John turned to Jennifer. "What do you think, would you mind if I went along in place of Michael?"
Jennifer put on a half-smile and shrugged. "That would be okay, you've been very good company, and I really don't want to miss this opportunity to see Venice and I certainly wouldn't go by myself. So the answer is yes, I would appreciate it if you would please come along."
John went up to his room to repack for his weekend getaway. All the way up he thought about Michael's ulterior motives. He would have the whole weekend to spend with Vittoria while keeping Jennifer and himself occupied and out of the way. He suddenly remembered about his slip to Vittoria, Michael could be in for a surprise when he tried to see Vittoria again, he would at least have some explaining to do. John finished packing his bag and set it by the door. Michael said to pack just what he needed for the couple of days he would be gone. An hour later he got the call from Michael. "John thanks again so much for going your service over and beyond the call of duty here. There will be a car waiting to pick up Jennifer and you and take you to the train station at six. The Concierge has a packet with all of your tickets, reservations and travel info at his desk. Take care of my girl for me."
John now felt reluctant to go. Not that he didn't want to spend some more time with Jennifer, that part was like a dream come true but it was the circumstances that bothered him. He knew what Michael had in mind. He picked up his cell phone and called his friend Ron. "Hello Ron, it's me again." For the next few minutes he related the story of accidently informing Vittoria about Michael's fiancé and the planned trip to Venice.
After bringing Ron up to speed, Ron was quiet for a moment. "John, I think you should have said no. You know what he's up to and do you really want to be a part of that? Get out of it, get out of it before you get into trouble and lose your job."
"Ron, I can't, he's already made the reservations and Jennifer is really looking forward to visiting Venice even if Michael can't come."
"Okay, but I feel real funny about this. I'm not saying I feel something bad is going to happen, but it does feel strange to me."
"I know the feeling Ron, it seems strange to me too, the pit of my stomach is feeling weird. I'll be very careful. And if anything ever comes up, I'll deny knowing anything about Michael's affair. I'm just the new guy who doesn't know anything." John said goodbye to Ron. Looked down at his watch, it was five forty five, time to go down to the lobby and get his tickets and itinerary from the Concierge and meet up with Jennifer for the ride to the train station.