Keith saw the light blinking on his phone and shuddered. He really didn’t want to answer it, but he knew if he didn’t, Harlan Barrett would come down to Brenda’s office. Better to not have to face him in person.

"Brenda Barrett’s office," he said tentatively.

"Where the hell is she?" Harlan growled.

"Mr. Barrett?" Keith played dumb.

"I already know who I am! I want to know where my daughter is!" he shouted.

Keith had been dreading this moment since Brenda advised him of her travel plans. "Ms. Barrett isn’t in today, Mr. Barrett."

"I understand that, you dimwit! Where is she?"

"She left town for a few days on some emergency," he said slowly. {The emergency was that she had to save her own life by getting away from you!} "I believe she’ll be calling in for her messages, so if you want to leave word …."

Harlan’s words came out in a hiss. "No, Keith, I’ll try to find her myself!"

Keith hung up the phone. {Good luck, daddy dearest. I hope Brenda remembered to disconnect her cell phone before she left!}

*~*~*~*

Jax had allowed Brenda out of his arms long enough that Monday to go home and pack for the trip to Malibu. Early Tuesday morning, his driver picked her up and took her to the Port Charles Airport, where they boarded the J&J Jacks jet and flew to Los Angeles.

When they arrived in LA, after a quick stop at the J&J Jacks offices, Jax drove Brenda to the Malibu house, and she fell in love with it at first sight. It had a commanding view of the ocean and lots of windows and open, airy rooms. There was a heated pool on the terrace and steps that led down to the ocean for swimming or surfing. After a quick supper prepared by the staff, Jax dismissed them for the night. They walked on the beach and talked about everything and nothing. Then they returned to the house and Jax carried Brenda to his room and made love to her until the wee hours of the morning.

Brenda felt the warmth of the sun on her bare skin and rolled and stretched like a contented feline. She kept her eyes closed for a moment, remembering the delights of the previous night, but when she reached to the other side of the bed, it was empty. She opened her eyes, sat up, and, holding the sheet to her nude body, looked around confusedly for Jax. She heard faint noises coming from the room next door, so she grabbed a fluffy white robe and put it on to investigate.

As she peeked in the room, she saw Jax, but he looked unlike any other time she had ever seen him. He was dressed in some kind of white jacket and trousers, barefoot, and he was engrossed in some kind of weaving and bobbing ritual. His hands sliced through the air and he occasionally gave a sharp kick, but his concentration was intense --- the same as it was any time he did something.

He suddenly looked up from his movements, and caught her standing at the door staring at him. He came over to her to give her a big morning hug and delicious kiss. "Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?"

"What little sleep I got," she said impishly. "What are you doing? I don’t remember white pajamas – I thought yours were blue."

"These aren’t pajamas, my dear. This is my gee."

"I beg your pardon?"

He took her under his arm and brought her out to the kitchen, where a large platter of fresh fruit, pastries, and juice awaited them. "Remember I told you Grandma Josie takes karate? Well, she got me interested in it, and I’ve been taking lessons myself. This is my karate uniform, called a gee."

"You take karate? Are you any good at it?" she asked, biting into a large jelly donut.

The jelly oozed out onto her chin, and before she could wipe it with a napkin, Jax leaned over and licked the sweet sticky substance off sensually. He looked deeply into her dark brown eyes and said slowly, "Darling, you should know by now that I’m good at everything I do!"

{Is it warm in here?} Brenda decided to lighten things a little. "No, silly, are you some kind of a kung fu master or something?"

"It’s called a black belt, Brenda. Kung fu is different from regular karate. And no, I’m not a black belt yet, but I have a 2^nd kyu brown belt, which is still pretty close. I have to get in a few more hours practice, and then write my thesis and take my test for my black belt."

"You have to write a thesis for a karate belt? You’re kidding, right?"

"I wish. It’s hard work, not just a matter of punching and yelling loud." He took a long drink of juice. "I was going to a work out this morning, in fact. Sensei Kenji is in town, and I always try to take one of his classes if I can. Want to come along?"

"Are you sure I won’t disturb anything?"

"Well, having you there might be a distraction for me." He thought for a minute. "I’ve got it! Grandma keeps some of her extra gees here at the house. You can take the class with me!"

#####

As they drove to the class, Brenda glanced down at her white uniform and hoped she was doing the right thing. She had taken exercise classes to get her new curves, but never anything like this. But, she wanted Jax to know that she was open to his interests and wasn’t just some stuffy, stolid business woman. "So, since your belt is brown and mine is white, I guess that white is for beginners, huh?"

Jax had one hand on the steering wheel of the Bentley and reached over to hold hers with the other. "This uniform goes back to ancient Japanese tradition. They didn’t do laundry as often as we do, back then. So, the men who got into fights and won had the dirtiest belts. A man with a black belt literally had won the most fights and was the fiercest fighter. So, today, beginners wear white, then graduate to yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, and finally black. The darker the color, the higher the rank."

"And Grandma Josie is…?"

Jax stopped to think for a moment. "I think she’s a green belt right now. She’s looking for a good teacher in Port Charles, so she doesn’t work out as often as she should."

Brenda just sat stunned at the mental picture of Grandma Josie stomping some fierce 6-foot bad guy.

When they arrived at the dojo, Jax introduced Brenda to all of the teachers and other students. He showed her where to put her things, and the appropriate gestures of respect for the teacher. "You always bow when entering the room, and of course, bow to any other black belts that may be here."

After an opening period of reflection, the class dove into warm-ups. Brenda’s weight-loss workouts were nothing compared to the 100 sit-ups and more than 50 push-ups Jax was required to do, along with the rest of the brown belts. {No wonder he has that flat stomach and great looking chest!} Then the class divided, and Jax explained to her that they would be practicing the moves she had seen him doing this morning. "It’s called kata," he explained softly. "Sets of basic kicks and punches are strung together, kind of like a dance. It’s performed to illustrate our knowledge of the basic moves. It also improves the concentration."

Brenda watched in amazement as Jax moved to the center of the mat and bowed to the sensei (teacher). He then gracefully began to go through the kata, lost in his own world of concentration. She had never seen him like this – powerful, strong, sleek, almost gliding through the moves, like a stealthy jungle cat.

At the end of the class, Brenda’s heart rose in her mouth as she watched the students move to stacks of boards and concrete bricks. Jax selected a board, and while another student was holding it, raised his right leg to the side. He gave a powerful kick and cracked it in two. He then took two thick concrete blocks and stacked them on the sides of some other bricks.

Brenda leaned over to the sensei, who had been very friendly and helpful explaining terms to her during the class. "Is he going to try to break those?"

Sensei Kenji smiled serenely at her. "No, he is GOING to break them, dear."

She watched Jax wrap his right hand with tape, and then position himself over the bricks. He began to breathe deeply. He placed the palm of his hand on the bricks, and kept breathing and landing the palm softly to get just the right placement. Brenda couldn’t imagine those hands, which could be so tender and bring her to such ecstasy, doing anything as rough as this. Jax suddenly let out a yell, and striking the bricks, pushed through them and they broke in half. Brenda jumped up and down cheering and clapping, and then realized that she should have been politely clapping like the rest of the dignified students.

She walked over to Jax since class appeared to be over. "Is it against the rules to give you a hug of congratulations?"

He was winded but his eyes sparkled. "I’ll collect my reward later," he promised. He then looked at her sharply. "You want to try it?"

Brenda was shocked. "Me? Break something? On purpose?"

He chuckled and went to get her a wooden board, about 1 inch thick. "Go put your shoe on your right foot." She did as instructed, and returned to him with a thick-soled athletic shoe protecting her foot. "Since it’s your first time," he explained. "Now, just concentrate on the board, and aim, and then stomp down hard. Gravity will help the process."

She tried, and her foot bounced off the board with a resounding thunk. She smiled at him weakly. "Oh, well." He insisted she try again, but the same thing happened.

He thought for a moment, and then leaned in close to her. He wet his finger and put a "spit spot" on the center of the board. "Brenda, I want you to imagine that Sonny’s face is right here in the center of the board." He stood up and smiled as he saw her new determination.

She took aim, and with a blood-curdling shriek, there was a loud thwack as the board was history. "I knew you could do it," he said, putting his arm around her. "Just needed the right motivation."

#####

Over the next few days, Brenda saw many new facets of Jax. He had to handle the business problem that was the cause for their trip, and Brenda spent some time shopping while he did. They took long walks together, and played like children on a playground they found in a park. They went for long afternoons at the beach, and she found out he was a strong swimmer and loved to surf.

One evening, he suggested that they go to the baseball game. Brenda was surprised that he got them such luxurious seats in the Dodger box, but understood why when Tommy LaSorda walked in and greeted Jax by name.

"Jax, you old son-of-a-gun, how are you? What brings you to our fair city? You’re too late to buy the team, you know," Tommy said, shaking his hand.

"Well, I did come here on business originally, Tom, but there have been other aspects to the trip, too," Jax responded, ogling Brenda. "May I present my lovely companion, Ms. Brenda Barrett."

Tommy looked at her, then back at Jax. "She’s much too good for you, Jax." He then took Brenda’s hand and said to her in a stage whisper, "You let me know if he steps out of line, young lady. You can’t trust these Aussies any further than you can throw them." After they shared a laugh, Tommy said, "How’s that bad boy brother of yours?"

Jax looked surprised. "Didn’t you know? He got himself engaged to be married." He brought Tommy up-to-date on Jerry’s activities while they watched the ballgame. They had a private conversation in the back of the box, and Tommy left for a while.

Brenda was amazed at Jax’s knowledge of the game. She was really enjoying herself, something that never happened when she was forced to accompany Harlan and business associates to a Yankee game.

Tommy stopped by during the 7^th inning stretch and gave Jax a small package. "You tell Jerry that his soon-to-be-son can’t play baseball unless he has the right equipment." Brenda saw he had given Jax a baseball autographed by all the team members. She knew Lucas would treasure it, and her heart burst with pride to think Jax had been thoughtful enough to request it.

#####

By Friday, Jax’s business fire had been put out and they were getting ready to return to Port Charles. They had spent the day swimming and playing on the beach, and Brenda had just finished taking a shower so that she could get dressed for the return trip. She had on Jax’s fluffy white terrycloth robe and padded out to the breakfast room. Jax was sitting at the table, gazing at the sunset through the windows. He had a sketch pad in front of him, and Brenda watched him as he tried to capture the beauty on paper.

He sensed her presence in the room and turned to her. "How long have you been there?" He tried to cover the other drawings, but she came forward and stopped him.

"Don’t tell me – the great Jasper Jacks is actually shy about something?" She pulled some of the drawings out from under his hands. "Jax, these are really beautiful."

He got that "aw, shucks," look that she so adored. "I keep trying, but sometimes when I see a sunset like this, I don’t think anyone could capture it on paper. I don’t think it’s intended to be frozen like that."

She kept looking at the drawings. "Landscapes, clouds, sunsets – doesn’t V ever teach you to draw people?"

He shook his head. "I’ve tried a few, but they’re harder than you could imagine. V is going to have to give me a few more lessons, because right now they still look like cartoons." He thought for a moment. "Of course, maybe it’s because I’ve never had the right model."

Brenda recognized his playful mood. "Oh, really. So what do you intend to do about it?"

He pulled all the drawings into a pile, and spoke very evenly. "Well, of course, the way any good business man makes a decision when there are several possibilities. I’ll just have to do interviews and conduct some try-outs."

Brenda saw his game. "Oh, and what kind of candidates will you exactly be looking for, Mr. Jacks?"

"Are you saying you might be a candidate for the position, Ms. Barrett?"

Brenda now knew that they were no longer having a serious discussion about art. Sex with Jax was never boring or routine.

"Well, it depends. Would the models be required to pose in the buff?"

"Ms. Barrett," he said with an air of superiority. "Obviously you have never studied the great works of art. Of course I would be asking them to pose nude. How else could I capture the true shape of the human form?"

"You know, Mr. Jacks, I really would like to audition for the job myself." He gave her a, "Well, I’m waiting," look.

She smiled as she backed away from him to stand in the light of the setting sun. "Do you want to see my qualifications all at once or in stages?"

He swallowed hard. "Whatever works for you."

She turned her back to him, looked over one shoulder, and dropped the robe slowly to the ground. Her recently shampooed hair dropped gracefully down her back and her body glistened in the orange light.

"I’ll need to see ALL of your qualifications, Ms. Barrett."

"Of course, Mr. Jacks. But please remember how very badly I want this job. I mean, the extra money can mean so much to a girl on her own with a house to pay for, you know." She turned to face him and tried for the "eat-your-heart-out" look.

He rose from the table and came to stand just inches from her. "Now, Ms. Barrett, I’m not sure how familiar you are with the art world, but you should also know that some artists, myself included, do not work by sight alone."

"No?"

"No."

She grinned broadly. "Oh, I understand. You not only work by sight, you work by touch."

"Exactly," he replied, trying to keep a professional tone in his voice. "So I’ll need to check your qualifications a little more closely." He cupped her face in his hands, and then ran them down her neck to her shoulders. "Very nice. Good bone structure."

As his hands moved further down, she thought she might pass out from the pleasure. "Um… is this audition going to take, like, a really long time?" she asked breathlessly.

"Why?" he asked innocently. "Are you in a hurry?"

"You might say that."

"I’ll try to remember that."

He continued his inspection. "Good muscle tone. Nice, firm abs."

She glanced down at him. "Speaking of firm…"

"Yes?"

"Never mind. Go on."

Suddenly, Jax inhaled sharply. "Ms. Barrett, we obviously have a misunderstanding here. It is the artist who works by the sense of touch – not the model!"

She grinned at him impishly. "Says who?"

"Says the artist." He slowly turned her around and ran his hands down her back from her shoulders. "Good posture. Nice straight spine." He paused a moment. "Very nice buns, Ms. Barrett."

He continued his inspection for a few minutes more before Brenda was gasping for air. "Were you aware, Ms. Barrett, of the actual number of muscles and bones that make up the leg region between the knee and the…"

"Jax!!!"

"Yes, Ms. Barrett?"

"Shut up and make love to me!"

So he did.

#####

As they lay in the waning light in the bedroom, Jax ruffled Brenda’s hair. "Brenda, I’m afraid I have a confession to make."

She gazed up at him with wide brown doe-eyes. "Oh, no, you’re not going to tell me you’ve got a wife and three kids back in Ohio, are you?"

He pushed her face away playfully, then turned her chin back to face him. "When I first met you again, I made some assumptions about you. Typical feminist business-woman, cut-throat, cold, only thinks of herself …"

"Gee, I didn’t know you thought so highly of me," she said sarcastically.

"Will you let me finish? This is hard enough for me, admitting I was wrong about something." She looked deep into his eyes. "But I was wrong – very wrong. You’re warm, and soft, and spontaneous …." She caught her breath and tears formed in her eyes. "And I’m damned glad you agreed to come here with me."

She snuggled up to him, and knew her heart couldn’t be fuller. She had fallen in love with him.

To be continued ….