Her eyes glanced over her desk at the sound of the elevator bell. She was relieved to see it was Carly and not Jason. Elizabeth's eyes dropped back down, landing on the two silver colored roses that now stood in the vase. She let her fingers touch the petals while her mind tried to figure out who left them on her desk, let alone why.
Elizabeth heaved a sigh, grasping the telephone in her hand to straighten out her sore neck. "Look Miss Wilson, I know Mr. Corinthos got them. Yes, I saw them with my own eyes." She paused while the woman on the other end talked. "No Miss Wilson, he's not in. Yes, I will leave him a message. Ok, good bye." She let out a low growl while straightening up the remaining papers on her desk.
Carly reached the desk, slapping her hand on it to get Elizabeth's attention. "Are we ready?"
"Just let me get my purse." Elizabeth pulled open the drawer, only to be startled when Carly gasped. "What? What's wrong?" She looked up to see her new found friend smiling like a school girl.
"Who gave you the roses?" She reached over, taking the vase in her hand to bring the flowers to her nose. "Oh wow, they smell beautiful! Ok, who gave them to you?" She set them back down on the desk as Elizabeth stood up.
The smaller woman shrugged, "I don't know. They were just here." She walked with Carly down the hall to the elevator, keeping her suspicions to herself.
Carly just laughed, knowing full well it had been Jason who left those roses.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Elizabeth dropped down into the straight backed chair, huffing in exasperation. She must've tried fifteen different dresses on already, and not one was right. This one was to long, that one was too short. Too dark. Too light. Too frilly. Too plain. "I'm never going to find a dress," she muttered to herself.
She checked her watch, balked at the hour and a half that had passed since they got to Wyndam's. It was definitely an experience though, shopping with Carly. At least the fashion coordinators were kind, coming out of the background only when necessary; to bring Elizabeth and Carly tea and coffee, to find a different sized dress, or to return another monstrosity to it's rack. Elizabeth sighed again, scanning the floor for Carly, when she heard a loud scream, followed by her name.
"Elizabeth! This is it!" Carly came rushing through the maze of clothes, her hair streaming behind her in a ribbon of reddish gold silk.
Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at her new friend's attitude. "Calm down Carly," she suggested, taking the dress from her. Holding it up in front of her, Elizabeth studied it, her teeth chewing on her lip. "Carly, this is the last dress I'm trying on. If this isn't it, I'm just not going." She shrugged, waiting for the older woman to answer.
"That's fine Elizabeth, because this is it. So go, shoo!" She guided Elizabeth into the dressing room, and closed the door behind her.
Elizabeth couldn't help but smile as she walked out, swinging her hips a little, to show off her dress. "You're right Carly, this is it." She did a twirl, holding her palms up to the sky, her smile stretching from ear to ear.
Carly stood up to guide Elizabeth to the three paneled mirror. She pulled Elizabeth's curly locks back and whispered into her ear. "Jason isn't going to know what hit him."
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Elizabeth couldn't get over Carly's vivacious attitude, how utterly exhausting it could be. She watched the woman, waiting for her to tire out, but she never did. Sure, Elizabeth was as upbeat as the next person, but Carly was like a typhoon, wild and wreckless. All Elizabeth could do was try and stay one step behind the destruction.
Eating dinner at the Port Charles Grille with Carly, Elizabeth got a synopsis on all the 'it' people, most of whom Elizabeth would be meeting at the Nurse's Ball the next night. Carly made sure to point out everybody, from Ned Ashton and Chloe Morgan to the Quartermaine's newest illegitimate child, Skye Chandler.
Each table had it's own history. There was Nikolas Cassadine and his girlfriend, model, Gia Campbell. Carly explained about Nik's half brother, Lucky, being brainwashed by Nik's grandmother Helena. Lucky brain couldn't handle the overload, so he ended up jumping off the roof of General Hospital.
Carly pointed to a table near the terrace where Jax and Kimberly Jacks were sharing dinner. Carly's eyes shrunk to slits as she recounted the tale of Jax and Brenda, how she plunged off a bridge to her death. Only Jax found evidence of Brenda's existence, and left his then girlfriend Chloe to go find Brenda.
After an exhaustive search, Jax gave up hope. He stopped in France before returning to Port Charles. It was there that he met and married Kimberly. It was rumored that one night, they were playing a game, who could out last the other. Jax finally succumbed, taking Kim right there, on that table. Thankfully, the Grille was almost empty, but that didn't stop the employees from enjoying the show.
Elizabeth nearly spit out her beer at that last story, her mouth barely able to stay closed as the cold ale slid down her throat. "So let me guess, that's their table?"
Carly nodded, "After that, who would want to sit there?!" Carly winked, downing the last of her wine. Her eyes roamed the table, her hands patting her full stomach. "So you're going to come over tomorrow night, right after work? Seriously, I want to help. Not that you need any, but I want to." She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "It's been a long time since I've had a close girlfriend. I'd forgotten how much I missed that." She smiled, a sincere smile. "Check please!" she hollered as the waiter walked past the table.
Elizabeth stood up then, stretching her legs, and nearly knocked someone over. "Excuse me!" she said, looking to see who she bumped into. She found herself looking into a pair of startling gray eyes, the color of liquid mercury. "I'm sorry, I should watch where I'm going."
The owner of the eyes dusted off his coat and chuckled, "That's quite all right Miss..?" He held his hand out to her.
"Elizabeth Webber." She gave him a warm smile, her eyes memorizing his face. From the russet brown color of his hair, to his even teeth. He towered over her, intimidating her slightly. It vaguely registered in her mind that she hadn't yet let go of his hand, when Carly grabbed her arm and yanked her away.
"Mick, Mick, Mick." Carly bounced slightly with the two steps it took to close the distance between them. "What do you want Mick?" Her eyes narrowed to slits, her nostrils flaring slightly as her breath rushed in and out of her lungs.
The man chuckled, "Now, now, Mrs. Corinthos. This is one of the
better places in Port Charles to have dinner. Is that a crime?"
Elizabeth noticed the thick ring on his pinky finger, the way the onyx
stone gleamed in the lights. She drew her eyes up, her hair standing
on end as she registered the look the man was giving Carly, vicious and
predatory.
"Carly, let's go. I'm ok." She tugged on the woman's arm, urging her to leave. Having spoken up, Elizabeth once again caught the man's attention.
"Miss Webber, I'm so sorry Mrs. Corinthos here didn't properly introduce us." He held out his hand again, but this time Elizabeth refused it. He shrugged slightly, a smirk on his face. "I'm Mitchell Mendoza, but you can call me Mick." The words seemed to ooze out of his mouth like molten lava, giving Elizabeth a severe case of goose bumps.
She pulled on Carly again, grabbing their purses from the table. "I wish I could say it was nice to meet you, Mr. Mendoza, but then I'd be lying."
Carly chuffed at the remark and patted Mick on the stomach before they left.
Once they were in the limousine, Elizabeth asked Carly what that was all about.
Carly just waved her hand in the air, "Oh nothing, he's just trying
to horn in on Sonny's business." She failed to mention that it wasn't
coffee business he was after.