Julian Jerome walked up to the woman in the red dress. Only he had to check himself and remember that he wasn't Julian. He was Derek Wells, media mogul who had spent the last 20 years carving himself out an impressive empire in a highly competitive industry.
The woman stood before him. Her face tilted, with her ice cold blonde curls tossed off her face. She smirked at him in a way that'd become familiar. It was her most worn expression since they'd first met years ago. His own lips curved into a smile.
"Hello Ava.
The woman's eyes danced in anticipation.
"Hello…Julian."
They stood in his office, ground zero of his empire on the penthouse suite on the top floor of the Metro Court, a five star hotel in the familiar haunt of Pt. Charles. That's where Julian…Derek to most had picked up the reins of a dying newspaper left behind by its previous owner who had fled in the night. His name, unable to be whispered on the lips of anyone in this town without harsh consequences. Julian didn't care. He had plans to shut down the newspaper due to poor sales, and its sister publication, Crimson, some silly fashion rag a decade behind the times.
He had bigger plans after all.
Ava sighed as she appraised him, her eyes running over him in a way that made him slightly uncomfortable, for the chemistry between them was not natural.
"You look awfully good for a dead man. Come give you baby sister a hug…"
He hedged. There in front of him stood the spitting image, albeit a younger model of his late sister Olivia. The resemblance was uncanny, it was the only trait that Ava had that convinced him years ago when they first met, that they shared the same bloodlines, going back to Victor Jerome.
Julian moved to hug his baby sister, and assured her that reports of his passing had, naturally been exaggerated.
Ava clucked her tongue, preparing herself for the latest sob story from her older brother. But she noted the happiness in him, his relaxed carriage, and the lilt in his step as he went to refresh his glass of more bourbon. She needed him after all to get her due, her birthright as a Jerome that had been denied her for years due to a twist of fate.
He handed her a glass of scotch.
"Of course I'm happy…"
Everyone in Pt. Charles most importantly the police department and district attorney's office believed him and the rest of his family to be deceased, their corpses rotting away in a family plot somewhere in New Jersey.
Ava quickly cut to the chase.
"I did my part dear brother. You might think I erred in my plan for ELQ but it's nothing but a setback. We will get those shares."
She'd told Julian of her travails since first coming to Pt. Charles some months ago to being translating their carefully tailored plan into action. Julian just arched a brow.
"Look who's whining now."
She rolled her eyes.
"You don't know what it's been like dealing with Scott Baldwin, protesting that I knew you, dealing with the likes of Franco…you know he nearly derailed my plot…"
Julian interrupted.
"I know that part. If not for Shawn Butler trying to take him out and hitting one of Sonny's molls instead…"
Ava smirked.
"They'll never trace that back to me. You know Sonny Corinthoes came so close to taking out Franco…but he was rescued at the last minute by that Alexis Davis, Sonny's own lawyer. She dragged him to the hospital where I was able to do damage control…"
Julian sighed after sipping his bourbon.
"I should have taken him out when I had the chance…"
Ava purred.
"Oh come on Julian. He's but a pesky nuisance, the father of my daughter. Besides you should concern yourself with selling yourself as Derek Wells, law abiding citizen while Julian Jerome hides in plain sight."
He knew that already and he'd concocted the perfect plan. It'd go off without a hitch if he stuck to carrying it out step by carefully deliberated step. And part of that meant controlling Ava and her own impulsive nature.
"What happened to your plan to hook up with Franco and steal ELQ:"
Ava paused, taking a gulp of her scotch for fortitude no doubt. She had failed dismally and knew it.
"The thing with Franco went South."
That hardly surprised Julian though he detected more than a hint of defensiveness in Ava, as her eyes avoided his own, focusing on the wall instead. She'd gone soft on her daughter, Kiki and both knew it.
"Please what do you know about being a parent?"
That stopped Julian in his tracks. He couldn't answer that. Fatherhood had no place in the existence he'd carved for himself. Ava had proven to be a poor role model for her own wayward daughter.
"Well you let Kiki do pretty much what she wanted and now you're reaping what you sowed."
Ava crouched lower, while sidestepping around the office, glaring at him.
"I was a single mother. I did the very best I could. It's not as if you ever lifted a finger to help me."
Julian leaned back in his chair.
"Don't be stupid. It would have been danger to us all."
She leaned closer to him over his desk, taunting him. She had a habit of doing that while on the defensive about her choices, something about her getting a foot in the door and playing nice.
"You need me brother…."
He pursed his lips, seeing the naked desperation in her eyes sheathed with her familiar armor of ruthlessness. Ava was like one of those snakes, you picked up only when you had thick gloves and a hooked stick.
Julian never forgot that.
"I'm essential to your plan to take on Sonny Corinthoes…"
She turned the photo of the mob kingpin cozying up to Connie Falconeri who worked as for Julian now. The willowy blonde managed Crimson but he'd cut her a deal that in order to save her magazine, he had to deliver a front page story for the daily news rag. She hadn't called him back yet.
"The territory that used to be mine."
Ava snarled.
"Ours…"
He acquiesced for now.
"Of course…"
She slithered around his desk, and wrapped her arms around him from behind.
"We're going to get rid of Sonny Corinthos, reclaim our territory and take back all the power the Jeromes used to hold in Pt. Charles."
Ava outlined everything she had accomplished in her part of the list of things to accomplish as part of the master plan. Kiki was engaged to marry Sonny's youngest son Morgan. A match made possible thanks to the Jerome gambling ring.
She folded her arms.
"I've done my part of our plan. I'm still working on ELQ and my own daughter is taking one for the team but what about you? What are you doing?"
Julian sighed.
"Carlos has done the retcon on all the players in Sonny's organization. His molls, his children, his employees, he's been quite thorough on producing dossiers on all of them."
Ava clucked her tongue.
"All of them. Well, Julian now all we have to do is divide and conquer. I've set my sights on Morgan Corinthos as my entry of attack. I know you're quite a charmer with the ladies so who among Sonny's harem will be your target?"
Julian looked nonplussed. He hadn't decided yet, actually he'd been putting that part of the operation off. He had perused the exhaustive research provided to him by Carlos and he had his choice. There was Sonny's ex-wife Carly Jacks at the top of the list. She'd been married to him four times, and had been extremely loyal to him, sticking by him even after he shot her in the head after she gave birth to their son, Morgan. She didn't even bail when he shot her son, Michael, the one he'd adopted by hanging the biological father AJ Quartermaine on a meat hook to get those legal documents signed and sealed.
There was Sonny's current moll in training, Connie Falconari who was a bit of a nutcase who currently headed Crimson magazine, which was under the umbrella of Derek Wells enterprise. He recoiled at the thought of hooking up with her since she'd been diagnosed with DID and had all of her alters reintegrated by some shrink. Mental issues aside, he just wasn't attracted to the high-strung willowy blonde.
Connie had a cousin named Olivia who was a loudmouth chick from Bensonhurst who had shown up at his office and called him a mook, an Italian term for…well he knew what it meant. She just came off as an idiot shrieking at him, while he had little use for her. Sonny sure knew how to pick his molls. None of which were women Julian felt remotely attracted to even on one of those days in witness protection when he was eager for the comfort of any women to escape is isolated existence.
Ava folded her arms.
"Julian, I did my part. I positioned my daughter Kiki. Since Franco is the twin brother of Jason Morgan and she's his daughter…that makes her an heir. I've been working really hard at this."
Julian drummed his fingers impatiently on his desk.
"You have yet to deliver…"
She cut him to the quick in typical Ava fashion.
"My oh so undisciplined daughter is also marrying Sonny Corinthos' son Morgan. That's only going to help us and to think it was our gambling ring that brought them together…"
Julian had to really wrap his thoughts around that. He'd pretty much written Kiki off as a wild child driven by hormones rather than any intelligence she could have possibly inherited from her mother. But it looked like his sister had been busy carrying out her part of their master plan.
She pointed a manicured finger at him.
"Okay Julian, tell me you will do your part. There are many avenues to pursue all which I'm sure will be pleasurable. Carly, Connie or her cousin Olivia or…."
Julian knit his brow.
"Or what?"
Ava shrugged nonchalantly.
"Sonny's legal eagle, Alexis Davis. She's definitely not your type of course but from a strategic standpoint she could provide plenty of intel on his operations…"
Julian knit his brow. He hadn't even considered whether or not to add Sonny's legal eagle to his list. Carlos had provided the usual exhaustive dossier on her as he had with everyone on Sonny's payroll.
"I don't think so. I think I'll do better if I target one of his molls or his moll in training. Someone who's engaged in pillow talk with him, rather than just worked for him."
Ava pursed her lips.
"Alexis Davis did more than that. They share a child, from a one night stand. Kristina, a somewhat insolent and rebellious teenager who's off to college."
Julian leaned back in his chair, considering that information.
"Carlos included that in his report. Connie told me that her oldest daughter Samantha Morgan made an appointment with her to discuss a possible story. She was very insistent on the phone."
Ava frowned, drumming her nails on his desk.
"I thought you were liquidizing the newspaper…and that fashion rag. Low circulation and anemic ad sales."
He nodded.
"I am but The Press still has a week or so left in circulation and Crimson is good leverage for me to keep Connie inline to do what I want."
Ava arched her brows.
"Ah, dear brother don't you think that you could use that leverage to sweep her off her feet and away from Sonny? He does have his sights on her and that sniveling cousin of hers has eyes for him too."
Julian yawned, bored with tales of Sonny and the throng of weak, histrionic women who surrounded him. Connie who used to go by Kate was crazy to boot. No, he didn't want any complications, he just wanted inside information on how best to exploit Sonny's weaknesses and bring him down. As Ava had reminded him, she'd found her way in even though she'd bungled the ELQ job. He had to do his part just to keep up with her.
"Connie also assured me she's going to bring me a front page story that will change everything."
Ava rolled her eyes.
"She promises a lot but has yet to deliver. She's a waste of space in this office and on the planet."
Julian couldn't argue with that. But he needed her right now and Ava might not know it, but based on the info Connie had passed to him, she needed Connie too.
"I'll use her…for her journalistic skills and I'll set my sights on Carly…since she's the closest to Sonny. I imagine at some point she'll approach me with concerns about you and Morgan…"
Ava recoiled.
"What do you mean about me and Morgan?"
Julian smirked.
"I know there's more going on between you and that insolent spoiled brat than your daughter Kiki would like to know about."
Ava sniffed.
"She wouldn't notice anything. She's spending more time with his brother Michael. I have to put in some time to steer her back on track."
He chuckled, enjoying himself.
"I imagine you will.
He enjoyed pushing his sister's buttons. She reminded him a bit of his other late sister Olivia, sharing some of her traits. Her icy blond hair, and her drive to climb her way to the top on a man's world. There was nothing more masculine than the mafia and Ava hadn't figured out yet any better than Olivia that a woman's role was at home with the kids. Then again, Ava had balls, encased in brass and she could stare down any man who challenged her right to get what she wanted. Something Julian admired, even though he'd never tell her.
"Dear brother I will put our master plan back on track…as long as you do your part. Now Carly is an insipid volatile woman who's relied on men for all of her power, including her share of the Metro Court. She does her best work flat on her back which makes her the perfect choice."
Julian curled his lip. He'd read the report on the oft married Carly and knew he'd have his work cut out for him. Not that he couldn't easily reel her in to give him choice information on his target but he didn't think he'd enjoy it.
Not his type either.
He fiddled through some papers on his desk.
"Look Ava, I'll do my part if you do yours…"
He knew he could handle it, even the between the sheets part. Julian looked at sex as a physical release, a brief escape from the isolation and sometimes, loneliness of the life he'd been forced to lead since he'd agreed to the WSB's version of witness protection. He could work that part of it, if necessary to get what he wanted. Seduction was just one of many tools in his arsenal.
An image flashed in his mind as if in argument to his train of thoughts. The same young woman, who sometimes visited from where she'd taken up residence inside his memories. Long, flowing brown hair, a heart shaped face, laughter that sounded like church bells.
The most beautiful young woman, from another lifetime. The chapter in his life when he'd still been an idealistic man who thought he could bring legitimacy to his family's business and its name. He closed his eyes, to will that image away, he didn't want some phantom from his past intruding now.
Ava tapped her foot impatiently.
"Okay then, I'll continue to ensure that Kiki and Morgan head toward matrimony which will give her…and us an inroad into Sonny's family and you'll work on Carly."
Julian nodded absently, as he was having difficulty shaking the memory of that young woman from his head. She was a sliver of his past before everything had gone wrong.
"And you worry about me screwing up…Dad rest his soul always said you worry too much…"
Julian flinched slightly.
"He said you didn't worry enough…"
Julian casually knocked over the framed photo of Sonny and his latest moll over on the desk, talking about wanting to knock Sonny from the top spot on the food chain of mobster organizations in the North East. He'd been playing dead for two decades now and found it tedious,.
"I haven't had a good fight in ages."
Ava no doubt picked up the wistful tone of his voice. Ava preened.
"It's been a long time since I've seen your smile Julian…"
No doubt that was true, because stripped of his identity, and even his face, he'd been forced to hide behind the persona of Derek Wells, media conglomerate raider for years while he'd been plotting his comeback. He'd been focused on the prize, to the point where he'd ridded himself of any messy romantic entanglements and thank god, unlike Ava he hadn't sired any children that he knew of during his time in exile.
"It reminds me of when you were a much younger man…"
Julian sighed, because there were years of his lie Ava hadn't been privy to, years before they had hooked up when she had approached him to fund one of her upstart galleries. She'd been in trouble back then, her world blown apart when she came to him with her outlandish claims that they shared the same father.
When he thought about being a young man, he thought about his years at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. He'd been proud to have been accepted into an Ivy League School. His old man had seemed proud.
And he thought about her again, that young boarding school girl who he'd met up with at McCoy's a bar he occasionally patronized with some of his friends. It had been too long ago.
He rose from his desk.
"Ava I think you should go…We can't be seen together or people might get suspicious…"
She threw him a piercing look and nodded.
"Of course.
As she walked towards the doorway, a woman met her at the entrance. Young, lithe with long dark hair and even darker eyes. Looking at this stranger, Julian knew his day was going to get more complicated.
Ava chuckled as she saw the expression on her brother's face as she knew that too. Really though that was his problem.
She had her own mess to fix.