The Biggest Part of Me (28 page)

Suddenly, Jane sat up and said, “Talbot Toys!  You named it after L
ittle Talbot Island in Florida, didn’t you?  Our special place!  The last place we were together seven years ago!”

Jason smiled, “
You know, for a marketing genius, sometimes you are a little slow.”  Then he pulled her back down to him. 

And t
hat was the last word from either of them for a very long time.

EPILOGUE

One Year Later

Jane loved springtime in New York.  It always filled her with appreciation and happiness.

Smiling as she entered the apartment that she shared with Jason, she thought about her life and how it reminded her of springtime. The many storms of the winter were over and flowers were now blooming. 

Putting her keys on the foyer table, she picked up the mail and started going through it. 

“CARL.  Come.” 

A soft purring noise came from the bedroom as the small robot approached her.  She started punching buttons turning on a playlist of soft jazz favorites.  She sighed in appreciation and moved to the kitchen to see about preparing dinner for her husband. 

As she looked over an invitation for dinner at Sally’s apartment, she grinned, thinking that flowers were not the only things blooming.  Her faithful assistant and newly promoted marketing specialist Vincent McGrady were now inseparable, themselves becoming the object of office gossip.

Love was not in the air for Ed and Dana.  Ed was charged with criminal sabotage and breaking and entering.  To reduce his penalty, he sang like a canary. Dana had introduced Ed to an up and coming electronics firm that desperately wanted the robot market for themselves.  The firm had been paying Dana and Ed to inform them on the CARL project, along with three employees in the Talbot Toy warehouse, who monitored shipments and, when instructed, damaged them. 

Using Jane and Jason to get their information, Ed and Dana had plotted the downfall of Talbot Toys and specifically CARL.  Interestingly, the two had been living together a full six months before the presentation made to the Japanese delegation.  Jane and Jason had been shocked.  Ed and Dana had been putting their payoffs in a Swiss bank account to fund their early retirement to Rio.  But not anymore.

And Dana had lied about being pregnant.

Jason and Jane had not been able to decide whether to have a big society wedding or simply renew their vows in a small ceremony.  They compromised and the previous summer had a ceremony on the beach in front of their beach home.  Family and coworkers wished them well as they left for their Hawaiian honeymoon.  Then it was off to Japan for the Japanese Toy Distribution Exposition.  Then the CARL madness really began.  However, Jason and Jane both loved it.  They were in their elements doing the work they loved to do.  The love was magnified because they had each other.

“Jane?”  Jason walked into the apartment, a wide smile on his face and a magazine under his arm.  Seeing his invention at his feet playing one of his favorite artists, he said, “Very nice CARL.”

Jane came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel.  “Hi.”  She kissed him and then noticed his hand behind his back along with his smug smile.  “What’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing.  Just this.”  He held up the latest issue of Time magazine to reveal a picture of CARL gracing the cover.

Jane gasped and said, “CARL!  You made the cover of Time!”  She took the magazine and sat on the couch to read the article.

CARL had been the hit of the Christmas season, just as predicted.  Many stores were sold out before the end of the Thanksgiving weekend.  December had been spent quickly restocking shelves all over the world.  Jason’s product and Jane’s commercials had proven to be a marriage made in heaven.    

The Patterson Marketing Agency had basked in the success of the CARL project.  Jane had been promoted to vice president of existing accounts, so that she could oversee the Talbot Toys accounts.  Jason had been all over the world to promote CARL, of course in the company of his favorite Patterson employee.

Jason walked over to the couch holding two glasses of wine.  “Well, you did it, Jane, just like you said.  CARL is now a toy icon.”

Still reading the article, she said, “Did you ever doubt me?”

Jason grinned as he sat, handing Jane her glass and stretching an arm around her.  He took a sip and looked on the wall to see the gold-framed marriage certificate from years before.  “Of course not.”

Putting the magazine down, she snuggled against Jason, laying her head against his chest enjoying the soft music emanating from their CARL unit.  As they sat on the couch in each other’s arms, Jane smiled.  CARL wasn’t the only success of their union.  In eight months they would have another product of their joining together. 

This one, she hoped, would have Jason’s brown eyes.

THE END

Play list for
The Biggest Part of Me

And I Love Her:  by various artists from “Here Comes el Son.
”

Getcha Back:  by The Beach Boys from “Sounds of Summer.”

Boogie Fever:  by The Sylvers from “Showcase.”

Weekend in New England:  by Barry Manilow from “Ultimate Manilow.”

I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing:  by Aerosmith from “Armageddon-the Album.”

Biggest Part of Me:  by Ambrosia from “Ambrosia-Anthology.”

How does a widowed mother of four end up married to Hollywood’s hottest man alive?

Cassie Brown, ordinary American mom, has found herself not only as a single mom but a much loved mother figure to millions.  But the feelings she’s having for hunky actor Donovan Baxter is anything but motherly.

There are lots of reasons Hollywood bachelor and “Hottest Man Alive” Donovan Baxter should not be interested in Cassandra Brown.

She’s still hurting from the death of her husband, whom she deeply loved.

She has four exuberant children.

She’s very traditional and moral.

And her dog hates him.

Neither can deny the intense attraction between them.  But when they agree to have a secret “one weekend only marriage” to satisfy those feelings they never imagined the consequences that would effect their family, the country,

And their hearts.

Be sure to check out

The Movie Star and the Mom

Coming May 2013 by Malinda Martin.

Also, coming the fall of 2013:

Read the story of Julie Beaumont, the best friend of Jane Kendall from
The Biggest Part of Me
.

She’s an ambitious lawyer that’s had only one weakness in her life.  This fall she’ll confront that weakness face to face.

It’s a “whodunit” romance filled with music, danger, and chocolate chip cookies.  Don’t miss this romantic mystery entitled

Heartthrob

And check out

Christmas
Grace

A heartwarming and humorous story from Malinda Martin that answers the following question:

Can Christmas bring romance, forgiveness, and the perfect holiday picture?

Available now at Amazon.com.

Thank you so much, dear reader, for taking the time to read my story
The Biggest Part of Me
.  I’d love to hear from you!  Drop me a line at the following site to say “Hi”, to tell me what you thought of the story, to tell me about your favorite love stories, or all three!  Also, keep checking for upcoming books.  You can contact me at http://malindamartin.wordpress.com/
     

God bless!

M.M.