Chapter 4

Harbor View Towers, Penthouse 2

"Wait, wait, wait," Maxie frowned, lifting her head from the couch arm and looking up at Spinelli as he paced back and forth behind the couch. "You actually asked if he was sleeping with Claudia Zacharra?"

"Erm, well…" He scratched his head in confusion as he sat down on the back of the couch. "I thought if Stone Cold knew that I knew about his extracurricular activities-"

"He doesn't want anyone to know," she cried, pulling herself up on the couch and tucking her legs beneath her. "You know nothing about having affairs."

"Stone Cold is not-"

"What did he say?" she interrupted, rolling her eyes.

Even if her best friend couldn't see it, all of the signs were there. He was sneaking away each time his cell phone rang and wearing secretive smiles, not to mention he'd been asking them how they were each time he'd seen them in the last week. She just couldn't shake the creepy feeling she got when Jason Morgan smiled at her, and she wondered if he ever did that to the men he went after. It was surely enough to stop them in their tracks.

There were also the subtle clues left everywhere. Last week, he'd put on a tuxedo in honor of his sister and tonight he was going to wear one to the Nurse's Ball. When Maxie asked him who he was dressing up for, he'd smirked and disappeared upstairs, and that smirk had been worth a thousand words.

And a single possibility.

Maxie knew the face of a satisfied man, and Jason Morgan definitely fit into that category. Coffee beans did not a make a man that happy, and neither did the power and money that came with being the don of Port Charles, unless you were Sonny Corinthos, but Jason never required his ego to be stroked as much as his former boss. No, he most definitely needed other things stroked to stay happy, and she wasn't going to complain. The personality shift was just going to take some getting used to.

"Stone Cold said he was, in fact, not sleeping with Vixenella," he answered, like that was supposed to make some kind of difference.

"Just because someone says they aren't sleeping with someone doesn't mean it's not true," she replied matter-of-factly, placing a hand against her chest. "I should know."

"Besides," she continued, brushing her hair from her face. "Claudia is the ideal woman for a man like Jason. She's just as cold and cruel, and she lives the same lifestyle, so why-" She paused when Jason came down the stairs, his tuxedo bag in hand.

He glared at them at the sudden silence as he tossed the bag onto the desk and picked up the landline. Leave it to Jason to make such a brooding entrance, though she didn't want it any other way. Why have someone around who could steal any of her thunder?

"I won't be making it tonight," he murmured into the receiver, scratching a hand over his brow as he glanced at them from the corner of his eye. "What? Yeah, take the night off and go to the ball with Diane. Huh? No, no, just make some kind of donation in my name, Max. Yeah, I've got other plans."

With that he hung up the phone and started to head back upstairs, but Maxie was never one to bite her tongue.

"You're not going to the Nurse's Ball?" she asked curiously, drumming her fingers on the back of the couch. Spinelli winced at her question, but she just rolled her eyes. "I knew seeing Jason Morgan in a tuxedo twice in one month was just too good to be true."

He scowled as he leaned against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, his gaze on Spinelli. "Make her stop listening to my phone calls."

"Stone Cold, the Fair Maximista meant no harm. Perhaps, she was looking forward to seeing you all…" His voice trailed off when he realized his defense wasn't coming off the way he wanted.

"You don't have to defend me," she said, pushing herself up from the couch as she walked over to Jason. "If you don't want people to listen, maybe you should have had the conversation in a more private setting."

"I left my cell phone…" Groaning, he shook his head, and glared at Spinelli. "Kitchen now, please."

Maxie laughed, wondering just where he had left his cell phone, and she would have asked if the two men hadn't hurried out of the room. Jason snarled over his shoulder that Maxie should remain behind.

"Men are so stupid," she muttered, waltzing over to Jason's desk and tugging the zipper down on the bag.

She wasn't sure what she expected to find, but it seemed a likely place to hide something. Spinelli was so damn persistent that Jason wasn't sleeping with Claudia, and maybe he was right seeing as he was Jason's best friend and all, but the kingpin was definitely sleeping with someone.

Sighing heavily at the sight of a tuxedo and nothing more, she zipped the bag closed and looked around the penthouse. She couldn't remember ever being alone before and imagined that Jason had all kinds of secrets in his closets – not that she necessarily wanted to find them, but she didn't think he'd hide dead bodies under the couch or anything.

Or at least she hoped.

They would stink up the place, even if he plastic wrapped them or something. It wasn't very mob-like of him to store bodies where he slept anyway. They probably kept a crypt or used the harbor, and ew, she felt dirty just thinking about it.

"She has to stop being so damn nosey!" Jason barked from the kitchen, and Maxie bit back a snicker as Spinelli told him this was just how she was and he wasn't going to make her leave.

"Ha, Morgan," she murmured, pulling open one of his desk drawers and poking around.

She was disappointed to find that he literally had nothing but office supplies; some pens, post-its, a hole punch. None of which seemed likely for him to use. However, this was Jason Morgan, and if MacGyver could surely make a bomb from a paper clip and a roll of duct tape, he could surely kill someone with a post-it. She might be inclined to see such an incident, but considering what would most likely entail afterwards, she'd rather not.

"I know you like her, and she's your friend, but this is my home too," Jason argued, his voice booming through the penthouse. She wondered if he wanted her to hear this, that maybe if Maxie thought she was breaking up the two boys she'd be kinder.

Oh, please.

Grinning, Maxie slipped something from the desk drawer and pushed it closed with her hip. She tossed the keys to his Escalade around in her hands, trying to remember something she'd read in one of those PI books of Spinelli's. Something about a glove box being a goldmine of information? If only she'd paid attention about note taking and all that in school.

"Whatever, I am not arguing about this anymore. Just keep her in your bedroom or something," Jason growled, and Spinelli started to spit and sputter in response, starting the fight all over again.

Maxie huffed under her breath as she tucked the keys into her pocket, fighting the urge to march into the kitchen and tell Jason she wasn't a damn dog that could be kept in a cage. Instead, she tipped her head towards the closet door, remembering more of that article.

"Spinelli!" Jason shouted, and she giggled as she envisioned the vein in his neck popping out.

"Let's see," she said, easing the door open carefully as if they could hear the creaking over their voices.

Her eyes quickly roamed over the shelf that was stacked with boxes, probably containing guns, or worse, body parts, so she sure as hell wasn't going there.

"Perfect," she whispered, her eyes landing on Jason's token leather jacket that he never went without.

Pausing to make sure they were still arguing, she desperately searched the pockets, groaning when she found nothing, but then realized there was probably a pocket on the inside.

"Bingo," she grinned, slipping his wallet from the pocket and kicking the door closed just as the men came rushing back into the living room.

"You boys aren't breaking up, are you?" she asked, clutching the wallet safely behind her back.

"Just stay out of my shit," Jason growled, gently shoving her aside to jerk open the closet door and grab his jacket. "Don't listen to my shit, and don't lay your damn hands on it."

"You have a nice day too," she sang sweetly, turning to follow him and hide the wallet as he headed out of the penthouse, slamming the door behind him.

"The Jackal wishes to apologize for all that the Fair Maximista may have overheard. Stone Cold just isn't used to having the opposite sex around and it makes him quite inept-"

"Yeah, whatever," she cut him off, rushing over to the door and flicking the lock.

"Oh. My. God," Spinelli cried, clasping a hand over his mouth. "Please tell me that is not Stone Cold's well-worn, leather wallet in your grasp."

"Don't act so innocent," she replied, rolling her eyes as she leaned against the desk and opened it up. "I told you, I've read some of that stuff you always have lying around, and if you want to figure out if Jason is really screwing Claudia Zacharra, this is a sure-fire way."

"Fair Maximista, the Jackal doesn't know whether or not he should be disturbed by your sudden interest in Stone Cold's extracurricular activities," he said, clenching his fists and frowning as she slid several cards from the pockets.

"So, we've got a driver's license – goodness, what a terrible picture," she murmured, barely hearing a word her friend was saying. "Credit cards – ooo, an American Express Black card, what I wouldn't give for one of these. Do you think Jason would notice if I borrowed this and went to the boutique at the Metro Court? Does he even check his bills?"

"Maximista, you-"

"I imagine with as much money as he keeps in that damn shiny clip of his, he probably just signs a check and mails it off without thinking," she said, flipping through a never-ending stack of credit cards.

"You cannot possiblly steal Stone Cold's card and-"

"Relax," she interrupted, waving her hand at him. "I am not going shopping on his dime, though it's not like he doesn't owe me a shopping spree or two." She grunted, flashing Spinelli his concealed weapons license. "How many guns does he carry at one time? And where?"

He gasped, holding his clenched fists to his mouth, unable to respond.

"I was just curious," she shrugged, sliding the cards back into their places and fanning the wallet open.

"I don't know what the Maximista expects to find," Spinelli said, his eyes widening as something fell from the wallet, but she failed to notice. "I, uh, I told you that Stone Cold is not sleeping with Vixenella-"

"Well, he's having sex with someone," she murmured, holding up a condom – not Enduro.

"Perhaps Stone Cold just wishes to be prepared."

She grunted, shaking her head. "Oh, Spinelli, a man like Jason doesn't carry around condoms and not use them."

He frowned, not sure how to reply and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Hey, what have you got there!" she exclaimed, glancing down at her friend as he stooped to pick up what had fallen out.

Spinelli's eyes widened and he quickly folded it in half, stuffing it in his pants before Maxie could take it.

"What the hell?" she cried, her hands on her hips.

"It is not something Maximista should ever see," he replied seriously, folding his arms across his chest.

He looked at her so intensely she was suddenly afraid, and scolded herself for ever stealing the mobster's wallet in the first place. God, she was such an idiot. Who knew what Spinelli was holding? It was probably some dirty photograph of the last guy Jason killed or maybe it was someone with a hit.

"Oh, god," she cried, when she heard keys in the lock.

She tossed the wallet to Spinelli, who immediately jumped back, then forward to catch it at the same time as Maxie. They slammed against one another, and somehow Maxie ended up below Spinelli on the floor, the wallet pressed into the small of her back, just as the door swung open.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Jason hissed, glaring at them in their disheveled state.

"Oh, well," Maxie murmured, giggling through her nerves, having never been so relieved to appear in such a situation. "We were just, uh…"

Actually, it may have been the first time that a man had been on top of her and she wasn't seducing him, and that brought all kinds of amusement to her, but she didn't have a chance to laugh because Spinelli was scurrying off of her. He not so subtly slid his hand beneath her, and she arched her hips up off the floor as he slid Jason's wallet into her back pocket.

"Forgive me, Maximista," Spinelli panted, trying to catch a breath as panic spread over his face.

"It's okay," she purred, reaching out to touch his arm. "I know you can't resist me."

"I can't find my wallet," Jason muttered, pushing past them and hurrying up the stairs. "She needs to be gone soon."

Maxie didn't even have to bite back a reply because she was too horrified to say anything. "Here," she said, pulling the wallet from her back pocket and handing it to Spinelli.

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"First, put whatever thing fell out of it back in there, and then…throw it on the closet floor. He'll think it fell out," she said, wiping her hands on her jeans as if to get rid of what she'd just done. "I have to go get ready for the Nurse's Ball. I'll see you later."

She grabbed her purse and hurried out of the penthouse, leaving Spinelli alone to fend for himself.

Sighing, he slipped the folded up photograph from his pocket, opening it briefly to smile sadly at the picture of Elizabeth and Jake, before stuffing it into the wallet. Doing just as Maxie suggested, he opened the closet door and tossed it on the floor.

"Did you find it?" Jason asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Uh, yeah, I was just, uh, the floor," he replied, leaning over and picking it up.

"Thanks," Jason replied, grabbing the wallet and heading for the door. He stopped briefly, looking over at Spinelli. "Don't ever have sex on my floor."

Harbor View Towers, Parking Garage

Maxie winced as she scraped her elbow against something jagged in the back of Jason's black Escalade. She let out a low gasp, craning her neck to peer over the back seat at the guard as he started the engine. She'd waited patiently for Jason to come down to the garage, hop on his bike, and peel out – going dangerously fast and without a helmet. For someone who had hurt his head in a car accident, he didn't seem to care much about the possibility of it happening again.

But whatever, it was his choice.

She'd waited an additional ten minutes to make sure he wasn't coming back before climbing into his SUV and closing the door behind her. She dug through the glove box that was stuffed with papers and receipts – one for a room at the Metro Court and another for a tab at Jake's, and she shoved them all into her purse for later inspection, doubting that Jason would miss them that much.

Thankfully the windows were so tinted that the guard hadn't noticed Maxie as he approached, giving her time to climb over the back seat and hurl herself into the very back, injuring her elbow in the process. In retrospect, she should have told Spinelli what she was doing, even if he would have tried to stop her. But now that she was sitting in the back of an SUV going God knows where, she really wished her best friend had been beside her.

"Oh, hell," she whispered, when the radio came on, first blaring classical music and then changing to something that sounded very much like Britney Spears, but she figured it was probably that damn Miley Cyrus.

That girl was such a whore.

Leave it to Jason to employ a bodyguard who was just as much on the Disney train as the rest of America. Seriously, didn't he do background checks on these men? She untangled her purse from beneath her and dug through it for her cell phone, immediately sending a text message to Spinelli.

HELP NOW!!

She cringed as the radio became louder, the speaker blaring right next to her ear, and she barely heard her cell phone ringing.

"Spinelli!" she hissed, pressing the phone against her ear. "You shouldn't have called me!"

"You needed help," he replied, and she could barely hear him. "So the Jackal-"

"I'm stuck in the back of Jason's SUV and some damn guard is listening to Disney music and-"

"Why are you in the back of-"

"Well, I decided like his wallet to check his car, and I found some hotel stuff, but oh God, what was I thinking? This PI stuff is getting me into trouble, and it's entirely your fault!" she spat, as the car lurched to a sudden stop.

She knew what was happening the second the radio shut off and the driver door slammed shut. She snapped her phone closed and started to climb over the back of the seat, but the trunk opened before she could and the guard grabbed her by the legs, tugging her out of it.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" she screamed, kicking him in the groin as she slid out. "Grabbing a poor, defenseless woman like that!"

"Maxie," the man groaned, clutching himself and falling to the ground.

"Milo!" she cried, dropping to her knees when she recognized the guard. "Oh, gosh. I hope I didn't hurt you too badly." He glared at her, his face beet red. "Well, that look leaves a lot to be desired, and how in the hell did you hear me over that terrible music?"

"It's part of being a good guard," he replied, pushing himself to his feet and smacking her hands away. "What were you doing in Jason's car?"

"Oh, well, you know…" Her phone rang and she quickly hit ignore, knowing it was Spinelli. "Milo, come on. Do you really have to ask?"

"Yeah, you broke into Jason's SUV, and I don't even want to know how or why, and I'm going to have to report-"

"But you can't!" she cried, holding a hand over her mouth as panic set in. Milo wasn't the smartest man she knew, and there had to be some way she could work him. "Please, it would just be so embarrassing."

"Or Jason would finally ban you from the penthouse like he's wanted to do for months now."

Her mouth fell open in disgust, and she planted her hands firmly on her hips. "Well too bad. I'm not going anywhere, and you sure as hell aren't going to tell him I was in his car."

"What makes you so sure?" he asked, arching his eyebrows.

Sighing, Maxie took a deep breath and lunged forward, throwing her arms around the guard's neck and kissing him hard. "I think that will do," she replied sweetly, grinning as he looked down at her with wide eyes. He looked stunned, drunk even, and she couldn't help but laugh. "And if not, I'll just tell everyone – Jason, your brother, all the stupid guards, even that dreadful Lulu – that you like Miley Cyrus."

His face turned red with embarrassment, and he started to argue, but stopped when Maxie started ranting again. "Spinelli could put this all over the web. Could you imagine?" she asked, holding up her cell phone. "I may have even recorded a bar or two, and once I pass it on to him, all the guys you work with will have it as their ring tone for you."

"Point taken, Maxie," he hissed, slamming the trunk closed. "If I catch you near this car again, I'm telling Jason."

"I can agree to that," she replied, knowing she would never climb inside one of his cars – or anything belonging to Jason for that matter – for as long as she lived. Milo held out his hand. "What?"

"The keys that you somehow stole – Does Spinelli know about-"

"No," she interrupted, digging through her purse for the keys. "He doesn't. So don't you dare go blaming this on him or else I'll be forced to say things you won't like." Rolling his eyes, he started to grab the keys, but she jerked them away. "Do we have an understanding?"

"Yes," he snarked, and she dropped the keys into his hand. He turned away and hurried back to the car and climbed inside. "I understand that you were in Jason's car and you weren't supposed to be, so you can understand why I think you need to get your own ride home."

"Milo!" she shouted, chasing after the SUV as he peeled away from the corner, leaving her to realize that she was just on the outskirts of town, entirely too far to walk. "I am going to get you for this, you asshole!"

Gritting her teeth, she paced back and forth for a few minutes, not sure exactly what to do when her phone rang. "Spinelli!" she cried, relieved that for once his incessant calling paid off. "Get your butt into your car immediately! Milo just dumped me on the side of the road at the bottom of the cliffs, and if I walk back to town in my new Jimmy Choos they'll be completely ruined, and I won't have time to get ready for the Nurse's Ball."

She hung up before he could reply, tossing her phone back into her purse as she settled down on a somewhat clean patchy area of grass. At least she was wearing blue jeans and not some fabulous skirt that cost a fortune.

Oh, she was going to make that stupid guard pay!

"Well," she said, pulling out the wad of papers she'd taken from Jason's glove box.

It was mostly receipts like she saw when she first opened the glove box, and it wasn't like it was important to see what Jason was buying from the pharmacy – though she couldn't help but notice that yes, he was buying condoms in bulk.

"Not having sex," she huffed, wondering if she would ever be able to break down Spinelli's innocence without throwing him down on the couch and taking it from him. "Huh."

She quickly forgot about stealing her best friend's innocence when she noticed a used hot chocolate packet amidst all the papers and a folded up handwritten note. Thank you for always thinking of me and know that I am always thinking of you. The scrawl looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place it, and the words told her nothing, except that someone did in fact love Jason Morgan. And despite the fact that he was a big annoying ogre, she couldn't help but think that it was a little sweet.

Because even ogres needed to be loved.