by Suanne
Chapter 10
Setting: The Jacks' suite at the Plaza Hotel.
Jerry is sitting on the couch waiting for Brenda, who is taking a shower. "I can't let her go to the Penthouse, not with Sarah there. Its a little too late to tell her I'm not Jax. The best thing to do is to call Jax and tell him where his wife is. What is her name anyway?" Jerry thinks aloud, before picking up the phone and calling Jax. The phone rings in the suite, but unbeknownst to Jerry, Jax has already left for the airport. "Great, now what?" Jerry asks himself.
Brenda, wearing a hotel bathrobe, comes out of the bathroom. "Well, I feel totally better." she says, looking at Jerry.
Jerry hangs up the phone. "Good, I'm glad." he tells her. "I thought we could go out to dinner. We don't have to talk about anything if you don't want, but I would like to explain some things to you."
"Well its about time, Jax. I've been waiting for months for an explanation and you keep pushing me away. So now you finally want to talk." Brenda sneers, shaking her head at Jerry.
"I'm just asking for dinner, nothing else." Jerry tells her.
"All right. Dinner would be a good idea. I am kind of hungry. I haven't eaten all day. I'll go change." Brenda tells him, getting up and heading for the bedroom.
"Don't change too much, I like you the way you are." Jerry calls after her. She turns around and looks at him, slightly puzzled. She shakes her head slightly and goes into the bedroom.
After she leaves the room, Jerry picks up the phone again, calling Sarah. "Sarah,
something's come up. I won't be back in time for dinner. Just order something. I'll be
back later. Bye." He hangs up before Sarah can say a word.
Setting: An Jax' jet en route to New York
Jax is staring out the window on the jet. "Soon Brenda." he says, as he watches the scenery. "Soon."
Meanwhile, Sarah, thinking that Jerry is at work, waits for him at the Penthouse. Misty,
determined to return the jewelry, is on her way over to the Penthouse to confront Brenda.
Setting: A posh restaurant in Manhattan.
"So, Jax, what looks good?" Brenda asks Jerry.
"You." he tells her, grinning broadly.
"Jax, be serious." Brenda tells him, frowning. "I can't believe he found me already. If it weren't for that damned thief he still wouldn't know where to find me." she thinks to herself. "I won't let him get to me. I know how damned charming he can be when he wants."
The waiter comes and takes their order. Jerry orders a steak, but Brenda only orders a salad.
"I thought you said you were starved. Don't tell me you're on a diet." Jerry teases, eyeing Brenda's slender figure.
"You know I have to watch my figure, Jax. I have that shoot coming up.....Oh my God!" Brenda's eyes widen and a horrified look comes over her face.
"What's the matter?" Jerry asks, deeply concerned.
"I forgot about the shoot! Lucy is going to kill me!" Brenda cries out, dismayed.
"Shoot? Oh right, you're a model. The Face of Deception." Jerry says, remembering where he's seen her before. He'd wondered why she looked so familiar. It wasn't like him to forget a beautiful woman.
"Jax! You never listen to me! How many times do I have to tell you, not the Face of Deception. The face of Jax Cosmetics." Brenda says, exasperated. Jax had been acting so weird lately, ever since Miranda came to town.
"Darling, of course I listen to you. It was just a slip of the tongue. I knew you as the Face of Deception for so long." Jerry explains quickly, hoping she isn't becoming suspicious.
Jerry is curious about this beautiful woman his brother married - whatever her name was. He wished he could remember. Jerry never understood why Jax had married Miranda, let alone.....what's-her-name. Why marry when there are so many beautiful women to be enjoyed. Granted Pa and Lady Jane had a wonderful marriage, but there weren't many women like Jane in the world. He'd met beautiful women, kind and generous women, intelligent women, witty women. Unfortunately, they were all different women. Once he'd thought he found the right woman, but things had gone terribly wrong. "Which just went to show you that love was virtually impossible to find." Jerry told himself, wondering why sitting with Brenda was making him think of his lost love.
"Uh huh. You have a logical explanation for everything, don't you Jax. But you know what? I really don't care anymore." Brenda says, not believing him.
"I honestly can explain everything, darling. I wasn't what you thought. I mean, IT wasn't what you thought." Jerry tells her, hoping she didn't notice his slip of the tongue.
Setting: Jax's jet, en route to New York City.
Jax is staring out the window on the jet. "Soon Brenda." he says, as he watches the
scenery. "Soon." As he watches out the window he remembers scenes from the past.
Meeting Brenda for the first time, after winning the pinball game. The flying lessons.
Oysters from Ireland. The hit and run accident, and the sheer terror he'd felt when he'd
thought he'd lost her. He'd never intended for it to happen, vowed never to fall in love
again, but somehow Brenda had gotten to him. He'd fallen in love with her. Memories
flooded him, their first real kiss in Malibu, his proposal to her, that had surprised the both
of them. The first time they made love. The wedding on the Yacht. Brenda beating him,
Dad and Lady Jane at "Jacks Hit". How happy they'd been in New Orleans....before
Miranda arrived and ruined the wedding. The sick feeling in his stomach when he realized
that she'd been kidnaped. God, if he'd lost her..... He had to find her and make her
understand how much he loved her, how he couldn't stand living without her.
The pilots voice interrupts Jax' thoughts. "Mr. Jacks, we will be landing at La Guardia in
fifteen minutes. There will a car waiting for you at the terminal to take you to the
Penthouse."
Setting: Jerry and Brenda are eating dinner at a posh restaurant in Manhattan.
"Uh huh. You have a logical explanation for everything, don't you Jax. But you know what? I really don't care anymore." Brenda says, not believing him.
"I honestly can explain everything, darling. I wasn't what you thought. I mean, IT wasn't what you thought." Jerry tells her, hoping she didn't notice his slip of the tongue.
"What is that supposed to mean? I know what I saw." Brenda tells him. "How many times can he deny it?" Brenda thinks. "I saw him. He knows it. Why does he bother lying about it?"
"Look........darling, why don't we discuss this later. You're tired. I'm tired. Why don't we go back to the hotel and get some sleep." Jerry suggests.
"Together? You have got to be kidding, Jax." Brenda tells him, becoming more annoyed by the minute.
"No, of course not. Not the way things are between us right now." Jerry says.
They continue to eat dinner in silence. Jerry tries to make conversation, but Brenda ignores him. The harder-to-get she plays, the more intrigued Jerry becomes.
After they finish eating, Jerry takes Brenda's arm and they leave the restaurant. "Its such a lovely night, why don't we walk back to the hotel?" Jerry suggests as they leave the restaurant.
"I'm tired, I'd just as soon go back to the hotel and collapse and try to forget everything that's happened over the past couple of days." Brenda tells him, sighing.
"Well," Jerry says, signaling a hansom cab, "Why don't we ride back?" He helps Brenda up into the seat and tells the driver to go to the Plaza hotel.
For a few moments there is silence between them. Neither knows what to say to the other.
The only sound is the clip-clop of the horse's hooves on the pavement. Brenda, exhausted
after her long day, yawns deeply. The rhythmic rocking of the carriage is making her
sleepy. Slowly her eyes begin to droop. Finally her eyes clothes, she leans her head against
Jerry's shoulder, and slowly drifts off to sleep. Jerry looks at her for a moment, then puts
his arms around her and holds her against him.
Setting: Later that evening at the Jacks' Penthouse
Sarah is fuming because Jerry has abandoned her at the Penthouse. "Just order something he says. The least he could have done was left me some money." she mutters angrily. "Who does he think he is? Bringing me all the way across the country and then leaving me? ARGH! Why did I ever agree to come with this lunatic? I should have stayed in California. And Suanne is probably furious with me."
Sarah hears a key turn in the lock. "Its about time." she says as she goes to the door. "Where have you been?" she asks Jerry as he walks in.
"Excuse me?" Jax asks as he sets his bags down, wondering who this gorgeous, but obviously annoyed, young woman is.
"You heard me. I don't appreciate being left alone all evening. Where have you been?" she demands. "Suanne was right, this guy is crazy." she thinks. "Why did I ever go with him in the first place?"
"Um, miss, I'm afraid you've made a mistake." Jax tells her, realizing that this woman must be Jerry's latest conquest.
"You're damn right I did - when I got on an airplane with a total stranger! I want to go home now." Sarah tells him, furious.
"That's fine with me. Where's home?" Jax asks. "It would serve Jerry right if I got rid of his girlfriend after what he did to me." Jax thinks.
"What is with you? Are you insane or stupid? Los Angeles, remember?" Sarah says, exasperated.
"Fine. If you want to leave I won't stop you. There's a limo downstairs. I'll tell the driver to take you to the airport. My jet is already there. You can be home in a few hours." Jax tells her, grinning broadly. "So Jerry is in town, huh? Good. I'll make sure he gets what he deserves." Jax thinks.
"Thank you." Sarah says, walking out the door. Behind her, Jax picks up the telephone,
laughing for the first time in days.
At the New York offices of PIC
"Well, we've left Miranda on the loose in California. She stormed out and Lidia and Kathy have no idea where she's gone." Suanne informs the PIC members.
"She had damn well better not be headed here." Lenore says, banging on the table. "She's the last thing we need now."
"I know. The J&B Angels are looking for her right now. Caren and Sharon are heading up the search. Don't worry, they'll find her. And they won't let her within a hundred miles of Jax." Suanne reassures everyone.
"I thought the Angels were busy planning a wedding for Jax and Brenda." inquires Holly.
"Priorities. We need to get them in the same room together before we get them married." Suanne explains.
"Well, that's all well and good...but what about Jerry? He doesn't give up without a fight. He's a lot like Jax that way." asks Oceangirl.
"You take care of getting Jax and Brenda in the same room. I'll handle Jerry." Suanne tells them.
"Don't forget what happened with Sarah when she tried to "handle" him." Holly reminds Suanne.
"Don't worry, I'm immune to his charm." Suanne says, overly confident.
"The only way to be immune to his charm is if you're dead." May quips.
"Too true." Suanne says under her breath, thinking back to a different time and place. But, things were different now. She'd learned about Jerry's true nature the hard way, and wasn't going to fall for his tricks again. "I'll head over to the hotel and head off Jerry." Suanne says. "The rest of you go find Jax and bring him there."
"How are we supposed to get him there?" Oceangirl asks. "Yeah," chimes in May, "What if he won't come?"
"Kidnap him." Suanne says with a straight face.
"Cool." Lenore says, grinning broadly. "Consider it done, Suanne." Holly says, with a
mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
Setting: The Plaza hotel.
"Mmm....where are we?" Brenda murmurs, cuddling closer to the warm body next to her.
"Shh, go back to sleep, darling." she hears Jax's voice whisper in her ear. With the blessed forgetfulness of sleep, Brenda does not remember the pain she's felt for days after Jax's betrayal, instead she drifts back to sleep feeling safe and secure.
Jerry carries the sleeping Brenda into the suite, closing the door quietly so as not to wake her. He carries her into the bedroom and lays her down on the bed. She sighs softly and rolls over on her side, tucking her hands under her head. Jerry smiles down at her. "I've got to hand it to Jax, he found a beautiful and intelligent woman to marry. I wonder how the old reprobate convinced her to marry him." He bends down and removes her shoes. He takes a blanket from the foot of the bed and drapes it over her, accidentally brushing her arm. Brenda stirs, waking up a little.
"Umm, Jax. Come to bed." she says sleepily, pulling him down onto the bed with her.
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