Pg12

Another packed day ahead, Elizabeth is confused when she gets a call from Johnny that she had to push back her first stop for a trip to the main warehouse to sign for a shipment that she wasn't at all expecting. Confused and curious about what he was talking about, she gets dressed and heads down to the lobby to meet up with him and Cody, going straight to the main warehouse.

"Morning, Francis," Elizabeth greets the man when they get to the warehouse. "I'm told I have a shipment waiting for me."

"Oh, hey, Liz," Francis replies, hugging her in greeting before gesturing for her to follow him. "Yeah, I just got off the phone with Giambetti to confirm the portion of the shipment was meant for you because it made no sense otherwise."

"What do you mea..." she starts to question when her eyes land on exactly what he meant. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, it's perfectly fine," Francis assures her. "He was smart to send it this way. If he hadn't, it probably wouldn't have gotten here in time for your fundraiser."

"Yeah and that would make sense if I was expecting anything for it," Elizabeth sighs, swearing she should have known better than to tell him about the fundraiser, knowing him to go above and beyond always. "I was just going to use my backlog for the event, but I guess this works, too."

"Giambetti defines go big or go home," Johnny laughs, knowing that this was right in the man's alley.

"Anyway, just let me know where you want it and I'll have the collection moved out in no time," Francis says as he hands her the list detailing her portion of the shipment. "We'll also be sure to handle it all with care. I know how fragile these things can be."

"Thanks, Francis, really," Elizabeth says gratefully, handing him the list once she's looked it all over, not at all surprised that every piece is from a different artist that has had art displayed in the Giambetti gallery. "The event is being held at the Port Charles Hotel's midnight ballroom. If you can have it all brought there, I'll call my grandmother and let her know you're on your way. She'll be able to direct your team better as to where each piece will go."

"Sounds good," Francis accepts. "I'll take care of it."

Taking one last long look at the collection, she shakes her head slightly before thanking Francis once more and heading out to her next stop of the day, being sure to call her grandmother on the way to avoid any mix-ups. Explaining what happened and that Francis would be heading her way with an entire collection of artwork, Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at her grandmother's confidence that she had it all under control. The woman defines going with the flow to a tee.

With that taken care of, Elizabeth turns her focus to the diner and bar, today being the last day it's to be shut down for renovations. Thanks to Johnny and Cody, they were able to get the upgraded shelving behind the bar installed with every other shelf designated for each shift respectively. So, when they do the switch off from diner to bar, all they have to do is shut every other shudder and open the previously closed ones. Now to do a walk-through of the place and ensure it's all set for tomorrow.

"Jake..." Elizabeth drags out her name as she walks up to Jake outside putting up a display box of sorts. "What's that?"

"You like it?" Jake smirks, closing the display and locking it before stepping back. "I had it custom-made especially for the blonde from hell."

"I...have no words," Elizabeth replies as she takes in the permanent ban list that she created in time for the reopening tomorrow, quite a big picture of Carly right at the top. A few others with much smaller photos are listed below. "You sure know how to pick 'em."

"Thanks," Jake says with pride. "I made sure to get her worst angle. Fitting for the queen witch herself, if I do say so myself."

"She's gonna hate that so much," Elizabeth says with a laugh. "It's perfect."

"Couldn't agree more," Jake replies. "Come on, let's get started, I'm sure you've got more than enough on your plate today."

"That I do," Elizabeth admits, following her into the bar. "Jason should be home sometime today, so, we'll both be here for the reopening."

"Exactly what I wanted to hear," Jake says, guiding her to the bar so she can get the best look at the place overall. "Be honest, what do you think?"

"I think you definitely made the right choice in sectioning off the pool tables," Elizabeth comments. "It definitely ties the place together."

Walking through the place, they go over everything, making small revisions here and there to get the place exactly where Jake wants it. In all honesty, Elizabeth's surprised that they were able to make such drastic changes to the bar in the short amount of time that Jake was able to shut down without affecting profits.

Elizabeth has spent nearly every waking moment in the bar, putting in almost as much work as Jake as far as the decorating and designing of the menu goes, with not a single ounce of regret whatsoever. All in all, this was a passion project for Elizabeth and she was more than happy to put in whatever hours were needed to see it come to fruition.

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Heading home straight from the airport, wanting nothing more than to wash the stench of the job from his body and track down his girlfriend, Jason stops in his tracks at the sight of Vincent at the door of his penthouse. Glancing from his place to Sonny's, he lets out a sigh and pivots to Sonny's penthouse instead. Looks like he's going to take that debriefing before he gets washed up.

"Jason," Sonny greets him when he walks through the door. "You know the debriefing can wait until you've washed up."

"What did your wife do this time?" Jason counters, not even bothering with pleasantries.

"What makes you..."

"Sonny," Jason cuts him off. "Just tell me now so I can get washed up."

Dropping all pretenses, Sonny moves to pour himself a glass of whiskey before gesturing to Jason to take a seat, this was going to be a long one. He knows that he promised Jason that he'd keep Carly in check while he was gone, but it wasn't like they both didn't know it was a hunk of bull the moment it left his lips.

Listening as Sonny lays out all of Carly's latest hare-brained schemes, not at all surprised that she would go so low to get her point across. Getting Elizabeth banned from a few places is bad enough but manageable, nothing that Jason can't get reversed or amended, but the other little crap she has pulled is pushing Jason onto another plane of anger.

"Keys," Jason states, rising to his feet. "Where are they?"

"She won't get her hands on them again," Sonny counters. "You know me having it is a security measure..."

"When I lived alone, I don't anymore," Jason corrects. "I want the keys. Now."

Rising to his feet, Sonny walks over to the desk by the door and unlocks the center drawer to retrieve the keys to Jason's penthouse, handing it over without another word. Keys in hand, Jason turns and walks out of Sonny's place, leaving talk of business for another time. He knew that Sonny wouldn't be able to control Carly in the slightest, he just never thought that Carly would take his spare keys and do what she did to his place.

Sending Vincent back to his previous station, Jason unlocks his penthouse and makes his way inside, letting out a low sigh as he takes in the state of the living room. Spotting a note on the desk, he lifts it up, finding it's from his girlfriend, who clearly knew that he was going to be home sometime before she returned.

I know the place
looks a mess right now,
but I'll take care of it
when I get home.

Love you,
-Elizabeth

Knowing her days have not only been filled with Carly's idiocy but also her packed schedule with preparations for her gallery, Jason disregards her note and gets started cleaning up their home. Throwing his jacket along with his used clothes in his go bag into the wash, Jason grabs a trash bag to clear up the living room. How Carly thought that she would get away with trashing his place and pass it off as Elizabeth's neglect is just beyond him.

He knows that she was probably banking on Elizabeth's packed schedule factoring into things, but it was purely stupid on her part to think he'd be upset with Elizabeth in any capacity over it. Even if it had been Elizabeth who had put the penthouse into disarray, he'd simply clean it up once he was home and that would be that.

Just as he was finishing bagging up the trash, Jason's attention is brought to two bags sitting by the pool table, small notes attached to each. One is labeled as fixable while the other's labeled trashed. Opening the bags, a slew of curse words escape his lips when he finds both bags filled with Elizabeth's clothes. The fixable bag holds clothes covered in paint while the trashed bag holds clothes that are shredded as well as covered in paint.

Carly truly doesn't know when to stop and she's going to learn this lesson harder than any other lesson she's been forced to swallow. Jason has always paid her back in the same fashion as her hare-brained schemes which means that she will feel the pain of losing a lot of her one-of-a-kind pieces in her wardrobe. Especially when he places a call to Benny to put a hold on her cards as well as Sonny's. It'll be temporary but enough to drive the point home to Carly.

Taking the bag labeled as trashed, Jason tosses it down the trash chute along with the bags of trash from clearing up the living room. Once that's done, he places a few calls to a few people that can impact Carly's life on a lofty scale, including his cousin, Chloe Morgan, who has been Carly's personal designer since she married Sonny and used Jason as a reference to play on Chole's dedication to family.

"You have no idea how good your timing is," Chloe says after he explains what he needs her to do. "She just put in an order for a ballgown to wear to an upcoming event. I just might have to owe you one for giving me a reason not to do that."

"Are you okay with my other plan?"

"Does it suck that you're going to destroy my hard work? Yeah, a bit," Chloe admits. "But I also can't take them back or resell them, so, I'm good with whatever you feel you need to do. I'm just glad she's no longer a client of mine."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for my part in that."

"Don't be, the money was good," Chloe replies. "Speaking of which, you wouldn't happen to have a replacement for her, would you?"

"It just so happens, I do," Jason replies. "My girlfriend could use an entirely new wardrobe. I'll send over her measurements and her usual style, so, you can do what you do."

"You're trusting me to dress your girlfriend? Now that's definitely worth the loss of Carly's wardrobe," Chloe says happily. "Don't forget to send a picture with the measurements. Once I get it, I'll have it put together and sent your way by the end of the week."

"Thanks, Chloe," Jason says gratefully. "I appreciate this."

"I think we're even," Chloe replies. "As good as the money was, Carly's a horrible person to try to create for, trust me, you've done me a huge favor by getting her off my client list."

Thanking her once more, he ends the call and sends off Elizabeth's details for Chloe to get the wardrobe together. Knowing it'll take a few days to put together the number of clothes he's put in for the order, Jason decides he'll go shopping for some clothes while Chloe works on it. Washing up, Jason gets dressed before locking up and heading out, satisfied with his retaliation where Carly's concerned.

Chloe was right that his timing couldn't have been more perfect. With Carly's desire to always show out at every public event, destroying her wardrobe and preventing her from replacing it right away, not to mention cutting her off from her favorite designer, Carly's truly in for quite an unpleasant time and he's ready for it.

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Realizing she was running behind, Elizabeth rushes through the hotel to get to the ballroom only to slow her pace as the decorations leading to the ballroom come into focus. Slowing to a leisurely pace, she looks around in awe as she takes in the hallway leading to the ballroom area. Halloween has always been her favorite holiday and the level of decorating that has been put into play for the walkway alone has her Halloween-loving heart soaring. It's all beyond words.

Finally getting to the ballroom, she spots someone she hadn't expected to see there, continuing on regardless because it made no sense to turn back. As she closes the distance between them, she tries to think of the last time she saw them and she really couldn't picture it. Guess that proves just how little she's ever seen them and just how distant they truly were from each other.

"Elizabeth," Audrey greets her when she gets to them. "I'm sure introductions aren't necessary..."

"Necessary? No," Elizabeth replies, turning her focus to the person standing with her grandmother. "Steven Webber...I truly thought it would be Sarah I'd see first."

"Takes some real talent to not run into her with how long you've been here," Steven counters. "I should be so honored to be the first."

"Right," Elizabeth replies simply. "That's one word for it."

"As...warm and pleasant as this is...I have a meeting to get to," Steven says before pulling out a business card to hand to her. "Not that I think you will, but on the off chance that you'd like to meet up..."

"I'll consider it," Elizabeth replies after taking the card hesitantly.

"That's better than I expected," Steven smiles slightly. "Grandmother, it was good catching up with you, I'll keep what you said in mind."

Just like that, Steven leaves without another word, leaving Elizabeth curious about the short exchange. Glancing down at the business card in her hand, Elizabeth shakes her head, leaving thoughts of him for another time as she slides the card into her back pocket. Meeting her grandmother's gaze, she can tell she wants to talk about it but is thankful that she thinks better of it.

Carrying on as if Steven hadn't just been there moments ago, Audrey takes Elizabeth through the ballroom, going over placements for the art pieces that had been delivered earlier that day. Though her grandmother has been quite adamant about not wanting to get back into the charity circle, Elizabeth had to hand it to her because she has put so much thought into every inch of this place, so much so that even she couldn't have done a better placement job when all is said and done.

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From the moment that they got to her place, Sarah has been walking on eggshells around her mother, a lot more than she's used to. Though she knew it was probably a bad idea, Sarah suggested that she could go out to the market to get her mother her usuals that she needed during that time of the month. Of course, not that she knew any better, at the time, her mother blasted her for suggesting that she was on her period. How was she supposed to know that her mother has gone through menopause already?

"Oh, thank god," Sarah mutters to herself before quickly walking out of the room at the sound of her doorbell ringing, not at all prepared for the person standing on the other side. "I...wha...I can't believe you actually came to town for me."

"Uh...sure, let's go with that," Steven replies. "You gonna invite me in or what?"

"Right, yeah, of course," Sarah blubbers out before stepping to the side to allow him to walk inside. "Mom and dad got here this morning...wait...how did you know where I lived?"

"Why you still feel the need to ask that question is beyond me," Steven counters before stepping into the living room. "Mother. Father. What a pleasant surprise."

"Well, I'll be," Carolyn rises to her feet, walking over to hug him in greeting. "Here I thought it would take nothing short of a miracle to get you back in this town."

"Hell froze over so I figured why not?" Steven says with a shrug and a half smile. "What about you, mother? Last I heard, to which I quote, you'd sooner bathe in the sun than return to this town."

"Yeah, well, it's all your father's doing," she says simply, eyeing Jeff pointedly before turning back to him. "Come, let's leave your father and sister to their business, we have much to catch up on."

"That we do," Steven agrees. "Our usual spot to commiserate?"

"Sounds lovely," Carolyn accepts, allowing him to help her into her coat. "We'll be back late, don't bother waiting up."

"Mother, I thought you were here to help me," Sarah points out.

"Your father's here to help you, I'm merely along for the ride," Carolyn corrects, letting out a sigh at the look on Sarah's face. "Your father can explain."

Leaving it at that, Steven and Carolyn leave Jeff and Sarah to their own accord, neither particularly interested in whatever Sarah feels they are obligated to do. Though she wanted to argue the point and insist that they stay and help them strategize, Jeff stops her from pursuing them and suggests they get started on finding a way to get her what she wants.

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She wasn't sure about her grandmother's choice of clothing designers, but she could see that it meant a lot for her grandmother to get a dress from the woman and that it would mean equally as much for them to go to the invite dressed by the same designer. So, putting her own thoughts aside on the matter, she joins her grandmother for their dress appointment.

"Audrey Hardy as I live and breathe," the designer voices when they walk into her office. "When Lila called that you needed a dress for an event you were planning, I almost didn't believe her. I thought you were out of that role these days."

"Well, when it's family, not much you can do, right?" Audrey replies simply. "Chloe Morgan this is my granddaughter, Elizabeth Webber. The event is for an art gallery she's opening where she'll house an art studio for up-and-coming artists."

"Is that so? It seems your charitable heart has found its way into at least one of your grandchildren," Chloe replies with a loving smile, all but squealing when her eyes land on Elizabeth and she immediately recognizes her from the photo her cousin had sent in. "Well, if you'll follow me, I have quite a few dresses picked out that you can peruse, and if any strike your fancy, I'll be more than happy to adjust to your heart's content."

A picture may paint a thousand words, but nothing beats seeing a client up close and personal. As she stands by watching them look through the dresses she's set aside for them, Chloe had to admit that she could definitely see Elizabeth and Jason much clearer as a couple and she's loving the whole vibe of it. Looks like she'll have to add a few revisions to the wardrobe she's put together before she sends it off to her cousin. A few key pieces come to mind that'll just tie the whole thing together.

"Thanks again for taking us on such short notice," Elizabeth says to Chloe once they were done choosing their dresses and going over revisions. "I really appreciate it."

"No worries, it was my pleasure, for sure," Chloe smiles a particular smile that makes Elizabeth wonder if she knows exactly who she is. "Your dresses are at the top of the list. I should have them to you by day's end tomorrow."

Wanting to question it but also not wanting to at the same time, Elizabeth lets it go and leaves the office with her grandmother. Dropping her off at her place, Elizabeth heads home with her guys, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed, hopefully with her boyfriend if he's home, and just leave everything else for another day. Today has definitely taken a lot out of her and she's more than ready to just relax.

"You cleaned it all up," Elizabeth says with love as she walks into the penthouse, dropping her keys on the desk before jumping into his arms. "I was going to clean it up, I swear."

"I know," he whispers before claiming her lips with his, needing a kiss from her in the most desperate of ways. "I'm sorry about Carly."

"It's not your fault," she reminds him. "There's so much I need to catch you up on."

"And I can't wait to hear it," he replies wholeheartedly. "But first..."

"Oh, definitely," she smirks. "We've got lost time to make up for after all."

Putting thoughts of updating each other to the side, the two give in to their primal needs, Jason walking on auto-pilot as he carries her up the stairs, his lips never leaving hers. No matter what crap Carly may pull, no matter the changes that happen around them, one thing will always stand true and that's their love for each other. They've faced more than enough over the years to build a solid foundation together. No matter what may come, they are tried and true, regardless of the outside world.


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Author's Note: Thanks for reading yet another update. I can't wait to hear your thoughts. The Webbers have landed and still it's not going as Sarah would have hoped. With only her father on her side, what will come of her plans now? Hm...Happy Halloween!