Chapter Thirty Nine

Following on from the original phone call, came a string of other calls that had Jon pacing and storming about between the kitchen and his office for the majority of the morning. One profanity after another rolled off his tongue as he flicked between calls, his earlier good mood instantly evaporated by the calamity that was unfolding behind the scenes in one of his most important worlds.

“FUCK!”

Rachel raised her brows apprehensively from behind the screen of her laptop, watching as Jon strode through from his office to exasperatedly yank open the fridge door. She had chosen to stay the morning in the kitchen, quietly working through the backlog of projects that had accumulated in her inbox from her few days away. She had overheard enough snippets of Jon’s many loud conversations to know that the arena football team he owned was in trouble in some way, surprising her considering that his team had won the championship that summer. She knew enough to know that whatever was going on, it was complicated and not something that sounded as if it was going to end well.

Twisting off the cap of a water bottle, Jon took a long swig and leaned back against the fridge, his face gaunt and tight with frustration. The league was in trouble, something that had been rumoured for a while but this morning had emerged as a very real threat. Politics and financial problems were the root under cause and the league was teetering on the brink of collapse as a result. Spending the morning on conference calls with lawyers, accountants, co-owners and league officials had brought to light a myriad of serious problems with no viable solutions. Ownership of a football team had always been his dream and when the opportunity to start off with an arena team has arisen back in 2004, he’d jumped at the chance but it had opened his eyes to the complexity of the industry, it was more than just a game.

The soft tapping of Rachel’s fingers on her laptop drew his eyes to the corner of the kitchen table where she had been unobtrusively working all morning. He appreciated the fact that she’d chosen to stay while he dealt with this crap. Another woman would have probably run screaming from the house after witnessing his tantrums on the phone but then again the only other woman apart from Rachel who he would have felt comfortable enough with to have witness it all was Dorothea. That spoke volumes. Whatever her reasons for staying he was grateful.

Just as he was about to sit down and discuss the morning’s events with her, the loud peal of his office phone reverberated through the open door to the kitchen. Looking helplessly at Rachel who simply smiled supportively at him, he threw his hands in the air and stormed back to his desk. It was going to be a long day.

By early afternoon Rachel was finally caught up on work matters, her portfolio back up to date and some outstanding deals closed. Stretching out her cramped muscles, she clicked her neck from side to side and shut down the laptop with a satisfied sigh. Jon’s office had been quiet for a while and as she moved to the kitchen window she spied him standing outside on the lawn, a faint cloud of smoke drifting from his lips as he stood staring at the river flicking a half spent cigarette from his fingers. His earlier rage and frustration seemed to have disappeared and now he looked exhausted and disappointed. Glancing at the time, she considered whether to give him some space. She needed to get back to her own house at some stage but seeing him so desolate made her reluctant to leave. Protective instincts kicked in and she set about mastering the damn coffee machine, producing something that at least smelt like coffee even if didn’t much look like it. Taking the cup outside with a couple of cookies she’d found in a tin, she set it quietly down on the table where Jon had retreated to, his tired eyes briefly flickering with gratitude when she gently ran her fingers through his hair and left him to his thoughts. There would be plenty of time for talking later.

Her quiet caress touched a tender spot in Jon’s heart as he lifted the cup to his lips and tasted the not all together revolting brew. It had been a long time since somebody had cared enough to simply support him by remaining silent and letting him deal with matters as he saw fit. Interference was not something he appreciated and it was a welcome relief to have somebody just ‘be there’. The pocket of his sweatpants began to vibrate once more signalling the recommencement of negotiations and sticking a cookie between his teeth and cradling his coffee cup in one hand, he headed back inside to the dishevelled heap of papers that were mounting on his desk.

Rachel spent the remainder of the afternoon sorting through laundry and acquainting herself with the contents of Jon’s impressive kitchen. Alice was away on vacation and had left a fully stocked refrigerator awaiting Jon’s return from the Hamptons. When seven pm ticked around and Jon still hadn’t emerged from the office, Rachel uncorked a bottle of wine and took a glass of it into him, setting it on the one corner of Jon’s desk that wasn’t strewn with reams of paper. Hanging up the phone, Jon slouched back in his chair groaning and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“You read my mind!” 

He tipped his head back appreciatively and picked up the glass as Rachel moved behind him and gently began massaging the tight muscles in his neck, her fingers kneading just deep enough to free up the stress knots that had formed from the day.

“You need to eat something. Do you want to take a quick break or just have something in here?”

Jon shook his head slowly, easing his shoulders into the welcome pressure of her fingers. “No, I’ll come out – I think I’ve done all the damage in here that I can do today. Do I have time for a shower?”

“We can eat whenever you’re ready.” Bending over him, Rachel dropped a kiss on his forehead and wrinkled up her nose. “You’re right – you do need a shower! Take your time and after we eat I’ll give you a rubdown.”

Setting the wine glass down, Jon reached back to clasp her wrists and looked at her imploringly.

 “And more wine right? Lots and lots of wine?”

Grinning Rachel rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yes honey, lots and lots of wine!”

~~~~~~~~~~

While Jon showered, Rachel grilled some chicken and put together a simple salad, chuckling to herself when she removed the crusty bread she had heated in the oven. Images of Jon’s charred remains on the evening he’d made her dinner would be forever engrained in her memory. When he reappeared, holding out his empty wine glass with a weary smirk she filled it and handed him the rest of the bottle with a wink, she had a feeling more than one bottle would be consumed tonight. Conversation was limited to murmured syllables of appreciation over dinner, a companionable silence settling over them as they dined with Jon gratefully devouring the chicken. Coffee was forgone in favour of another bottle of wine which Rachel suggested Jon take upstairs while she cleaned up, an offer he happily accepted.

When the kitchen had been restored back to order, Rachel flicked off the lights and headed up to the bedroom to join him, smiling when she found him slouched against the pillows murmuring once more into his phone although the tone of this conversation suggested it was friend rather than foe on the other end. Motioning with her hand for him to finish his call, she slipped into the ensuite for a quick shower and returned armed with a towel and a bottle of massage oil. Jon finished with his call had a tired smile on his face as he drained his wine glass and set it beside the half empty bottle on the night stand.

“I haven’t been much fun today……”

“It’s called life Jon! Now turn over!”

Rachel grinned down at him and motioned with her finger for him to roll over. When he more than willingly complied, she knelt on the bed beside him, warming some oil between her hands before she sank her fingers into the tight muscles that covered his shoulder blades, firmly but gently working out the acid build up. Jon emitted a muffled groan against the pillows, his eyes drifting shut as his mind finally shut down, all the stress and frustration of the day leaving his body through the work of Rachel’s fingers. Slowly and methodically she worked her way down his back, her breathing quiet and steady until she felt his body relax under her lithe fingers as he slipped away into sleep. Pulling the sheets up over his comatose body, she sat back and watched the steady rise and fall of his shoulders. They had barely spoken all day but they hadn’t needed to, their relationship was developing an unspoken rhythm of its own. Flicking off the soft reading lamps that hung over the bed, Rachel slipped under the sheets next to Jon and snuggled close to his slumbering form, her own eyes drifting shut with a contented sigh. She was beginning to realise just how much she missed having somebody to look after, somebody to say good night to and most of all somebody to wake up with.