Water Ch. 101 - Fear

Startled by the sound of her assistants voice, Beth looks up to see Tammy standing in the door way. 

"What's up?"  Beth asks her devoted assistant and friend.  "Do you need me for something?

Tammy leans on the doorway and smiles at her boss, "I have a call on hold for you.  I thought you might want to take this one, even though you didn't want to be disturbed."

Beth laughed and said, "Oh yeah?  Who is it?  You know I don't want to talk to Jon."

"It's not Jon.  I still think you'll want to take it, though.  She sounded pretty persistent that she wanted to talk to you."  Tammy is toying with Beth and  Beth could tell, but she didn't have time to play.

"I'm kind of busy, who is it?  I have some papers I need to get to the SEC....", Beth replies, feeling a little bitchy.

Tammy stands upright and turns to leave, looking at Beth she states, "It's Stephanie Bongiovi, I"ll transfer the call now."  And she walks away.

Beth blurts out, "Tam, I don't have.............." and the phone rings the ring that states it's a transferred call.  Beth reaches up to grab the receiver from it's cradle and looses a bunch of papers onto the floor.  "Damn it."  She says as she lifts the receiver.  Putting it to her ear, she asks, "Hello?"

"Hi Beth, is this a bad time?"  She hears Stephanie's sweet voice on the other end. 

Beth looks at the time, and tells Stephanie "No, what's up?  How are you?"  Beth has no idea why Stephanie is calling her so out of the blue. "Is everything okay?"

Stephanie answers Beth, "Everything is fine.  How come you didn't call my dad yet?"  Stephanie had a tone in her voice and Beth did detect it.

"Honey, I have been so busy with work, when I get home at night, it's really late where you are and I'm super tired.  I haven't had time.  Is everything alright?"  Beth tries to explain it to Stephanie, as if she were a grown up, but she knows that she's not.  And Beth knows that she needs to tread lightly.  She would hate for Stephanie to get the wrong idea or maybe give her false hope.  Beth is still upset over Jon spending the night at Dorothea's, regardless if it was on accident or not.  Beth had a hard time wrapping her mind around the fact that he fell asleep shortly after landing and he knew she'd be waiting.  She was waiting for him, and then she woke up without him?

"I know you work alot and you're really busy, but I want you to come to New York, Beth.  Grandma is having a surprise party for uncle Matt and we want you there." Steph is finally starting to show the reason for the call. 

Beth doesn't know what to say, never seen this coming.  She's thinking to herself, 'We?'  Who is we?  So she asks Steph, "Who is we?  Who wants me to come?"

"Me and my grandma.  Grandma told me to call you.  I wouldn't give her your number because you didn't say I could."  She admits and that makes Beth laugh.  Stephanie Rose is an intelligent and wonderful child, that Beth is very pleased to know.  She loved Stephanie's wit and her charm, and she knows that they will be friends; regardless of what happens with her and Jon.

Beth, still laughing, asks Stephanie "When is uncle Matt's party?"

"Saturday at 6pm.  At the house in Jersey.  It's a surprise party, my dad is taking him to dinner and then taking him back to our house.  It will be fun!"  Stephanie is telling Beth with such excitement that she gets tongue tied and stutters a little bit, and that makes both of them laugh.

Beth, missing Jon and the kids, tells Stephanie "I'll call your grandma and get the details, okay?  I'll see what I can do about coming.  I have a heavy work load this week, but I might be able to come for the day.  Would that work?"

"YES!  Oh yes, that would be great.  Please don't tell my dad.  That can be his surprise.  Ha ha that's funny, my dad gets a surprise at uncle Matt's surprise party."  Amused by that, Stephanie really lets out a belly laugh.

Knowing that she has a full afternoon, Beth needed to get off the phone.  "Stephanie, I have to go, but I'll call you tomorrow and let you know if I can make it okay?  I'll call grandma tonight and get the details." And she waits for Steph's response, thinking it wasn't going to too smooth.

Stephanie surprised Beth, and probably herself when she just says, "Ok, I'll talk to you tomorrow."  And she hangs up.  Beth sits there with the phone in her hand, just looking at the receiver.  She was pretty much hung up on, and she thought, 'You little shit.'

She hung up the receiver and started to pick the papers up that she dropped when she answered the phone and out of the corner of her eye, she sees her assistant approaching.

Tammy walks in and tells her boss, "Your flight leaves at 7am.  I left the return date open, that you can handle on your own."  And she chuckles at her boss. 

"I can't go, I have so much to do before the merger."  Frowning at Tammy, her heart breaks.  Jon had given up on calling her, he didn't email her or anything.  It wasn't easy not talking to him, but she liked not having Dorothea in her life.  Her life was that, her life.  And while she missed the relationship that she had with Jon and his family, she really likes the peace of mind and the peace and quiet.  She doesn't want the jetset rockstar life style, she wanted her normal.  Her life, and she's trying really hard to get back to where she was -- just a few months ago.

"You need to go Beth.  You need to see them, you miss them.  Please, for me, GO.  With you being in this funk, you make my job twice as hard."

Shocked by what she just heard come out of her assistants mouth, she asks, "What do you mean I make your job twice as hard?"

Not prepared to really answer that question, Tammy had no choice but to tell Beth the truth.  "Since you've been back, I have had to double check your work and correct many mistakes - mistakes that could have been costly.  Your mind isn't here, when you are.  You're on the east coast, mentally.  Please go see him and work this out."  She pauses long enough to breathe and finishes with, "We love Jon."

"I do miss them all, and I would like to make Stephanie happy.  Can you believe that kid?  Her heart is so big, she knew where to get me though, didn't she?"  Beth smiles, thinking that Stephanie has the same loving qualities that her daddy has.  "Ok, I'll go."

Tammy jumps up and down and claps her hands, "Yippee, are we going to make up with Jon?"  Beth gives her  look and Tammy stops.  "Sorry, I  live through you." 

"Wanna go with me?"

"Are you serious, you're asking me to go with you?  To New York."  She puts her hands over her mouth, looking like she was going to muffle a scream. 

Looking at her assistant, acting like a girl at a Bon Jovi concert, she tells her, "Go book your flight, and get back to work."  Tammy turns and runs off full of excitement and thrilled that she was going to a party with the Bongiovi's. 

Beth touched base with Mrs. B later that day.  The conversation was very mother/daughter in law and Beth was glad she made the call.  Mrs. B was always wonderful to her and she is very excited that she and Jon are having a baby.  All that 'mom' says about Jon and Beth not being together is, "You'll work it out.  You two are meant to be together."  Beth knows that she's right, she just isn't happy with the terms of what the life may be like.