Chapter 8: Companies Believed to be Defunct are Back in Business

She sighed and wiped her eyes. "Thank you Stephanie. I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't pushed and I needed the release."

"I get it, Car," she assured as her friend sat up and began pulling herself together. "I know you want to be strong for your kids, but if you don't take care of you then how do you expect to pull that off."

Carly stood and helped Stephanie to her feet. "If I say you're right, can I count on you to let it go and not gloat?"

"You are so lucky to have me," she sighed heavily intending to continue the lightness of the mood.
Instead, Carly quieted as her mind tried to drift to another time when similar words had been spoken from one friend to another.

"You were lucky to have me."
"…I know."

"Carly? Dear, what's wrong?" Stephanie's voiced jarred her back into reality.

"Sorry," she offered sheepishly. "Let's talk about something else. Let's hear about how you're doing? How did the doctor's appointment go? Do we have the all clear?"

"Actually," Stephanie hedges. "Yes, we do! As much as any doctor will when the diagnosis was cancer. I have no signs of cancer cells left. It would appear I am in remission. I told the family last night."

"Your family must be so excited!" Carly jumped up clapping her hands. "So what does that mean for Forrester? What do you have planned for the Ho-gans?"

"Carly!"

"What! Don't tell me you haven't thought it," she replied indignantly. "That woman, her superhuman womb and all the rest of her kind have been nothing but a disgrace and a disaster to your family since she hit LA! You told me so yourself!"

"Carly, we've made peace!"

"Are you kidding me?" She gasps in shock. "That tramp has slept her way through your entire family as well as her own. I've done some things that I'm not proud of, but I have never gone out in search of a set of father & son engagement rings! Or babies! I can understand that when you thought you were dying, you went through a stage where you were all forgiveness and good will towards man, but enough's enough! Please tell me that the radiation hasn't messed with your head."

"Carly, Brooke loves my son, and he loves her."

"No, Brooke loves your son's money and power. Ridge obviously needs someone strong enough to tell him what to do, since he can't seem to follow his heart or his loyalty. That's where you come in." When her friend would have disagreed, she cut her off. "And you're in luck. I've already saved my best friend from making the biggest mistake of his life. So except for MetroCourt expansion, I've got some time on my hands. I'd be happy to whip Taylor into shape and show Brooke and Ridge the true meaning of a blonde bombshell. As matter of fact…"

"What are you plotting?"

"Well, I was thinking? That other son of yours, Thorne. He's got a thing for Taylor, right? I could put them together, teach her a thing or two, and let her practice on him. Meanwhile, I'll entice a certain CEO of Forrester away from his 'dutiful' wife. I could have him wrapped around my finger within a few weeks and never have to give it up. His current wifey will be out of the way. Enter Taylor turned up a few notches and dangling little brother. Ridge won't be able to resist and I'll pick up Thorne temporarily so I won't be bored."

"And you just came up with that whole scenario in a matter of minutes?" Stephanie scoffed.

"Well, yeah," Carly answered as if to say 'duh'. "It's not like back home where it's a small town where everybody knows everybody. And everybody's in your business. This is LA, baby. I used to run stuff way worst than this all around FL before I moved to New York."

"Hmm."

"There she is," Carly crowed. "I missed you, honey."

"Who?"

"The real Stephanie Forrester," she answered with a glint of amusement flashing in her eye. "I was wondering how long you would bury her under fear of dying. But take it from someone who has faced death far more than the average person, it is not good to use it as an excuse to hide who you are. If you want to change, do it, but fear only ever leads to lost opportunities for happiness. Now, are you down to take down a few HOgans and set Forrester Creations back to rights? With your son in charge and your grandkids front and center. Because let me tell you that Hope for the Future line?"

Carly sighs shaking her head. "While I respect the message, I could do without the condescending, blonde pixie twit spouting it and the clothes… Forever 21 and Charlotte Russe do better, more innovative work than that. The only thing she has going for her is the engagement to DollarBill's hottie of a son."

"Now, Carly, Hope is a sweet girl despite her mother's—"

"Ha!" Carly laughed uproariously. "I knew it! You haven't forgiven that cheap two-bit homewrecker! So are you in?"

"Are you sure you're ok?" Michael couldn't help asking again.

"Yes, I swear," Steffy stressed.

"Maybe we should as Momma what she thinks," Morgan added ignoring Steffy to ask his brother. There were three people Morgan trust above everyone when things got bad: His mom, his Uncle Jason, and his big brother. Whenever things got bad one of them or all of them was always there and they always knew what to do. Like the bus crash. Michael had found him when he was hurt and alone, and not long after his mom and Uncle Jason risked everything to come for them, too.

"I said I'm fine," Steffy huffed. "Look, if you need reassurance, we can go to the ER and have them check me out, but only if you promise me something."

"I won't guarantee anything until I hear it," Michael answered, and Morgan nodded following his brother's lead.

"Look, I need you to promise not to tell anyone unless I'm wrong and it turns out I'm not fine." She explained, "Look my grandmother who was diagnosed with cancer just found out she's in remission. Not mention this would be the second time I hit my head and nearly drowned in the last month. Last time, I was getting into the bathtub and hit my head, but my friend, Liam, saved me. I don't want to freak out my family if I can avoid it. So what do you say?"

Morgan and Steffy kept their eyes trained on Michael because Steffy knew Spencer would agree with whatever Michael decided. "I guess so." Michael nodded. "But let's be clear. If there's something wrong, I'm calling my mom and they can ask you directly why we kept this to ourselves, got it?"

"Got it."

"Alright, M—Spencer. I need you to stay here," Michael ordered receiving a deferent nod from his brother.

"What's the story?" he immediately asked.

"Steffy offered to show me LA and maybe introduce me to some of her friends."

"You boys are pretty quick with a cover story," Steffy said taken aback. "This wouldn't be a habit for you now, would it?"

"Our last name may be Morgan," Morgan started.

"But we're Spencers through and through," Michael finished sharing a crooked grin with his little brother. "We take after our mother's side of the family. She'd be disappointed if we didn't try to pull something over on her occasionally. So don't you think it's time you call Molly?"

"Good idea," Morgan agreed readily. "Text me when you know something." And with Michael's nod of agreement, he shot off toward the house.

"Ok, you sit down under the umbrella and rest while I get this cleaned up," Michael ordered gently, "but don't go to sleep. We don't know whether or not you have a concussion so better safe than sorry."

"Aye, aye, Blondie," she sneered slightly annoyed but mostly appreciative of the way he took charge.

Michael quickly handed her a bottle of water from the cooler and dressed before he began cleaning up the spot she'd set up for them. "Food?" he commented to keep her talking. "I guess you thought of everything."

"Not everything. You'll note no first aid kit."

"Well, I want to thank you," Michael replied as nonchalantly as possible when he felt anything but nonchalant around her.

"Thank me?" she asked in surprise. "For what? Ruining our day of fun in the sun?"

"No," he replied rolling his eyes at her denseness. "Thank you for this day. You gave my little brother something to look forward to now that our lives have change so completely. You gave us both a day of fun in the sun and you made an effort to make it nice. You didn't have to do any of that. I mean, I'm sure you have your own friends and your own life, but you did." He knelt beside her for a moment making sure she met his gaze. "You did it without expecting anything in return and that means something. You're a good person and you deserve to be appreciated for it."

Feeling flustered, she shook her head and looked away hoping she'd hide at some of the blush staining her cheeks. "You shouldn't say that. You don't know me that well. If you don't know me well enough, but if you did, you'd know that wasn't true. Ask anyone. I'm a selfish schemer. I went after a married man. I went after my stepsisters boyfriends. I have no problem using my body and my sexuality to get ahead. I have no morals and no scruples."

"Stop it," Michael snapped growing angrier by the second at the people who'd convinced such an amazing person that she was so worthless. It scared him how much she was sounding like his mom. "Do you want to know what I think? Well, I'll tell you. Whoever tried to fill you head with that nonsense is the selfish one. You want to know what I see when I look at you. I see a beautiful sexy woman who isn't ashamed of it and has no reason to be."

When he knew he had her undivided attention, he continued, "I see a strong, loving person who is so caring that she was ready to take a couple of strangers under her wing and try to make their transition to a new place enjoyable—someone who was so loyal to her family that she was willing to put her own health at risk just to keep from worrying them. Where I come from, that kind of loyalty and love means something. Whatever mistakes or bad decisions you've made can't begin to compare to mine."

"I don't know. You may be the kindest, bravest guy I've ever met. And this is coming from someone who has already had a hero save her life once before. After everything I told you, you're still being so nice to me. You must be the least judgmental person I've ever met. I hope this means I can count you as my friend."

"Well, I've had a hard life and experienced some pretty insane things in the process. A little sexual promiscuity isn't really a deal breaker for me. Would you believe my girlfriend is an ex-stripper whose stage name was Candy while she worked her way towards her degree as a paralegal? And that's still only the tip of the iceberg."

"Wow," she gasped. "You're amazing. I can't think of a thing you could tell me that would make me want to rethink a friendship with you."

"You'd be surprised," Michael said looking away flashing to the night he killed Claudia. "And maybe I'll tell you some time after we've gotten to know each other better."

"Whatever you say, Blondie, but I can't help thinking you may be the most perfect person on the planet. Which means you'll want to warn your girlfriend."

"Why?" he answered with humor evident in his voice as he stood and finished gathering their things. "We're not married and she's not your stepsister."

"Hardy-har-har!" she mocked sticking her tongue out at him. "You're so funny! Besides, I wasn't talking about me. I was thinking about my stepsister, Hope. She's this paragon of virtue that any guy I've ever been interested in can't seem to resist either falling for or wanting to protect. Abby won't stand a chance."

"Abby has nothing to worry about, then. She doesn't sound like my type. I'm more interest in a woman. Someone who has lived through things and survived," Michael assured her reaching out a hand to help her to her feet. As she stood, their eyes locked. "If I was gonna fall for anyone… let's just say the person she would need to worry about would be more like you."

"What are you doing here?" Jason snarled.

"Jason, please," Sam pleaded.

"Do you not listen, Angela?" he snarled. "We have nothing more to say to each other."

"Yeah," Johnny quipped. "Later, Sandra."

"No, it was Amanda, right, J?"

"That can't be it, can it, Jase?"

He snapped his fingers. "I remember, Samantha. Be clear. You are not welcome here, and if I ever see you near someone I care about again, you won't have to worry about me threatening you because you won't be alive long enough." His eyes grew colder with each word out of his mouth.

By the time he'd finished speaking, she had curled in on herself rubbing her arms as if to warm herself. "I figured I should help you out since you seem to be so fond of boundaries. Those are mine. Now, leave!" he snarled with barely contained disgust and rage.

Johnny's gun never wavered as she scurried off to the elevator. Once the doors closed behind her, Johnny turned to his friend and tossed him a cold smile that would have frightened a lesser man such as Milo who had been inching farther from Sam and the men throughout the confrontation. "Maybe you're not such a lost cause after all, Jase! But if you want me to decide, you'll have to let me kill her!"

"We'll ask Carly once she comes home. She might have other ideas. You know how much she enjoys revenge, J. Besides she always had a particular talent for baseball bats."

Johnny roared with laughter as they turned to reenter the penthouse. "Do you remember the look on Tagliotti's face?! I was positive he was gonna piss himself!"

"Remember?" Jason laughed before closing the door. "I've got video, J."