ABC/DISNEY owns GH. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 38

"We are here Ms. Webber." Sal said from the front of the SUV. After a very relaxed breakfast with Jason, she had set out to see the decorator. The guys had run the lady yesterday, since she was the same woman who had decorated for Carly no one was expecting any surprises. They didn't get any so an appointment was set up.

They parked in the rear of the building, and Elizabeth would entire through the back door. Pulling out of the compound they had to contend with a pack of photographers, but the windows on the SUV were tinted so no one got any pictures.

"The area is clear so we can head in." Jimmy reported, he was one of the local crew. Today he was acting as the driver.

Both guards got out, Jimmy knocked on the door to the office, while Sal assisted Elizabeth from the car. The second her feet touched the ground he got a feeling they were being watched. Looking around Sal saw a guy in a tree with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens, the guard shifted to block his view. "Go in."

Elizabeth did as instructed, she could guess why Sal shifted his position. Today she was dressed in a light sundress. Nothing super fancy, but dressier than her shorts. The vibrant blue dress had butterflies adorning the hem and bodice. It made her feel pretty. But at the same time it kept her covered. She didn't like appearing in the paper in shorts, for some reason it made her feel exposed. The constant press interest was one part of this life she would never get used to. "Thanks guys." Elizabeth remarked when the door closed. Jimmy was on the phone and she guessing the photographer would be gone when they left.

"Ms. Webber." An older woman was standing there smiling. "I'm Betsy Chilson." This was her design firm. Betsy only saw select clients leaving the bulk of her business to the staff. Jason Morgan was a VIP customer so he got her full attention. Or in this case his girlfriend did. Spotting the ring she mentally adjusted the title to fiancée.

"Ms. Chilson, thank you for the last minute appointment." Elizabeth said shaking the designer's hand.

"Please call me Betsy, and you are welcome. We did the original design job, so I'm familiar with the house." She wasn't sure that was a ringing endorsement, she had tried to talk Mrs. Corinthos out of the furnishings she selected.

Elizabeth bit back a remark about Carly's design tastes. "Well hopefully you'll be able to help me as well."

"We can talk further in my office." Betsy led the way back. "Will your associates be joining us?"

Elizabeth looked over to Sal. "We can wait in the outer office, please leave the door open." He requested.

"That's fine." Betsy commented. "Can I get you a beverage?"

"No, thank you." Elizabeth looked around the office trying to get a sense of the designer's taste. While the space would be professional, to not scare off clients, it would also have personal touches.

"What can I do for you?" Betsy asked getting down to business.

"I'd like to do an almost total redesign of the compound." Elizabeth didn't need to say which one. "Paint, and furnishings. I will add personal touches later." Just like with the penthouse it would take time to find the right pieces.

"What were you thinking?" Betsy said getting out a legal pad.

"Tropical." Elizabeth said smiling. "We are on an island. So the house should reflect that."

The older woman smiled wide for the first time since greeting Elizabeth. This was going to go much better than the last time. Despite being younger clearly Jason's fiancée had much better taste than Sonny's wife. "Would you be interested in local items, or shipping things in?"

"Local, as much as possible. The only room I'm leaving untouched is the kitchen." Elizabeth explained further. "Work would start after we leave, and I can be reached by phone or email. I can return if necessary, but I'd rather not until the work is finished."

"Really?" Betsy was surprised by that. Most people who spent this type of money wanted to micromanage.

"Today we can lay down the groundwork for the house, and I was told we would go to some shops." The designer nodded so Elizabeth kept going. "Once we have a firm direction, I'll leave the rest to you. Artist wither under constant scrutiny. If we can't agree on a direction today, then I'll know you aren't the design firm I need." The businesses they visited would be telling.

"Fair enough. I faxed a list of the shops over yesterday. Will I ride with you?" Betsy wanted to know.

"I need to check with Sal, but I'm guessing so. You will want to bring sunglasses, the flashbulbs are killer." Elizabeth warned. The woman was sure to get all kinds of free press from today. "Let me go ask."

"I'll get my bag." Betsy said her hopes for this appointment soaring.

"Good morning Mr. Morgan." Eric Jackson, the General Manager of the casino, greeted his boss as he stepped out of the limo.

"Eric." Jason greeted the older man and ignored the press. Since he normally did the inspections the two men knew each other well. "How is your family?"

"They are well, thank you for asking." Eric said as they moved into the building. Jason never failed to inquire about them. "I have everything set up, and Ms. Miller is already here."

Jason nodded. Diane had flown in earlier this morning. After the inspection she would fly back. Jason always offered her the option to stay, like he did her uncles. She never did, just like her uncles. "Then I'll leave her to that, and we can get to the tour of the facilities."

"Sounds good." Eric said leading the way to the lower level. Jason liked to start downstairs and work his way up. During the inspection he would stop and speak to some employees. Not ones pre-picked, he didn't want canned answers. Jason wanted to know what they thought of the work conditions. Any complaints would be immediately addressed. The same was true if he felt the employees could be made more comfortable in anyway. Jason was a good man to work for.

Betsy did indeed ride with Elizabeth in the company car. Once inside the vehicle she made some adjustments to the list. She immediately removed four shops, because they wouldn't work for this client. She added two more, and Sal explained they could visit them last, as they needed to be run first.

"Why are we not visiting those stores?" Elizabeth wanted to know.

"I wasn't sure what your design aesthetic was so I decided to cover the gamut in terms of selection. Those merchants tend toward a more modern style. We can certainly visit them, but I don't want to waste your time with things outside the parameters you set." Betsy explained.

"Alright." Elizabeth could always pop in on her own time. For now she would trust the professional.

"This is the first stop ladies." Sal said as they parked. He was kind of sorry Jason wasn't here. He had heard about the trip to furnish the penthouse, it would be fun to watch Jason in action.

"Thank you Sal." Elizabeth said as they got out.

Betsy noted another difference between this new client and Carly. The blonde woman never thanked her staff for anything. "So most people automatically think wicker when they think tropical design, and that can be the case, but I think colorful, spacious, and streamlined. No clutter to stress you. Just enough furniture to be comfortable. You want rooms that feel airy. Bold colors as accents with earth tones as your base. For example a dark wood frame for your couch, with rich colorful cushions."

Elizabeth pulled up a picture of her patio. "Like this?"

"That is a lovely space." Betsy said nodding. "Relaxing and inviting. Is this from a magazine?" She often had back issues of design periodicals to inspire her clients.

"No, it's my patio back home." Elizabeth explained. "I decorated it myself."

"If you did that, you don't need me." The decorator was impressed.

"I won't be here, so yes I do." Elizabeth told her.

"Fair enough. Let's walk through the shop and you can tell me what catches your eye." Betsy suggested. When Elizabeth nodded as she looked around they walked over to the first area to get her attention.

It wasn't quite one when Jason stepped into the conference room where Diane had a temporary office set up. The stylish CPA monitored the books from Port Charles, but an on-site inspection was done twice a year. "How are you?" Jason asked taking a seat.

"Good." Diane said looking up from her spreadsheet. It had only been a few days since he arrived, but Jason was already looking more rested. "And yourself?"

"Good." Jason replied. "How does everything look?"

"Perfectly balanced." Diane said smiling, because that was how she liked it. The casino was one hundred percent legit, now, which meant it was more likely to be the place someone stole from. Only an idiot stole from the place Jason, and his former partner, laundered their money through. The casino used to be a front until Jason switched it to the coffee business. It just made more sense because all those warehouses were in Port Charles and easier to keep control of.

"Good. Did Johnny come down with you?" Jason wanted to know. His head of security would do spot checks of those systems several times a year.

"No, he said it was too obvious a move to come down the same time I did." Diane passed along. "Cody came down though, he is checking up on Sal and the security at the house. He should be arriving here shortly."

"Are you ready for lunch?" Jason knew Elizabeth was stopping to eat soon. He had checked in with Sal who said things were going smoothly.

"I am." Diane just needed to finish up what she was doing now. After lunch she would come back. The plane taking her and Cody back to Port Charles was leaving at nine, so they would eat dinner on the island as well.

"Let me see where everyone else is." Jason stood up and moved down the table to make his calls.

Jason decided to kill two birds with one stone. Since it was now dinner time, and Diane and Cody were still here he suggested they all go out to dinner. This would be their second, and final, time out in the public eye while on the island. That meant tomorrow they could stay in. And on Friday sight see a bit before jetting off to Miami. He told his girl his plan, and she gave her approval. After the boat ride she asked that they spend most of the rest of time close to the house. They could do all the touristy things the next time down, she wanted this visit to be as stress free as possible. Still he wanted to show her a few things.

Diane was upstairs with Elizabeth so the guys were free to talk. "What's happening back home?" He hadn't gotten any calls so nothing major had occurred.

"Robin is laying low, after getting served. Mac did his best to get the order over turned, but it's not happening. The judge decided that if the AMA was worried, that was good enough for him." Cody reported. "Courtney is dating."

"Really, who?" Jason wished whoever it was a lot of luck. Talking with the blonde was painful at best. Although he had been wondering if she was as vapid as she seemed after what Johnny said the night Carlos died. Jason was starting to suspect she had been playing them a good portion of the time.

"Andrew Domman. He was a low level runner for Lorenzo Alcazar. He tried to get a job with us, but we passed." Cody passed along. "He's a little too eager to be in this life." Which meant he'd be the kind of guy to throw his weight around and draw attention to himself. Which could bring trouble to the organization. "Hector Rivera has also passed, the kid works as a bouncer at the same club Courtney used to dance at. We are still watching."

Jason nodded. He didn't like all this waiting, but at the same time he wasn't eager for something to happen. No security was foolproof, and he didn't want his girl hurt. "What is your opinion? Do you still think it's one of them?"

"It has to be, nothing else makes sense." Cody told his boss. His instincts were saying they were looking in the right place. "No one is slacking off."

"I know." Jason knew his guys were doing everything they could to insure Elizabeth's safety. Before he could speak again they heard the ladies voices so both men stood. Tonight the dress was wearing a bold yellow and caught the light when she moved. The heels were high again, but this time black, and her hair was in soft waves. Jason wondered how she managed to look more beautiful every single time he saw her. "Ladies, you look lovely."

"I look lovely." Diane said grinning. "Elizabeth looks divine. Gia made a very wise decision agreeing to Claudia's request for a wardrobe."

"She did get paid." Jason pointed out. From time spent around Carly he understood how the designer/client relationship worked. Gia gave them a steep discount in exchange for free press.

"I know, I do the books." Diane said laughing.

"Hi Cody." Elizabeth hadn't known he was here until she arrived at the casino for lunch. "So where are we eating tonight?" There wouldn't be any fun on the limo ride back home with their friends along.

"A steak house." Jason said as he took his girls hand in his and headed to the door. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks. I'm not sure I could have warn this back home, but here on the island it works well." Elizabeth admitted.

"On you it would have worked well anywhere." Jason said watching her blush a bit more at his compliment. Tomorrow couldn't come soon enough, he was looking forward to having her all to himself.

Thanks for the reviews!