by Susan C. on December 24, 1999 at 17:03:13:

Hi Everyone! Merry Christmas Eve, I thought I’d post a chapter of Wish Upon A Star, my adaptation of the movie The Christmas List that aired on Fox Family Channel on December 8th at 8 PM, for you all to enjoy. It’s going to be a short chapter because we have company coming and I have to sing at the midnight mass. I hope my voice doesn’t fail me. Anyway, thank for all the wonderful feedback. May you all have a Christmas filled with laughter, peace and love. Angel hugs, Susan in a Santa Suit and her cats dressed as reindeer.

Chloe was speechless when Jerry sat her down on a plush crème colored sofa in the middle of Jacks Brothers’ Executive Offices. Of course, she had been speechless from the minute he had gathered her in his arms. He was the complete opposite of his brother, where Jax was blonde and Prince Charming handsome, Jerry had black hair, deep brown eyes and a rugged, roguish look. It made Chloe think of swashbuckling pirates on the high seas. His hand touched her shoulder as he moved her forward a bit to put a pillow behind her. Next, he took another pillow, put it on the table and proceeded to rest her throbbing ankle upon it.

“Looks like you’ve got a pretty bad sprain there. “

“As long as it’s not broken. I can still work if it’s not broken. “

Jerry looked up and smiled.

“You aren’t going to stand on this ankle Ms. Morgan. “

“How…”

“Do I know who you are? “

Jerry took the ice pack that Lois held out to him and wrapped it gently around Chloe’s ankle.

“We’ve been doing some research since yesterday. “

“Yesterday? “

Now Lois spoke up. She was trying not to be amazed at the coziness of the offices they were in and the uncomfortable situation as well.

“Well, our father, John Jacks, who you will meet in a few minutes, likes to go out occasionally testing employees. Now, since he, like us, tends to keep a low profile very few people recognize him. “

Jerry winked at Chloe because he knew that she had already known who he was.

“A test…”

Brenda’s whisper was barely audible and Jax turned to face her. She was absolutely stunning. Her dark brown hair flowed around her shoulders and her eyes held had a sad quality to them that Jax just wanted to take away.

“Don’t worry luv, “

He walked over and grinned at her.

“you passed with flying colors. “

Not knowing if she were weak in the knees from relief or because she had looked into his blue/green eyes Brenda could only nod.

“Well, thank goodness for small mercies. “

“It’s Christmas Eve though, don’t they need us on the floor. “

“Not right now. “

Jerry poured Chloe a glass of water and handed it to her.

“Well, what do you want with us? “

Lois was starting to get impatient.

“John Jacks I can not believe you…”

The door to the offices burst open and a man in a Santa suit and a lady wearing a Mrs. Claus outfit entered the room.

“Lady Jane come on, didn’t you have fun with those children? “

“Of course I did. “

Jane Jacks put her hands on her hips and glared at her husband.

“YOU, are not supposed to raid Santa’s mailbox…”

John snorted and shook a small red bag at his wife, a twinkle in his eyes.

“I’m only going to make a few wishes come true luv. “

Brenda, Chloe, and Lois all gasped.

Turning at the collective sound in her son’s office Jane smiled and approached Brenda.

“My dear, what a pleasure to meet you. Brenda, may I call you Brenda? “

Brenda could only nod as Jane led her over to a pair of blue, cushy armchairs.

“My husband told me how kind you were to him yesterday, though he didn’t tell me what he bought. “

She leaned in and whispered.

“Though every time he tries to buy me perfume he fails miserably. I just smile and give them away to my friends. “

Brenda caught John’s signal before she said anything and just grinned at Jane.

“Now, as to the reason why you’re here I’m surprised my boys didn’t come right out and tell you. Jerry, Jax… you haven’t been frightening the poor dears have you? “

Lois sighed.

“No, they’ve been very polite Mrs. Jacks. “

“Please my dear, “

Jane smiled at Lois who was leaning against Jerry’s desk with her arms crossed. Her blue eyes sparkling with annoyance.

“Do sit down, “

Jax pulled over a rocking chair for Lois and she sat down.

“and call me Lady Jane. Now, as to why you’re here. “

Jane motioned to John and he pulled three envelopes out of his back pocket.

“Oh god, “

Chloe’s thought to herself.

“They’ve got the lists. “

She kept quiet as Jane gave Brenda her envelope, then Lois hers and finally handed Chloe one.

“You can’t be firing us on Christmas Eve…”

“Of course we can’t be, dear you aren’t getting fired quite the opposite. “

“After Brenda helped dad yesterday and subsequently got sent to the store room, Jerry and I came up here to do a little research. “

Jerry grinned.

“Do any of you know why Hannah got the promotion over Brenda? “

“She’s sleeping with Scummy! “

The words were out of Chloe’s mouth before she could stop herself and Lois and Brenda groaned.

“Well, now, “

Jane eyed John.

“That’s just disgusting. Met the man yesterday and didn’t find him appealing at all. “

“He’s gross. “

Brenda chipped in.

“In our research we found out that in the last four years you’ve worked at our store you’ve been sorely short-changed. “

“Could you elaborate? “

“Certainly Lois, by the way do your parents still own that pizza parlor? “

John’s mouth watered at the prospect of lunch.

“Yes. “

“Hmmm, “

“John, luv, it’s only 11:30 you can wait. “

“Now, in our research we learned that you Brenda work a great deal of overtime, and for some reason Sonny hasn’t paid you for all of it. So, part of that check is overtime, and the other part is back pay because you should be getting much more for what you do. “

“The same is true for you Lois. Since you took over the makeup departments sales have soared and you should have received commissions for your work. Sonny failed to give that to you. “

“So this…”

Brenda trailed off not wanting to believe what she was hearing.

“Is back pay luv, that you should have received and didn’t. “

She wanted to cry.

“And Chloe, “

Jerry smiled.

“We also noticed that since you came on board in the boutique upstairs the fashions are much more current, younger people are shopping there and spending more so…Merry Christmas. “

Chloe glanced over at Brenda and Lois too stunned to speak.

“There has to be a catch. “

“No Lois, there’s no catch. You’ve all worked very hard for us over the years and we’re just sorry that you didn’t get rewarded for it earlier. “

Brenda opened her envelope with shaking hands and pulled the check out of it.

“This is wrong…”

Seeing Brenda’s reaction made Chloe curious and she opened her check as well, Lois followed suit.

“You can’t be serious! “

“HOLY TOLEDO! “

Jax, Jerry, John and Jane all smiled.

“Is this, “

Brenda was overwhelmed, she could get out of the crummy apartment she was living in, maybe even get a portfolio done.

“I mean… this isn’t a joke? “

“It’s not a joke. “

Jax was stunned when she leapt up and threw her arms around him.

“Thank you sooooo much you have no idea…”

She let go of Jax and proceeded to hug Lady Jane, John and Jerry.

“Well…”

“Now that, that’s settled we have a proposition for you all. “

Brenda, Lois and Chloe all sank onto the sofa.

“I knew there was a catch. “

Lois muttered the words and braced herself.

chp 5

Hi everyone! I hope your Holiday was great. I thought I’d post one last chapter of Wish Upon a Star before the New Year, which I am ringing in with a horrible cold. I hate people who go into work sick and then cough with their mouths open spreading their germs around to attack the healthy people around them. But, I digress, thanks for all the feedback. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

“I knew there had to be a catch. “

Lois stood up again glaring at the family in front of her. John was humming as he read children’s letters to Santa out of his bag. Occasionally he would pull out a cell phone, make a whispered call and then giggle. She shook her head. They were all nuts.

“So what’s the problem you called me about? “

The door to the offices slammed open and HE walked in. Lois’s heart literally quit beating in her chest and then started pounding again at double it’s normal speed. Oh no, it could not get any worse.

“Lois Marie, what have you gotten us into now? “

Brenda watched as Lois turned white and her parents followed Ned Ashton into the room.

“It’s all my fault Mrs. Cerullo, I’m so sorry. “

“This is nobody’s fault. Mrs. Cerullo, Mr. Cerullo, would you please take a seat. Ned, “

Jane walked over and gave her sons’ college roommate a kiss on the cheek.

“it’s good to see you again. “

“You too mom. “

Ned hugged Jane and grinned over at Jax and Jerry, his eyes resting on the raven-haired beauty standing in the middle of the room. She looked about ready to spit nails.

“If you’d just take a seat Ned we’ll get this all straightened out. “

Ned sat down next to John. Jax and Jerry’s dad merely winked over at him.

“Yes, yes I realize that it’s Christmas Eve but I thought I mentioned that price is no object. Perfect that’s right I want everything moved to that address. Just a note on the door with the directions I mentioned to you. Of course, it’s highly unusual. “

John pulled out a notebook and jotted down a few things.

“Thank you ma’am you are a princess. No, sorry I’m happily married. Merry Christmas to you too. “

“So can you explain why we’re here? I was in the middle of preparing dinner. “

“Mrs. Cerullo, I apologize for inconveniencing you but I’m sure you’ll see why in a moment. We have recently discovered that your daughter, who has worked very hard for our company for a number of years, was owed money by us. Now, unfortunately we haven’t had time to come inspect the store before this so the matter has gone unsettled for so long. “

“Am I understanding you correctly. You’re admitting that Lois Marie has been ripped off? “

Jane nodded.

“We are. In fact Mrs. Cerullo, your daughter is currently holding a check for all the monies owed to her for her hard work over the last 4 years. We’ve also added a little more to apologize for any mistreatment she has received under the direction of our current store manager. “

“There’s a catch ma. “

“The only thing we’re asking for, “

Jax broke in now.

“is for Lois, Brenda and Chloe to help us in determining just how badly Mr. Corinthos, or as the ladies call him… Slummy…”

“Ummm, “

Brenda held up her hand.

“actually we call him, scummy, slimy, and sometimes we just say ugh and we know who we’re referring too. “

She grinned at Jax and something inside of him went ping as her face lit up revealing just how beautiful she really was.

“Well then, “

Jax smiled back at her.

“Scummy, has been manipulating the funds of Jacks Brothers. “

“So what can we do for you? “

“Well, “

John hung up the phone and turned to Lois’s parents.

“The last time I was in town I had the pleasure of eating one of your pizza’s. It was by far the best I have ever eaten. “

Lois’s mother and father beamed.

“You still haven’t told us what we can do for you. “

Carmine took his wife’s hand in his and beamed at his daughter.

“Well, as you know the one thing Jacks Brothers is missing is a restaurant. After reading customer comments about the store and suggestions we’ve discovered that being able to grab a bite to eat while shopping is very convenient. “

“John…”

“Okay, okay… “

“I got really hungry yesterday while shopping and couldn’t believe that we didn’t even have a coffee bar. So what I’m proposing to you…”

Jerry pulled out a contract and handed it to Carmine and Gloria.

“Is a merger of sorts. We have three other Jacks Brothers Department stores across the country, one in Chicago, one in LA and one in Washington, DC. What we are proposing is to make Cerullo’s an official partner with Jacks Brothers. Your restaurant would be the sole food establishment in the stores and…”

John held up a hand to keep Carmine from disagreeing.

“if you’ll look at the contracts we’ve drawn up you’ll have compete control over everything from the decorating and setup of the restaurants to the quality of the ingredients and supervision of all the employees. Profits will be spilt 80% to 20%. Ah, wait, before you say anything 80% in your favor, and Jacks Brothers will pay the salaries of all your employees. “

Lois’s mouth had dropped open and her mother and father sat stunned.

“Before you say anything or decide on anything you’ll want to bring the contracts to a lawyer. “

“Our cousin…”

“We want you to take your time with this. It’s a big decision. Lois, why don’t you take the rest of the day off and go home, enjoy the holiday with your family. “

Lois hugged Brenda and Chloe. Too stunned to speak she followed her parents out of the offices.

Brenda and Chloe smiled at each other knowing that Lois’s life would never be the same.

“I don’t understand…unhand me you Cretan. “

Chloe’s heart sank and she felt like throwing up. Jerry rested his hand on her shoulder and the warmth from his touch sent jitters through her. It was all over now, Aunt Gertrude was here.