Alexis found the last file she needed to review before leaving her office and heading back to her apartment.

The one that Nikolas would need to facilitate the purchase of some empty storefronts on the waterfront. He had plans to open up a youth community service there as a tax write off. She shook her head, as he'd left her as always to navigate through the complications while he jetted off on business junkets.

He'd be in town tonight picking up his award at the gala. She closed the file and leaned back in her seat rubbing the bridge of her nose.

Done, but not really in a hurry to drive home and scrounge up a wardrobe for the party. The door cracked open and she narrowed her eyes to see who dropped by. Everyone else on her floor had left earlier.

Felicia Jones.

"Hi, can I help you with anything? I'm about to leave…"

Felicia smiled and nodded.

"I know you're getting an award tonight."

As if she needed any reminding, but she forced a smile on her face.

"You can give me an excuse to get out of it," she said, "You're not getting sued or perhaps have a parking ticket that needs handling…"

Felicia shook her head, bemused.

"What's with you? You should be honored to be getting such a prestigious award. I mean Mac's picking up the law enforcement award…and he's just like you. I had to pick up his tux and drop it off at the Floating Rib…"

Alexis had to smile at that.

"That's Mac for you. He'd rather kick back with a basket of ribs and watch a rugby match."

Felicia tilted her head flipping her golden locks back.

"If he can put on a tux for one night like it's choking him out, you can knock out in a pretty dress. You do own a party dress don't you?"

Alexis made a face.

"Yes I do. I've got a collection of black dresses for the occasional Cassadine function…or funeral but other than that…"

Felicia brightened.

"There you go…well I'll see you at the hotel then," she said, "and if I do need legal services I definitely know who to call…"

Felicia flounced right out of her office and Alexis just shook her head. But her friend was right, if Mac could find it within himself to spend the evening eating overpriced food at a shindig of stuffy people, then she could as well.

After all she'd already promised Jax and she'd never let down her favorite ex-husband.


Brenda pouted as she sat on her chair in front of her fancy bureau with its oversized mirror. She'd stared into it not liking what she saw and not all the cosmetics bought from a high priced boutique on a modeling job in Paris was going to fix it. Her phone rang and she picked it up, making a face at the Caller ID.

"I know what it is…you've got a date with the gala so you can get your award tonight."

"Well actually…"

She held her hand up.

"Look Ric, I'm thrilled you got the award…no one in the industry deserves it more than you do…but I've been so busy since you've been gone and I'm going home, ordering pizza and sitting back in my Jacuzzi and watching it on television."

Brenda was intent on playing harder to get than usual.

"It's being televised?"

She sighed.

"Of course it is…the mayor's giving the keynote address…I'll be miles away applauding while you go up and get it and make your speech which I'm sure will be great."

"We only get a couple of minutes and what I have to say can be done in 30 seconds."

She rubbed her arms.

"Well then you can smile for the rest of the time…at your date."

He paused on the other end of the phone.

"That's just it…I don't have a date…"

That didn't shock her but she played the part.

"What…you don't…I don't believe it."

He sighed.

"Everyone's already got a date to the gala. If I hadn't been out of town on important business…I might have had my pick."

Brenda chuckled at the man whose narcissism matched her own and likely stemmed from similar beginnings.

"Well I'm sure you'll find someone. You've still got several hours."

She knew the silence was his mind working at asking her out. She had to say he looked damn sexy even with the cosmetic gaffes and recently discovered wrinkles that faced her in the mirror right now. That could be fixed, like magic.

The words she expected came next.

"I was thinking about asking you," he said, "Unless some lucky man's asked you already."

"You're crazy…do you know what kind of poor form it is asking a girl at the last minute?"

His voice suddenly turned cajolingly.

"Oh come on Brenda…we've still got a few hours and plenty of time for you to get ready."

She just listened to him, not moved.

"I don't have a dress….and my hair…my shoes…"

He chuckled.

"I'm sure you can dig up something lovely in that huge walk in closet of yours."

She looked at her watch.

"In three hours…"

"Really…what do I look like Cinderella?"

Ric sighed.

"A little bit…come to think of it."

She just shook her head listening to him.

"Like I said…you're crazy…giving me no notice…I've got work to do. And Cinderella please! It's not like I'm Liz Webber."

"She's going with Lucky…"

She heard the disappointment lace his voice but knew she hadn't been his first choice. He wasn't hers either so maybe they were the perfect date tonight.

""Okay…but you're going to owe me Ric."

"Did I mention there's a weekend at the hotel included…room service…unlimited spa treatments and use of the most exclusive suite."

She rolled her eyes.

"It'd be great for both of us. Come on, we both would rather be at this event with someone else but why not have some fun?"

When he put it that way…she'd have to think about it.


Alexis paced in her living room, wondering if she should just call 911 and have herself committed for 72 hour observation. Because his casual invite for her to join him at his award ceremony had been strange enough…but when he had tossed in a wardrobe, hair styling and a weekend in some posh suite, that's when she had really begun to worry about his sanity.

A delivery man had just arrived with a stack of boxes and when she asked who sent them, he shrugged and after putting them down on the sofa, handed her the paperwork to sign.

"But…"

"I didn't receive any information from my boss," the man said, "Maybe you shouldn't look a gift box…"

She arched her brows.

"That's a horse…"

He shrugged again, waiting.

"Whatever…I'm just doing my job."

She signed the paperwork and tipped him before he left her apartment, where she stared dubiously at the mysterious boxes.

Who'd sent them? She opened up the top one and found a black silk dress with spaghetti straps and as she held it against herself ended just below the knee. Another box held a pair of black killer heels in her size.

A smaller box, she parted the tissue and saw a pendant in the shape of a silver heart. She smiled touching it as she held its chain between her fingers dangling it.

She had no idea who had sent it. There hadn't been any men in her life since Ned and things had ended for him some months ago. He was spending his time busy at the office overseeing mergers and engaging in power games with A.J. and Tracy, his latest partner being an unscrupulous woman named Faith Roscoe.

Unlikely to be him and unlikely to be her ex-husband Jax because they'd never been romantically involved even while married. For both of them it'd been a business decision and a rather convoluted one to boot. There'd been times when she'd been tempted…but both she and Jax had been entangled in other relationships and respected that in their business mer…marriage.

Any itches she'd thought about scratching with him…no it'd never work between them and it might ruin their tightly wound friendship. Definitely not worth the collateral damage.

She looked at the unwrapped boxes for a note that might give her a clue as to who might have sent them…but nothing.

Still the dress looked gorgeous, and the pendant…it tugged somewhere deep inside of her. Something about it…she knew she'd be wearing it and the dress tonight.

She had a thing about solving mysteries and to unravel this one, playing along would be the first step towards solving it.


Derek sat in his office after getting off the phone with his partner who'd just closed a business deal in Singapore. He must be on a plane off to somewhere, the private jet no doubt because he could hear the roar of the engines.

Just as long as he wasn't heading to PC. Too many people would know him here and more than a few were after him…for some stunts he'd pulled in the past not being the most scrupulous of business men. No hopefully his partner would have better hobbies to pursue far away from here.

Now he just kicked back in his suite. He had returned from the gym in the building and doing some reps on the machines to take the edginess that always came with jet lag. A few rounds with the sparring bag had kept him sharp. It helped him push away the distractions and remember why he'd returned to PC at this point in time.

But one distraction remained.

It came from that woman that had been included in the media packet on tonight's award ceremony.

Not even a glass of his favored bourbon shook her from his thoughts and he didn't understand why. She was just a woman after all and there'd been a revolving door of women coming in and out of his life. None of them stayed for very long.

This whole revolving door deal with women coming in and out of his life. Because he could never get close to any of them and he'd chosen his women carefully who could accept his boundaries.

He'd made his choices in life even when he hadn't had many choices. But he knew the woman in that picture didn't suffer fools and she didn't take prisoners. Her reputation preceded her. Those eyes…for some reason he didn't believe this was the first time he'd seen them but they'd had no professional contacts, their paths had never crossed through business.

He picked up his phone to make a call.

"Hi…this is Derek Wells….yeah that Derek…I'm calling about the tuxedo that's to be delivered to my suite… …the presidential suite…. Thanks..."

He moved on down the list.

"Hi…this is Derek Wells…yeah him…I called earlier about the photographer who will be shooting at the Gala tonight…I booked him a room. Have him call me when he checks in. Thanks."

Next item…

"Hi…Derek Wells again…my suite…it's very impressive…listen…those flowers I ordered earlier…I sent some equipment and need it delivered to my suite… Thanks…"

Derek put his phone down wondering if he had covered all his bases and he checked his list. He was a man who paid great attention to details, rarely missed anything and he wanted everything to be just perfect for covering what was considered to be the event of the year in PC.


Alexis heard the phone ring in her bedroom and went to pick it up, next to a stack of unread books on her bedside table.

"Hello…"

"Oh glad to catch you…this is Pandora's Pleasure Chest…"

"Pandora's…who…what?"

"Pandora's Pleasure Chest…we're just calling you back to tell you that your costume is ready…"

"The…what…?"

"Yes, and we're sure you'll really like it, it's red hot sexy…a really good choice…"

Alexis nearly dropped the phone.

"Do you have the right number?"

"Yes…let's see…this is the residence of Alexis Davis…"

Damn, someone out there was really was up to something here which she didn't care unless it involved her…then on the other hand…curiosity won out.

"Yes…a really sexy costume?"

"Oh yes…smoking hot if we say so ourselves…wait until you see the stockings…"

Alexis sighed.

"I guess I'll have to wait until it's delivered to see it…"

She did just that, shaking her head. But then a vision flashed of her wearing that outfit in a smoky room and being pressed against the clapboard wall by a man dressed like a sheriff….or a gangster…or both…with rugged looks, dangerous shadow and a lethal pair of lips, claiming her own mouth while his hands ran her dress up her thighs until he found her garter. Would he take her right there or would she lead him up the stairs to what was waiting?

What in the hell was she thinking? This had to be Jax and one of his practical jokes he'd tried out on her while married to loosen her up. Unbound her shackles to her Cassadine heritage. Besides Luke, he was the only one entitled to that privilege.

Yes this just had to be the handiwork of her ex…now she'd have to find a way to pay him back if it took all night.


The man smiled to himself as he got off the phone after placing the orders. He turned to face the woman standing there dressed in black with the veil shielding her face.

"I've done what you asked, but you still won't tell me why."

She shook her head at him.

"It's not for you to know," she said, "Two people are going to meet tonight again and we must make sure that neither of them remember…that's it's not the first time…"

She walked to pour herself a glass of Vodka from the wet bar and sipped it slowly, savoring every drop of her heritage in a glass.