Livin' Off Love

Chapter Eleven

Jennifer slept late the next morning. The phone rang at eight waking her. Carefully she reached over Duncan to answer it.

"Hello," she said sleepily.

"Jen, you've got to come in," Samantha began nervously. "We've got a disaster brewing on the garage project downtown. I don't have the authority to stop the workers and none of the bosses are here."

"Shit. Of all days," she said brushing the hair back from her eyes. "Call Jack at the job site, tell him I said to put on the brakes. Give me thirty minutes and I'll be in. If he gives you any grief call me back and I'll call from my cell."

"Thanks," Samantha said in relief.

"Anytime. It's my job," Jennifer replied.

She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. There was so much energy running through her she practically jumped up from the pillows. Duncan was sleeping soundly and didn't respond to her movements.

"If I didn't have to leave, I'd make love to you again right now," she whispered.

With a grin, she let her eyes wander over him. Yes, he was perfection to her. She'd never give him up, especially not after last night. For an instant, she thought about waking him. Instead she knelt beside him and kissed his cheek.

"I love you," she whispered.

She sauntered up the stairs to take a quick shower. It was refreshing but the energy she still felt would have carried her through the day. She dressed, applied make-up and grabbed her purse in less than fifteen minutes. At the bottom of the stairs she looked over at Duncan. He was still sleeping.

"Better not leave you exposed," she said. The afghan was still on the couch so she used it to cover him. Then she wrote him a short loving note and left the house.

All the paperwork was on her desk when Jennifer walked in. She sifted through it and shook her head.

"I don't believe they're trying to pull this," she stated furiously. "Wait till I get my hands on Jack."

Jennifer went to the back office before picking up the phone. Samantha wasn't trying to listen but Jennifer's voice echoed through the closed office. Twenty minutes later, she threw opened the door.

"I'll be back," she fumed. "I've got to meet Jack on the job site. I'm closing him down till Monday."

"But what about..." Samantha began.

"To hell with what they think. If we use the crap they've got on site, we'll never see a dime from the job. We might even get sued."

"What if..."

"Then them I'm handling it," she called as she walked out the front door.

The sun was high in the sky when Duncan began to stir. He reached out and pulled a pilot to him. Its coolness comforted the heat escaping him. Weariness invaded his entire body as he lay there and he was hungry. His eyes opened as he turned to look for Jennifer. Now he had to talk to her, to tell her everything.

"Jennifer," he called seeing she wasn't lying next to him. There was a moment of silence before he called again. "Jennifer, where are you?" Again there was no response. He slipped into his jeans before rising and shouting. "Jennifer, answer me!"

He bolted up the stairs thinking she might be in the shower. Maybe his lack of energy had affected his hearing. That's why he didn't hear the water running.

"Jennifer," he said opening the bathroom door. "Where are you?" he asked and rushed back down the stairs. On his way to the kitchen, he saw her note.