The past nine days had gone by quickly. Brenda was totally absorbed in accessorizing the house. She had ordered drapes, lace and sheer curtains, lace and crocheted table covers, tablecloths and napkins, towels for the kitchen and three of the baths, and just about anything else you could imagine a home might need. The up side to all of this was that she had been too busy to give any thought to the disturbing incidents of the previous weeks. The down side of it all was that she and Jax had spent very little time together. She planned to change all of that tonight.

Jax, in the mean time, had been very busy himself. In addition to his normal business routine, he had been working closely with the Security Division of Jacks International to make sure that Brenda was safe whenever she was in the house, as well as the house being protected when they were not around. Since there had been no further incidents, both Jax and Matthew had begun to breathe a little easier. Travis, on the other hand, had insisted on keeping up the intense security on the house. Jax had insisted though, that Brenda have a guard when she went to the house without him. He convinced her that until they figured out who was getting into the house and how they were doing it, neither of them would be safe there alone. She had grudgingly agreed, under the condition that the guard stayed out of the way. Jax had no problem with that, but it took a little convincing to get Travis to agree; eventually he did.

Deliveries were a daily occurrence at the house now. If they were not bringing additional pieces of furniture that Matthew had ordered, they were bringing boxes of accessories that Brenda and her consultants had ordered. Between them, Matthew and Brenda had managed to completely finish the parlor. The electrified, antique crystal table lamps had been delivered a few days ago. They had been washed and put into position on the appropriate tables as soon as they arrived. Each lamp had a lace or crocheted cloth beneath it. The burgundy velvet draperies arrived on Jan. 12th and had been hung immediately. The restored antique carpets had arrived and been positioned according to the plan Matthew and Brenda had worked out. Once all the furniture and accessory pieces were in place, the room truly looked like a home.

The missing server for the dining room set had finally been located and air freighted in last week. The sideboard had been delivered a day late because Matthew had been preoccupied with the research on the house but was now in place along with the fireside intimate dining table and chairs. The carpets for this room had been delivered, along with those for the parlor and first guest bedroom. Brenda had just finished arranging the linens in the sideboard and positioning the lamps in the room today. That made two rooms complete.

Jax had been working closely with Matthew on furnishing the library. It had taken several attempts, but they had finally come up with a floor plan that worked for Jax, that held his office equipment, yet was within the historical plan that Matthew had worked from. Matthew had already found most of the furniture in an antique shop in London. It appeared to be a complete office suite. It was going to be delivered in about three days.

5:45 p.m.

Jax was having a really bad day in the office. One of his most trusted employees had suddenly quit and accepted a job with J&J Jacks, his father and brother's company. This had caused Jax to call a meeting with Travis to find out what information the man had access to and how sure they would be that he was not going to compromise any of the deals Jacks International had pending. Travis had assured Jax that the man had only partial information about any deal pending, not enough -- even if he decided to betray company secrets -- to interfere with any of the deals. Besides which, he had signed a confidentiality agreement when he was hired, prohibiting him from discussing any business topic with anyone outside the company either during his employment or for a period of one full calendar year afterwards. Failure to comply with the agreement could result in legal action being taken to the extent that criminal charges could be filed for industrial espionage. Travis was quite certain all pending acquisitions were safe. Jax, on the other hand, was not so sure. He had scheduled a meeting with the man this afternoon to make sure he understood what he had signed and intended to honor the agreement.

Just then there was a knock on the office door. "Come in." Jax looked up to see Nikolas Spencer enter his office. Nikolas was a man of about 30 years of age, who had worked at Jacks International since it was founded two years ago. He had an excellent reputation in the business community for company loyalty, which was why Jax was surprised by his sudden resignation. "Sit down, Nikolas. I'm sure you know why I wanted to meet with you today. Would you mind telling me why you have decided to suddenly leave Jacks International to go to work for J&J Jacks?" Jax looked him straight in the eye to wait for his answer. He was pretty good at reading body language, and it seemed to him that Nikolas was very nervous.

"Well, I… I… Your brother… approached me the other night while I was at dinner at Luke's Club. He offered me a position as vice-president, with a salary substantially higher than I am making here. It seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up," he said as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Why was Jax staring at him like that? What did Jax think he was doing? Selling company secrets to the competition? Weren't they all family anyway?

Jax interrupted Nikolas's thoughts, "I see. Did it ever occur to you that J&J Jacks might be trying to get information on current business dealings this company may have pending? After all, the owners of the company have not been adverse to, shall we say, less than savory business tactics in the past?" Jax looked right at Nikolas to wait for his answer.

"No, sir. After all, Mr. Jacks, these are your father and brother we're talking about! Why on earth would you think they would want to sabotage deals that Jacks International has pending? Besides, even if they did want information from me, I'm not free to give it to them. You know that I signed a confidentiality agreement when I was hired, and I have no intention of risking a lawsuit or even jail time by divulging company secrets."

"Yes, I'm aware of the agreement you signed. I wanted to make sure you remembered it and intended to honor it. As to your new employers, you were working here in Port Charles when the unsavory business connections of J&J Jacks of Alaska became public knowledge. You are also aware of the permanent breach between me and your new employers as a result of that situation. For that reason, among many others, I have no reason to trust them either professionally, as in this instance of them hiring you away from Jacks International, or in private.

"Nikolas, you strike me as an honest man. Because of that, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt concerning this sudden career move and believe the reasons you just gave me for your decision. However, since your new employers' reputation is far from being squeaky clean, I feel it necessary to forgo the standard two-week notice period. I have to ask you to vacate your office this evening. Members of the security staff have already packed your personal belongings while we have been meeting here, and your materials are waiting with a guard by the elevator. He will help you load your belongings into your car. You will be receiving your final check from Jacks International at the normal time. It will include full payment for the two weeks we have denied you here. Any pension money you have accrued here will be made available to you to either transfer to your new job, if a fund is available, or our accounting department will help you start a private retirement package, if you would prefer. Either way, all ties to Jacks International will be severed as of this evening. Please give me all keys you were issued for this building, including your parking garage access card. You can turn your employee ID in to the guard at the security desk when you are escorted to your car. A guard will open the garage for you to exit."

Nikolas was in shock. He knew his sudden decision was not going to sit well with Mr. Jacks, but he had not expected this! What kind of a family was this anyway? Jerry Jacks had been eager to lure him away from Jacks International. Nikolas had thought it was because of his business ability. That he wanted Nikolas's help in building the reputation of J&J Jacks in much the same way he had helped build Jacks International. Now he wasn't so sure. Mr. Jacks had never been anything but honest with him in the past. The things he had just said about his own brother and father made Nikolas have second thoughts about leaving to work for them. He decided to make an effort to fix the damage he now realized he had done to his professional reputation. "Mr. Jacks, I've thought about what you've said here tonight about your family. Is there any chance we can just forget all of this and go back to how things were yesterday? I'll keep working here and your brother and father can find someone else to be vice-president?" Nikolas looked at Jax, hoping to see some kind of forgiveness in his eyes. He was in for a letdown though. All he saw there was cold, blue steel.

"I'm afraid not, Nikolas. There is no way I could trust you with any kind of confidential information at this point. I would never know if all of this hadn't been the plan in the first place in order for you to funnel information to the competition. No, you've made your decision; now you have to live with it. Goodbye." With that Jax stood and extended his hand to Nikolas, who slowly rose from his chair to shake Jax's hand.

"I'm sorry for this, Mr. Jacks. It was never my intention to offend you or damage Jacks International. I hope that some day you will be able to forgive me for my actions. I know it's going to take me a while to forgive myself. I guess I'll have to learn to live with my decision and make the best of a bad situation." With that said, Nikolas left the office. As he opened the door he was met by a uniformed security guard who escorted him to the elevators. Waiting there was another guard who had all of Nikolas's personal belongings in a couple of boxes on a two-wheel cart. On top of the boxes was Nikolas's topcoat and briefcase. When he lifted the briefcase Nikolas realized that not only had security gone through his office, but they had also removed any Jacks International materials that had been in his briefcase. Since he had given Jax all of his keys and his gatecard, one of the guards inserted his key in the executive elevator to open it. Once they were at the garage security point, Nikolas was asked to turn in his employee identification and was asked to walk through the metal detector that was normally only used when you entered the building. He was escorted to his car where the guards examined it for any Jacks International materials before they placed the boxes of his personal belongings inside. One of the guards rode with him to the exit, where he got out and opened the gate for Nikolas. Once the car was past the gate, the guard secured the exit, turned and walked back into the garage, leaving Nikolas to wonder just what he had done to himself, both personally and professionally. He drove away slowly, wondering if he had made a deal with the devil when he had agreed to work for Jerry Jacks.

Just as Nikolas was leaving Jax's office, the phone began to ring. "What???"

"Something tells me you're having a bad day. Want to tell me about it?" Brenda's voice was calm and reassuring.

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to snap at you. You're right though -- it has been a bad day. I'll tell you about it when I get home. Where are you anyway?" he asked as he looked at his watch. It was nearly 7:00 p.m. He hoped she was at home in the penthouse at this time of night.

"I'm at the penthouse. When do you think you'll be home? I want to order something special for dinner tonight. We've both been so busy these past few days, we haven't had any time for just us. Besides, it sounds like you need a little TLC about now."

Jax couldn't help but smile at the thought of Brenda's definition of TLC. He knew it had nothing to do with putting his feet up. "I'm leaving right now, so I should be there in about 25 minutes. Why don't you surprise me with the dinner menu?"

"You can count on that. Just be careful coming home. I don't know if you noticed or not, but it's been snowing most of the afternoon. The streets are pretty slippery, according to the news reports. Why don't you have security bring you home in one of the four-wheel drives? I can always drop you at the office tomorrow on my way to the house. Will you do that? PLEEEEEASE!!!!"

Jax never had been able to resist her. "Okay! I'll have Travis bring me home. It may take a little longer if the roads are as bad as you say. I'll be there as soon as I can.

"And, Brenda … I love you."

"I love you, too, honey. See you soon."

It was nearly 8:00 by the time Jax got to the penthouse. When he opened the door he was greeted by the sound of soft music. The lights were dimmed, and a fire was burning in the fireplace. Dinner had been set up on the table by the windows. This way they could watch the snow while they ate. Just then Brenda came out of the bedroom, looking to Jax like a vision. She was dressed in the soft gray, velvet pantsuit she had bought for their honeymoon. Jax had to admit that just seeing her in that suit made him forget about everything that had happened today. Instead, his mind filled with much more pleasant thoughts, many of which he was sure would become reality before the evening was over.

"Hi, honey." Brenda came over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. The scent of her perfume reminded Jax of other times and other things. "Oh, dear -- you look like you've had a rough day!! Why don't you let me get you a drink before dinner, and you can tell me what happened today." Brenda walked over to the bar and poured Jax a drink, as he took off his suit jacket and tie.

It took not only finishing his drink, but most of dinner, for Jax to explain to Brenda everything that had happened at the office today. When he finally finished he looked over at Brenda and was surprised to see her shaking her head. "What?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if maybe you're reading too much into this Nikolas Spencer leaving Jacks International to go work for Jerry & John. I mean, I know you don't trust them as far as you can throw them, and I understand why. But do you think it's just possible that they hired this man for just the reasons he gave you?" Brenda could tell by his expression that he wasn't buying what she was saying.

"I really wish I could say that was a possibility. But, come on, Brenda -- we both know what they are like. The shortest distance between them and a goal is through someone else's work. They have no idea what business integrity or trust is all about. Do I have to remind you of what they did? To me? To us? Jerry almost got you killed, Brenda! You were just lucky that the bullet at the docks just grazed your arm! Do you know how scared I was when I saw you bleeding? Do you have any idea what I wanted to do to Jerry when I found out he was responsible?

"No, I'm sure there is more to this. Look at the timing. They know that we were just recently married and are planning on moving into our new home very soon. Don't you think it's just a little too convenient that they hire away one of Jacks International's highest executives, just at the time when they figure I'd be too preoccupied with outside distractions to pay too much attention?" Jax had gotten up from the dinner table and begun to pace in front of the fire.

Brenda quietly walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Honey, I understand your concerns, and you probably are right about them, but just for tonight let's forget about the house, the phantom furniture movers, Nikolas Spencer, and your less than trustworthy family. Let's just think about us. We've both been so distracted with work lately that we haven't really taken time for us. I suggest we change that right now!" With that said, Brenda let go of Jax and went to the phone on the desk. She picked it up and called the front desk, "Clayton, this is Mrs. Jacks in the penthouse. Would you please hold all of our calls for the rest of the night? You can feel free to direct them to the voicemail if you would like, or you can take messages for us, but under no circumstances are any calls to be put through to our home tonight! Is that understood? Good. Thanks. Good evening to you, too, Clayton." Brenda then walked over to where both she and Jax had put their cell phones. She turned both phones off. She then went up the stairs to the den and disconnected the phone line from the fax machine and disconnected the private line in the den. When she returned to the living room she found Jax standing by the windows watching it snow.

"Okay, Mr. Jacks, all the phones are turned off, the fax machine is disconnected, and the only person who can still reach us is Travis, and that's only with that special pager he gave you." Brenda looked at Jax with a look that made his mind go blank and his heart race.

"What exactly do you have in mind, Mrs. Jacks?" He knew exactly what she had in mind, since he was thinking the same thing. "Is there some reason why you've isolated us here on top of the world?"

"You better believe it! I intend to show you all night long just what I have in mind!" With that said she took him by the hand, leading him toward their bedroom. By the time they got there, she was wrapped around him in what they had come to call a 'Brenda hug': her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, and their lips joined together.

They spent the rest of the night giving and receiving the kind of love that few are lucky enough to experience once in a lifetime, let alone every time. The rest of the world could wait for another day. Tonight there was only Jax and Brenda. The strange activities of the house and the suspicious actions of Jerry and John could wait. Nothing and no one mattered more than the two people joined together in a bond so strong they were oblivious to the world and its problems.