she just took a deep breath and approached him. “Mr. Roth? I’m Vicky Martin, a friend of JK’s”. Franklin turned to see the woman that had blown up the Rutherford household, “may I speak with you for just a moment”? She was very beautiful. He could see why Jason would be attracted to her. “Sure, I only have a moment since I’m in between meetings”. Vicky quickly walked into Mr. Roth’s office “I’m sorry to bother you but I know you and Jay are friends. I hadn’t heard from him in a couple of days and that is so unlike him. I was just wondering if you had talked to him and if he was ok”? Franklin took a deep breath before answering “Actually, I just spoke to Jay this morning. He seems to be fine. But, can I ask you a question?” Franklin proceeded on before getting her response “Honestly, Vicky have you known him long enough to say what he would or wouldn’t do? Look, Jas..err um Jay has been a friend of mine since we were kids. I’ve met a lot of gold diggers since I’ve known Jason who wanted to land a rich husband. Or, they were looking for someone to ‘save’ them from their terrible life choices. I hope your motives for dating him are pure because if they are not” Franklin paused for emphasis “I will make your life a living hell” Vicky was taken aback by his forwardness and tone. She wasn’t expecting that response. Franklin made her so nervous “I can assure you that my motives are pure Mr. Franklin. I’m sorry to have bothered you this afternoon…I just wanted to make sure he was ok. Apparently, he’s fine. I won’t take up anymore of your time”. Franklin was a pretty good judge of character and after seeing her response he felt like a first class jerk. He wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings but she needed to know that he loved Jason like a brother and if her motives weren’t pure life for her would be hell. Jason had had an overseas crisis at one of the offices in Australia. He’d been working non-stop with the Australian government and his Australian CkR International counterparts to get everything resolved. He hadn’t had any sleep in the last 36 hours. He hadn’t had a chance to call Vicky. He needed this time anyway to think. Franklin had made some valid points. Jason’s parents, or he should say his father, was incensed that he broke it off with Bridget. The Reeds were livid that as Mr. Reed put it “Jason would treat his daughter so shabbily”. His mother really didn’t give an opinion one way or the other. She just wanted him to be happy. Jason didn’t want to put Vicky in any position to feel pressure. So, for now he kept their romance just between them. Once everything was out in the open there would be a tremendous amount of pressure from the press, family, friends, acquaintances, and more. He was sure at first it would be overwhelming for her but he felt like she had what it takes to deal with everything that came with being involved with a Rutherford. But, would she want to? Jason was tired and he had an unbelievable headache. He needed to get everything together in his mind and hash everything out with Vicky. He didn’t know how she would react to him telling her the truth about who he really was and his position with the company but he couldn’t keep it a secret much longer especially since the All Employees meeting was this Friday. Right now, all he wanted to do was curl up with Vicky and Angel and go to sleep.
Chapter 14 It was Friday and Jason had just gotten back into town. He was sitting at his desk at the corporate headquarters in Minneapolis for the All Employee’s meeting. He had been trying to call Vicky for two days. Jason hadn’t been able to reach her. He kept getting her voice-mail. He still hadn’t had a chance to talk to her and tell her about his real identity. If he didn’t explain everything to her before the all employees meeting , he didn’t