Chapter Thirty-Eight

The next morning found Jason and Courtney in bed, where he’d carried her in the middle of the night so they could sleep more comfortably. Now, they slept, each melded into one another’s bodies, closer than ever. Her arms were wrapped around him as they lay on their sides, facing each other, her face buried into his chest and his arms wrapped around her small waist, head resting against hers.

Slowly, Courtney began to awaken and opened her eyes to see Jason’s gray t-shirt in front of her and smiled. I could do this all the time, she thought and slid herself out of the strong arms surrounding her. Jason moved onto his back, still fast asleep as she did so, and she sat up on her elbow to look at him. He looked so peaceful when he slept, nothing to bother him, just sleep. His breathing was low and regular, just like a resting child. So, this is what it’s like to wake up with the man you love right next to you, knowing that he loves you, too. The blonde tenderly reached up and ran her hand down his face, feeling his skin underneath hers. Her eyes traced every inch of his chiseled features, admiring him completely as she felt her heart swell. In his sleep, he sighed and moved slightly and she removed her hand. What are you dreaming about? She ran a hand through his soft brown hair; free of the gel he used to keep it spiky.

“I love you, Jason Morgan. With all my heart.”

Without warning, Jason’s hand reached up and cupped her face as he slowly opened his beautiful blew eyes. “I love you, too.” Courtney smiled softly at his words and leaned down to kiss him as her fingers continued to play with his hair.

~*~

Sonny Corinthos was awakened when the phone next to his bed rang, jolting him from sleep.

“I’m going to disconnect that phone, Sonny,” his wife whispered sleepily, rolling on her side to face away from him.

The chocolate eyed mob boss reached over and grabbed the phone, knowing that it could be either Jason or Marco, calling to let him know when Faith’s shipment of drugs was going to be in. Bringing the receiver to his ear, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “Corinthos.”

Marco’s voice came from the other end. “Mr. Corinthos, Faith Rosco was arrested last night. The shipment our source told us about came in before we could get information on it; someone called the cops, letting them know about the shipment. They arrived just as the crates hit the docks.”

Sonny sat up and climbed out of bed as Carly groaned next to him. Normal people don’t have to work on Sundays, she complained to herself. I’m normal, why can’t my husband be? Her husband walked out of the room, pulling a wife-beater on.

“Is she still in custody? Do we know who called the police?” he demanded. He could guess who had been the one to make the call, if he and Jason were right about Sam working with their blonde adversary.

“Yes, sir, she’s still in custody, and it doesn’t look like she’ll be getting out at all. She’ll most likely be sent to prison after the trial. They have all the proof they need. But, we don’t have any idea who called in to the department besides that the police said that it sounded like a woman.”

Aha, Sonny cheered to himself. Whoa, now, don’t jump to conclusions. “Okay, thanks Marco.”

“Would you like me to call Mr. Morgan and give him the information?”

“No, I’ll do it myself.” He hung up the phone and set it on the desk as he pondered this new situation that had arisen. It had to have been Sam who made the call. It makes sense: she uses Faith for a little while, for whatever reason, and then when she’s gotten all she can out of her, she gets rid of her so the woman won’t screw up her own plan. He had to call Jason and reached for the phone before deciding to take a shower and then call his right hand. He leapt up the stirs to the bathroom as softly as he could. I don’t need Carly out here yelling at me.

~*~

Jason and Courtney’s sensual kiss continued as she placed on knee between his legs, so she could keep herself above him as he leaned back, both hands holding her face. She pulled back barely, so their lips were scarcely touching, feather soft and tingling at the light sensation. He groaned in response and licked her lips sweetly, kindly demanding that she stop teasing him. She held back for a couple seconds longer and drew circles through his hair before giving in and returning her mouth to the resting place they both felt they belonged. Jason lay still as she shifted so her elbows and forearms were next to his head on the pillow and all of her weight rested on her knee and arms, just slightly touching his body.

Just then, the cell phone on the nightstand vibrated, threatening to crash over onto the floor if someone didn’t grab it. Jason rolled his eyes inwardly. Damn you, Marco, your timing is as bad as Sonny’s. He reached through her arm and grabbed the most annoying technological advancement in history as he pulled away from Courtney’s kiss.

“Mmmm,” she groaned in protest before rolling herself over onto her side next to him, wrapping his free arm around her as his blonde beauty snuggled closer to him.

“Morgan,” he said into the phone gruffly after flipping it open.

“Hey, Jase, I need you to get over here when you can.”

“Sonny? Yeah, sure. I’ll be over after I take a shower.” He hung up the phone and sighed, not wanting to move. But, he had to, so he did after kissing Courtney on the forehead. “That was Sonny.”

“I know. It’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” he asked tentatively. He could tell that she was disappointed, but he couldn’t blame her. He felt the same way, but business was business.

“Yeah, no big deal,” she said as she, too, climbed out of the bed as he nodded and walked back to the closet where a spare change of clothes awaited him.

Courtney sighed before walking to the kitchen to get something to eat. Sonny, we’re going to have to arrange a schedule, she thought with a laugh.

~*~

Jason stepped into his shower and lathered up the shampoo he put in his large hands before placing the soap in his hair. He’d opted for a cold shower, one that would freeze the penguins in the North Pole, instead of a warm one. The hotter water would just cloud his sense even more than they already were, and he needed to let the cold water do the exact opposite.

They’d come painfully close to making love for what would be their first time together and her first time, period. He wanted to, but also, Jason didn’t want to rush her. He didn’t want her to feel as if it was a ‘you say you love someone and immediately after, you make love’, kind of thing. He didn’t want her to think that now that they’d said those words to each other, he expected them to jump right into it. I’ll let her have control of that.

He shut the water off and dried himself off before dressing in his jeans and blue t-shirt and grabbing the bottle of gel from inside the medicine cabinet. He put a small amount in his hands and ran them through his hair.

When he walked into the living room, he saw Courtney standing in front of the sink in the kitchen and walked across the room to stand behind her. He looked over her shoulder and saw a strainer of wet strawberries in the sink while she held a knife in one hand while using it to cut the fruit into another bowl. Jason placed his left hand on her hip and reached for a piece of the fruit with the other.

“Don’t you dare,” she said nonchalantly as she slapped the invading body part trying to steal her breakfast.

“Hey, why not?” he asked, looking at her incredulously.

“You’ve got to be at Sonny’s and you said you’d be there after your shower. No detours.”

He couldn’t tell if she was really angry or not, but he couldn’t blame her if she was. “Are you mad?”

The blond turned around after putting the knife down and faced him, a small grin etched on her face, which set him at ease a bit. Her hands reached for his sides and she had them there as he placed his hands on the counter top on both sides of her, preventing her from going anywhere. He looked down into her eyes as she spoke.

“No, I’m not. It’s annoying, yes, but it’s not any different than if I had to go to some meeting or something, which may happen if and when I get some more people in the office. So, it’s okay. I was teasing you.”

He grinned at her and sighed. “Thank you for understanding.” And he meant it. Very few people, very few women, could handle the kind of life that he and Sonny lived, much less understand it. Carly could do the former, at times, but never the latter, and Courtney seemed to be able to do both. How did I ever find you? He asked her silently for the millionth time since he’d seen her in person at the docks months ago.

“You’re welcome. But, I can’t guarantee you that your cell phone won’t get hurt at some point in time.” She popped a piece of strawberry in his mouth before he could reply and kissed him quickly, then grabbed a folded sheet of paper and handed it to him. “Give this to Sonny.”

He looked at her quizzically, chewing on the sweet fruit in his mouth. “What is it?”

“Sonny will probably show you.”

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sam found a battery operated radio after waking up and turned it on, hoping to find a news stations so the could hear about any new developments on her former partner.

She’d found everything where she’d left it before she had to leave. The blankets she used were still in the closet, dishes were still in the cupboards; the only difference was that the electricity had been turned off. Of course he’d turn it off. He knew once I left, I didn’t plan on coming back. Sam hit the radio hoping that it would make it work better. Come on, I can’ stay here forever. I need to take another little trip.

~*~

Jason walked up to penthouse four, his eyes on the paper that Courtney had given him to deliver to Sonny. What the hell? He opened the door to find Sonny on the phone, obviously getting information from whoever was on the other end.

“Yeah, yeah, okay, keep me updated. Whatever you hear, call me.”

The mob boss set the phone down and turned towards the other man in the room. Before he could even speak, he was handed the piece of paper from Courtney. “This is for you.”

Sonny looked at it, puzzled. “Who’s it from?” he asked.

Jason chuckled. “Courtney. She told me to give it to you.”

He took the paper from his best friend and unfolded it so he could read what was written inside. When he finished, it was his turn to chuckle.

“What does it say?” the blue eyed man asked, intensely curious. He’d fought the desire to read it the entire way across town and his patience was running out. Sonny handed him the note, a small smile on his face as the enforcer read it.

Sonny,

I know you’re jealous that Jason’s spending more time with me than you, but please, if you want some alone time, find a less obvious way to interrupt than using the cell phone. It won’t always work. J

                                                -Courtney

P.S. I want a meeting to set up a schedule, be at my office first thing in the morning. Don’t even think of sending Jason, you wouldn’t get very much alone time if you do.

Jason shook his head when he finished reading Courtney’s message to his boss and folded it again before setting it on the desk. When he looked back at his best friend, he saw him looking back, mischievously.

“So, what did I interrupt? Or, what did the cell phone interrupt?” he asked, watching Jason become a little uncomfortable.

You just had to ask, didn’t you? He shrugged in response to the question, blowing it off. “Nothing, what’d you call for?”

Sonny walked back into the living room, his grin still attached to his mouth and sat on the couch as Jason sat on the back of one of the leather armchairs. “Well, Marco called this morning to let me know that Faith Rosco’s been arrested on drug trafficking charges.”

“How’d that happen?”

“Well, it seems as if the PCPD received a call from an anonymous person telling them that she had a drug shipment, the shipment you told me about yesterday, coming in. They barely had time to unload the crates when the cops got them, confiscated the crates and she was arrested.”

Jason thought for a moment. It was evident that the woman who had tipped off the police knew a lot about Faith’s business and also wanted her out of the way. Only someone who was confident about the information would go to the cops, which led him to believe that whoever had called had been at the blonde’s warehouse at the same time that the shipment was about to arrive. An alarm was ringing in his head and it had Samantha McCall written all over it. “Okay, so why did Marco just call you about this this morning? Why didn’t we know about it last night before it happened? Marco was supposed to be getting us that information.”

The brown eyed man got up from the couch and walked to the bar. “That’s what I was just talking to him about on the phone. He was checking sources, trying to get information at the time her shipment landed. Nobody knew about it until early this morning. The word on the streets was ‘some time this week’, but no specific day.” He poured himself a drink, the liquid slopping into the glass before turning to face the man sitting on the back of the armchair. “I think Sam’s the one who tipped the cops off. If we’re right and she was actually working with Faith, this is her way of getting a partner she no longer needs out of the picture permanently.”

Jason removed himself from the back of the chair and walked around in the area between the chair and his boss’ desk. He ran his hands through his short hair and back over his face, puzzled over the woman’s tactics. She was trying to be sneaky, yet very obvious about what she was doing, dropping enough hints so that they knew that she wanted something from him, or just wanted them on edge. What is wrong with women? And, now, she’s not being very careful. Sonny says she’s one of the best so she’s got to be doing all of this on purpose, unless over the years she’s gotten worse. What the hell does she want?

Jason turned and looked back towards Sonny, who still stood by the bar, nursing his drink, staring at the floor as if it were the most complex thing he’d ever seen in his life. “You know her, Sonny. I don’t. I can only guess what she’d do and rely on my instincts, but you have seen her work, you know her patterns. What is she going to do?”

The mob boss continued to stare at the carpet. What Jason was saying was true, he knew her better than anyone in this town. He’d helped teach her everything she knew, and had needed to know, for him. Her father had taught her most of what she knew, but he’d added to that. He knew her patterns, knew her, and she wasn’t going to change the way she worked because she wanted him to know that she was there. Sam didn’t think he’d hurt her or kill her if she came after him in anyway, if it came to that. But, he wasn’t sure. Could I? The better question would be would she go so far as to have me feel as if I had to. Does she want me to come after her?

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the voice of his best friend. “Sonny. What do you think she’ll do?”

He looked up at him and took another drink out of the glass in his hand. “She’s going to leave town again, but she’ll be back.” He thought for a moment. “I think she destroyed the can on Faith’s orders. For some reason, while she was working with her, Faith didn’t want those bugs in Courtney’s office, and I want to know why. We need to talk to her before she goes to trial, see if she’ll tell us anything about Sam.”

Chapter Forty

It was warm and sunny outside, with a slight breeze as Courtney and Carly sat on a blanket in the park. Micheal was on the toys and his mother kept a sharp eye on him as Morgan played on the blanket with Courtney.

Carly had promptly been kicked out of the penthouse minutes before Jason had arrived and decided to call the other mob moll. Courtney had decided to join them at the park and Max had called in to Sonny to let him know where his wife and children were going to be. Now, he stood a couple feet away, looking very much like a bodyguard.

“Hey, Morgan, you’re getting to be pretty big.” Courtney talked to the baby as he lay on his back on the soft material, holding and chewing on a rubber ring. “Yeah, pretty soon you’re going to be running around like your brother and mommy and daddy are going to have their hands full.”

“Oh no, don’t tell him that, he might decide to torture us just for fun. I think he can stay the same size he is now for a couple more years,” Carly said, watching her son with adoring eyes.

Courtney chuckled and the little baby grabbed her thumb, almost bringing it to his mouth. “He can’t stay a baby forever, Carly. No, you can’t can you? You’ve got to grow up sometime.”

The darker blonde smiled as Morgan looked over at his mother and squealed. It was obvious that even though he couldn’t talk, he still adored her as much as she did him. “When he does get older, he’s going to look exactly like Sonny, that’s for sure. He’s already got his brown eyes.”

“I’m sure you’ll have to chase the girls off with a stick from the time he starts school until he finishes. All the girls are going to be all over him.”

Neither women noticed that someone was standing behind them, so they nearly hit the sky when they heard another voice. “So, my son’s going to have all the little preschoolers after him? We’d better keep him safe from all those women, they bring nothing but trouble.”

Courtney and Carly turned to see Sonny and Jason standing over them, the brown eyed man grinning at the thought. His wife quickly rose to her feet and hugged him as Courtney followed, hugging Jason, his strong arms wrapping around her tightly.

When they pulled away, Sonny walked over to the lighter blonde and looked her square in the eyes, laughter and teasing sparkling in their depths. “So, when should I come by for the meeting.”

Courtney laughed and shook her head. “I’m going to let you off with a warning. Next time, I’ll drag you into the office, though, so you better toe the line.”

He laughed and nodded his head in return. “Not too sure if I can guarantee that but I can try.”

She gave him a ‘you better’ look and Carly laughed, as Courtney had told her about the note when they’d first met up and she’d been impressed, even though she knew that her friend was joking.

Just then, Micheal came running at them as he saw that his ‘uncle’ Jason and dad had decided to join the rest of them “Daddy!” he exclaimed as he wrapped his arms around the mobsters waist in a hug. Sonny bent down a little so he could, in turn, give his oldest son a hug. When he released the boy, he ran two feet to Jason and gave him the same hug.

“Hey, buddy. Are you having fun?”

Micheal nodded excitedly. “Yeah, the toys are a lot of fun. Are you and daddy going to stay?”

Sonny nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to stay right here with your mom and your little brother, so you can play for a little while.”

“Cool!” And the little redhead ran back towards the playground, happy that they were going to stay instead of running off to do work, whatever that was.

Carly chuckled and sat back down on the blanket next to the brown eyed baby still laying on it and Courtney followed, her cell phone going off just as she sat down. Sonny laughed and looked at Jason who didn’t even need Sonny to say the words before he knew what he would say.

“And she’s going to throw your cell phone away?”

The blonde heard him and rolled her eyes as she flipped the phone open before rising to her feet and walking a short distance away.

“Hello”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“Oh, hey Mandy. What’s up? What did my wonderful older brother do now?”

She heard a chuckle from the other end of the phone. “Everything he does is wonderful, you should know that.”

“Please, don’t make me sick. What’s going on?” Jason walked over to Courtney as she talked to her future sister-in-law and stood in front of her. She took his hand and played with his fingers as she continued her conversation.

“Okay, with all the wedding plans and business stuff your brother has to deal with, we made a big decision last night.”

The blonde’s face wore an expression of concern as she and Jason’s fingers continued to dance together. “How big of a decision?”

“Well, it’s not that big of a deal, but you know how Perry loves Rosie so it’s a big one for him. He decided that he can’t take care of her and spend as much time with her as a dog requires and neither can I. We’re running around all over the place right now and after the wedding and the honeymoon, I’ve got a ton of business trips lined up that I’ve been putting off.”

“So, you’re getting rid of her?”

“Not exactly. That’s why I’m calling. You love the dog as much as Perry does, so I wanted to know if you want to take her in? If not, he’ll take her to your parent’s. We just know that we can keep her because it’s pretty much neglect now.”

Jason could hear a little bit of what Mandy was saying through the phone, mainly just ‘Perry’, ‘Rosie’ and ‘business’. He knew who the dog was, and also her brother, but he didn’t see where ‘business’ fit into that equation. Please don’t let it be a business trip.

Courtney thought about it for a moment, completing whether or not she wanted and could take care of a dog. She loved Rosie and didn’t want Perry to have to give her up, even if it was to her parents, but she couldn’t be sure whether or not she wanted to actually own the dog. But, it went without saying that it would at least make her brother feel better, for whatever reason.

“I don’t know. When would I have to decide? I mean, I can’t just say yes without thinking about it first. That’s a lot of work.”

“Well, we can keep her for now, It’s just after the wedding that going to be a problem.”

Courtney sighed. “So about two months. I’ll think about it and I’ve also got to discuss it with Jason, see what he thinks.”

“Okay, just let us know. Thanks a lot for thinking about it, at least. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

She snapped the phone shut with her free hand and stuck it in her pocket as Jason continued to watch her. She looked up at him and saw the curiosity in his face. He’s so cute when he’s clueless.

“That was Mandy.” She began.

“I kind of figured that out, she’s not exactly quiet when she talks, is she?” he grinned and Courtney took his other hand in hers.

“No, she’s not. But, she called to ask if I wanted to take Rosie. She and Perry can’t have her anymore because they’re always out doing stuff with work or the wedding and it’s not going to get much better after the wedding, either.”

Jason nodded. No business trip! “Why do you have to talk to me about it? Or was that something else?”

She laughed and poked his rock hard stomach with both of their hands. “Well, you pretty much live at the loft, and if I did decide to take Rosie, I want you to be okay with it, too.”

“It’s your place, not mine. I shouldn’t have a say in it.”

Courtney released the hold she had on his hands and brought hers to the sides of his chiseled face, looking him straight in the eye. “Mr. Morgan, don’t be difficult. You do have a say in it, even thought it’s a small matter. I don’t want you to hate being there if I happened to get a dog.”

The blue eyed man sighed. Obviously, he wasn’t going to win the battle, but he honestly didn’t think his opinion should matter. But, it did. “I won’t mind either way. That’s all I’m saying, because it’s the truth.”

“Fine,” she whispered before kissing him on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Chapter Forty-One

In the shadows of the park, Samantha McCall stood. She knew that she probably shouldn’t be out in the open, she had no doubts that Sonny would know that she had been the one to turn Faith in, if he knew that she was working for her. The brunette wasn’t so sure anymore, but she wouldn’t put anything past Sonny and his lieutenant. Underestimating the enemy can be a fatal mistake, especially if there’s a chance that they know who you are.

Her deep brown eyes darted through the tree branches, looking at him, with three other people. She noticed the little red head and the darker blonde, but didn’t recognize the woman with Jason Morgan off to the side. She knew who Morgan was, but had never seen him before, really, just a description. Sam focused on Mrs. Corinthos. So, Carly, you’re still together. Not surprised, he always does go back to you. But, that one time, I thought he wouldn’t. He found someone who deserved his love, or at least I thought so at one point. Now, his heart deserves to be broken.

~*~

An hour later, Courtney walked into the loft, just stopping in before going back out to join Micheal and Jason at Kelly’s for a late lunch. Sonny and Carly had taken Morgan home, he was getting fussy, but the little boy hadn’t wanted to go with them yet, so they offered to baby sit for a little while.

She walked over to the answering machine, which had its message light blinking. Pressing the button, she walked into the bedroom as a slick voice began to speak. Damn you, what do you want now? “Ms. Matthews, this is Ric Lansing. I was calling to offer you a business proposal. I’d like an appointment as soon as possible. Please return my call and let me know if you’re interested.”

The blonde rolled her eyes. Another one? What are you going to do now? She grabbed the jacket she was looking for off the edge of the bed and started out the door. How many more idiots do I have to deal with? Better question, how many more times do I have to deal with the same idiot?

~*~

Two days passed and Courtney Matthews sat in her office at the Matthews-Phillips building, going through files of the available property the company owned. She looked up at the clock that sat on her desk. One more hour until I get to go home.

Home. The thought resounded in her mind, consciously realizing that the little city had truly become her home. It’d switched locations without her really giving it much thought, gone from being in California with her brother, grandmother and parents to Port Charles, with Jason and Sonny and Carly. Wow, things really do change without anyone noticing, don’t they? And now, a part of her old home, Rosie, was coming to live with her, but not until after Perry and Mandy’s wedding.

She shook her head and returned to the file she was browsing through. There’s a lot of good property here. I don’t even think there’s this much in San Francisco. Courtney looked up as she heard the handle on her office door turn. Ric Lansing stepped in, looking smug as usual. The blonde stood, already very pissed off and irritated. “Excuse me, do you always just walk into people’s offices without calling, without an appointment or without knocking?”

Ric glared at the woman in front of him, not liking the tone in which she was speaking to him, it was sarcastic and condescending. “Look, this will only take a minute. And, I called to set up an appointment two days ago but you never called back.”

“Well, Mr. Lansing, I do not schedule appointments that are asked for by a client, or potential client. You have to take that up with my secretary. Also, if you call me at home, that’s a sure fire way to be turned down because I ignore it. Third, I’m not interested in doing business with you unless you’re working with Carly, so your proposal means nothing to me.”

She locked his dark eyes with her baby blues, hatred seeping from every glance. This man had gotten on her nerves since day one and he had continued to do so since then. Maybe that’s why Elizabeth is dating him, he’s just as irritating.

Ric tried not to look as if her edgy response bother him, remaining calm and collected. “Ms. Matthews, I assure you, this is something that you’ll be interested in, if you’d just let me explain.”

I doubt it. Maybe if I let him talk, he’ll be easier to get rid of. “You’ve got three minutes.”

“Thank you. I’d like to lease another piece of property from you to use for another project completely unrelated to Carly’s club.”

Courtney stepped closer to the man, around her desk, and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want to use it for?”

She really does mean three minutes, he thought, noticing that she was trying to speed up the pace of the conversation. “Elizabeth Webber, the woman I’m seeing, is a painter and does wonderful work, so I’d like to open a gallery featuring it.”

The president of Matthews-Phillips nearly burst out laughing but instead of doing so, she allowed her eyes to roll. What the hell is his deal? I don’t like her, Carly doesn’t like her, so why is he trying to get us to have anything to do with her, much less something she’s painted? “Okay, I listened, my answer is the same; not interested. Now, get out before I call security. Don’t step into this building again unless you’re with Carly or have a previously scheduled appointment.”

Ric grit his teeth so hard he thought that his jaw was going to fall off. He felt like punching a wall. Why can’t I get anything I want in this damn city without a fight? “Please, just think about it. Elizabeth’s art could be a big hit.”

“Mr. Lansing, I gave you my response. Now, you’ve got two seconds to walk back out that door and out of the building before I call security. Maybe even the police for harassment.”

Her eyes shot daggers that would have torn him to shred if they’d been real as he gave up and walked out the door, or more like stomping like a spoiled child. Courtney sighed in frustration and looked back at the clock. Forty five minutes. Screw it, I own the company, I’m leaving.  She grabbed the file from her desk and tossed it into her brief case before walking out the door. At least the day’s not totally gone yet.

Chapter Forty-Two

Courtney rode the elevator up to the top floor of the Harborview Towers and walked to the door, where Max stood guard, staring straight in front of him.

“Hey, Max, is Carly in?” she asked, not knowing if her boyfriend and his boss had kicked Mrs. Corinthos out of her own home or not.

“Yeah, she is.” He turned and opened the door to allow her entrance and found the woman sitting on the couch with paint samples and colors spread out in front of her on the coffee table. Courtney chuckled as she stepped in and placed her purse on the back of Sonny’s desk chair. Work, as usual.

The dark blonde wasn’t usually pinned as someone who liked to work, but she was, especially since it had to do with a club. She still managed to have fun and go shopping, but now, the shopping usually dealt with the club. Ric had settled in and let his business partner decorate it by herself and she was thrilled. Like I didn’t know she’d get her way.

Carly looked up from then multiple different shades of paint and stuck a potato chip in her mouth. “Hey, come to help pick something out?”

Shaking her head, Courtney sat on one of the leather armchairs. “No, actually I came to give you your copy of the building permits you requested.”

Carly took the papers her friend held out to her and read them over to make sure that Ric had done the job correctly. Finding they were satisfactory, she placed them on the coffee table on top of the albums of pain color and leaned back, sighing. “I never knew that looking for pain colors could be so exhausting. And, I’m barely through the first book.”

“No one told you that this was going to be easy. Besides, didn’t you pick the colors for The Cellar?”

“Nope, Ric did. He picked the colors and I decorated it.”

Courtney nodded and picked up one of the decorating magazines next to the chair, flipping through it. “So, where are the two mobsters? Out discussing coffee shipments at a café or something?” She wanted to see Jason, just because Ric had ticked her off at the office and she hadn’t seen the blue eyed enforcer since the morning of the previous day.

Carly laughed and shook her head. “If they went into a coffee shop, they’d scare every one in there to death. I think they’re over in Jason’s penthouse, actually. I wouldn’t let Sonny kick me out since I was out here already so they got kicked out for once.”

~*~

In the penthouse across the hall, Jason was explaining the situation with Faith to his boss. He’d gone to see her earlier that day, to try to get information on Sam from her, but the cops weren’t allowing for any visitors. Mac had been very specific that no one would be able to see her at any time, especially if they were associated with Sonny Corinthos in any way.

Sonny walked around the room, hand on his chin, thinking. “Well, even the cops have to suspect something.”

The enforcer nodded. “They probably think that whoever’s shipment she was landing is going to want to come visit her. Do you think Sam would take that chance?”

“No, she’s not stupid enough to pull something like that. If anything, she’ll wait until Faith’s trial is over, just to make sure that she’s got her, before she takes another vacation.”

Jason rolled his eyes and walked over to the pull table in the room, resting his hands on the green material that covered the surface. He picked up one of the balls and slid it against the side of the table, obviously irritated. Sam was beyond annoying, just because she couldn’t come out and stop hiding. Or running. She had just gotten back in town and, if Sonny was right in his assumption, she would be leaving again. Women just don’t know how to stop playing games.

He turned back ot his boss. “Why is she leaving town again. Now that she’s got Faith out of the way, she can just come after us. She has to know that we know who she is.”

“I really don’t know why she leaves and then comes back later. Never could figure that out and she never told me. But, back then, she didn’t do it too often. Personally, I think she gets more satisfaction out of annoying the enemy than actually carrying out her plan.”

Again, an eye roll from Jason’s blue eyes. “That’s encouraging. Why do I get the feeling that we’re playing with a two year old here? Was she this irritating when she worked for you?”

The mob boss took a drink from the glass he’d brought from his own penthouse and nodded. “She probably was, but since she was doing the jobs for me, I might not have noticed. And, she didn’t leave too often, like I said, and if she did, not far away.”

The ball Jason was holding flew across the table as he rolled it, scattering the other balls as it crashed into them with a loud crack. “I don’t see why we’re just sitting around and waiting for her to really do something when we could find her easily if you would let me. Why not cut her off before she really has the chance to do damage?”

“Because she really is a lot smarter than she’s been acting. There’s a catch her, somewhere, and we’re not going to know what it is until it’s too late if we’re not careful. There’s a reason she’s being stupid and it’s because she wants me to see her. I don’t even know what the hell she’s thinking. She’d hiding, yet she’s being completely obvious. That’s too risky, Jason, to just go after her.” The blue eyed man ran his hand over his face and rubbed his eyes. He could feel a headache forming between his eyes. Waiting for someone to come after them was not one of Jason Morgan’s strong suits and he hated it. “And, we’re going to have to tell Courtney and Carly about this. Carly knows who Sam is and Sam hates her, so she should know what’s going on. Courtney needs to know because she could be a target if Sam wants both you and me, and she’s president of the leasing company. If there’s danger, she needs to know about it and we may have to react.”

Jason nodded, but he wasn’t very fond of the idea. Yes, this was pretty personal, but it also bordered on business, and they were in agreement that these two couldn’t mix. Theyw ere about to, though, and it couldn’t be stopped until Sam was taken care of. At the rate that’s going, it’ll be another two years. “Let me tell her. If anything, it’ll affect us more than it will you and Carly, if you know what I mean.”

“Okay.”

Damn you, Sam. I’ll find you and I’ll know what you want, whether you like it or not.