Sorry for the delay in update! Here's the next post! Hope you enjoy!
Early one morning after checking in at the warehouse's Jason received a strongly worded voicemail from Sonny telling him to make his way to the office ASAP. No word about what the problem or urgency of the matter was, but the only thing it meant was that Sonny was pissed off; which lately seemed to becoming a daily occurrence.
Walking into the office; Sonny quickly threw a magazine in Jason's direction. The thick editorial magazine flew awkwardly through the short distance making it easier for Jason to catch the flapping pages.
It was the newest issue of Crimson Magazine, which had just hit shelves that morning; Maxie had brought the mock-up home after the final layout meeting a few weeks prior. And while he had no desire to look through it he always smiled and nodded where appropriate when Maxie spoke of the articles and new fashion trends. He rarely understood why styles needed to keep changing considering he'd been wearing the same clothing choices for as long as far back as his memory went.
"Page 72." Sonny spoke harshly sitting behind the desk, waiting for Jason to catch up with his anger.
The picture that had Sonny so enraged was an article about the club opening Maxie had attended the month before. The first page of the two page spread showed Maxie and Johnny at the club opening, and the other contained pictures of Maxie, Johnny and Jason in Washington Square Park. A series of pictures, starting with Johnny and Jason shaking hands before Maxie and "the mysterious man in leather" walked away, hand in hand. There were a few others of Jason hugging Maxie, another with one of her slim legs wrapped around his torso; it was the moment after she had told him she was moving in. The caption at the top of the page read 'double the trouble—double the fun."
If Jason had gone on to read the article he would learn about Maxie's supposed double life, promotional appearance for the company and the men she seemed to have in supply. It talked about the history of Maxie and Johnny's appearances, and then went on to speculate her relationship with the tall dark and brooding stranger. But thankfully there was no mention of his name, or occupation.
Probably better for the ratings to leave an element of mystery, and not add ties to the Port Charles mob, the rumors alone could destroy the magazine.
"You want to explain this to me?" Sonny spat out.
"This is the first time I'm seeing this Sonny. Give me a minute to wrap my head around everything." Jason said surveying the article trying to assess the damage this would create.
His mind jumped back to Washington Square Park; he had walked across a small portion of the park to get to where Maxie and Johnny were waiting. Just walking around and he hadn't spotted any people with cameras, meaning they must have been following Johnny and Maxie's car from the club, and although he would never admit it he had been too distracted by Maxie to maintain surveillance after that point. He had a vivid image of her in his mind, the way the short cocktail dress left her legs open to his viewing.
"Clearly you dating this girl is becoming a problem." Sonny yelled pulling Jason from his thoughts. "We do not need media attention, especially of you strutting around the city with some girl."
"We weren't aiming for the attention Sonny, Maxie makes public appearances, it's part of her job." Jason tried to rationally explain, the words "some girl" not lost on him.
"We had this problem with Sam and that TV show she did. And we saw how well that all turned out." Sonny continued with his snide remarks.
"Sonny this situation is completely different than Sam. I just found out about this give me a few minutes—or hours to wrap my head around all this." The pictures did look pretty misleading to the readers of Crimson. If they had been banking on Maxie and Johnny's "relationship" with the media it was suspicious that Maxie was suddenly with someone else. In all the promotion stills from the club, Johnny had a protective hand on the small of her back, and that was it. It was clearly obvious that his and Maxie's touches and caresses were much more than platonic. And the fact that there was a picture of the three of them, left this all up to be described a publicity stunt. Jason was surprised the photos were even included in the magazine.
"She's compromising our business. Clearly she must have had something to do with your pictures being plastered all over the magazine she is an editor at." Sonny yelled his words coming out short and choppy. The way he did when he was really upset, Jason half expected glassware to be thrown next.
"It's a photo; I had just met her and Johnny at the park after the club opening." Jason tried to explain knowing that his words with do nothing to dissuade Sonny's anger, not as long as Mac was Maxie's father, Kate was her boss and she worked with the media. Three strikes. "She must have been followed when leaving the club." Jason didn't want to believe that Maxie had anything to do with this magazine layout.
"I figured by now this little midlife crisis of yours would be over and done with, but for some inexplicable reason she's still around? It's not Robin, or Sam or Elizabeth; but Maxie Jones? Not only is Mac an obstacle but what about her biological parents, the government agents?"
"Frisco hasn't played an active role in Maxie's life since she was four. I really don't think the Jones' are going to be an issue here." They had spent a small chunk of time talking about Maxie's biological parents. She hadn't seen her mother in years, the only exception being right after Georgie's murder, and Maxie had no plans of seeking either of them out; she always said, if they didn't want to be a part of her life she didn't need them either.
"That still doesn't take care of the Mac problem. There have been more raids since you started dating this girl than we've had in the last 5 years."
"And we've passed every single one of them. Sonny we have a legitimate business holdings. Eventually the judges are going to get fed up with all the warrants without result and they'll stop." Jason tried to reason. "They've already stopped; it's been a month since we've had a raid."
"I want you to end this thing." Sonny finally yelled, cutting to the chase.
Jason couldn't respond at first. He couldn't actually believe that Sonny had just flat out asked him to stop seeing Maxie. It had been a very long time since they had so blatantly disagreed about something. "I'm going to ignore what you just said, and I'm going to go talk to Maxie about these photos. I'll let you know what I find out."
"I'm not joking around here Jason."
"And neither am I! How many times did I come to you and ask you—beg you to end things with Emily?" Jason finally spoke when he was just steps in front of the door.
"You expect me to believe you're in love with this girl?" Sonny asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I do."
~*~
After the friendship damning conversation with Sonny, there was only one place that Jason was going to get any actual answers. Even though the Crimson offices were the last place on earth that he wanted to go.
They had both agreed after the incident in New York, with the casting to keep respectful distance from each other's careers. It was a no brainer with his, he didn't want Maxie anywhere near something that could put her life at risk, and Jason had no desire to be around fashion obsessed people; except Maxie; although now with the magazine article it seemed like the plan had been implemented too late.
But desperate times…
Stepping off the elevator he found Lulu at her desk, phone pressed into her ear, while she busily typed away at the keyboard. Probably taking down of list of demands or requirements of whoever the new "it" photographer, designer, or model was.
"Jason? To what do we owe this visit?" She whispered covering the mouth piece with her hand.
"I'm actually looking for Maxie or Kate."
"You're here about the article aren't you?" She whispered before ending the conversation and hanging up the phone, giving Jason her full attention. "I can't believe Kate actually ran that trashy tabloid story. She had to buy the pictures from the press herself it was shocking she spent so much money to get those."
"Yeah, are either of them here right now?" Jason asked looking into Kate's open office door and finding it empty.
"No they are at a meeting with Jaxs and some other benefactors. I can take a message if you'd like." Lulu explained; keep up to her receptionist angle of the job.
"No—no it can wait." Jason said with a sigh moving over towards the elevator. After pressing the down arrow he turned back towards Lulu, in a last ditch effort to gain information. "Do you know if, if Maxie knew about the photo's?"
"The one's from the club yes. The one's of you two; no way. Kate pulled a major bitch move when she put those in. Kate did the final lockdown of the article herself, so we never knew the final product until it arrived this morning. Maxie was livid, Kate almost fired us it was pretty intense." Lulu said hoping to give Jason some peace of mind.
Maxie had been known for her scheming in the past and Lulu didn't want this to become another thing her friend was accused of. Their friendship was surprisingly in a good place, where they actually relied on each other instead of trying to bring each other down.
"Right, thanks Lulu." Jason finished before leaving. He finally had a little peace of mind about the situation. At least Maxie hadn't been aware of this scheme; Kate was the major problem here. That would make Sonny's day; and ultimately Sonny himself could deal with his scheming ex-fiancée.
Moving towards the lobby Jason had his eyes peeled for Carly. It had been a while since they had spent time together; Carly had even called and told him to give his girlfriends lady parts a break and come up for air. After deleting the message and trying to wipe the memory of her words from his brain; he found her standing by the check in desk.
~*~
Relocating to her and Jax's home, Carly gave Jason her words of wisdom. Her solution for the Sonny issue was a few strongly worded phrases that Jason wouldn't dare use with his 'friend' and business partner. Reminding Carly to stay out of it, Jason asked for more constructive suggestions.
It was very rare that Sonny and Carly ever saw eye to eye on the situation. But Carly came instantly to Jason's defense when involving Maxie. Something she hadn't always been willing to do with his past relationships. "Just forget about Sonny. Jase this girl has made you oddly happy as of late. I've actually seen you smiling, really smiling. You haven't liked some of Sonny's girlfriends, it shouldn't matter that he doesn't like yours."
"I don't care if Sonny likes her or not. Sonny is on a rampage and Maxie is caught in the middle." Jason explained sadly.
After finding Carly at the Metro Court they had a short conversation before Kate and Maxie walked inside. Maxie's eyes thoughtfully begged Jason to leave, a sign that Carly quickly noticed and dragged Jason to take her home so she could rest. Jason did as asked although what he really wanted to do was run to the elevator and give Kate a piece of his mind, and hug Maxie to make this all go away. He could only imagine where her mind was at.
"Jason does Maxie make you happy?" Carly's question pulling Jason out of his thoughts. "Don't think about what Sonny wants, or the stupid magazine article. When it's just the two of you, doing whatever it is you do. Does Maxie make you happy?"
Taking a second to refresh his memory of the previous night, Jason closed his eyes and pictured the sight he found once he entered the bedroom they had been sharing for the last few months. Maxie was wearing his spare leather jacket and nothing else. Every time and every day was a new and exciting experience for them. Maxie was 12 years his junior but she was more than willing to teach him new things.
"Yes, she does." He finally answered.
"Then forget everything else. And focus on that." Carly smiled patting his hand. "Judging by these pictures it looks like she makes you very happy. And you can start by bringing that beautiful girl to the Michael Corinthos pediatric head injury benefit being held at the Metro Court tomorrow night."
Jason knew all about the event. Carly had mentioned it to him every time they had spoken. But he knew more about it because Crimson was co-hosting the event. Meaning Maxie would be working, and he would try and stay as far away as possible. "I can't."
"I know you're just trying to stay away from Crimson, for Maxie's sake. But maybe I need you there? Please, Jaxs is going to be out of town visiting Lady Jane, and I could use a date?"
"I—I have to talk to Maxie first. It's her career." Jason finally said hoping that Maxie would tell him to stay home.
"Fine be logical about it, but promise you'll at least think about it."
~*~
As soon as Maxie left the Crimson office she had originally planned to make a B-line to the penthouse and try to talk with Jason. Lulu had filled her in on Jason's visit, informing him that Maxie wasn't privy to the layout before it was distributed. The day had been tension filled, and Maxie had spent the better portion of her day biting her tongue. And right now all she wanted to do was yell at someone. This is probably where she got the courage and lack of sense that led her to Sonny's office.
After being announced she found Sonny standing by the drink counter along the wall. He was filling his glass with scotch. Drinking did seem like a good way to deal with all this, that's what she would have to do when she got home finally.
"Come to explain your betrayal?" Sonny said not even offering to look in her direction.
"I didn't betray anyone Sonny." Maxie said trying to keep her tongue and emotions in check. "Kate put the pictures in the magazine, so if you want to yell at someone, it's her. I had nothing to do with it. I wouldn't jeopardize what I have with Jason to advance my career."
"I find that hard to believe." Sonny finally turned to look at her. "You seem like the type of girl who would do anything to advance her career, sleep with anyone." Sonny took another step towards her. "And you're not going to do it at the risk of my organization!" He finally yelled his glass sailing past her head and shattering on the closed door behind her.
Seconds after the shattering glass Max and Cody both rushed into the living room making sure everyone was okay.
"Maxie we're leaving now." Cody said grabbing a hold of her elbow and pulling her out of the room. He had heard from the other guards of Sonny's mood swings, but that was before he was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, before he started taking his medication. It was Cody's job to protect Maxie and right now that meant from Sonny and from herself.
"I don't know what I did to make you hate me so much Sonny. If it's this article, or Mac, but I'm sorry. Do you want me to break up with Jason? Is that what will make you happy? Or do you just want everyone else to be as miserable as you are?"
After finishing her short, righteous speech Maxie finally gave into Cody's pull and followed him out of the massive house.
"Tell me I didn't just sign my death certificate?" She asked once safely in the front seat of the car.
"Well you didn't make my job any easier." Cody tried to joke, although once Jason found out, he would be on the warpath. Mostly with Sonny, but with Maxie for putting herself in the situation.
Maxie sat in silence the rest of the ride back to the apartment, thinking over how Jason would react to what she had done. She knew he wasn't going to like it, she just hoped his reaction was somewhere closer to her's than to Sonny's. She could only have so many things thrown at her in one day.
~*~
"What the hell were you thinking?" Jason yelled loudly as soon as the door to the penthouse opened. Jason was standing by the fire glass in his hand. It was almost like déjà vu.
"Can we talk about this after you put the glass down? I can only take so much of that in one day."
"The article, yes it wasn't good." Jason said putting the glass on the coffee table. "But you had no control over that. Why on earth would you go directly to Sonny?"
"Because I'm an idiot!" she cried, the tears she had been holding in all day slowly starting to trail down her cheeks. She moved towards the stairs choosing to sit against the hard surface instead of a couch.
Jason could see how much Maxie was beating herself up about the layout, and her decision to go confront Sonny herself. It was exactly what he would have done. He didn't have to yell anymore, or try and make her realize the error of her ways. She knew.
"I did a layout of the photos of me and Johnny, I didn't write the article, I had no idea that there were photos from the park and I had no idea Kate had put them in the layout. She is such a conniving witch I just want to find a pot of water and melt her!" Maxie said through her tears.
Jason moved to sit next to her on the steps his hand running up and down the back of her dress.
"Maxie—"
"I know I shouldn't have gone to Sonny's. I knew that he wouldn't like the article, hell I don't like the article. I just didn't want Sonny to get the wrong idea."
"He actually ordered me to break up with you." Jason explained. He didn't know if it was better to tell her or leave that part out, but she deserved to know what Sonny truly thought. Although I'm sure she knew that based on what Max had told him.
"Max called you didn't he?" She asked assuming how he had known she was at Sonny's.
"He did, are you sure you're okay?" Jason asked. Sonny's temper had been known to get the best of him.
"That depends, are you going to break up with me?"
"No, what Sonny wants doesn't matter." Jason said pulling her into a tight embrace. "We knew that people were going to be against us Maxie."
"Yeah in the beginning, Jason it's been almost eight months. I was hoping people would get over it by now. I'm not saying that I need anyone's approval to be with you but—"
"People's constant rejection doesn't get any easier."
Maxie just nodded and folded into his arms letting him hug her tightly. "Can we just go to sleep and forget this day ever happened?" Maxie asked looking up at him leaving a small kiss at the base of his neck.
"Gladly but first I need to ask you something." Jason said moving them back towards the chair sitting down and pulling her into his lap. "Carly is throwing that benefit for Michael's foundation on Friday. She asked me to go."
"Oh, well she is your best friend." Maxie said simply.
"She is, but this is also a work event for you, so I don't want to get you in trouble." Jason explained his thought process. "It's up to you."
"I'm not going with Johnny, he's out of town with Olivia and I basically told Kate that there was no way I was going to cause more publicity drama. My life is not on display for the world to see." Maxie explained telling him of her conversation with the fashion queen. "I would love to have you at the event, but just know that I can't be with you at the event."
"Understood, I'm sure Carly will keep me occupied." Jason smiled picking her up to begin the assent up the stairs. "I guess this means I have to go buy a suit."
"You're going to let me shop for you?" Maxie smiled excitedly wrapping her arms around his neck as he continued climbing the stairs. Letting go of all the craziness from the outside world, forgetting about the magazine, forgetting about Sonny's request, and anger; and trying to ignore the fact that there was now documented proof of their relationship; meaning Maxie would be a known target for his enemies. Jason just left it all at the door and enjoyed the safety and comfort of the home they had made.
All the problems the article created would still be there in the morning. And so would they.
~*~
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