Chapter 2
Grand Ballroom, Metro Court Hotel
"I'd like to thank of all of you for coming tonight," Nikolas Cassidine said, standing on the small stage at the front of the room, a glass of champagne in his hand. He looked as handsome as ever in his tailored tuxedo and perfectly straight bowtie. "My late fiancé would be honored to know that her friends and family, the people she cares most about, as well as perfect strangers, have come together for a worthy cause. It's one that I believe Port Charles desperately needs, and I hope that the Emily Bowen Quartermaine Free Clinic will bring healthcare and aid to the less fortunate in every possible way."
Clearing his throat, he tugged nervously at his collar and lifted his glass into the air. "She wanted to serve her community, much like her parents, by becoming a doctor. It was near and dear to her heart, and it feels good to know that while she can't be here with us, she can still serve Port Charles like she always wanted. Again, I thank each and every one of you for coming tonight and also for opening your wallets." He paused, giving the crowd time to laugh softly, before rocking his glass back and forth in the air. "To Emily."
"To Emily," the crowd murmured in response, holding up their glasses and taking a sip her honor.
"You okay?" Carly Corinthos-Jax asked, leaning towards Jason, who was slumped over the bar, his back to Nikolas.
He nodded, shaking the ice around in his untouched glass of bourbon. "It's good that he's doing something like this."
"She'll get to live on forever, which I know doesn't seem like much," she said softly, sliding her arm over her friend's shoulder.
"It helps," he swallowed hard, pushing himself away from the bar and her touch. "I'm going to get some air."
Across the room, Maxie frowned, watching Jason slowly make his way across the room towards the terrace doors. Sometimes she wished there was something she could say to him about Emily. Her intentions weren't entirely pure, but she thought that if she could comfort Jason in some way about the loss of his sister, maybe he would warm up to her presence in his penthouse. Not to mention, that like him, she'd lost a sister at the hands of the text message killer, and if anyone could understand, maybe it was Jason.
Or maybe she'd just had entirely too much champagne.
"Well, Sonny, I hope you brought your checkbook," Kate murmured from the other side of the table, reaching for her sparkly black clutch that matched her equally sparkly ball gown. "Jax and I already agreed to donate a fabulously large check from Crimson. Not only is it for a good cause, but it will be great for the magazine."
Maxie couldn't help but roll her eyes at the remark, feeling somewhat disgusted at Kate's way of exploiting this cause. Sighing, she quickly reminded herself it wasn't anything she wouldn't do.
"Aw, look who's sitting all alone," Lulu Spencer purred, sitting down next to Maxie and motioning for her boyfriend, Johnny Zacharra to sit down on the other side of her.
The second the tables went on sale for the fundraiser, Jax and Kate agreed to buy one of the biggest and closest ones to the front, which meant that Maxie was dining with a table full of complications. Carly was now married to Jax, but it could be argued she was still in love with Sonny, who was now marrying Kate. And as assistants at the magazine, she and Lulu were invited to attend with a guest, forcing her to listen to her fellow employee coo over her extremely hot boyfriend.
"You know Johnny," Maxie said, pushing her chair out from the table and getting up to saunter over to the back of his chair. She braced her hands on the back of it, leaning down so that her mouth was close to his ear. "It's a shame that such a perfectly tailored tuxedo is being wasted on a tramp like Lulu, but even hot men have their faults."
Standing back up, she glanced at Lulu and shook her head at the blonde's pale yellow ball gown. "Yellow really does wash out your skin tone. Too bad you haven't learned a darn thing while working at Crimson."
Lulu's cheeks turned flush, and Johnny narrowed his eyes as Maxie flashed a smile before breezing away from the table, her head held high.
Now, if only she could find her date.
Grand Ballroom Terrace, Metro Court Hotel
"I can't imagine how hard this is for you," Elizabeth said softly, stepping up beside Jason who was facing the gardens at the back of the hotel, his hands tightly gripping the iron railing.
The entire event seemed to be centering upon memories of Emily; her work at the hospital and her relationships with those she touched. There hadn't been a dry eye left in the house for most the night, which probably wasn't what Nikolas intended the evening to be about, but there was no doubt that Port Charles was missing Emily Quartermaine.
"It must be hard for you too," he replied, staring straight forward and not looking at her.
"Sure, it would be easy to curl up in a ball at a moment's notice," she murmured, reaching out and touching his arm. "But if we don't talk about her, if we don't remember Emily, that's dishonoring her too."
He nodded, his hands still clenching the railing. "I'd rather be anywhere but here," he said honestly, his voice shaky. "I'd rather…I'd rather be with you."
"I wish that you could be," she agreed, rubbing her hands up and down her chilly arms. "I wish that you could be with Jake tonight and that maybe he could give you some kind of comfort."
Near the doors, Maxie frowned, watching the exchange between Jason and Elizabeth, rolling her eyes at the thought of Ms. Angel sneaking away to comfort her beloved enforcer. Granted, whatever relationship existed between the two of them was none of her business, but it sure made for fantastic town gossip, and Maxie just loved that.
She frowned when Elizabeth reached out to touch Jason, and he pulled away, almost feeling bad for the brunette. It's not like she was doing anything wrong, but this was Jason, and his social skills would never be up to par. Her mind getting the best of her, as well as her annoyance at Spinelli's disappearance, she grabbed the door handle, pushing it open and stepped onto the terrace.
Elizabeth's eyes snapped to hers immediately, and her face turned flushed as Jason turned around beside her. The rims of his eyes were red and filled with tears, and Maxie almost regretted ever coming outside.
"Um, I was just wondering if you've seen Spinelli," she said, brushing her bangs away from her face as Elizabeth hurried past her and disappeared inside.
"Check the bar," Jason replied, turning his back to her again and letting out a heavy sigh. "He was asking the bartender about orange sodas."
"Thanks," she muttered, smoothing her hands over the front of her violet knee-length dress. Against her better judgment, she stepped towards him and without thinking just started to talk. "I'm really sorry about what happened to Emily. If any woman was ever really special to you, it was her. It was like she was able to break through that cold barrier you put up when a woman enters the room, and I know that's hard to lose that because I lost Georgie. She was the only person that I could ever be vulnerable around, and she always saw the good in me, even when I was feeding pills to Lucky or sleeping with Lulu's boyfriend."
"And well, sometimes you need to be reminded that good exists inside of you," she continued, leaning against the railing and looking over at him, wondering if she should be terrified that he wasn't looking back at her. "I mean, Georgie didn't look at me and see a stupid, bleached-blonde slut, just like I'm sure Emily didn't look at you and think lethal Kingpin and serial killer." Jason's jaw ticked at her words, and she hurried to cover herself. "Though I guess serial killer isn't appropriate. It's hitman, right? Or enforcer? I never can keep up with these things. Spinelli tried to get me to watch the Godfather once, and I was just too focused on how hot Marlon Brando was to care about anything else. Not to mention that I kept thinking about Sonny and how he's so not like Don-"
"Maximista!" Spinelli cried, hurrying out onto the terrace, looking exceptionally dapper in his tuxedo that she'd picked out days before.
"There you are!" she exclaimed, looping her arm through his as his friend turned around and looked at him.
"Get rid of her," he said firmly, glaring at Spinelli.
"I was just being nice to you, Jason. I know you're not used-"
"Go dance. Or get her a drink," he interrupted, ignoring her as he stepped past them. "Just keep her away from me."
"I swear," she huffed, shaking her head as Jason disappeared into the ballroom. "Jason Morgan could use an etiquette class or two."
Grand Ballroom Bar, Metro Court Hotel
"I think those dancing lessons paid off," Maxie said sweetly, leaning against the bar and waving her fingers at the adorable bartender on the other end.
"The Fair Maximista is too kind," Spinelli replied, attempting to straighten his bow, only to result in making it more crooked than she imagined was possible.
"Goodness, let me," she muttered, rolling her eyes as she pulled him up so that he was standing straight.
She dipped her fingers beneath the tuxedo shirt, straightening out the collar, before sliding her hands around to the bow tie. "I told you that all you needed was the touch of a very talented woman," she said, expertly retying his tie in a matter of seconds. "You look very handsome. You only stepped on my feet a few times. And you've stayed away from any alcoholic drinks."
"Well, perhaps it is the charm of the Fair Maximista finally influencing the Jackal," he replied, grinning widely as the bartender approached them.
"What can I get you and your lady?" he asked Spinelli, flashing a flirty smile Maxie's way, who was pleased at the attention, but found it somewhat disgusting that he would hit on her with her date standing right there.
Men, they just didn't get it.
"The Jackal would love an orange soda, assuming that you've managed to round such a drink up. I have it on good authority that the former wife of the Godfather, now wife of the wealthy entrepreneur keeps such a drink lying around. As for the Fair Maximista, well the Jackal is unsure seeing as her incessant mood changes sometimes require caffeinated beverages, or liquor in non self-destructive circumstances, but often just a mineral water or club soda, so it would be rude of him to order."
The bartender arched his eyebrow, nodding even though it was obvious the poor man had no idea what Spinelli had just said.
"An orange soda and a mineral water," she answered, shaking her head at Spinelli and placing her hand on his shoulder. "You really don't have to get so nervous. Whatever you would have ordered for me is fine, and it wouldn't have been rude."
Her eyes swept across the room, frowning when she saw Jason disappear onto the terrace again, only to be followed by Claudia Zacharra, Johnny's older sister, seconds later. He sure was a busy one too, and it was clear that he didn't want anyone's company.
These damn women in Port Charles were just so desperate.
"An orange soda and a mineral water," the bartender murmured, setting them on the bar as Spinelli fumbled for his wallet to leave a tip.
The entire event had been made an open bar on Nikolas Cassidine's dime, meaning that all the drunks in town were dressed to the nines and getting drunk on the Prince's dollars.
Oh, to be royalty.
"Here, very kind beverage keeper," Spinelli said, sliding a ten across the bar with a shaky hand, only to bump his orange soda, causing it to tumble forward and land on the front of Maxie's dress.
"Spinelli!" she screeched loudly, jumping away from the bar as the drink soaked into the material of the dress. "This is on loan from the Crimson closet! Kate is going to kill me!"
"The Jackal gives his most humble apologies and hopes that the Fair Maximista will, perhaps, allow him to find a good dry cleaning service-"
"You can't just dry clean vintage!" she hissed, glaring at her date, before stomping off in the direction of the bathroom, leaving him behind.
Grand Ballroom Ladies Room, Metro Court Hotel
Okay, so maybe in hindsight she had been a little overdramatic.
That didn't make her any less pissed off that she was now in the bathroom, soaking orange soda out of her vintage, designer dress with stiff, brown paper towels.
If only Kate could see her now, she'd surely fire Maxie on the spot.
"Stupid, stupid drink," she hissed, as the stall opened behind her, and Elizabeth stepped out, eyeing her curiously, a cell phone pressed against her ear.
"Um, yeah, I'll be there soon," she said, freezing briefly as she met Maxie's gaze before stuttering into the phone. "What, Grams? What? Sorry, you're breaking up. Must be bad the reception in the bathroom or something. What, Grams? Yeah, yeah. I'll see you soon. Thank you so much for keeping the boys. Okay, okay." She paused, briefly, her cheeks turning pink as she dropped her clutch on the sink and busied herself washing her hands. "I know. It's okay. I love you too."
She reached past Maxie for a paper towel, her phone still pressed against her ear. "You know," she said, tossing the paper into the garbage and grabbing her phone from her ear, "some club soda will help with that."
"What?" she asked, straightening up and raising her eyebrows at the brunette, caught off guard by the fact that Elizabeth was actually being nice to her. "Oh, the dress. I didn't think of that. Spinelli just knocked his stupid orange soda over when we were standing at the bar. Then I yelled at him because I was thinking about the dress and not his feelings, and I know what you're going to say, of course I would be, but this is Spinelli. And now I feel terrible."
"Something tells me he'll forgive you," Elizabeth replied, opening the door as Sam entered, a phone pressed to her ear.
Maxie couldn't help but smile as she saw the uncomfortable look pass between the two women, and she almost felt bad for the both of them, but chalked it up to being upset about Spinelli.
"Yeah, Lucky, I understand," she said, grinning at Maxie and leaning against the sink. She held her hand up, asking her to wait until she finished her call. "I'll tell Nikolas you'll drop by later. I'm sure he understands that you were spending time with the boys and got called into work before you dropped them off at Audrey's. Okay, I'll see you then."
She snapped her phone shut and turned to Maxie. "Have an accident?"
"Was that Lucky?" she asked, tossing her paper towels into the trash and frowning at her reflection in the mirror. It was by no means going to dry anytime soon, but didn't appear to be staining too terribly. She'd have to take Elizabeth's advice about the club soda fairly soon if she wanted to be sure. "He's with Cameron and Jake?"
"He was," she replied, reapplying her lipstick and blowing a kiss at her reflection. "Audrey was visiting a friend in the city, so Lucky offered to keep the boys so Elizabeth could come tonight, and he was going to come later. Sometimes I think he's just too nice to her after everything she put him through, but anyway, Audrey just pulled into his driveway to pick them up, having come straight from Manhattan. And of course, Lucky got called into work for some new case, which means it's unlikely that he'll be coming tonight."
"So, Audrey just got back in town?" Sam nodded, looking at her curiously. "And she didn't even have the boys say ten minutes ago?"
"Nope," she replied, combing her fingers through her hair. "Why?"
"Well, I could have sworn that Elizabeth…Never mind, no reason," Maxie said, grabbing her purse off the sink. "I've got to get some club soda for my dress."
She left Sam standing baffled in front of the mirror as she hurried towards the bar, her eyes quickly seeking out Elizabeth in the ballroom.
Something fishy was definitely going on.
Grand Ballroom, Metro Court Hotel
"So she basically lied," Maxie murmured, scrubbing at the front of her dress with the handkerchief she'd slipped from Sonny's pocket when he wasn't looking.
He wasn't a mobster anymore, and she wasn't a man, so it wasn't like he was going to bang her head against the wall for borrowing it. And if he tried, well, she was sure Spinelli would defend her honor, or at least try to. Sonny was such an asshole though, and well, she did have the law on her side, and her father wouldn't hesitate to put him behind bars if he so much as touched a hair on her head.
Sometimes having overprotective Mac Scorpio around was actually a good thing.
"Perhaps, Fair Elizabeth didn't wish for the nosey, but Fair Maximista to eavesdrop on her conversation," Spinelli replied, frowning as she dampened the cloth with more club soda and continued to wipe at the material. "The Jackal feels he must extend further apologies for the fate of your vintage-"
"No, it's fine," she interrupted, shrugging as she wiped. "Thankfully Elizabeth said something about the club soda because it's helping, but I could have gotten it dry cleaned, I was just upset."
"I would never wish to cause you any distress."
"Aw, Spinelli, I know that. I just saw a stain on a vintage gown, and that's the same as your laptop overheating or your hard thingy crashing."
"Drive."
"Yeah, that," she said, smiling as she folded Sonny's handkerchief and left it in her lap, suddenly wondering how she was going to get it back into his pocket.
"I shouldn't have yelled at you," she apologized, looking over at him as she settled back in her chair. "You've been so good to me tonight, coming as my date when I couldn't find anyone else, and you even danced and complimented me on my dress, and you're just always there for me. I shouldn't snap at you over something as silly as a dress, even if it's vintage and probably was once worn by someone famous, and you basically ruined one of their namesakes-"
"The Jackal understands the direness of the situation," he cut in, folding his hands into his lap. "No reminder is necessary."
Sonny and Kate approached the table from the other side, the oversized diamond ring on her left hand catching every bit of light in the room. Don't get her wrong, Maxie loved diamonds, but there was such a thing as too big, which could come off as looking desperate.
And there was no doubt in her mind that Sonny was the latter.
He pulled out his chair for Kate, who smiled softly at them across the table. "Spinelli, you look very nice this evening," she said, patting her fiancé on the shoulder when he sat down next to her. "A good tuxedo does amazing things for every man."
He just nodded uncomfortably, having learned better than to speak in Sonny's presence, and Maxi knew it was because the jerk couldn't seem to understand that Spinelli was a human being with feelings. Sure, he talked in his own way and had specific routines, but that was no reason for him to treat her friend like garbage. If anything, she liked to imagine that deep down, Sonny was jealous that he was such a crappy person, and Spinelli was just so damn great.
Sonny's eyes landed on Spinelli's briefly, before he shifted them across the room. "I haven't even spoken to Jason tonight," he muttered, reaching for his short glass of scotch.
Maxie frowned, knowing that was about his fourth glass, and while she had never really experienced an intoxicated Sonny Corinthos, she'd heard rumors. Not to mention that it was just tasteless to get plastered at a benefit for a woman he was previously involved with.
Goodness, this man had a lot to learn if he was going to exist in the world of Couture.
"I saw him talking to Carly earlier," Kate replied, looking around the ballroom. "I'm sure he's keeping to himself. This must be incredibly hard for him, Sonny. I barely know Jason, but from what you say, Emily meant the world to him." She reached for her glass of wine and looked over at Spinelli. "Give him my best, will you?"
He nodded, dropping his eyes to his lap as his face filled with distress, and she knew it was because of Jason's obvious dislike for the woman.
"You could be respectful," Sonny hissed, shifting his eyes back to Spinelli. "After all, you're dining and dating on Kate's dime tonight."
Spinelli stiffened, his gaze staying in his lap. "No disrespect Mr. Corinthos, sir, but you know you exactly why the Jackal will never give Stone Cold best wishes on the part of the lovely Fashionista."
"Excuse me?" Sonny snarled, getting up from his chair.
"Please don't do this here," Kate said, grabbing his wrist when heads turned from the surrounding tables.
"Or ever," Maxie spat, as she stood up and threw his stained handkerchief down on the table, grabbing Spinelli by the hand. "You know, if you want respect, you have to earn it, Sonny."
"You better back off, sweetheart, before you bite off more than you can chew," he growled, leaning across the table.
"Or what?" she challenged, smirking and tossing her head back to get her hair out of her eyes. "You going to bury me six feet under?" She paused, glancing at Spinelli and shook her head as she grinned. "Wait, you can't do that anymore. You're basically a nobody, which means you better stop treating everyone like you're someone special."
Before the once mob kingpin could reply, she pulled Spinelli away from the table, her knees shaking from a mixture of rage and fear.
"I am so sick of him kicking you around," she said, heading towards the lobby, still clutching his hand.
"The Jackal appreciates the Fair Maximista's sentiments, but Mr. Corinthos is to be betrothed to your boss, and don't you think-"
"She's not going to fire me because then she'd just have Lulu," she interrupted, rounding the corner and barreling into Jason so hard, she nearly fell over. "Why don't you watch where you're going?"
"You ran into me," he said, smoothing his hands over the front of his rumpled tuxedo. His bowtie hung loosely at his neck, and she couldn't help but notice that the top two buttons on his tuxedo shirt were missing.
"I think you're just a little preoccupied," she replied, narrowing her eyes as she looked him up and down.
"Don't look at me like that," Jason muttered, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck and glaring at Spinelli. "Make her stop looking at me like that."
"Fair Maximista, perhaps we should continue-" He stopped mid-sentence when Claudia came upon them, tugging at the hem of her dress with one hand, while she combed her hair with the other.
"Just the man I wanted to run into," she purred, running her finger down Jason's arm.
Maxie arched an eyebrow and smirked at him as he shook his head and threw his hands up. "Stop following me," he said angrily, before looking at Spinelli. "Make her stop following me."
"Like I don't have better things to do," Maxie scoffed, rolling her eyes.
Without another word, Jason grabbed Claudia by the arm, jerking her down the hallway, laughing when she commented about liking it rough.
"Please tell me they are not-"
"Fair Elizabeth!" Spinelli interrupted, extending a hand and a smile to the tiny brunette as she rounded the corner.
She froze briefly, just like she had in the bathroom earlier in the evening, her cheeks turning flushed. "Spinelli…Maxie."
"I heard the boys had a great time with Lucky," she teased, unable to bite her tongue, enjoying how the brunette squirmed.
"Oh," Elizabeth murmured, rubbing a hand over her neck, pushing away enough hair for Maxie to sneak a peek at the faint hickey on her neck.
"Hey, Elizabeth!" Leo said, coming upon them, his tuxedo as rumpled as Jason's had been. "Don't think you're getting away without that dance."
"Of course not," she replied, swallowing hard as the doctor draped his arm around her waist, tugging her away from them.
Maxie's eyes widened as she turned to watch them walk away. "Oh, I really hope she's not sleeping with Leo."
Spinelli frowned, looking at her intently. "You can't think the Fair Elizabeth has a soft spot for him. Granted, he is a man who handles matters of the heart, but to think…"
"Exactly," she said, nodding as she looped her arm back through his and steered them towards the lobby. "Such a shame because he is a total downgrade from the hotness that is Lucky and Jason, but his wallet and charm could quite possibly make up for it. She is a single mother after all, and she's searching for the right man to be a father to her babies."
"Look on the bright side," she continued happily, squeezing him on the arm. "Elizabeth banging Leo is not nearly as bad as Jason banging Claudia Zacharra."
"You couldn't possibly think…," he gasped, shaking his head as they made their way to the lobby.
"You're so innocent, Spinelli," she teased, grinning at him. "The rumpled clothes, the uncomfortable stares, not to mention the hickey that I saw on Elizabeth's neck, and how pissed off Jason was at being caught. And how he grabbed Claudia and dragged her away, who totally had that I-just-got-it-real-good grin on her face." She frowned, not noticing the way Spinelli was looking over his shoulder, a tight grimace on his face. "It's just so not fair. They all snuck away to have hot, sweaty, grief sex, and you know, I kind of envy them for it."