Justin nursed his now ice-cold cup of coffee. With only about thirty minutes before the start of his meeting he sat alone in the hotel lobby struggling to get his mind on work. No luck. His thoughts always turned back to Jen. Why was she pulling away? What had he done .. or not done? A feeling of desertion fell on him like a leaden weight.
'Does she not want to be married to me anymore? Does she think she made a mistake? No, that can't be it. We're happy! Aren't we?'
The questions swirled in his mind like an out-of-control twister and he found himself craving a cigarette to calm his rattled nerves. The gum was just not doing it for him today.
"Hey, buddy. Ready to go?" Ben's chipper voice burst through the foggy cloud in Justin's mind.
"I need a minute." Justin replied tersely, tossing a second piece of Nicorette into his mouth. Ben's good mood was annoying him. Plus, he didn't want to go to any meeting; he wanted to go home and work this out with Jen. But how could he fix what was wrong if he didn't even know what that was?
"If we're gonna be on time we really should get going. You wanna talk about what's bugging you?"
"Sorry, man. I'm fine. I just have a lot on my mind. Let's go."
As they turned to leave Justin caught a glimpse of a familiar face crossing the lobby. Great. That's all he needed right now. Pictures of him and her plastered on the cover of every tabloid. Thankfully, she hadn't seen him and he quickly followed Ben out the door before she could. With any luck, she'd be long gone before they got back.
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It was just after sunrise when Jen left the house for the airport. The three days after her conversation with David had been a blur of activity making arrangements for the kids, the dogs, the house, and cancelling her meetings for the rest of the week and now that it was all done her first priority was Justin.
By the time she landed at JFK, a car was waiting to take her to her hotel and as she pulled up to the private entrance, Carolyn, Jen's east coast assistant, came bouncing out excitedly to greet her.
"Jen!" The cute, vibrant brunette yelled, hugging her boss like a long lost friend.
"Hi, honey. How've you been?"
"I'm so great and I'm so happy to see you! You've been away from New York for far too long."
On their way to the room Lynnie chattered on about the preparations she had made for tonight.
"I've taken care of everything you asked for. Your spa appointment is at three, Chris will be here at six-thirty...and.."
"Wait, why is he coming so late?"
"Well, I wanted you to have time to rest before he came. I mean, I know you're Superwoman and everything but even Superwoman needs sleep and she won't want to mess up her freshly done hair by sleeping on it."
"I can't argue with that." Jen conceded, stifling a yawn. "I'm pretty exhausted."
"I can tell. You look beat! Anyway, the car will be here at nine to take you to the Bowery."
"Thanks, Lynnie. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."
"You set a great example, boss lady. You know I want to be just like you when I grow up... even though I am two years older."
Once they were in her room, Jen called to check on the kids while Lynnie made her some tea.
"So uhm .. my friend Mary's cousin's boyfriend works at the Bowery. He uhm .. he said he's seen Justin a few times and that he seemed really distracted and not like himself."
That's probably my fault."
"There's more." Lynnie hesitated. "He also said that a certain blond has been hanging around there for the past few days."
"Heidi?"
Lynnie nodded. "Yeah. I don't know how she found out where Justin was staying but she's trying damned hard to 'accidentally' run into him on purpose if you get my meaning."
It was impossible to miss her meaning and even though the thought of Heidi going after Justin made Jen cringe, she knew she had to let it go if this was going to work.
"Heidi's not my concern anymore. All that matters is that I make things right with my husband."
"Atta girl."
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Justin dropped onto the sofa in his suite, exhausted, cranky, and wrestling with a throbbing headache. He loosened the knot of his tie, threw his arm across his face, and exhaled. He had just started to drift off to sleep when the beep-beeping of the phone yanked him back to consciousness.
"Yeah?" He mumbled gruffly into the receiver.
"Easy, JT. It's just me." Ben knew something was up with Justin and was hoping to cheer him up. "How 'bout some dinner? We could run down to 'The Smile' and grab some of that shaved radish salad that you love so much. C'mon."
"I'm really not hungry, Ben. I'm a little out of it tonight. I think I'm just gonna grab a shower and hit the sack."
"You sure? It's early!"
"Yeah, but thanks, man. You enjoy."
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yep. Tomorrow. G'night."
Justin stripped down and climbed into a steamy shower. He let the hot water slice through the tension that bunched his shoulder muscles and then he slipped naked between the cool sheets and stared at the ceiling until he fell asleep. Some time later he felt the bed dip under the weight of someone climbing in next to him. 'Jen! She was here! Thank God!' Still half-asleep he didn't even open his eyes as he reached out and pulled her to him.
"I'm so happy you're here, love. I've missed you so much."
She began kissing all over his chest and neck and Justin instantly knew something was wrong. When she finally spoke, she confirmed it.
"I've missed you too, Jay."
Panic! He knew that voice and it wasn't his wife's! He switched on the light, illuminating Heidi's smiling face complete with smeared eye make-up, and disheveled hair. He jumped out of the bed as if it were on fire, covering himself with a pillow.
"What the fuck!?!"
"Wait. Don't be *hic* mad." Heidi put her hands out and the sheets fell away revealing her nakedness.
"What? What the fuck!?!" He really wished he could find more words but that was the best he could do right now.
"I knew it. I knew you shtill loved me. We were so great to-*hic*-gether, Jushtin."
Justin pulled on his underwear and backed away from the ridiculous scene before him.
"Heidi, how many drinks have you had and how the hell did you get into my room?"
"I'm not drunk. I only had..." She held up four fingers, then five and then raised two fingers on her other hand trying to count through her buzz. "I dunno *hic* how many but it was a lot!" She laughed wildly and fell back onto the pillows.
"You've gotta get out of here, okay? This isn't going to happen."
"But .. you shaid you were *hic* happy I'm here. You shaid you mished me!"
"I thought you were Jen and you know it. Now, get up and get dressed. Who can I call to pick you up?"
Heidi climbed out of the bed and Justin tossed her her clothes. She dressed as slowly as she could, seductively swaying her hips as she wiggled back into her underwear.
"You're making a big mishtake, Jay. She doesn't love you like me."
"You're right. She doesn't. She loves me like Jen, and that's all I want."
"Justin?" Another familiar voice called quietly.
He froze. 'This isn't happening!' He turned slowly and there was Jen, standing in the open doorway. Wow, she looked amazing. Her skin glowed and her up-swept hair shone. She wore a knee-length trench coat cinched at the waist and her legs seemed miles long thanks to the 4-inch stilettos adorning her feet. All he wanted was for Heidi to disappear so he could hold his wife: if she'd let him.
He started to explain. "Honey, I swear to you this isn't what it looks like. I didn't..."
"Stop, Justin. Just stop."
She didn't sound angry but he knew how this must look to her. There was Heidi, half-naked and drunk, him in his underwear, and the messy bed with the covers thrown every which way. Where and how would he even begin to explain this?
"You shouldn't be here Jen'fer." Heidi slurred. She approached Jen, still in her bra and panties. "This is *hic* ...private party. Right, baby?"
"Shut up, Heidi. Jen, she...."
Jen silenced Justin with a raised hand. Without a word, she walked over to the bed and picked up the rest of Heidi's clothes then quietly took her by the elbow and guided her to the bathroom.
"Get dressed...now."
Heidi shot her a mean look but didn't argue. When she finally emerged Jen opened the room door and stood back. Heidi looked at Justin waiting for him to protest her dismissal but when he didn't, she simply huffed and walked out.
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Jen closed the door and turned to face Justin. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, head in his hands, looking like a man who was about to be arrested. She went over to him and gently put her hands on his head. He looked up at her obviously wondering why she wasn't yelling and screaming at him. After all, she had just found him with his half-naked ex-girlfriend in his hotel room!
Jen saw the confusion in his expression. She smoothed his hair and cupped his face before leaning down and kissing his lips gently.
"What ..." He began to question.
"Shhh."
She stepped back and slowly untied and stripped off her coat. When it fell away she was wearing nothing but a sexy, black two-piece lingerie set and the stilettos. Emboldened by the look of pure lust on Justin's face, she continued her seduction. She slowly pulled the clip out of her hair and gave her head a little shake to loosen her curls.
"You're not angry?" Justin asked uncertainly.
"No, I'm not. I heard everything I needed to hear."
"What about.."
She put a finger to her lips as she approached him. She stood between his legs, grabbed a fistful of his hair and gently tugged his head back exposing his neck. She trailed her tongue lightly from the base of his throat, up the side of his neck to his earlobe.
"Don't speak." She breathed into his ear. She kissed him; hard and deep, and then looked into his eyes that were now a dark, smoky green . "I'm yours, Justin. All of me .." she paused to kiss the tip of his nose, "is yours."
She sat on the bed next to him and slid back until she was laying on the pillows.
"So... come and get it, big boy."
Her tone was teasing and playful; her voice thick and heavy with brazen desire and when Justin climbed on top of her, she released that desire without holding back and he did the same. They made love over and over unable to get enough of each other. On the bed, the sofa, the nightstand, in the shower, finally ending up on the floor completely spent. Justin dragged the covers off the bed and over their naked bodies.
Jen, comfortably wrapped in her husband's arms, reveled in the sweet after-glow and murmured "Mmmm .. I've missed you."
"I can tell." He replied, playfully swatting her tush. "You nearly broke it."
Their laughter lasted until they were swept off to dream land.