Trying to Forget chapter 2

by:
Susan



Hi, this is the 2nd chapter of my story. I finaly got it done,

Susan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 2


Jax was unusually quiet and pensive on his way home in his limo. He was lost in his thoughts of the beautiful brunette who had captured his attention. He shook his head at how ridiculous it all seemed. They had barely spent much time together, in the stables of the Barrett Mansion no less. Yet he was instantly taken with her. He didn't even know who she was. He wanted to find out. He was going to.

Jax untied his bowtie and tossed his tuxedo jacket on the couch as he entered his home. He went upstairs to his office and sank into his leather chair. He shifted through the files on his desk. The merger with Remington Industries was getting off track. He read the numbers that Addie had faxed over with an heavy gaze. He ran a hand through his blonde air in mounting frustration. Things weren't going well. J&J Jacks could lose millions. Terry was being very unreasonable. He had to decide to continue the talks and hopeful work out some sort of benficial agreement or walk away. There were other companies out there just ripe for the picking, he thought while perusing the financial section of that day's paper. He picked up the phone and made a few international business calls. He glanced at the clock on his desk. 3:15 A.M. He tried to fight off the sleep but it was a useless battle. His eyes briefly fluttered close and his mind wandered back to that clandestine meeting in the stables. That beautiful dark-haired creature named Brenda. Her laughter echoed through his head. His eyes snapped open. He shook his head to ward off the visions.

He got up and walked over to the bar of his office. He poured himself a shot of tequila. He set the glass down after swallowing the arm liquid in one shot and undid the cuffs of his shirt. He turned off the lights and left the room. He went into his bedroom, stripped off his excess clothing and collapsed on top of the satin covers off his king-sized bed. He fell into a deep slumber. He dreamt that night. Dreams of the young girl he had just only met. No member of the opposite sex had ever affected him this way. Not so quickly that was. He had always become easily disillusioned with women or bored. A small smile crept onto his lips as he got lost in his sweet visions of Brenda...


The Barrett Estate


Brenda slowly crept up the stairs of the house, caerful to not disturb anyone remaining. Her father was in the parlor with some of his friends. They were smoking cigars, talking business and doing whatever they did. She clutched her shoes tightly. She hadn't bothered to change out of her overalls. Her feet silently padded up the carpeted stairs. She would have gone the back way through the kitchen but the servants were in there cleaning up. They might tell Harlan they saw her. She really didn't want to deal with him now. Thank God he was leaving for London in a few days. He was taking Julia with him. Heaven forbid he stay in the same house with her for an extended period of time.
She walked down the hall and into her room in the West wing. The live-in servant quarters were nearby. She had long since suspected that her room was there so Harlan wouldn't have to run into her around the house. His rooms were in the East wing of the house. With Julia just a hop skip away. He could watch her closely then. He could care less what she did. Her room was sparsely decorated with only the necessities. She wasn't showered with lavish gifts like Julia. At least not sentimental or carefully picked out ones. She had no photos or mementos from family vacations. Only non-existent memories and bitter disappoinments. The biggest one being her. She went into the bathroom across the hall after putting on her robe and splashed water on her face. She removed her make-up and brushed her teeth before returning to her room. She sighed and crawled into her bed. She pulled the white covers over her. Her room was plain, like it was a guest room. It might as well have been the way she felt there. She closed her eyes and dreamt of her prince like she normally did. Her handsome faceless prince who would ride in on his white horse and rescue her from her lonely tower. Only this time her prince was blonde with blue-green eyes. The kind that drew you in and saw through your soul. He had a name too...Jax.


The next morning,


Brenda woke up and reluctantly rolled out of bed. She was definitely not a morning person. She went to her dresser and grabbed a few of her things before disappearing into the bathroom. She brushed her hair and pulled it into a ponytail. She let the loose tendrils frame her face and put on minimal make-up. She went back into her room and got dressed. She put on a light blue short-sleeved summer dress that went to her knees. She snuck into the kitchen and grabbed a muffin. She smiled in greeting to the maid and butler before ducking out.

There was a maid and Andrew, the butler in the kitchen. The maid carried a tray of food out and left them alone. Brenda smiled at Andrew in greeting.

"Ms. Barrett, what is on the agenda today ?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"Well, I have the afternoon off. I was hoping to run some errands. "

"Anyplace in particular ?"

The short kindly man who had a soft spot for Brenda tried to keep from smiling.

"I was hoping to drive into town."

"Is my father going out ?"

"Mr. Barrett had some meetings and the chaffeur was going to drive him this morning. He had some matters to deal with before his trip to London."

Brenda bit her bottom lip. Her father was going to be gone all day probably.

"Is Julia going ?"

Their father always took Julia everywhere with him. He was teaching Julia the ropes at Barrett Enterprises. She was the closest thing he had to a son and he adored her so. She was his perfect princess.

"Yes. I believe so. She was having lunch in town with a friend. Maybe you should go with her. I'm sure she won't mind."

"I don't think so. I'll pass. I'll see you later."

She gave him a small smile before rushing out of the kitchen through the side door. The butler shook his head in perplextion at her retreating figure before returning to the den with a tray of food conspicuiously missing a few muffins.

Jax's home

He ran into the house after his daily 10 mile run, barely breaking a sweat. He grabbed the towel he left on the kitchen table, wiped himself off and gulped down a cool bottle of water, droplets falling onto his chest. He went into the living room and saw the red light flashing on the answering machine. He rewound his messages and listened to them. One from Thao. More from a few female acquitances. The last one was from Jerry. He made his way upstairs to his office. First he called Addy to collect his messages and see what was on the schedule for the next few weeks. There was nothing dire that couldn't wait or that required his personal attention. She raised an eyebrow when he revealed his plans to stay where he was for a few more days but didn't question him.
After getting off the phone with his secretary, he dialed Jerry's cell phone number.

"Jacks here." A strong accented voice answered.

He smiled.

"Jax here."

"Hey little brother. I take it you got my message."

"Yes. Very cryptic. What kind of trouble are you in now ?"

"The tall leggy brunette kind."

"What happened ? Forget her name ?"

"Something like that. She left me stranded in Monte Carlo."

"Monte Carlo ? Casino. Beautiful women. I hardly call that stranded."

"You're right. I guess I'll just have to forget about her and force myself to enjoy the scenery." Jerry responded, eyeing a pretty blonde that walked by.

"I'm sure you won't have too much trouble."

"You're right about that mate." Jerry let out a low whistle as a gorgeous redhead walked by.

"Recovered already, did you ?"

"Just about. Now, whatever you wanted to talk about, can it wait ?"

Jax rolled his eyes at the ceiling. His brother's atttention span dwindled when there was a beautiful woman anywhere nearby.

"You called me ! You left me a message saying you wanted to speak to me."

Jerry barely heard Jax. He was busy eyeing the redhead.

"Sure. Right, I remember. Listen, it wasn't that important anyway. I'll call you back."

Jax was about to say something but slammed down the receiver when he heard the dial tone. He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. His mind wandered to another brunette. The one he had met the previous night...Brenda. It had occured to him that he had imagined the whole thing. That she wasn't real. She couldn't have been that beautiful. Her hair wasn't like silk. Her skin wasn't that soft. Her pouty lips that he hadn't even kissed... It had to have been real. It couldn't have been a dream. God wasn't that cruel.
That angel named Brenda had to be real. He shut his eyes and her sweet laughter echoed in his head. His eyes flew open. He thought about his conversation with Addy. He didn't tell her why he wasn't going to be flying to London as previously planned. He didn't even really know why he had passed up the chance to gloat about his latest acqusition to J&Jacks of Alaska. It's like something was keeping him there. He had homes all over the world. He never stayed in one place for long. It was the adventurous side in him. Especially a small city like this. He glanced at his Rolex watch on his wrist. He was having lunch with Thao. He better get showered and ready.

Brenda strolled back upstairs to her room after making a quick visit to the stables. She had checked on the horses and given Sunbeam a carrot. She had pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail to keep it out of her face. She paused every once in awhile to take another bite of her muffin. She walked down the hall and ran into Julia who stopped her.

"There you are." Julia said, eyeing her eat. "You know, you could try having breakfast with the rest of us."

"You mean you and Daddy ? I don't think so. He keeps staring at me, counting up how much I eat. Like I'm going to blow up any minute. I guess it's better than being ignored every other time. I should probably be thankful."

"That isn't...Never mind. I don't want to fight with you. I just wanted to see if you would like to have lunch in town with me. I am meeting some friends and I was hoping you'd like to come."

Brenda was about to turn her down politely as she always did. The thought of voluntarily spending hours with Julia and her stuffy friends wasn't something she ever wanted to do. But for some reason she accepted. Maybe she would learn something about Jax, the gorgeous guy she had met the previous night. Ugh, where did that thought come from. She didn't need a guy from her father's rich circle of 'friends.' She wanted to get away from that. Then she remembered his deep blue eyes. She smiled at Julia.

"I'd love to. When are we leaving ?"

A stunned Julia blinked. She had expected her to say no. She figured she'd be sisterly and invite her. Maybe Brenda was learning to be sociable.

"Um, in an hour. You better pick out something to wear."

Brenda nodded and disappeared around the corner which led to her room. Julia shook her head and went into her own room to get ready.