking’s over rated. I prefer action.”

“Yeah? Well, come on Action Man, show me what you’ve got.”