Chapter Twenty-Six

Jason sat back down on the bench, slouching, while he leaned his head back and closed his yes. All thoughts of the business and his two arguing best friends were swept to the back of his mind as he tried to relax. But, it seemed that Courtney Matthews was not going to let his brain clear as much as he wanted it to. Oh well, I’d rather it be her than Sonny and Carly or Samantha McCall, he thought to himself, eyes still closed as visions of her gorgeous blue eyes and dazzling smile surrounded him. All of a sudden, his arms ached to hold her, to have her near to him and he sat up, face in his hands.

Morgan, you’ve got it bad for a woman who was born in a dream. The thought was funny to him, in all honesty. Since when do you dream about being in love with someone and then have them pop into your life unexpectedly? Not that he was complaining.

~*~

Courtney walked into her loft, a smile still etched on her face, but still somewhat disappointed that he hadn’t come with her. But, at least he said that he may take me up on the offer later. And, deep inside, something told her that he would.

She walked to the trashcan and threw the empty coffee cup away before throwing her jacket on the back of the couch and heading back to the walk-in closet for some pajamas. She was tired of being in her work clothes and hated staying in them for longer than she had to. The blond grabbed a pair of pink plaid pajama pants and a white tank top before going into the bathroom to brush her teeth, the entire time, Jason Morgan and his bright blue eyes were on her mind.

She couldn’t help but think back to her dream, where she’d first seen and fell in love with him. Walking back out of the bathroom five minutes later and into the living room, Courtney had to laugh at herself. What would he think if I told him that I’d dreamt about him a week before I moved here? She thought about it for a minute. Yeah, he’d think that I’m insane.

On the table was a package of pictures she’d photocopied before leaving San Francisco and she grabbed it before sitting down on the couch. Carefully, she spread the pictures out in front of her and picked up a photo album that she’d place under the coffee table when she first moved in. Let’s see if working on this can keep my mind off him. She was tense and nervous, anticipating the moment that he’d knock on the door, if and when he did. Okay, focus on this gift, she told herself, only hoping that she’d be able to listen.

The photo album was a gift that she was putting together for Perry and Mandy. They were engaged and hadn’t set the wedding date just yet but Courtney had started working on it just after they’d announced the engagement. Many loved photo albums but didn’t have the patience to put one together herself so her soon-to-be sister-in-law had had no trouble in coming up with a creative wedding gift. She didn’t really like to buy gifts, she preferred to make one or put one together herself, that way it would seem more personal and meaningful. And, in this case, Perry and Mandy could buy whatever they wanted so what would be the point in buying them a gift?

Sighing, she removed the pictures from the envelope and sprawled them out in front of her so she could see what she still had to work on. There were pictures of Perry and Mandy on a beach near San Francisco over a year before, laughing while trying to eat ice cream the sun was determined to melt, of the three of them at their parent’s house at Christmas and even a couple of Mandy, Rosie and her brother. Courtney had to smile when she saw them and she could clearly remember each day they were taken.

Looking a little further into the pile, she found the other pictures she wanted to work with, the ones from their engagement party at a small, classy restaurant that was a favorite of Perry’s. Their parents had been there, both sets, and so had Mandy’s older brother, Alex. It was a small party, and that’s how they’d wanted it, since they knew that the wedding wouldn’t be so intimate.

Taking one particular picture, one of just herself and Perry, Courtney leaned back to the couch as she examined it. Just before it had been taken, he’d decided to poke fun at his younger sister and ask her when he could expect to get a call about her own engagement. Of course, she’d elbowed him in the side and their mother had snapped the candid shot, with Perry in obvious pain and Courtney with a satisfied smirk on her face. One day, Perry, and you’ll be at my wedding. Before her thoughts could continue down that road, she shook her head, snapping her back to reality. Focus on this, she told herself, although not quite sure if she could.

For a half hour, she worked on the page that would have the engagement party pictures on it, rearranging them and decorating the background. Courtney was satisfied with the end result, which included the picture of her and Perry, and was putting it into the protective covering when there was a light knock on the door. She jumped, still slightly tense, even with knowing who was behind the door. Calmly, she set the album down on the couch before moving across to the room and opening it.

Jason stood there, a small smile on his soft lips, when the door opened. He saw the sparkle in her eyes as she opened the door and nearly got lost there. It looks as if she’s as happy as I am, he thought as he removed his gaze from hers. He ran his deep blue eyes down her body, seeing that she’d already changed into her pajamas.

“Hey,” she said, watching him look her over.

“Hey. I’ve come to take you up on your offer,” he responded softly, a silly smirk replacing his smile as he explained his purpose for being there. Well, one of them.

She moved to the side to allow him room to enter. “Well, I was hoping you would.” God, he was making her do things she hadn’t before, but then again, she didn’t mind. The blond had already decided that she wouldn’t hide her feelings from him and definitely not from herself.

“Really?” he asked, curiosity lacing his voice. I don’t know who’s happier, her or me.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jason walked over to the couch as Courtney began to clean up the remnants of her scrap booking project.

“Oh, don’t let me stop you from doing what you were doing.” He said, not wanting to intrude on her private life, which was exactly what he felt he was doing.

Jason caught her smile with his eyes as she still continued to put everything away, despite his small protest. “You didn’t interrupt, Jason. I was about to put it away when you knocked on the door,” she explained. For some reason, he seemed slightly nervous. He shouldn’t be, he’s been her twice before.

“Oh. What is it, if you don’t mind me asking?” He wanted to know more about her. Sure, he’d read through the dossier that Meyer had put together but that was mostly skimming, not real reading. He hadn’t wanted to learn all about her in one sitting, that would be too boring. And, besides, he’d rather find out from her than from anyone else.

Courtney grabbed the page that she’d worked on from the couch and held it up to him so he could see it. On it, he could see the pictures of two couples, older, another of a younger man and woman laughing and obviously very much in love, and then one that had Courtney in it, with a younger man. He could feel a slight twinge of envy rising within him and he quickly shoved it back down. Remember what the dossier said, he reminded himself. That was definitely going to be the only thing he remembered from that file if he could help it. It’s probably a friend.

Jason knew it wasn’t her brother, he could tell that the man with the other woman, who he guessed was the woman she’d talked to on the phone when he overheard her conversation, was her sibling. They shared the same smile and the same eyes, the only difference was that his were a darker blue than his younger sister’s, but the shape of them were the same.

“It’s part of a photo album I’m making for my brother and his fiancé, Mandy. There’s more on the other side.”

Jason flipped it over and saw the candid photo of Courtney and Perry, then another of the bride-to-be and the blond. In both pictures, Courtney had the widest smile on her face, even as she laughed at her brother’s pain.

He looked up into her soft, loving blue eyes and smiled. “Well, I’m not an expert on photos, but it looks great to me.”

Shyly, she smiled in return. “Thanks,” she said as Jason handed the page back to her. Taking it, she put it back in place in the album and returned her supplies to where they belonged. The picture envelope was set back on the table so they wouldn’t accidentally be crushed.

Jason’s eyes followed her as she moved around the loft to put everything away and he felt a bit more at ease. She seemed comfortable with his presence so there was no reason for him to feel awkward, right? After she had everything put away, Courtney made her way to the kitchen. It had been a couple hours since she’d eaten and her stomach told her that she could use a small snack. Glancing towards the living room, she could see Jason still standing by the couch, watching her. He looked tense, still, as if he didn’t know what he could do unless she gave him the instructions herself. Well, Mr. Morgan, you have no reason to feel tense. She almost chuckled at herself, but stopped. Why is it that I’m more comfortable around him than he is me? He’s obviously got more experience with personal relationships with women than I do with men.

“Hey, I was thinking of making a snack, do you want to help?” she asked. “Oh, by the way, you can take your jacket off.”

He’d forgotten that he still had it on but he took it off and tentatively set it on the arm of her couch. Looking up at her standing behind the kitchen counter, he said “Sure, I’ll help.”

Jason walked over to the edge of the counter as she opened the refrigerator door, looking over the contents of the shelves for something that suited her appetite. Towards the back, she saw a roll of premade cookie dough. Grabbing it, she turned to him. “How about some chocolate chip cookies?”

“Sounds fine to me.”

For the next five minutes, she rolled some of the dough into balls and placed them on the cookie sheet while the stove heated. When she was finished, she put the pan in the oven and set the timer. Jason hadn’t helped her, so I guess I’ll just have to try harder to get him to loosen up just a bit, since he still seems a bit tense. Why, she didn’t know, but she would figure it out, eventually.

Jason’s insecurity had gotten the better of him and he was plagued with the fear that she would remember what she had heard Elisabeth say in Kelly’s and not want him around. So, he opted to stay away as she rolled out the balls of dough. Jason, you’ve got to get over this. She obviously wants you here, he told himself.

Courtney noticed that something was bothering him, kind of like when they were at the docks, and she wanted to take his mind off whatever it was. She didn’t want to ask just yet, but if she couldn’t get him to relax, she would. The blond wanted him to be able to relax here, sort of like a sanctuary, since that was what it was for, at least at the moment.

“Since you forgot to help me just now, you get the hard task of waiting for the timer to go off,” she teased as she put the rest of the cookie dough back in the refrigerator before grabbing his arm and pulling him to a spot against the counter, across form the stove.

“Oh, that doesn’t seem hard.”

“Well, it’s not too hard, but then you’ve got to take them off the sheet and put them on a cookie plate. And, I refuse to tell you where it is so you’ll have to look for it. That’s going to be the hard part.”

Jason caught on to her little game and decided to play. It was obvious that she was trying to get him to lighten up around her. Why not?

Courtney boosted herself up onto the counter as they both waited for the timer to go off. Finally, it did, and Jason took the oven mitt she handed him and got the warm, fragrant cookies out of the machine. “So, where did you say that plate was?” he asked, hoping she’d give it away.

“Oh no, that’s not going to work on me. You’ve got to find it yourself.”

“But, it would be so much easier if you would tell me. That way, you could eat a cookie sooner,” he tried again, a silly grin on her face.

Courtney shook her head no, refusing to give up the location of the plate. Little did he know that it was in the cupboard behind her on the top shelf. She’d considered moving, but that would give it away and this little game was meant to help get him to be more comfortable around her and in the loft.

He sighed heavily and dramatically. “Okay, don’t take your frustration out on me when you get too eager for those cookies,” was his warning as he started looking through the cupboard closest to him.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

Jason searched every cupboard besides the one she sat in front of, and couldn’t find anything that looked remotely like a cookie plate, at least to him. After ten minutes, he finally came to the cupboard it was in.

“Excuse me,” he said, hoping that this was it because if it wasn’t, he had no idea where else it could be and she didn’t seem to be budging on releasing the information.

Courtney moved slightly so that the door to it could be opened and then resumed her position on the counter. He stood directly in front of her, obviously tired of looking so she decided to let him off the hook. “It’s all the way at the top.”

In mock exasperation, he glared at her. “Now you tell me?”

“I was getting bored.”

He rolled his eyes at her playfully and reached for the top shelf to get the hidden plate. As he did so, his body moved towards her and his scent captivated the blond. He smells so good, she thought as she looked up at his face, which was right above hers.

The blue eyed man was aware of the close position they were in and it didn’t really bother him. But, the knowledge that they were so close made every muscle in his body quiver at the thought of their skin making contact in any way, shape or form, and his strong arms ached to hold her again. As he brought the plate down, her mesmerizing eyes caught his and wouldn’t let go. Jason didn’t want them to. He only wanted to do one thing, and that was kiss her. His lips ached to do so.

It was as if they could read each other’s minds through their eyes as they stood there in a gaze that neither wanted to break. His eyes asked the question and her crystal blues answered. Slowly and gently, his soft lips met hers in a sweet and tender kiss that blew both of them away.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Very slowly, Jason pulled back to look into her eyes, searching them to be sure that he hadn’t done anything wrong. But, he didn’t see disappointment when he opened his. Her face glowed and she smiled at him, a smile of reassurance. Still, he couldn’t help the words that came out of his mouth.

“I’m sorry-“

Courtney could see it in his eyes, even though she’d smiled, he still thought that he shouldn’t have kissed her, that it was out of line for him to do so. He’s so sweet, she thought as she put her index finger to his smooth lips to prevent his apology for going any further. It was her turn to look into his ocean blue eyes, which now revealed a deep vulnerability. She removed her finger from his mouth and brought the same hand to the back of his neck as she continued to stare straight into the depths of his soul.

“It’s okay,” she whispered to him lovingly, softly, before bringing her lips to him in a kiss that was better than the first, if it was possible. Courtney was in control of the kiss and he left it that way. Hers was so full of reassurance and emotion, while being gentle, soft and sweet, that he could hardly stand it. No one he’d ever been with had kissed him like that before, not Robin and definitely not Elizabeth.

Courtney pulled away from their kiss, the second kiss of her entire life, and gave Jason a sweet smile. He’d been both her first and second kiss, all in the span of two minutes, and she knew that he would be the only one that she’d ever kiss. He’s wonderful, she thought, and it was meant in more way than one, in any and every way possible. I don’t care what anyone says, even the waitress at Kelly’s. But, she knew she’d have to ask him about it. Maybe that’s why he’s all tense, he’s not sure if what she said will affect me.

Jason was blown away by the kiss and by her confidence. He liked that about her, and he was glad that she’d been willing to kiss him again, without him initiating anything. The way she kissed him was gentle, and the kind that would have romantic women across the country falling to the ground. The way she’d stared into him had been unsettling at first, he’d never let anyone in to get that close before, but she was different. He let her see his vulnerability and she had still kissed him.

Courtney broke their gaze, although very unwillingly, she could have stared into those eyes forever, and took the plate from him. “We’d better get these off the pan.”

Jason smiled shyly and nodded. He went back to one of the drawers he’d investigated previously and found a spatula to lift the treats off of the pan as she set the plate down on the counter. He tried to give the utensil to her so she could take them off, but she refused to do so.

“Nope, I don’t think you did enough of the work still,” she said teasingly as she removed herself off the counter.

“Are you kidding me? It took me ten minutes just to find this plate alone and I haven’t done enough? I’ve never even been in a kitchen this long!”

Jason’s words fell on dead ears as she answered him with a chuckle and moved to the refrigerator to get the milk. He resigned himself to removing the cookies from the sheet and placing them on the plate. He’d relaxed a little more since their second kiss and tried not to think about anything else besides being in the loft with her right then. Silently, she’d told him that he needed to relax and he wanted to do so. I guess she noticed.

Courtney poured two glasses of milk and took them to the living room, setting them on the coffee table as Jason followed behind with the cookies. Both sat down on the couch, her at the end and him in what would be the middle, closer to her than when he’d sat there days before, she noticed. They sat in silence for a couple moments and although Jason was noticeably more comfortable, he was still a little tense. And, she wanted to ask him about Elisaebth. Maybe he’ll wind up telling me what’s bothering him so he can completely relax.

“I’ve been wondering about something,” she said before taking a drink from her glass.

“Really? What’s that?” was his tentative answer.

“That woman in Kelly’s the other day. What was that about?”

~*~

Sam had no intention of killing Stan like Faith had asked. There’s no way I could do that and manage to stay alive. Never mind the fact that she knows I haven’t killed anyone in years.

A bag was packed and on the bed in the hotel room as she dialed Faith’s number to inform her of what her knew plan was, as far as her boss would know. “Yeah, we’ve got something more to discuss. Meet me at the pier in a half hour.” As she ended the call, the small woman grabbed the bag and left the room, not intending to return again.

Thirty minutes later she stepped onto the wood of one of the piers that Faith Rosco owned, the one that Sam knew she tended to use the least for shipments. The wait wasn’t very long and she saw the woman at the opposite end of the dock.

“Look, don’t think that you can just call me and demand that I meet you somewhere. I’m the boss, not you. This is a one time deal, the next time I’ll meet you when I want to, got it?” Faith spat, annoyed that her new enforcer was acting as if she was the one running the whole deal. People were starting to act like that way too often with her.

“Whatever you say. Here’s the new plan. I’m leaving town for a little while so I can lay low and Morgan and Corinthos won’t be able to find me. Then, I’ll come back when they begin to think that the incident with the van was a one time thing. When I come back, I’ll get their phone guy out of the way and we can go on with the plan.”

Faith thought about it for a couple seconds. The plan seemed like it would be doable, but she didn’t see a reason for waiting to off the phone guy. “Why don’t you just kill him now and then leave town?”

Sam was irritated now. “Because if I do, I’ll have the cops after me and it’ll be harder to get out of sight. And, then Morgan and Corinthos really would be breathing down both of our necks. So, I’ll go, come back in a couple of months and then we’ll get our plan in motion.”

“What if I say that I don’t like the sound of that and want you to stay?”

“Then I guess you’ll be looking for a new enforcer and business partner, won’t you?” Sam was getting impatient. It was crucial to her plan to get out of town as soon as possible because if she didn’t, they definitely would catch her. Neither she or the woman standing in front of her knew exactly how much that Jason Morgan and Sonny Corinthos knew and that could be much more than they figured.

“Fine, but I’m warning you, if you double cross me, Sonny Corinthos will be the least of your worries.

~*~

Jason had finished telling Courtney about the accident that had caused his brain damage and why Elisabeth had said what she did to him. He didn’t feel very self-conscious while telling her, he never did when he explained it to anyone, but he did still feel exhausted after the long explanation.

Courtney was horrified at the thought of someone saying such cruel things to him when they obviously weren’t true, even if he was a mob enforcer, and she told him so.

“Yeah, well, it’s all because of the break up that she’s acting like that. Carly, the woman you said you saw backhand her, really likes to keep her in line. She never did like her too much.” He said the last part with a chuckle before yawning.

“I could see that.” Courtney said. “Tired?”

He looked at her and smiled. “Yeah, just a little bit. But, it’ll take awhile to get to sleep.”

Courtney got an idea and moved to that her back was against the arm of the chair. She uncrossed her feet and motioned for him to come closer. “Here, I’ll help. Hand me that blanket.”

He glanced at her before grabbing the blanket and giving it to her. He had no idea what she meant by ‘help him’, and that was obvious.

“Come here, you seriously look exhausted.” She said again. He got what she was saying and gave in, moving so his body was between her legs, his back to her, and laid down, his head on her firm, flat stomach. She took the blanket and spread it over him so that he could sleep. Jason could barely keep his eyes open but he took one of her hands in his and placed it on top of the blanket over his stomach before really settling in to sleep.

His breathing became softer as he slept, and Courtney looked down at him as she ran her free hand lightly through his hair and down the side of his face, across his chiseled features. You’re perfect, Jason Morgan. And she’s wrong, she whispered before setting in for sleep to come and take her.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Over the next few days, Courtney had more paperwork to get done before her meeting with Ric Lansing on Friday afternoon. She tried to get most of it done at the office but found that she had to lock herself in the loft to work, too, at times.

But, she did manage to let herself leave for an hour if it came down to taking the work home. Over those three days that she’d had to do so, she’d mostly gone to Kelly’s or the park to get away, and during those few times, she’d seen Jason once outside Kelly’s. They hadn’t talked because they were both walking by, but his face had lit up when he saw her, in spite of the rush he was in.

~*~

Sonny had emptied out the penthouse of his family, so he could discuss business with Jason without Carly overhearing anything. She was with Ric, most likely doing something that had to do with one of the two clubs, and Micheal was at school while Morgan stayed with Bobbie.

It was the last day of the week and somehow, Samantha McCall had disappeared with no trace as to where she’d gone. When Marco and Meyer had first informed he and Jason that there was a hint that she’d left town, Jason had gone out to try to find out where she was, just in case someone had overlooked a detail and Meyer had been told to keep searching, too. Now, after doing everything they could just to locate her, they still couldn’t do so. Not that I should have expected to, Sonny thought as he paced the penthouse floor. What the hell is she after?

He hadn’t decided yet if she was working alone or with a partner, since he knew that the woman was quite capable of taking care of herself and pulling something on her own, but he wasn’t sure if she would take the chance of doing so. Sam’s motives were the least of his worries, his main priority was finding her first. There was a reason they couldn’t find her and he had to know before she surprised them with something bigger than destroying an equipment van.

The door opened and his spiky haired best friend walked through, clearly frustrated. Jason hadn’t been able to uncover anything besides that she’d left the hotel on Monday night. No one had seen her since she left and she hadn’t used the bus or cab to get wherever she was. Obviously, this woman was as good as Sonny had told him, but he’d also said that even though the caliber of work she did was exceptional, there was no way she could measure up to him.

“Find anything?” Sonny asked as he took a drink of the alcohol in his glass.

Jason shook his head. “Nothing, besides the day she left the hotel room. There are no traces of her using the cab or bus, but there’s also no record of her renting or buying a car. She’s just disappeared into thin air after leaving her room.”

A deep sigh followed the explanation and the dark haired man grit his teeth in frustration. “I should have expected that much, but she’ll slip up. She’s too emotional. She can’t cut off her emotions like you can and that’s the mistake she made the last time.”

Jason nodded, taking in what Sonny was telling him. Neither had any doubts that she would make a mistake, but how long would it take? Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long because if she was able to cover her tracks this long for much longer, a lot of damage could be done.

“So, what should we do?” he asked.

Sony thought about it for a couple minutes, quickly going over the information in his mind, everything he knew about her, how she worked. “Wait. She’ll come back, she started something and she’ll finish it, or try to. We’ll wait for her to make her mistake and then we’ll catch her. I know she can’t stay in hiding for long.”

~*~

Courtney opened the door to her office five minutes before 1 o’clock pm to find a man she assumed was Ric Lansing and Jason’s friend Carly standing near her secretary’s desk Hmm, at least he knows how to be on time, arriving early. But, why’s Carly here?

“Good afternoon. Mr. Lansing, I assume?” she said, walking closer to them. It was obvious that Ric was some type of attorney, he had a certain look about him. And, I don’t think he wants to lease any piers. She’d heard enough about piers since she’d arrived and it was getting tiring.

“Yes, I am. And, this is my partner, Carly Corinthos.”

Courtney was a bit surprised by the blond woman’s last name I didn’t know that Carly was Sonny Corinthos’ wife. Hmm, both of them want to do business with me, but separately. This definitely has nothing to do with piers.

Ric couldn’t help but notice the beauty of Matthews-Phillips’ new president. She presented herself in a confident, business-like manner but also had an aura of fun surrounding her. Her smile was breathtaking and lit up the room, reaching all the way to her crystal blue eyes. Snapping out of it, he returned to reality when she told them to follow her into her office.

Carly was somewhat surprised that the woman from Kelly’s was the woman in charge of the company they were going to try to by the potential club property from, but she was also pleased. She’d seemed nice when they’d talked for those couple moments at the diner, so the dark blond didn’t think that this would be too hard to negotiate.

Carly and her partner took seats in the same chairs that her husband and best friend had sat in during their previous meetings while Courtney opted to remain standing, once again. She moved behind her desk, thought, and looked at the note her secretary had placed on her desk early that morning.

“So, you wanted to discuss a piece of property that you’re interested in buying or leasing. Could you tell me what kind of property it is? Piers, lakeside, business…”

“Well, it’s a small piece of property in town that already has a building erected on it that I’d like to use for a club.” Carly informed her.

Courtney nodded. I was right, no piers. “Okay do you have the code number so I can get the file?”

Ric pulled a small piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to the young woman. She took it from him and looked at it. 101303B. Walking over to the file cabinet, where most of the property files were kept, the blond unlocked it and searched for the folder. It was found quickly and she removed it before stepping back over to her desk.

“Well, before I consider negotiating with you, I have to go over the file and the details of the property myself. I’ll go over it tonight and call you Monday morning to let you know.”

Carly nodded and Ric did also. “That sounds reasonable.”

“Good. You can leave the number you’d like to be contacted at with Elise when you go.”

Ric reached across the desk and shook her hand. “I look forward to doing business with you.” He said with a smile. Carly also shook her hand before turning to leave.

Courtney waited until they’d gone to shudder. That guy was so obvious it’s sick.