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Chapter 30
"Hi, come in." Liz stepped back so that their guest could enter. It took four days but the house was finally set up to her liking. It wasn't that she was overly fussy, it was that it took a few days of seeing how things looked to find out what worked and what didn't. Particularly since she now lived with someone else. It was important that Jason felt comfortable in their home as well.
"Thanks." Georgie replied stepping into the foyer with Milo behind her. "This house is something else." This was her first time out here. "It makes me think of a dollhouse as we were coming up the drive."
"It funny you said that." Liz closed the door and escorted her friends deeper into the house. "I had one based on this house when I was little. Gram had it made for me."
"Now you live here." Georgie said taking in the details. The fact that they hadn't purchased all new things to furnish the place wasn't surprising, in fact she really liked it. The familiar pieces gave an instant feeling of home.
"Yeah, I do." Liz was still wrapping her head around that. "We're out back. Wait until you see the pool area. Jason designed it with the landscaper." She was so proud of that.
"How?" Milo wanted to know. "Jason can't picture things in his head. He also can't see images on paper." Which would make it hard to describe what he wanted to the landscaper.
"We have enough friends with patios that he was able to piece together what he wanted that section of the yard to look like." Liz explained as they entered the kitchen. He had taken pictures of what he liked and didn't like from everyone's backyards. If he hadn't then he and the contractor would have both ended up frustrated.
The pool was going to be a great party space in the warmer months since the outdoor kitchen was connected to it. It was just a few steps away from the veranda. "It's going to be one of the most popular spaces on the property in the summer and early fall." She and Jason had gone to the design center to furnish the area together. It was a fun trip filled with laughter.
"I am really loving this kitchen." Georgie said looking around. She and Milo had decided to wait for a bit before buying a house. It was just a level of responsibility they decided they didn't want at the moment. With him now on Jason's crew her boyfriend was moving into the high rise here in Crimson Pointe. They had upgraded from a two bedroom to a three bedroom which gave them plenty of pace. That was more than enough for now.
"The boss said we can redecorate our new unit if we want." Milo let her know. He definitely wanted to paint, white walls didn't work for him. Whatever changes Georgie wanted to make would happen too.
"The building was just redone." Georgie looked over at her guy. "The units are very nice. I'm mostly looking for ideas about décor." She had been looking online and in magazines trying to figure out how she wanted their place to look. Her things were mixed with Milo's, but a good many pieces would not be making the move.
"I can be talked into giving you a tour." Liz said with a laugh. "It won't be hard." She had already done several this afternoon. "Come on out." She said getting back into hostess mode.
"Hey!" Emily waved from one of the outdoor seating area. She, Nadine, Diane, and Alexis had staked claim to it. The guys were spread out between a second seating area and the grill where Jason was cooking.
Milo gave his girl a kiss before going to join the guys. He would put their housewarming gift on the table with the other boxes first. Liz said not to get anything and it looked like everyone ignored her.
Georgie walked over and took the empty spot next to Nadine. "This house is spectacular." The newly minted lawyer stated. Her bar results were in and they were celebrated with her own office, as well as her own stack of cases.
"It certainly is. It's perfect for them." Emily was so happy for her brother and best friend. "Have you gotten the full tour?"
"Not yet, but Liz said to give a holler if I wanted one." Georgie would do so before they left. Liz had gone back into the house for the moment. "Are we all here?"
"Yup." Emily told her friend. "They are keeping it small." Looking at the door she smiled. "I was wrong, we have another addition."
All the ladies grinned as Liz walked out with Karen, they all smiled wider when Johnny got up and gave her a kiss. "That looks to be going well." Georgie commented, she didn't know Karen well yet.
"How come he didn't bring her?" Nadine wanted to know. The guys were sticklers for coming to get their ladies, if they didn't live together, when they went out.
"Johnny came over early to help Jason put the grill together." Alexis had the answer. "Sonny came over early too, because of the side dishes. I came with him so I didn't get the chance to raid the treat jar at home." He wasn't letting her out of his sight much. The tactic backfired because Liz snuck over a brownie while Sonny was cooking. "Johnny was on the phone with Karen asking if she wanted him to come get her, but she said that she would come over later."
"Is everything not going well?" Diane didn't know Johnny's new girlfriend at all. So far they had only been at one brunch together, where they hadn't crossed paths. Diane's work hours were to blame.
"It's going fine as far as I know." Emily told them. "Not that I've spent a lot of time talking to Johnny lately. Liz hasn't mentioned anything being off and she would probably know." She looked at her friends. "I wonder if Karen is feeling awkward because we are all so close and she's new to the group."
"I can see it." Nadine told her friends. "I was the new girl at one point, and I used to dread when we all got together. I remember once ending up in a ball on the floor of my closet with tears streaming down my face from trying to figure out what to wear." Having a talented designer in the group was intimidating for Nadine who was very much a blue jean girl. She had also felt like a country bumpkin trying to fit in with the city girls.
"We aren't that mean." Emily had no idea that Nadine had felt that way.
The nurse practitioner laughed. "You aren't mean at all." She told her friends. "It's just intimidating being the new one in an established group."
"Let's be honest here." Diane looked at the other ladies. "We are judging her. Mainly because Johnny is family and we want to make sure she's good enough for him. Karen did come with a stellar recommendation. Having Liz bring her into our group helps tremendously. Still Karen has to prove herself worthy. You may not want to admit that your inner Regina George popped up during brunch, but I don't have that problem." The attorney ended with a smile.
"Is your Regina George still in charge?" Georgie wanted to know.
"Not at the moment because Johnny is smiling." Diane told her friends. "But she will certainly come out if Karen breaks his heart."
"You mean like with Siobhan?" Nadine asked snickering.
"She had that coming." Alexis said from her lounger. "She stomped all over Johnny."
As a unit the ladies had made Siobhan's life really hard after the breakup. Not because she and Johnny ended, relationships sometimes just didn't make it. They all knew that. Siobhan knew who Johnny was when they started going out, but when they broke up she threw his job in his face as the reason she was leaving. Going so far as to say that she was embarrassed to be seen out with him. The ladies were not going to let that stand.
They had started with ostracizing her. Literally pretending she didn't exist. They had also used their various connections to make her stay in Port Charles uncomfortable. It was Diane however who pulled out the big guns by having Siobhan deported. The Irish woman had been transferred over by her company so she was in the country on a work visa. Diane had a friend in INS who owed her a favor, he happily revoked that visa to clear up the debt.
"Karen may also be uncomfortable because of what her ex tried to do to Sonny." Georgie pointed out.
"They were broken up when Jagger tried to entrap Sonny." Emily pointed out. "That isn't on Karen." Jagger had pretended he was a dirty cop looking to feed information on what the department was doing to the organization. He was picked because of Stone's connection to the mob boss. Jagger had worn a wire to the meeting. The guys had been on to him from the start though because they already had a source inside the PCPD. The sting failed and Jagger left the area fearing retaliation. "That's like saying the end of my brother's relationship with Brenda is on Karen."
"It's kind of funny how many points of connection Karen already has within the group." Georgie told her friends.
"I remember Brenda talking about Karen. They didn't like one another." Emily told everyone. "I like Karen just for that reason." Emily had not been a Brenda fan even before the cheating. "We need to make Karen feel welcome." She looked at everyone who nodded. "Hi." Emily said brightly when Karen walked over. "Have a seat."
"Thanks." She sat on the long couch between Emily and Diane. "Sorry I'm late. I had a fashion crisis. Nothing was working. Every time I work with Liz I consider asking her to pay me in clothing."
"That would be living the dream." Nadine said nodding. "I would never have to shop again."
"I hate shopping, but I like to look good. It is a dilemma." Emily added with a smile. "Liz has us spoiled, letting us drop by her studio. However once she adds running the boutique to her list of duties that is going to stop." Her friend just wouldn't have time. No one faulted her for that.
"Why is there no personal shopping service in Port Charles?" Alexis wanted to know. "Whoever started one would make a mint."
"Speak for yourself. I only charge the rates I do so that I can shop. It's my form of therapy." Diane said bucking the trend. "Liz you should start a shopping service, since you already act as stylist to quite a lot of Port Charles's upper echelon. It's not that far of a leap to putting together an outfit and sending it to your clients."
"Nope, not gonna happen." Liz said shaking her head as she joined the group. "Not interested in going down that path. I'm not even close to being a stylist. Even when I custom make a garment I don't style the entire look. Accessories are something my clients need to get on their own. Karen, you might be good at that. You have really great style."
Karen looked over at her friend. "Fashion crisis." She brought up again.
"But you got dressed and left the house." Emily told the newest member of the group. "Looking rather cute too. So crisis averted."
"I thought you were looking into maybe becoming a nurse?" Nadine asked stretching out her legs. Johnny had asked if she would talk to Karen, but the model didn't call.
"It turns out I don't really like blood very much." Karen shrugged her shoulder. "So I don't think that's going to work out." Modeling for Liz was a great job, but Karen was realistic about the fact that she didn't have a future in the industry. She had started too late to really get a career going. She probably wouldn't ever work outside of Port Charles. She did need to find something to do with her life though. Money wasn't the issue at the moment. She had a small trust fund to pay the bills if necessary. Mainly she wanted her life to have direction. She didn't want a job, she wanted a career. "I could look into becoming a stylist. Liz is going to need someone to put together photo shoots and fashion shows when she becomes famous."
"You help me put together the looks on the website for the last two seasons." Liz pointed out.
"Liz will need help by then, but she doesn't need that help now." Georgie knew that her friend was going to be a household name at some point. "I, however, need more suits for work. Now that I've passed the bar I'm going to be going into court and I want to look snazzy. The problem is that squeezing shopping into my schedule is hard, even online shopping." The dress code at the office was business casual, but Diane mandated suits when they went before a judge and jury. "I'm a size four. Avoid anything super bright or with short hemlines, it's best to be conservative in court."
Karen blinked at Georgie. "Um, okay. I have no idea what to charge." Apparently she had her first client.
"You need to incorporate as well." Diane told the younger woman. "Come by my office Monday morning at eight. I'll tell Clarice you are expected. Since you are Johnny's girlfriend, I won't charge you to file the paperwork. If you do a good job with Georgie I'll drop your name to a few friends."
"If you do a good job with Georgie, I'll hire you." Alexis said going one step further. She liked to shop, and often did so with Diane. However these days she was tired most of the time, and rapidly changing clothing sizes. Someone shopping for her would be nice.
"Georgie we'll need to sit down before you leave so I can get a feel for your sense of style. Also things like your shoe size. We'll consider this a test run, I won't charge you because I don't know if I can actually do the job." Karen was thinking it wasn't as easy as it sounded.
"You don't have to buy things just from me." Liz told her friend. "In fact it's best if you don't. You should have a feel for what each designer does well so you know how to please your clients." She saw what the ladies were doing. They were bringing Karen into the fold so she didn't feel like an outsider.
"Client." Karen said with a grin. "I only have one. Or potentially one." She said smiling at Georgie.
"I'm easy to shop for, so this shouldn't be too stressful." Georgie didn't have time to be a diva.
"Ladies." Sonny walked over and smiled. He fussed over his pregnant girlfriend before turning back to the group. "Jason is done with the meat, so I'm going to start bringing out the sides." He had managed to not go overboard.
"I'll help you." Liz said getting to her feet. Earlier Sonny said that he didn't feel right just taking over her kitchen, so she had helped him finish off some of the dishes. They needed to be plated and bowled before hitting the table, so she would help with that too. "Everyone head over to the dining area, and grab a drink from the refrigerator." She hadn't even realized you could get one for outside. "I put out the platters while waiting for Georgie and Milo." Liz told Sonny.
"It won't take long to get everything ready." He said placing bowls on the island. "While we are doing this I want to talk to you about something."
"What's up?" Liz got out the serving spoons, forks, and tongs.
"I would like for you to consider opening Audrey March boutiques at the resorts." Sonny brought up the topic that he and Jason had discussed earlier when it was just them.
"Sonny." Liz started arching a brow.
"I'm not doing this because you are Jason's girlfriend." He stopped and grinned. "Okay that is part of the reason I am doing this. I'm also doing it because you're talented and you'll make me money." He grinned and his dimples put in an appearance.
"I'm not looking for a partner." Liz told him.
"I'm not looking to buy in. You'll have to rent the space from me. From us." Sonny said with a shrug. "Rent is guaranteed monthly income." She would pay until she married Jason, then as his wife she could have the space for free.
"I'm just about to open my first store which isn't guaranteed to make it." Liz pointed out. "I don't think I'm ready for chain status. I also don't have the inventory to fill three stores."
"Four. We just bought the resort in South America." Sonny figured Jason would have told her this soon. However it was the two of them discussing business right now and Sonny wanted Liz to have the full picture of what he was asking.
"I hadn't realized the sale was finalized." Liz smiled at her friend. "Congratulations. Jason showed me the prospectus, the property looks fantastic."
"You'll have to go and give me your opinion. I don't think Alexis and I will be traveling anytime soon." Sonny was excited about becoming a dad. Any trips between the birth and the baby being cleared to travel would be handled by Jason, Francis, or Johnny. "There is another spa you can check out. You can also get a feel for the space."
Liz just shook her head. The man was bulldog stubborn. "I'm not ready for a chain." She repeated what she said earlier.
"Yet." Sonny tacked on. "I can respect that. However I know your clothes will sell, because they are already selling. I want to get you locked into a deal before anyone else comes sniffing around." He could be ruthless in business. Liz was extremely marketable, and this deal let her keep all her profits which was how it should be. All he wanted was rent, and that was only because she wasn't going to take the space for free. "When you start looking to expand, you can do so at Corinthos Morgan resorts."
"Are you looking at me being exclusive with the resorts? As in no other stores anywhere but Port Charles and those properties." Liz wanted to know.
"No." Sonny shook his head before looking at her. "I would say no other stores in the cities within a certain radius of the resorts. So a shop in, say, Ponce would be fine but you couldn't have one in Dorado or San Juan." Both locations would take business from the resort.
"Could I have one in Sao Paulo?" Liz wanted to know. That was a city that was too big to walk away from. If she wanted to have a global presence that would be a great place to open up a shop.
"You could. The resort is far enough away that it wouldn't be in the specified radius." Plus they controlled Sao Paulo so her store would be under their protection. Sonny was done with the plating so he leaned on the island. "I have another proposition for you."
"Okay." Liz was done as well and moved to the sink to wash her hands. "I'd like to feature your clothes in the next Deception campaign."
"Shouldn't Elton make that call? He is your COO." At the moment Elton was running the company until another CEO was found. "Forcing me down his throat might not go over so well, and you don't want to lose him." Liz looked at her friend. That would be a huge coup for her. Deception didn't do small ad campaigns.
"It was actually his idea." Sonny let her know. "Elton doesn't know you and he thought if I asked there was a greater chance that you might say yes. If you agree then you would be dealing with him when it came to actually selecting the looks."
"He wanted you to ask. Like you are making me an offer I can't refuse." Liz couldn't help it, the quote was too perfect for the conversation.
Sonny just groaned. "That was so bad." Her timing was great though.
"I know. I couldn't resist." Liz was laughing. "Send me an offer."
"I'll have Alexis send the contract over to Diane tomorrow." Sonny wanted it clear that this was a business deal like Deception would have with any other designer. "It's already written up." Sonny grabbed a platter. "Think about the boutique offer. If you decide yes, we'll let Alexis and Diane hammer out the details."
"They will love that." Liz knew that her friends loved a good sparring session. Since they worked for partners it rarely happened. "Sonny?"
"Yeah." He stopped by the door.
"Thank you. For the offer, and the respect." Liz knew that he was going to treat her fairly during this business deal. Not because she was Jason's girlfriend, but because she had earned it.
"You're welcome." Sonny responded before stepping out into the backyard.
Alone she took a deep breath and really thought about the offer. She wasn't in a position to open three more shops yet. In fact when she was ready to expand again, it would be with just one shop. When she was running those smoothly then number three would be considered. And so on, and so on. The resorts would be good spots to sell her designs, so yeah she was going to think about Sonny's offer.
"Everything okay?" Jason asked coming inside to help bring out the rest of the food. He had expected his girl to come out a few minutes ago. When she didn't he came to check that everything was alright.
"Yeah. Sonny just made me two really great offers." Liz gave her guy a smile. She was guessing he didn't know about the Deception offer. Jason didn't involve himself in the running of the cosmetics company.
"Two?" Jason only knew about the one. "Can I ask about the second offer?" He would respect it if she didn't want to talk about it.
"Sonny wants to use some of my designs in the next Deception ad campaign. Its free press and I'm going to sign the contract when it comes." Liz let him know.
"Congratulations. I didn't ask him to do it." Jason wanted her to know.
"Even if you had, I would still have said yes. It's too big of an opportunity to let pass by." Liz let him know. Her clothes were going to be in ads that ran around the world. "I'll also read the proposal he's sending over concerning the resorts. Congrats by the way, on the new one." She said smiling.
"We'll go visit eventually." Jason promised her. South America wasn't his favorite spot, but a trip needed to happen at some point by either him or Sonny. Since the territory was so large, a boss always went. With Alexis being pregnant Jason knew he would be going. Elizabeth would have fun exploring while he went to meetings. When his business was done, they could walk the city together.
"Stop making out in there, we are hungry!" Emily called from the yard.
Liz cracked up, she couldn't help it.
"You have my ring. It's too late to escape now." Jason dropped her a wink. "Grab a platter, if we don't feed her it will get ugly. She might start eating the plants." He said joking.
Liz picked up the remaining dish and went to join her family as they celebrated her and Jason's new home.
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