Chapter 43

June 8, 1999

Jax had been very quiet when he had gotten up for work this morning. He made sure that Brenda was sleeping soundly before he got out of bed and headed into the bathroom. He checked on her again when he came out. She had not moved since the last time he had looked at her, so he was pretty sure she had not awakened enough to even notice that he was no longer in their bed.

As he went into the walk-in closet to get his suit, he started having second thoughts about not waking her before he left. Even knowing how tired she was, he was beginning to think he should wake her and tell her he was leaving. He stood staring at the clothes in front of him for several minutes, remembering what had happened in New York when he had left her alone in bed. He had shuddered when he had heard her screaming his name.

He dressed quickly and went back into the bedroom. When he looked over at the bed, she had still not moved. Maybe it would be okay this time. After all, she had been truly exhausted when they got home yesterday. Maybe she wouldn't even know he was gone…

They had gotten back to the house about 8:00 last night. The driver and Benton had helped Jax bring in the luggage, while Brenda went ahead upstairs. Once the car had been unloaded, Jax asked Benton if he could fix them a light supper and bring it up to their sitting room. He had also told him not to worry about the luggage and packages they had brought back. He was sure that Brenda would want to take charge of unpacking and hanging her new clothes. After getting Benton's assurance that Mrs. Kelly had left them supper and that he would bring it up shortly, Jax headed upstairs to join Brenda.

As he walked in the door of the suite, he was surprised to see Brenda standing by the window, staring off into the distance. "What's up, luv?" he asked as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Brenda leaned her head back against his chest and let out a sigh. "I was just thinking about our weekend, that's all. I had a wonderful time, Jax - thank you." She reached her hand up behind his head and pulled his face down for a deep kiss. She continued to hold the side of his face as she spoke, "You still amaze me sometimes, do you realize that?" She turned around in his embrace so that she was facing him as she spoke. "I can't think of too many men who would find pleasure in watching their wife get her clothes fitted. You, on the other hand, seemed to totally enjoy watching what we were doing!" She softly stroked the side of his face as she looked up into his eyes.

Jax returned her smile, before kissing the tip of her nose. "I can't see why that should amaze you. How many times did I sit there, watching your fittings, when you were still modeling? Yesterday was not really any different, except maybe for the style of the clothes." Jax chuckled softly at the expression on Brenda's face. "To tell the truth, I liked what you had on yesterday a lot more than what they were fitting you for that time we were in Milan. Now THAT was torture! The outfit, not you, luv!" Jax chuckled, as he clarified the last part of his statement.

Brenda was surprised by his remarks - not only about her clothes in New York, but especially his comments about the Milan photo shoot. She took a playful swing at him, which he easily avoided. "You…" She laughed out loud. "What was wrong with that outfit in Milan? It was from one of the top Italian fashion houses!" Brenda knew what he would say, so she answered for him, "Just because it was the most awful shade of chartreuse and those feathers kept tickling my nose, doesn't mean there was anything wrong with it! Some woman probably paid big money for that outfit because she saw me wearing it in that magazine!" Brenda's voice was thick with sarcasm as she spoke of the horrible outfit she had worn for the Italian Spring Line layout in Vogue the last year she had been modeling.

Still chuckling, she yawned slightly and rested her head on Jax's chest, wrapping her arms more tightly around his waist. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little more tired than I thought." She looked up at Jax. "What do you say to some dinner, and then we call it an early evening?"

Jax looked down and saw how tired she looked. "Sounds like a good idea to me. I asked Benton to bring our dinner up here when it was ready, so why don't you go get changed? By the time you're done, it should be here." He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. They squeezed each other one more time before Brenda headed off into the bathroom to shower and change.

While Brenda was changing, Jax sat down to go through the messages that had accumulated while they had been gone. One message, in particular, had caught his attention. It was from Travis. The message, which had come late this afternoon, indicated that he had made considerable progress in tracking down the activities of those responsible for the takeover attempt. The message went on to state that he had set up a meeting in Jax's office for tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. He asked that Jax call him if that would be a problem. Jax immediately went to get his day planner from his briefcase to make sure he was clear for the meeting. When he found no conflict, he had immediately written in the meeting with Travis, along with a note to himself to instruct Allison on the need for privacy.

As Jax was returning the planner to his briefcase, there was a gentle tap at the door. When he opened it, he found Benton on the other side with their dinner. Brenda came out of the bedroom just as Benton finished setting things up on the table. "Perfect timing, luv. Benton just brought our dinner up. What do you say we eat before it gets cold?" Jax held out one of the chairs for her. Brenda quickly walked over and sat down, as he pushed the chair in for her.

The entire time they were eating, they talked about what they had done in New York and the clothes they had gotten for her. When Jax told her about his new business arrangement with Rebecca, Brenda was thrilled. She was even more stunned when Jax told her that after the new shop was up and running and after Brenda had the baby, he intended to sign his share of the business over to Brenda, giving her complete control - along with Rebecca - of whether the shop succeeded or failed. Brenda had jumped out of her chair and plunked herself down in his lap to demonstrate her appreciation of his faith in her. She stayed in his lap for quite a while, even sharing his dessert with him. Once they finished eating, Jax had picked her up and taken her over to the sofa. He called Benton to come get the dishes, and after everything was cleaned up, he went to join Brenda on the sofa.

They sat cuddling together for a while, Jax softly stroking her hair; neither of them saying anything. Eventually Jax broke the silence to tell Brenda about the message from Travis. When she didn't respond, he looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and just held her for a while. Eventually exhaustion started to overtake him, as well. He slowly eased himself from beneath her and picked her up to carry her to the bedroom. He gently laid her down on the bed and pulled up the covers, tucking them loosely around her. He quietly went into the bathroom to shower and change. When he came back out, he saw that Brenda appeared to be experiencing a repeat of the nightmare from the other night. He got into bed and took her in his arms. As soon as she felt him close to her, she quickly settled down and drifted into a much more peaceful sleep. When he had awakened this morning, she still seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

Jax took one last look at his sleeping wife, before heading downstairs for a quick breakfast. He returned to the bedroom about twenty minutes later. Just as he walked into the sitting room, he heard Brenda's voice coming from the bedroom. Thinking she had awakened he headed in to say goodbye, only to find her in the throes of another nightmare. She was tossing back and forth, calling his name. He quickly went over and sat next to her on the bed. He shook her gently, trying to wake her, but the dream had too much of a hold on her. She continued to call his name; the sound of fear building in her voice. Becoming increasingly concerned for her, Jax lifted Brenda into his arms and held her close to him, stroking the back of her hair. Even his embrace couldn't seem to break the hold her dream had on her. "Brenda? Wake up, luv. You're having a dream." He spoke to her in a firm but soothing voice. "Brenda? Come, on luv; wake up." He shook her slightly several times to force her from her dreams.

Suddenly Brenda's eyes flew open. "Jax?" She looked up at him with confusion written across her face. "What happened?" She looked around the room and then more closely at Jax, and finally realized that he was dressed for the office already. "What time is it?" She sat back from him and ran her hands through her hair. Still confused, she looked into his eyes with a look that could best be described as pleading.

Jax reached for her hand and gently stroked the top of it with his thumb, trying to reassure her. "Well, to answer your questions: it's about 8:00 in the morning, and as to what happened, it seems you were starting to have another one of those nightmares. Can you remember anything about this one?" He looked expectantly at her, hoping she would remember something this time that would give them a clue as to what was bothering her.

She shook her head slowly and looked down at their joined hands. "Not really. I know that you were in it and so was I." She thought for a minute before continuing, "Other than that - nothing…just this overwhelming sense of fear, especially where you were concerned." Jax could see the fear growing in her eyes. "What does it mean, Jax? This is the second dream I've had about you being in danger!"

Jax reached out and took her gently in his arms, caressing her hair as she snuggled close to him. "I don't know, luv. Maybe it's all this stuff that's been going on." Jax didn't say anything for a minute while he organized his thoughts. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you about what John and Jerry tried to do. I knew you were already worried about Everett, and I must have just added to the stress. I'm sorry." He stopped stroking her hair and just held her close.

Brenda looked up at him and saw the regret written across his face. She sat back from him and placed her hand along the side of his face. "Don't you dare apologize for being honest with me! I would have been more upset if I'd known you were keeping things from me. Besides, I remember reading in one of those booklets that Dr. Meadows gave us that nightmares are not that uncommon in pregnancy, especially in the second trimester. I'm sure that's all it is. I think you're the focus of them because I love you so much." She smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him.

When she broke the kiss she sat back from him again and looked at his clothes. "Do you want to tell me why you're dressed for work so early?"

Jax chuckled before answering, "Well, actually I told you last night, but you were asleep. I had a message from Travis yesterday afternoon that said he had found out some information on whomever made the attempt on my company, and he had set up a meeting in my office at 9:00 this morning." Jax looked at his watch. "Yikes! I've got to get a move on, or I'll be late!" He got up from the bed and extended a hand to Brenda. "Want to walk me to the door, luv?"

Brenda grabbed his hand and quickly got off the bed. "Sure! Let me just grab my robe…" As she spoke, she realized that Jax had already picked up her robe and was holding it for her. "Thank you, kind sir." After wrapping her robe around herself, Brenda grabbed Jax's hand and they headed for the door, stopping only long enough for Jax to grab his briefcase from the sitting room table.

Jax made it into the office in plenty of time for his meeting with Travis. In fact, he had enough time to look through the messages that Allison had stacked on his desk in three, very neat piles. One pile was messages that could wait; one was those that were important; and the last was the messages that should have been answered yesterday. Jax smiled as he looked through the messages. Allison had only been working for him since he had created his own company, but she had already learned almost as much about his work habits as Addie had known after several years working with him at J&J Jacks of Alaska. In some ways Allison knew him even better.

Jax stopped looking at the messages for a minute, as his mind drifted back to the days when Addie had managed the offices of J&J Jacks of Alaska. When all the trouble had broken out, Jax had often wondered how she managed to keep clear of it. He had figured she'd been kept as much in the dark as he had about what was happening. When he saw the speed with which she found a new position - one with a major competitor of J&J Jacks - he found himself wondering about her, along with the rest of his family. It had made it very difficult for him when it came time to hire a staff for his own company to allow himself to trust any of his employees completely.

Hiring Allison had been a hunch. There had been something about her when he interviewed her that reminded him of himself, so he decided to take a chance on her. It had proven to be a sound decision. Allison had proven her loyalty without question, many times. Slowly but surely Jax had learned to trust not only in his own judgement, but also in the people he had hired. As he sat at his desk waiting for Travis, he found himself feeling very proud of his company and the people who worked for him.

Jax's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on the door. "Come in," he called. He got up from his chair as he saw Allison come through the door, with Travis close behind her. Once Travis was in the office, Jax looked up at Allison. "Allison, I don't want any interruptions, except from Brenda." Jax paused for a minute before continuing, "If Brenda calls, put her through right away. Okay?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Jacks." Allison turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at her boss. "Mr. Jacks, is everything okay?" She had learned many things about her boss; one major thing was being able to tell when something was bothering him, especially if it had to do with Mrs. Jacks. This seemed to be one of those times. She stood in the doorway waiting for his answer.

"Everything is fine, Allison - really!" Jax smiled a reassuring smile at his secretary. He had grown to appreciate her concern for him and for Brenda. That was why he had not been angry with her when she had cooperated in Brenda's takeover following his accident. He knew she had done it because Brenda had asked and she was concerned about him and the company. He waited until Allison had left the room and closed the door behind her. "Okay, Travis, what have you got?" Jax walked back over to his desk and sat down in his chair.

For the next hour Travis went into detail about the information his people had been able to find about the attack on Jacks International. When he finished, he handed the file to Jax and sat back in his chair, trying to read his friend/boss's reaction to the news. He was surprised to see that he could see nothing in his eyes or in his expression that gave any hint of what he was thinking. "So what's our next step, boss?" He crossed his legs and waited for Jax to answer.

Jax opened the file and looked over the material inside. After about ten minutes, he closed the file and looked up at Travis with a smile on his face that seemed to Travis to be nothing less than sinister. Jax brought his hands up in front of his chin and laced his fingers together before answering Travis, "I'll tell you exactly what we are going to do." Jax smiled broadly at Travis, "But first I think we need to get a few more players in this game." He picked up the phone and gave Allison a list of the people he wanted in his office in the next 15 minutes. As he and Travis waited for the others to arrive, Jax leaned back in his chair. "You have no idea what you've just done, do you, Travis?"

Travis was surprised by the look on Jax's face. For the first time in all the years he had known him, Jax looked the image of the ruthless corporate raider he was rumored to be. Looking at the expression on Jax's face and the way he kept reading and rereading the contents of the file, Travis knew that he was about to see a side of his friend that he had never actually seen in action. Travis had always prided himself in being able to read people accurately, and the man in front of him was bent on revenge. Travis also realized that he had furnished the means for that revenge!

Once everyone arrived in Jax's office, including Allison, they had stayed behind closed doors for nearly three hours. There had been a large number of phone calls and faxes exchanged before everything was in place. As each member of the team accomplished their assignment, they left Jax's office to return to their regular duties. Eventually the only ones left were Jax, Travis, and Thomas. As the three men picked over the remnants of their lunches, the discussion somehow turned to employee loyalty. All three of them agreed that everyone who had participated this morning would never divulge what had taken place here. Travis was the first to admit that when Jax had assembled his staff at the beginning, he had misgivings about several of the key people that Jax had hired. Now though, he was willing to admit he had been proven wrong. Each one of them had demonstrated their loyalty over and over again.

Thomas quickly agreed. In the past few months that he had been in Port Charles, he had gotten to know all of the top executives of Jacks International. Not one of them had ever given him any reason to doubt them. He had, in fact, used several of them to accomplish assignments that either Jax or Travis had given him, and had always been more than satisfied with their performance.

As they were cleaning up their lunches, Jax brought the discussion back to the subject at hand. "Okay, then, is everyone clear on what we're going to do?" Jax looked from Thomas to Travis and back to Thomas again.

Travis nodded his head. "Yep. Everything will be in place by close of business tomorrow. All parties involved have agreed to keep knowledge of the details of their participation confidential, on a need to know basis, so that no information will leak out before we are ready. You'll have all the necessary paperwork in your hands by 5:00 tomorrow." Travis got up and headed toward the door, before finishing his thought, "I just wish I could be a fly on the wall when you do this…"

Jax slowly shook his head and smiled. "I know, Travis, but you do understand that this is something that I have to do with Thomas, don't you?"

Travis looked back at the two men standing by Jax's desk. "Of course, I do. I know that it is actually something you would rather do alone, but I'm glad that you agreed to take Thomas with you. Considering your relationship, it only makes sense to take a 'family' member with you as a witness." He nodded his head slightly at them and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Once they were alone, Thomas looked over at Jax, suddenly getting very serious. "Jax, what are you going to tell Brenda about all of this?" Thomas knew of Jax's promise to Brenda never to keep secrets. But he also knew about Brenda's recent nightmares, and he was concerned about adding to her stress level.

"I'm going to tell her everything. I'm going to tell her what Travis found out and what we did here today. I'm also going to tell her what you and I will be doing Thursday morning." Jax seemed resolute in his decision.

Thomas, on the other hand, was not so sure. "Are you sure you want to do that, Jax?" Thomas was not surprised by the expression on Jax's face. "I don't mean that you should keep secrets from her, Jax. I'm just concerned that with all she's been dealing with - her new commission, Lady Jane coming back into your lives, and then, of course, there's always good, old Everett - telling her all of this might be too much for her."

Jax walked over to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate your concern, mate, but I think telling her about all of this will ease some of the stress she's under. Think about it: I told you about the nightmares she's been having recently, right? Well, every time she has one, she wakes up in a panic and can't remember much about it - just that I'm in some kind of danger! I think if I tell her what we found out and what we've done here today, it will give her some peace of mind that at least one of her fears for me is over."

Thomas put his hand on top of Jax's. "Well, you know her better than I do, so I'll trust your judgement. Is there anything else you need from me right now?"

"No, I think we've covered everything we can for now. Why don't you get back to work? I'll let you know when I get the final paperwork." Jax squeezed his friend's shoulder before letting him go. As Thomas opened the door, Jax called out to him, "Thomas… thanks"

Thomas smiled at him and nodded slightly. He walked quickly out, closing the door behind him.

Once he was alone in his office, Jax walked back over to his desk and sat down. He started to sort through the messages on his desk again, but suddenly realized that he needed to do something. He picked up the phone and hit the speed-dial button. Brenda picked up on the third ring.

"Jacks Designs, Brenda Jacks here," Brenda answered.

"Jax here, too. How are my two favorite people doing this afternoon?" The love he felt for his wife and the child she was carrying was obvious in his voice, especially to her.

"Well, your son is doing just fine. His mother, on the other hand, is getting a little tired. It's about time for my mid-afternoon snooze. How's dad doing?" Jax's silence concerned her. "Honey, is something wrong?"

Jax exhaled slowly before answering, "Actually, no. In fact, things are definitely going right at the moment." Jax's words confused her, and he could tell he wasn't making any sense. "Look the reason I called was to ask if you could arrange an early dinner for us tonight - maybe out on the terrace, if the weather holds? I need to talk to you about something."

At first concerned when he said he needed to talk to her, she quickly relaxed when she realized that whatever it was would not be bad news; that he would have come home immediately and told her face to face. If he were willing to wait until dinner, it was probably something she would like to hear. "I think that can be arranged. It's absolutely beautiful outside. What time will you be home?"

Jax thought for a minute and then looked at the things on his desk. He looked quickly at his watch and then his planner before answering. "I should be there no later than 5:00. Is that too early for you?"

"Are you kidding? That would be perfect! I'll have everything ready when you get home!" Brenda took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before finishing, "Jax, thanks for this morning. I'm sorry about the dreams. I don't know what's causing them. I didn't mean to worry you." Brenda found herself struggling to keep from crying as she spoke. Damn hormones!!

"There's nothing for you to apologize for, luv. Hopefully, what I have to tell you tonight will ease your mind enough that you won't be having any more of them." Jax could tell she was upset, but didn't really know what to say to make things better for her. "Brenda, are you still there?" He didn't like the silence on her end of the phone.

She sniffled slightly before answering, "I'm here, Jax. Thanks for understanding." She suddenly brightened as a thought came to mind. "Just think, Jax: in just five more months this moodiness will be over!"

Jax knew Brenda had meant it as a joke, but he couldn't ignore the full meaning of what she had said. "That's true, luv. But there is one down side to the baby being born, you know." He knew he had her with that one.

Brenda was puzzled by what Jax had said. "What would that be?"

"Well… Once the baby is born, not only will the moodiness be gone but so, unfortunately, will your 'cravings!'" Jax chuckled when he heard her sudden intake of breath.

"Jax! You're awful! Besides, once the baby's born, we won't have time for 'cravings!'"

Jax sat up straight in his chair. "Don't count on that, luv! We will FIND time for that craving - somehow!" Jax relaxed when he heard her laughter. He glanced down at his watch and looked up when he heard a tap at the door. "I hate to cut this short, luv, but I need to get going. Allison just came in to let me know that I have a meeting in a few minutes. I'll see you about 5:00, okay?"

"Okay… I love you," she said softly.

"I love you, too. See you at five." He slowly hung up the phone. He sat unmoving for several moments, until he heard Allison's discreet throat clearing. "Oh, sorry, Allison. Is Mr. Billings here?"

"Yes, sir, he's waiting to see you. Should I send him in?" Allison looked expectantly at her boss, as she walked the rest of the way into his office to hand him the materials he would need for his meeting.

"Yes, please do. Thanks." Jax took the file she handed him and switched immediately back into business mode. If he intended to get home early tonight, he would need to concentrate on his workload for the rest of the afternoon.

As promised, Jax walked in the door just after 5:00. When he walked in, he was surprised not to see Brenda waiting for him as usual. He was just about to set his briefcase down on the foyer table when he saw Benton coming out from the dining room. "Benton, do you know where Brenda is?"

"She's up in her office, Jax. She received a phone call from Mr. Rollins a short time ago that seemed to upset her. It appears there may be some kind of problem with the house they are currently working on. She immediately rushed upstairs to her office and asked me to greet you when you got home and ask you to come up as soon as you could."

"Thanks, Benton, I'll go up right now. How's dinner coming?" Jax glanced quickly into the dining room to see if it was set for dinner.

"It's ready whenever you and Brenda are. I've got the table set up on the terrace, as Brenda requested. Just let me know when you want me to serve." Benton reached for Jax's briefcase. "I'll put that in the library for you."

Jax handed him the case. "Thanks. I won't need it tonight, so just put it on my desk. I'll let you know when we're ready for dinner." Jax headed quickly up the stairs and down the hall to Brenda's office. When he was outside the door, he stopped as he heard her voice through the partially open door. She was obviously angry about something. He stood out in the hall listening for several minutes before he opened the door and went in. What he saw in front of him startled him. Brenda was pacing around the room as she spoke on the phone. By the tone of her voice, he could tell that something had gone very wrong with the project. When he glanced around the room he saw that several of the sketches she and Katie had been working on were strewn about the floor. Many of the sketches had obvious drastic changes on them, and some even had huge cross marks on them. As she continued her pacing around the room, Jax became concerned about the growing tension he sensed in her. It was obvious to him that she did not even realize that he was there.

As Brenda began her next swing around the room, Jax waved at her to make his presence known without scaring her. She smiled at him quickly before getting back to her conversation. Based on what he heard of Brenda's side of the conversation, Jax was sure she was talking to Matthew. As he saw no signs of her displeasure lessening, he started to reach for the phone. Brenda vehemently shook her head and refused to hand over the phone. When Jax persisted, Brenda finally stopped pacing and let out a deep sigh. "Matthew, Jax just got home. Let me discuss this with him and get back to you. Okay?" She nodded her head slowly in acknowledgement of whatever it was that Matthew was saying. "Okay. I'll call you in the morning. Oh, and Matthew - thanks for listening." Brenda pressed the end button on the phone and tossed it on the couch.

As she had been ending the conversation Jax had come closer to her. When she tossed the phone onto the couch, he extended his open arms for her to walk into. As soon as she was close to him he wrapped his arms tightly around her, gently stroking his hands up and down her back. "What happened? Benton said you got a call a little while ago from Matthew that seemed to upset you. He thought it had something to do with the house you're working on." He continued to stroke her back slowly.

Brenda leaned back slightly in his embrace. "He's right." Brenda pulled completely out of his embrace and started pacing again. "Jax, the whole thing's a mess! You won't believe what Matthew told me this afternoon!" His concern for her returned immediately when Jax saw the tears forming in her eyes. "I can't believe they want to do this!"

Jax walked over to her and put his hand on her arm. "What's wrong, luv? You can't believe who wants to do what?" Instead of better understanding what was wrong, the cryptic answers Brenda had just given him only served to confuse him more. "Is it the people who own the house?" Brenda looked up at him and simply nodded her head, the tears that had been forming in her eyes had now started to flow freely.

"Yes!" She stopped for a minute to try to regain her composure so she could tell him what happened. When she sniffled a couple of times, Jax reached into his pocket and handed her his handkerchief. She quickly wiped her eyes before continuing. "They called Matthew this morning and told him they decided they didn't want to restore the house, they want to modernize it! When Matthew told them about the restoration requirements, they told him that didn't matter! That we had a contract with them to decorate their house and we had to do it the way they wanted - and they wanted it modernized!" The tears started to flow again.

Jax took her hand and lead her over to the sofa. After they had both taken a seat, he took her hand in both of his. "Did he explain the restoration requirements to them?" Brenda nodded her head. "Didn't they have to sign the same agreement that we did about maintaining the original integrity of the property?" Again Brenda nodded. "Then I don't understand how they can think they can modernize the house." Now it was Jax's turn to shake his head. "Maybe Matthew misunderstood what they wanted. I mean we modernized the kitchen and the bathrooms. Could that be what they were talking about?"

Brenda shook her head no. "That was the first thing I asked him. He said 'no.' They want to turn it into a modern open house with as few rooms as possible - just big open spaces! Jax, what are we going to do? We can't do that to the house! You should see the inside of that place - it's amazing!" Brenda's eyes lit up as she talked about the house. "You know, if I didn't love this house so much, I could very easily see us living there. When the Restoration Society restored that house they did an amazing job. It's absolutely perfect exactly as it is! That's why it would be a crime to do what they want to that house!" Jax could see the tears forming again.

He reached over to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her close to him. "Well, about the only thing you can do is refuse to complete the work." When Brenda started to protest, he held up his hand to stop her. "Hear me out before you say anything. All you have to do is tell them that you cannot legally do what they want to the house. Explain to them that if they proceed with their attempt to modernize the house, you will be forced to report them to the city and that they will face termination of the purchase agreement and eviction under the conditions set forth in the original purchase agreement." To say Brenda was surprised by what he had just said would have been an understatement. When Jax noticed it, he smiled at her. "What's wrong?"

"Is that true? Is that actually in the purchase agreement?" Brenda suddenly realized that she had never known any of the details of the original purchase of their home. It had been a gift from Jax, and that was all she needed to know. If he was right, then he might have just furnished her the 'out' she and Matthew needed.

"Yes, it's true, Brenda. If you need any further information, just call the legal department at the office. They have all the contracts for the purchase. In fact, why don't you call Ben Atfell tomorrow morning and set up an appointment to meet with him? He'll show you the purchase stipulations that we had to agree to in order to buy the house. He can also give you the details about the penalties faced for failing to follow the stipulations." He was relieved to see a small smile return to her face. "What's the smile for?"

"You! You always seem to know what to say to make me feel better. In this case, you even know the answer to my business problems. How did I ever get so lucky to find you?" She smiled at him sweetly before leaning forward to kiss him. "Did I say 'hello' to you when you came in?" She snuggled close to him, and he finally felt her relax.

"Actually - no, you didn't. You were a little preoccupied at the time." Jax softly ran his hand up and down her back.

"Well, in that case then - hello!" Brenda tilted her face up again to kiss him. He eagerly returned her kiss before settling back on the couch, pulling her along with him. They sat snuggled like that for several minutes. Finally, she pulled away from him. "What do you say we go down to dinner? I have to admit I'm hungry!" She slowly got up from the couch. "Besides, I want to hear all about what Travis found out about the run at Jacks International and what you intend to do about it. She smiled at him and held out her hand to him. He smiled back at her and got up from the couch, taking her hand as he did. They continued to hold hands as they headed out the door and started down the stairs.

When they reached the foot of the stairs Jax called out to Benton. "Benton, we're ready for dinner now."

Benton came into the foyer almost immediately. "Very good, sir. Everything is set up on the terrace. Why don't you and Brenda go out and get comfortable, while I get the food?" Benton didn't wait to hear an answer. He turned and quickly headed back to the kitchen to start serving the meal Mrs. Kelly had prepared and kept warm for them.

As they sat on the terrace enjoying their dinner, Jax told Brenda everything Travis had found out about the attempt at Jacks International. He also told her what steps he had put in motion to put an end to the problem. Brenda had not once interrupted him as he told her his plan. When he finished, he waited for her to say something, but she didn't. She just sat there, shaking her head. "Brenda, are you okay, honey?" Jax leaned forward, resting his arms on the table and taking her hand in his.

Brenda looked over at him and smiled slightly. "I'm fine, really! I'm just having a hard time accepting all of this." She was surprised when she saw the cloud come over Jax's face. "Honey, what is it? Are you angry about something?"

"Not really. I'm just worried about you, that's all. Maybe I shouldn't have told you all of this tonight, especially on top of everything you've had to deal with today." Brenda immediately let go of his hand and got up from the table. She started to walk around the terrace, not saying anything as she walked. Jax could tell she was trying to figure out the right thing to say. "Brenda, what's wrong?"

Brenda stopped her pacing and came back over to the table. She stood in front of Jax and looked down at him. When he tried to get up, she put her hand on his chest to let him know she wanted him to stay seated. "Jax, you should know better than to think something like that! We made a promise when we got back together that we wouldn't keep any secrets for any reason. I fully intend to keep that promise, and I thought you did, too. Was I wrong?"

Jax could now see that what he had originally thought was confusion on Brenda's face had actually been slow brewing anger. "Brenda, I didn't mean that I was not going to tell you any of this. I was just wondering if I should have waited until tomorrow to tell you, that's all. After all, things won't be ready until late tomorrow afternoon anyway. I could have told you all of this tomorrow morning, instead of dumping it on you on top of everything else tonight. Really!" He looked up into her eyes and was grateful when he saw the anger fading, being replaced with understanding. "I'm sorry if I gave you the impression I was considering keeping things from you." He smiled slightly, "Am I forgiven?"

Brenda reached out to take the hand he offered her. As soon as she was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him, resting his cheek against her noticeably rounded abdomen. Brenda slowly stroked his hair. "How can I stay mad at you when you say things like that? I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I should have known you would have told me everything. I guess I was just so wrapped up in my own problems that I took it out on you. I'm sorry." She leaned down and softly kissed the top of his head. They stayed like that for several minutes, his arms wrapped around her and her hand gently stroking his hair.

A rather strong breeze had picked up and started blowing things around on the table. It was then that Brenda glanced up at the sky and saw the ominous black clouds moving in. "Hon, I think we better head on inside. Looks like there's a storm about to hit. I'd hate for Benton to get soaked cleaning up this mess because we stayed out here too long." She backed away from Jax, who immediately got up and started walking back into the house after her.

Brenda had been right. Not long after Benton had finished clearing the table, a huge thunderstorm struck. Jax and Brenda had gone up to their sitting room to watch the storm. By the time it had finally worked its way down to a regular rainstorm, Jax and Brenda had already gone to bed, preferring to wait out the storm in their favorite place - cuddled together in bed!

June 9, 1999

10:45 A.M.

Jax was reading through the latest draft of a merger contract, when there was a soft tap at his door. "Come on in, Allison," he called out without even looking up from his reading.

The door opened a small amount and a head poked in. "It's not Allison, but can I come in anyway?" Jax was surprised to hear Brenda's voice. She was glad to see his broad smile when he looked up and saw her. As she opened the door further and came into the office, Jax got up from his desk and started toward her. She quietly closed the door behind her before she said anything, "I'm on my way to meet with Mr. Atfell, so I thought I'd stop in and say 'hello.' Hello!"

As soon as Jax reached her, he put his arms tightly around her and kissed her. "Hello, to you, too. I'm so glad you decided to stop in before your meeting. There is something I wanted to discuss with you about that house."

Brenda tensed; she had a feeling she knew what he was going to say. He was going to tell her to back out of the deal - that it wasn't worth the stress, especially in her condition. She was determined that she was not going to do that! The house was too beautiful to let it be ruined without a fight. "I know what you're going to say, Jax, and the answer is 'no!' I will NOT walk away from that beautiful house!" Brenda firmly planted her feet in the plush carpeting. She was startled when Jax began to laugh. "What's so funny?" Now she was starting to get angry.

"You are!" Jax said. He released her and headed back to sit behind his desk. He held his arm out toward one of the chairs in front of it for her to take a seat. "You think you know me so well, don't you?" He finally stopped laughing when he saw that her anger was increasing. She still had not taken a seat. "Brenda, please sit down. I do have something to propose to you before your meeting with Ben. Please?" He again held his open hand toward the chair.

Brenda finally relented and sat in the chair he indicated. "Okay, fine! What's this proposition?" As usual, she was finding it harder and harder to maintain her anger at him.

"Well, I was thinking, while I was driving in this morning, that the chances are pretty good that the couple you are working for are going to forfeit the house. From what you told me last night, it sounds like they are pretty adamant on changing the house. I never asked, do they have the kind of money that they could afford to just lose the house and the purchase price?"

When Brenda realized that she had misjudged Jax's attitude, she immediately felt guilty, causing her to willingly listen to what he had to say. She thought for a minute before answering his question, "Definitely! When I first met them I really liked them. But the longer we've been dealing with them, the more they both strike me as spoiled, little, rich kids, who are use to getting whatever they want, whenever they want it! PERIOD!"

Jax slowly nodded his head. "That's what I figured. In that case I have a business proposal for you. As a partner in your design firm…"

"You mean as the financial partner of our firm, don't you?" She smiled at him, letting him know her anger was completely gone, and she was willing to listen.

Jax began again, "As a partner in your design firm, I would like to propose that when this couple is forced to forfeit the property - and we both know they will - we purchase it for Jacks Designs. What do you say?"

Brenda was stunned. She had never considered purchasing the house, especially since she so loved the house she and Jax were living in. "What did you just say? Buy the house? Why? Jax did I do something wrong in decorating our house? Don't you like living there?" Brenda could feel the tears collecting in her eyes, threatening to spill out at any second.

Jax realized that Brenda had misunderstood what he meant. He quickly got up from behind his desk and came around to sit on the edge of the desk in front of her. He reached over and stroked the side of her face, gently wiping away the tears that had started to fall. "I love our house, sweetheart! I think you misunderstand my suggestion. I don't mean you and I should buy it to live in. I was thinking that the firm should buy it to use as a show house. That way you can furnish it the way it should be done and not have any interference from anyone. It would also mean that you wouldn't have to keep giving prospective clients guided tours of our home to show off your work. They could just walk through that house at their leisure to get a good idea of your tremendous talent." He smiled when he saw the little girl expression come back across her face.

Brenda jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! That's the perfect solution, Jax! I'd hate to see that house destroyed or think of someone else decorating it!" Brenda suddenly pulled back from him; a look a sadness on her face. "Wait a minute, Jax; we can't do this!"

Jax was surprised. "Why can't we?"

"I can't let you spend all that money just to make me happy. You've already spent a fortune on our house! No, we'll have to find another way!"

Jax reached out to her again. "That's the beauty in all of this. If we buy the house in the name of the firm, it becomes a company asset. It goes into the books as a corporate expense. We get to deduct its purchase price on the corporate taxes, along with the decoration and upkeep of the property." He smiled at her as he continued. "It would also provide space for Matthew and Katie to have offices of their own, instead of sharing yours at the house. We could set up one of the rooms as a studio so that you and Katie could work on the design sketches right there. That way if a client wants to make a minor change, you can do it right away, instead of having to arrange another appointment at a later date so you can revise the sketches. What do you think?"

Brenda smiled at him and gently stroked the side of his face. "Now I know why I love you so much. Not only are you my gorgeous husband, a great lover, and the father of my child, but you are also a brilliant businessman. I think it's a terrific idea! Thank you partner!" Brenda wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him several times all over his face. She caught a quick glimpse of the time on his desk clock and quickly pulled back from him. "Yikes! I'm going to be late for my meeting with Mr. Atfell!" Brenda straightened her clothes and gave her makeup a quick check in the mirror by the door. "Jax, can I tell Mr. Atfell about your suggestion about buying the property?" She looked expectantly at Jax.

"Of course. He'll probably have to check with the Restoration Society on the purchase anyway because of the idea of putting the business there. I don't think we should have a problem though, since it'll be restored as a home. If there is a problem, we could always offer Katie the opportunity to live there as a tenant." He chuckled softly before continuing, "I've already told Ben that you have final say in any matters pertaining to legal action you want taken on behalf of Jacks Designs. He'll work exclusively with you; I'll be totally out of it. He'll handle any legal work that may be involved in this. If you like him, we could assign him as legal counsel to the firm as well. Let me know what you think after your meeting." Jax opened the door for her. He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss before she headed out the door.

Jax stood in his doorway watching Brenda walk down the hall toward the legal department offices. When she was out of his sight, he went back into his office to get back to his own work. He suddenly realized that no matter what else happened today, with the possible exception of the arrival of the papers this afternoon, he had already had a very good day. He had made a wise business decision and pleased his wife in the process. As he sat down to read his contract, a sense of satisfaction came over him: yes, this was definitely a good day - almost as good as tomorrow was going to be.