"Jonathan Hart’s office, " Deanne said lifting up the phone receiver for what felt like the hundredth time that day.
"Deanne? It’s Jennifer, is Jonathan busy?"
"No Mrs. Hart, I’ll buzz you in. Mr. Hart? Mrs. Hart is on line one."
"Great! Hi darling, how’s you day going?" Jonathan smiled, as he always did when he thought of Jennifer.
"Oh fine. I dropped of the next article in my series on local charity groups."
"That column is really drumming up recognition for some of the lesser known causes. You should be proud of yourself."
"Thank you Darling, but I’m just glad that I can help out." Jennifer’s generosity was one of the things he loved most about her.
"How does you schedule look for the next few days?" He asked.
"Nothing pressing. Why?"
"I have some business I need to take care of out of town, do you want to come?"
"Where are we going?"
"Paris."
"I’ll start packing."
"Terrific, ask Max if he’d like to come along."
"No, remember, Max has that trip to San Jose, he says it’s to relax."
"More like there’s a big poker game. He should know by now that we know him too well. I’ll have the jet set for 9:00 tomorrow."
"Great! I’ll see you tonight. Love you."
"Love you too. Bye."
"Bye."
"Carmen, are you sure you can handle them?"
"I’ve dealt with everyone from world leaders to Mafia members, I think I can handle two socialites from Bel-Air."
"They have to trust you."
"Don’t worry I will become Jennifer Hart’s best friend. Besides Jonathan already trusts you. Getting them to like me will be effortless."
"Yes you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow."
"God, I love Paris. Doesn’t matter what time of year it is, it’s just always so beautiful and romantic here. We should just wander around for a while, see if we can just get lost in it all."
"That would be nice darling, but remember this is a business trip."
"Oh, I know, but couldn’t we stay a little longer, you know after you’re through?"
"Maybe, Darling." They had just checked in to their hotel which had a spectacular view of all Paris had to offer. Jennifer stared out the window mesmerized.
"What’s on your agenda for the day?"
"Well the executive board members from Hart Industries are meeting with some board member from a company I’m trying to acquire, in fact Mitchell Hayward should be here any minute to go over some plans for the meeting."
"Mitchell Hayward, isn’t he the newest executive member?"
"Yes, I’ve been extremely impressed with him, he seems to have quite a head for business." They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "I must be psychic or something." He answered the door and an attractive looking couple entered the room. "Jennifer, I’d like you to meet Mitchell Hayward."
"I’d like both of you to meet my wife Carmen." Carmen smiled as she shook both their hands. She was smartly dressed, her short black hair carefully done. She was leaving nothing to chance. She only had a limited amount of time to achieve her goal. "Carmen is going to sight see today, she’s not too familiar with the city."
"Oh, would you like some company? I know this city like the back of my hand."
"I’d love that, Jennifer. But only if it’s not an imposition."
"No, of course not. I was just going to wander around myself."
"Well thank you."
"Come on Mitchell, I think we should be on our way. You girls have fun."
"You too, Darling." He rolled his eyes at her and she gave him a quick kiss before he left."
"How long have you been married?"
"Oh a little over five years, and you?"
"The same."
"Do you speak French?"
"Just a little," Carmen lied; she was fluent in all the romance languages and several other of the world’s dialects.
"Well, shall we get going then? Where would you like to start?"
"You’re the expert Jennifer."
"Let’s start with the Eiffel Tower."
"Sounds good." Carmen smiled; she was well on her way to achieving her goal.
"Well Gentlemen, what’s your take on today’s meetings?" Jonathan asked the executive board members. They were gathered for drinks in the hotel to discuss the day’s events.
"It’s seems to me that we have been working on this project for a long time and we’re not as close to getting this company as we should be," Felix Ericson, one of the older board members, said.
"We’d be a lot closer to our goal if we could convince Timothy Aldridge that this acquisition would be beneficial for everyone," Bradley Ames said.
As the others ordered drinks Jonathan let his mind wonder. This project was taking unusually long time. It seemed to Jonathan that they were running out of options. Hart Industries had tried to explain to Timothy Aldridge that his company had failed, and that buying out his company would benefit everyone. Jonathan had offered him a more then fair price. Representatives between the two companies had been working closely. Jonathan did not want to have a hostile takeover but was finding that other choices were soon running out. He had big plans for Aldridge electronics and the Paris shipyards that came with. He thought that they were so close. He glanced at the other board members, they were talking amongst themselves. Business had seemed to stop for the day, which was fine with Jonathan, it meant that he was free to go have dinner with Jennifer, who was on the full board, but not an executive member. He sometimes wished she were, because the executive meetings could become incredibly boring. He didn’t think, however, that his wife could stand being cooped up in an office all day. She loved the freedom her writing gave her.
"So gentlemen, do we have a plan of action for tomorrow?" he asked.
"Work on getting Aldridge. He’s the key, "Ames said.
"Fine. Mitchell, maybe we should go collect our wives? Till tomorrow, everyone."
"How did it go today Carmen."
"Fine. Jennifer and I had a great time. I will have no trouble convincing her to go away for a few days. Although, I have to say if your boss wants the Harts out of the way, it can be done with minimal fuss, I have the connections."
"I know you do. I’m under the impression that you could do anything," Mitchell said.
" Your right, I can. So, shall I give the order?"
"No my boss has no problem with Mrs. Hart, he doesn’t want to kill innocent people. You just get her out of the way for a while."
"What’s in store for Jonathan?"
"He’s going to learn to leave well enough alone."
"How was your day darling?" Jonathan asked.
"It was fun Carmen’s terrific. I think she knows more about Paris than she lets on. I hope I don’t intimidate her." They were eating dinner at a secluded but posh Parisian restaurant.
"Darling, you? Intimidating?"
"I just mean that I’m the bosses’ wife, and her husband is new to Hart Industries. He climbed to the top awfully fast, didn’t he?"
"Yes, actually, he did, but he’s really very brilliant and his work and dedication to this project have really been amazing."
"Mr. Aldridge, how goes it with him?"
"Not good, he’s stubborn."
"So are you, besides the French have a reputation for being stubborn."
"He’s not French, he’s American."
"If he’s an American why are you meeting in Paris? Not that I’m complaining, or anything, but isn’t it a little out of the way?"
"His company is based in Paris. That’s one of the reasons we’re so interested in it. We have almost all the details worked out; all we need is for Aldridge to give in. The biggest perk is that with this company also comes a huge shipyard."
"Two for the price of one."
"Exactly."
"This is interesting."
"Not really."
"Oh, but it is." Jennifer always seemed interested in what ever Jonathan was hard to work at.
"Ok, but I think we’ve had enough shop talk for today. What are you going to do tomorrow?"
"Carmen and I are going shopping in the morning."
"Of course. You can’t leave Paris with out buying it first," He teased.
"I am not that bad," Jennifer said. Jonathan just smiled. They finished their meal. Jennifer paid the bill because she knew more French then Jonathan. It was a warm night and they decided to walk back to the hotel. Hand in hand it looked as if they owned Paris, a city known for romance. They walked, not noticing other people who passed them, totally lost in the magic of Paris at night. When they reached the hotel they were reluctant to go in. They stopped at the desk to retrieve their messages and then went up to their room. Jennifer went to get ready for bed while Jonathan read his messages. When she came out of the dressing room a few minuets later she found her husband on the phone.
"Stanley, I need the information as soon as possible. Thanks." He was talking to Stanley Friesen, who could find just about anything that you needed to know.
"What’s up Darling?" Jennifer asked when he got off the phone.
"Felix Ericson called when we were out. Aldridge Electronic is suddenly rolling in money. Their bank accounts are full."
"That certainly makes it harder for you to buy it."
"Yes, but that’s not it. We can’t figure out where this money is coming from."
"Could the company suddenly have taken off?"
"No we have been watching it so closely that we would have known if there had been any change. This money has appeared out of nowhere."
"That’s puzzling. I could do some research into your problem while you’re at your meetings tomorrow." Jennifer didn’t like to see Jonathan so unsettled by his problem, and wanted to do all she could to help.
"There won’t be any meetings with the other side until we figure this out. The executive members are meeting tomorrow to discuss this in more detail."
"Do you think that there was any illegal activity going on?" She smiled as she said this knowing full well that the thought had already crossed her husband’s mind. She also knew that they were in for another adventure, this would not be an average business trip.
"I have Stanley looking into it."
"But you want to do some checking of our own. Am I right?"
"Darling you know me too well."
"Is there any thing we can do tonight?"
"No."
"Well then, I think I should do something to take your mind of your problem." She winked at him and smiled. He smiled back, his problems already forgotten.
"How is everything going?"
"Fine, it’s working better then I planned, or it was until that money showed up."
"Don’t worry Mitchell."
"Do you know how suspicious that was? Jonathan Hart knows every move this company makes."
"And we’re going to deal with him as soon as his wife is out of the way and everything is in place."
"I’m starting to agree with Carmen on this one, why not let her put a hit out on them?’
"Because it has to look like an accident. If the mob or a government assassin, like Carmen is so fond of, kills Jonathan Hart, there will be a lot of questions, questions I don’t need."
"Alright."
‘Just make sure you contact me when Carmen has Jennifer out of the way, this will be a lot easier without her."
"Carmen is getting it taken care of."
"Good, by the way what alias is Carmen using?"
"Carmen Hayward."
"She’s pretending to be your wife?"
"Yes, It was the fastest way to get her close to Jennifer."
"Well, Carmen is the best. Does anyone know her real last name?"
"No, anonymity is crucial to her kind of work."
"What else does she do?"
"Everything."
