The final story in the Life With Lizzie Trilogy. Now that Jason's found himself it was time to have a little Lizzie-style fun with the couple. Plus, I wanted to do a bit more with Carly and Lorenzo.
Part I
"I am never speaking to you again."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes behind her closed lids and leaned her head back against the cool cinderblock wall. Her friend could be such a drama queen sometimes.
"I can't believe you got me arrested," she continued on and Elizabeth felt her jaw tense. Normally she loved the girl, but tonight after three days of very little sleep, too much booze and a headache that could bring down a rhino, she was not in the mood for the prissy prima donna.
"Oh would you give it a rest?" Carly snapped, her voice bouncing off the walls.
"Forgive me for not being as casual about this as you two," Gia shot back. "I've never been arrested before."
"Relax," Elizabeth spoke for the first time. Ahe lifted her head, grimacing as the movement shot pain straight into the base of her skull. "We're not going to prison; we're just in a holding cell. And I'll bet you dollars to donuts the charges are dropped before breakfast."
Gia peered at her questioningly. "How can you be so sure? Are Lorenzo and Jason going to make sure of it?"
"Yeah," Carly scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "'Cause Lorenzo's all mobbed up and he's gonna pay off the officials. Girl, you watch way too much Sopranos."
"They'll most likely drop the charges because they're flimsy and circumstantial at best. We were on The Strip on a Saturday night and it's those sorority girl clones word against ours. We were just walking into The Bellagio, and the security tapes will prove it. We probably wouldn't even have been arrested if Carly over there hadn't gotten so upset."
"Blondie spilled her drink on me and then had the nerve to accuse us of taking her purse. Like I would intentionally take something of hers. Anyone who paired that top with those shoes...I don't even want to know what kind of purse she'd think was fashionable."
"I really hope the charges are dropped," Gia said. "I don't want to have to call Zander and ask him to send bail money."
Elizabeth looked over at Carly and knew she was thinking the same thing she was. Trouble just seemed to follow the two of them, and even though this was the first time Gia had been arrested, it certainly wasn't theirs. They'd been each other's jail buddies long before she met Jason. It started back when they got picked up in high school for toilet papering their history teacher's house, to the time they got into a bar fight down at Rocky Point. Sonny and Jason had just shaken their heads sadly when they showed up to bail them out.
When Elizabeth announced they were going to Las Vegas for Carly's bachlorette party Lorenzo and Jason had looked just a little bit apprehensive. They said things had been quiet lately, running smoothly, and given their law of averages they were due to have something happen. Especially since the reason they were going was so Carly could see the cast of Las Vegas which were doing location shots that week. They said that combining the two of them, Las Vegas and star watching was just bound to cause something to happen. If Jason and Lorenzo found out they'd been arrested they'd never let them live down the weekend.
"Don't worry," Elizabeth tried to calm Gia. "Zander won't care. I know that he's been arrested before, for things much worse than this, so he can't really say anything."
"All I know is if we don't get out of here soon I'll never get the chance to see Danny," Carly groused.
"You know that's the name of the character and not the actor, right?" Gia questioned, her lack of sleep giving her natural sarcasm a finer edge.
"Gia," Elizabeth warned, nearly pleadingly.
"Yes, I'm aware," Carly said, her voice turning frosty. "But I like to call him Danny. I just hope if we do get to see him he's not sharing scenes with Sam. I don't know what it is, but I cannot stand her."
"What's wrong with Sam?"
"Gia," Elizabeth moaned, the pain in the base of her skull intensifying and throbbing through her spine. "Please don't..."
But it was too late. Carly was off to the races. Gia was about to be indoctrinated on all of the reasons why Danny and Delinda belonged together, and since Elizabeth had heard this many, many, many times before and she didn't even watch the show except the nights Carly forced her, she put her feet up on the bench in the holding cell and laid down. Maybe she'd be able to tune out her friends and get rid of the pounding in her brain. But considering the way Gia was now loudly declaring all the reasons why Danny and Mary were so much better than Danny and anybody else, she sadly didn't think so.
"Yeah...okay. Thanks, Rey, keep us informed."
Jason looked up at John as his friend hung up his phone and picked up his cards. Lorenzo and Zander were watching him with equal curiosity, but the sandy haired man seemed not to notice them as he studied his cards, shifted them around, then pulled two out and set them on the table. Jax smirked with barely contained mirth as he threw two cards across the table. Jason scowled at the way they were enjoying themselves way too much.
"John?"
"Yes?" he asked as he looked up, the picture of innocence written across his face. Jason gestured at the phone and raised his brows in question. "Oh, that."
"Yes, that."
"Well," he began, "that was Rey."
"Obviously," Lorenzo said through clenched teeth.
"You'll be happy to know that your fiancées, and girlfriend," he said to Zander, "have not attempted to marry anyone. Gia apparently pierced her belly button, Elizabeth got a tattoo - but it's not visible on her legs, arms, back or stomach so you'll be in for a surprise, Jason - and Carly got them arrested."
Jason's brain was still stuck on Elizabeth's tattoo and wondering exactly where it was, but it raced valiantly to catch up when he heard the word arrested. Lorenzo got there first because he leaned forward and narrowed his dark eyes. "What do you mean she got them arrested?"
John swallowed under his boss's scrutiny. "As they were walking into The Bellagio they bumped into some drunk co-eds. Carly got a drink spilled on her and she took...exception to the incident. There were some heated words exchanged, one of the girls accused them of stealing her purse, Elizabeth added a few choice, and colorful, words and the next thing they knew security was there, followed by Vegas PD, and the whole lot of them were arrested."
"Three days out there," Jax laughed, "you have to admit, it was bound to happen sooner or later."
"Shut up, Jax," Zander grumbled.
"I'm just saying," he shrugged, his eyes twinkling with downright glee. "Especially with Carly and Elizabeth...and a whole lot of alcohol, you knew something was bound to happen."
Jason rubbed his thumb and forefinger over his eyes, mostly in an attempt to temporarily block out the sight of Jax sitting there, that large grin on his face and showing way too much amusement at the situation. Lorenzo sighed as he leaned back in his chair and Zander hooked a hand behind his neck.
"Does it look like they'll be charged with anything?" Lorenzo asked.
"Nah," John shook his head. "Rey was part of the crowd that gave their statements to the cops. He told them he walked in after them, the college girls were clearly drunk and ran into your girlfriends, there was no way they could have taken the purse. He's sure they'll be released soon."
"He'll call when they are?" Zander questioned.
John nodded and Jason let out a breath. "Then we wait. Nothing we can do for them unless they call and do ask for help. But since casinos have tons of security cameras, they'll be cleared. Carly and Elizabeth will just see it as another entry for the book and Gia was just fully inducted into the club. They'll tell us - maybe when they call, more likely when they get home. We know only because we turned into a bunch of ninnies and sent Rey out there to keep an eye on them."
"Then let's play poker, boys," Jax said as he leaned forward, his eyes glinting with that look he got whenever he thought he was going to fleece them. He picked up a stack of his chips and let them shift through his fingers to fall back on the table. "And maybe you can finally tell me how you stopped Carly and Elizabeth from switching the cake order for Corinthos' wedding. After Carly told me what she was planning to do, I was quite disappointed to see everyone calmly eating their cake instead of gagging on it."
"You mean they didn't mess with it?" John asked. "I saw Liz looking like a cat with a canary right around that time. I thought for sure they'd pulled it off."
"No, they decided not to sabotage the wedding cake," Lorenzo said with a small sound somewhere between a chuckle and a groan. "Not after they heard from Allison Barrington that Lily's mother, grandmothers and great-grandmother would be at the bridal shower along with Sonny's grandmother."
"What'd they do?" Jax questioned as he took a sip of his scotch.
"Sent her a cake from that adult store over on Freemont - they do X-rated cakes."
"Along with a note," Jason added, "saying that this way, Lily could share a piece of Sonny with everyone."
"Ugg. All I want is a nice, hot shower," Elizabeth declared as they walked through the lobby of their hotel. "I hate being in jail."
"Well it has to be quick," Carly said as she glanced down at her watch. "I want to get over to the Mandalay Bay early so I can hopefully see Danny before the crowd gets too thick."
Elizabeth shot a stern glare at Gia behind Carly's head and was grateful that the former model kept her mouth shut. She was not up for another round between these two. Only for her best friend would she spend nearly a week in Las Vegas hoofing it around the city trying to spot TV stars.
"After that can we please get some sleep?"
"Sleep?" she asked Gia. "We can sleep when we get back to Port Charles. After Carly gets to ogle for a little while, we've got some hard core gambling to do."
Gia just rolled her eyes while Carly muttered under her breath about what outfit she was going to wear.
One way too short shower later, Elizabeth was heading back outside onto the sidewalk with her friends to set off and find a good spot to scope. The crowds were thick as they made their way down the street, so when Carly stopped suddenly Elizabeth figured they'd run into a snag but they'd soon be on their way again.
"Oh man," Carly scoffed, "get a room. There's plenty around."
Elizabeth followed her gaze and shook her head when she saw the couple that caught Carly's attention. Making out like a pair of teenagers, they were about to cross the line into public indecency the way his hand was moving up her thigh and taking her skirt with him. The three of them were stopped, gawking like rubberneckers at an accident sight, watching to see just how far these two exhibitionists were going to go when the woman moved her head and the trio gasped.
"Lily?" Elizabeth breathed, her eyes wide.
"I didn't think Sonny was into PDAs," Gia shook her head.
"He's not," she agreed, remembering how stiff Sonny could be, guiding Carly with his hand on the small of her back, but never kissing her in public.
"That's not Sonny," Carly informed them. "This guy's too tall and his hair is too light. Which means that Lily is cheating on her husband."
Elizabeth crossed her arms and shifted her weight onto one leg. "Hmm, I always figured it would be him cheating on her while she was at home like the perfect Stepford Wife."
Carly quickly scrambled into action, grabbing her camera from her purse. She snapped several pictures of the cheating wife while a wicked smile crawled across her face. Elizabeth suddenly got a sick feeling in her stomach, she knew that look and it was a look that could only get her into trouble. It was the same look Carly had when she double-dog dared her to go skinny dipping at the lake their first night at summer camp when they were fifteen. She still had nightmares about her father showing up, red in the face and so angry he couldn't speak after the director had called him and demanded he drive up there and claim his wanton daughter. She'd ended up grounded for three months and didn't see her friend again until school started.
She turned her head, not wanting to watch the inevitable train wreck her life was bout to become, and frowned when she saw a man suddenly turn and dip his head so she couldn't see his face. With khaki shorts and a slate blue polo shirt he looked like any other tourist who flocked to Las Vegas. But there was something about the way he stood that made her rack her brain for where she'd seen him before. She was so caught up in her mental photo album that she was surprised when Carly grabbed her arm.
"I said come on," she hissed fervently. "We'll lose 'em."
She found herself being pulled down the street - not toward the Mandalay Bay, but away. "Wait, wait, where are we going? I thought you wanted to try and see Danny."
"Forget Danny," Carly waved her off. "I'm about to blow Sonny's perfect little life right out of the water. How can I pass that up?"
Part II
Elizabeth dashed up the steps to the club, perfectly steady on her four inch heels but feeling like the White Rabbit. She was definitely late, and Carly was going to kill her. Stepping into the club, she looked around, but didn't see any of the people she was supposed to be meeting. Was everyone running late like she was? Then what was the purpose of the frantic phone call Carly placed?
She'd been in the middle of working on her latest sculpture, very frustrated because it wasn't working the way she had envisioned, when she finally heard the ringing of her cell phone. Carly was wondering where she was and said she'd better get down to the club because everyone was waiting for her and she was anxious to get going on things. So after rushing home and changing, she showed up and now the people that were all supposedly waiting on her were conspicuously absent. Gia probably wasn't here yet either, but Carly had made it sound that way so she'd leave her studio.
"Hello, beautiful."
She turned on her stool, her drink in hand and appraised the man standing before her. "Sorry, not interested."
He slipped off his suit coat and tie, loosening the top two buttons of his shirt. "Better?"
"Much," she purred, smiling up at Jason as he folded his tie and put it in his suit pocket. "How can you wear a tie day after day?"
Shaking his head he pulled her close. "Enough talking."
Oh yes, talking was definitely overrated she thought as he fused their lips in a searing kiss. Maybe if Carly wasn't around they could just get out of here, head back to their apartment, get out of their confining clothes and slip into something more comfortable. Like their sheets.
"Hey, Elizabeth, nice of you to finally show up," Carly laughed from behind them. "Hey, Jason."
Or not.
"Hi, Carly," she said, a little breathless as she wiped the lipstick off Jason with slightly trembling fingers.
"We're back in my office," her friend continued on. "You coming, Jason?"
He tried to hide his grimace at the thought and Elizabeth chuckled. "Why don't you go find Lorenzo? I'm sure he's around here somewhere."
"He's going over the books," Carly chuffed. "He says he believes in me, yet always seems so surprised when my accounts actually balance. I love him, but sometimes his anal retentive accounting ways are a bit too much. So please go find him and tell him to knock it off."
"Okay," he chuckled, his eyes still on Elizabeth and holding a promise for later. "I've got some stuff I need to go over with him anyways, so I'll rescue your books."
As usual, she calmed down under his easy demeanor and she flashed him a smile. "Thanks. I promise I won't keep her long. Just a few last details for the wedding...and the plan."
"I'll be there in a moment," Elizabeth promised. When her friend left she shivered at the intensity that had settled back into Jason's gaze. "I won't be long."
"See that you're not," he said, gave her a kiss and then set off in search of Lorenzo, leaving her feeling weak.
Finally convinced that her legs would hold her, she started across the club towards the office when she looked up at the door and the new arrival she saw out of the corner of her eye. She cringed when she realized who it was. Courtney Corinthos was back in town. The blonde gave a perusal of the club, her nose wrinkling as if she'd smelled something foul. Elizabeth wondered why she was back and why she had come to Carly's club. Stopping by an empty table, she crossed her arms over her chest and waited.
When Courtney spotted her, her eyes narrowed slightly and started across the room. She was still the picture of poise, artfully making her way through the crowd in a way that made Elizabeth feel like a gorilla in a glass shop. But she refused to show she was bothered by the other woman, so she stood there looking disinterested until Courtney reached her.
"Where is she?"
"Well, hello to you too, Courtney," Elizabeth smiled politely. "I'm doing fine, thank you."
"Oh cut the crap you two-bit welder. Where is Carly?"
"I'm not sure," she lied as she shrugged. "She's very busy with the club, planning her wedding, spending time with her fiancé. You should try calling her secretary and making an appointment. But, I'm feeling a bit generous tonight, so if the message is brief I'll try to remember to pass it along to her."
"Yeah, I'm sure," she shook her head.
"Okay, suit yourself then," Elizabeth said with a shrug, then flashed a bright smile and turned to leave.
"I know you were in on it," Courtney snapped.
"In on what?" She turned back around and peered questioningly at the other woman.
"The cake at Lily's bridal shower."
She shook her head in feigned confusion. "What? I think you're a bit confused. I'm a artist, not a baker. And I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The cake - that disgusting cake - that showed up. Lily was embarrassed. We were all embarrassed."
"Disgusting? You mean it didn't taste good?" she questioned and tried not to laugh when Courtney got even angrier. "Where did you get it from? I want to make sure we don't use the same bakery for Carly...or me."
"It was from an adult store, but you already knew that," she snapped while keeping her voice from carrying to the tables around them.
"I do?" she challenged, allowing just a bit of an edge to come into her voice. "You think we did that to Lily? Do you have any actual proof, or did you just come down here to blindly accuse us like an idiot?"
"The bakery didn't say it was you, but I know it was," Courtney hissed. "That's just the kind of low-brow stunt you two would pull."
Elizabeth crossed her arms and cocked a hip to the side. "And why would Carly do something to Lily?"
"Because Sonny dumped her and she's bitter and jealous," she said as if it was the most logical explanation in the world and Elizabeth was stupid for not knowing it.
She couldn't help it. She threw her head back and laughed, drawing curious stares from the people in the club. "She jealous? Of Lily getting Sonny? Right. She's engaged to a wonderful man who treats her like a goddess, who thinks she's smart and doesn't act like she's an embarrassment. But she's jealous that she's no longer with your overbearing brother. Okay, you just keep telling yourself that, sweetheart, and maybe you'll find someone outside of your narrow-minded neurotic family that will actually believe you. In the meantime, you're no longer welcome here."
"You can't kick me out," Courtney challenged, as if not believing someone would actually ban her from some place.
"Maybe not," Carly said as she joined them. Her lips thinned into a bitter smile. "But I can. Get out of my club, and don't bother coming back."
The head of security that'd followed his boss over touched Courtney's elbow and gestured for the door. In an arrogant huff she shook off his hand and marched out of the club. Carly turned to Elizabeth, her eyes full of questions.
"I need a drink and then I'll tell you all about it," she said as she shook her head and walked to the bar where she ordered a double.
"You know," Gia laughed, sinking back into the overstuffed couch in Carly's office, "she's actually right. You two did send that cake to Lily."
"So?" Carly asked with a shrug. "That may be, but that doesn't mean I can't still be upset they would come here to accuse me with no proof. And the fact that I'm supposedly doing this because I'm jealous of her? Please."
"Okay," the former model laughed. "That is a bit ridiculous. I mean, you're engaged to Lorenzo, your club has become one of the hottest spots in Port Charles, but you're still bitter because Sonny dumped you. Right."
"She is bitter," Elizabeth said as she took a sip of her drink. "Not in that bitter jealous kind of way, but more like that-"
"I'm going to make you pay for treating me like a piece of dog crap to be scraped off your shoe kind of bitter," Carly cut in, her lips twisting to the side. "I was good enough to date before he got rich, but suddenly I'm too crass. Whatever."
"Carly," Elizabeth cut in softly. "He's a jerk, and you have Lorenzo. So we'll knock him, his perfect little wife and by extension his sister, off their golden pedestals; and then we will go on with our lives and never look back."
"You don't think I'm being petty, do you?" she asked her two friends in a moment of concern.
"Who cares?" Gia scoffed. "You had to endure everyone sniggering behind your back because of him. Then Little Miss Perfect could be catty and rude to you and nobody would say anything because she was Lily Rivera and socialites aren't held to the same standards. Well, now we've got proof she's not so high and mighty or as pious as she would like others to be. No red-blooded human would fault you."
"Yeah," Elizabeth chimed in. "If Jason had stayed stupid and he and Courtney acted that way towards me, I'd be looking for ways to make them pay."
"You mean after that little incident out there," she flicked her eyes in the direction of the club area, "that you're not thinking of things to do to her?"
Her friend shifted on the leather couch and crossed her legs while fiddling with her drink. Carly couldn't help but laugh, she knew her too well and Elizabeth had probably already started thinking of things to do. Pinning her with a look, her friend could only shrug.
"Alright," she conceded. "There's part of me that wants to wipe that rich, prissy, smug attitude right off her face. But then I realized I don't have to do anything."
Swiveling in her chair Carly studied her, wondering if Elizabeth was already drunk. How could she say she didn't have to do anything to Courtney? Looking over at Gia it was clear she was thinking the same thing. "Okay," she finally said, "I'll bite. Why?"
"Because Jason left her. He realized that the life he was living wasn't what he wanted, and he walked away - from Sonny and from her - and he came back to me. We're getting married. If she decides to live in Port Charles-"
"She sees you and Jason living a happy life with your art and Jason respected in business and the community," Gia finished. "Yeah, it's alright, I guess. But I still think you should do something ."
"Yeah," Carly agreed. "Where's Lizzie who refuses to let anyone mess with her; who makes people think twice about crossing her?"
"Helping you shatter Sonny's idyllic little life. If Courtney gets in my face again, then maybe I'll retaliate. For now, let's figure out how to exact a little revenge."
"Now that I can fully get behind," Carly smiled. Looking over at Gia she asked, "What'd you find out?"
"Jax has been a huge help," she grinned. "Lily was dating someone else down in Puerto Rico before Sonny met her father and the two men started talking merger. It now seems she's not as comfortable with being part of package deal."
"Well sure, it's every girl's dream," Elizabeth scoffed and Carly could tell by the sarcasm that was lacing her voice that the double she'd had in the bar, then in here, was starting to hit her good. Maybe she should order some food or pretty soon her friend would be gone and of little use to her. "Marry a guy and expand your daddy's business. Sign me up for that ride."
"No doubt about it," Gia shook her head, "Sonny and her father are complete jerks for treating her like a cow at barter. Who can blame her for deciding that she's gonna go back to the guy who she was with before?" Then she smirked and added, "Except that the guy in Vegas wasn't her ex."
Carly's expression matched Gia's. "She found a new boy toy? Sonny will find that an ever bigger affront to his manhood. I love it."
"So how do we do this?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean we could just slip the glossy eight by tens of her and this guy in a plain manila envelope and deliver 'em to Sonny, but where's the fun of that?"
"I agree," Gia nodded, her braids slipping over her shoulder. "We want something that's going to send shockwaves. The bigger the better. If he's the only one who sees the pictures, then he's hurt and most of all angry, but-"
"Nobody else has seen that his wife is cheating on him except the person who sent the pictures," Elizabeth picked up on the thought. "But he'll maybe even think he's being blackmailed and probably pay to save the embarrassment."
"No," Carly shook her head. "We want others to know that Mister Latin Macho has been cuckolded."
"Investor meeting."
The three of them turned to the doorway to see Jason and Lorenzo standing just inside.
"Investor meeting," Jason repeated. "After the wedding and the merger, Rivera was supposed to bring in some investors. There's talk of expansion.
"The meeting take place yet?" Carly asked.
"No," her fiancé shook his head. "I've been keeping an eye on him and his business. Always know your rival."
"Any way to find out?" She swiveled in her chair to face him as he leaned against the wall.
He smiled, that slow, confident smile like he did the first time they met and he immediately set his sights on her. "I'll ask around. Jax will probably too if you ask him."
"Good, you do that," Gia said, pulling them back into the room. "When we find out where and when they're meeting, we'll slip the pictures into the prospective or presentation or something. I'm going to go. Lizzie, if you change your mind just let me know. I've still got some contacts in Milan and Paris where she frequents. Nothing like a little international humiliation."
"I'll let you know," she smiled as she leaned into Jason's side as he stood beside the couch. "Tell Zander hi for me."
"Will do," she nodded as she headed out the door, calling her good-byes over her shoulder.
"I think we're going to go, too," Jason said, as he held his hand out to Elizabeth. He helped her to her feet and when she reached for her shoes Carly almost laughed at the way - even now - Jason's eyes grazed over her as she bent down.
"I'll call you tomorrow," her friend smiled at her. "Let me know when you want to head over to the caterer alright? Night, Lorenzo."
He said goodnight to the couple, then closed the door behind them. He crossed the room to sit down on the leather sofa, and she followed, tucking her legs under her as she sat beside him. His fingers skimmed over her bare shoulder, soft and casual, not meant to entice quite yet. "So, you're determined to do this, still?"
She pulled back slightly so she could see him better. "Trying to talk me out of it?"
"Nope," he shook his head. "Just going to say be careful, because Corinthos may turn on you when he figures out you're behind this."
"Then it's a good thing," she smiled, leaning forward until their lips nearly touched, "that I'm very, very good at covering my tracks."
Part III
"I am going to kill her."
"No, you're not," Lorenzo laughed as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "So they're a little late. Don't worry so much, they'll be here."
"They better," Carly huffed. They were standing to the side of the church, the other members of the wedding party and minister casually talking. They were supposed to be having their wedding rehearsal at this moment, then go out for dinner. But the maid of honor and groomsman were missing; they hadn't come back from their trip to Atlantic City yet.
Six weeks after deciding how to blow Sonny's world apart, Jax came through and let them know when Sonny and his father-in-law would be meeting with the potential investors. Then John came through with a piece of pure magic. He brought in his cousin from Newark who was an all-purpose kind of guy. Which was a polite way of saying he was a con. But he was extremely good at what he did.
He put together a team that blew up the pictures from Vegas in an out of state lab, untraceable to anyone of them. Then when they all left town several days before the investors meeting, to give them airtight alibis, he stuck around and went in to prepare the room. He also installed spy cameras so they could view the big reveal later that evening.
Carly and Lorenzo headed to Chicago where he surprised her with a pre-wedding gift of a beautiful teardrop sapphire necklace in a platinum setting. They spent several days shopping and getting an early start on their honeymoon. It was time devoted solely to her, and didn't look out of the ordinary because he was constantly whisking her off on weekend getaways. They left the earliest, two days before Sonny's meeting, and returned the morning after.
Zander and Gia went to New York City so that Gia could check out a fashion design college she was interested in, and Zander couriered some papers for Jax. They were the least likely to be suspected, but they followed the same pattern as everybody else and had solid alibis. Being a good friend to Elizabeth and Carly, Gia would naturally be suspected of having some part in the scheme. John and Jax stayed in town so that it wouldn't seem too suspicious if everyone took off, but both men were in all day meetings from breakfast to dinner the day of the big reveal.
Elizabeth and Jason played up the while the boss is away the employee will skip out for an extended weekend scenario that takes place in Corporate America all the time. Except they were supposed to return from Atlantic City two days ago. They weren't in any hotel in the town unless they were registered under different names, and neither one had their cell phones turned on. They were supposed to be here, and Carly knew that Elizabeth wouldn't miss this unless there was something wrong.
She paused in her angry pacing and brought her hand to her mouth. Elizabeth was her best friend; she knew that unless something happened the other woman would be here. Here she'd been so focused on how her day was going to be ruined by the schedule being thrown off, and Elizabeth and Jason could be hurt.
"Don't worry," Lorenzo said as he came up behind her and murmured in her ear. "We've checked the hospitals between here and there; neither one of them has been admitted."
"How did you know?" she questioned.
He turned her in his arms and rubbed his thumb over her forehead softly. "You lost the angry crease between your eyes and your eyes crinkled with worry."
"This just isn't like them," she shook her head. "I just wish I knew where they were. And I swear if she isn't hurt or sick then I am going to hurt her myself."
"Hey, I think they just pulled up in the parking lot," John called from the window and everyone rushed across the room.
Sure enough, Carly saw Jason and Elizabeth were climbing out of her car - she must have won the argument that while she loved his bike, they weren't taking it all the way to Atlantic City - looking happy, well rested and tanned. Jason wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, trapping her between him and the car while he lowered his head and kissed her soundly. His hand was traveling up her thigh, inching up to cup her bottom when Elizabeth broke away from the kiss and grabbed his hand. The blushing woman shook her head and tipped her head towards the church as if to remind him of where they were.
Jax laughed and whistled under his breath. "I thought we were going to have to break out the fire hose to cool those two off."
The others laughed and moved away from the window, but Carly remained. She was peering closely at the hand Jason was brushing through Elizabeth's hair. His left hand. The hand she was certain was sporting a ring that hadn't been there before her friends left. If those two ran away and eloped... "I am going to kill them."
"She's going to kill me."
"She's your best friend, she's not going to kill you," Jason chuckled. "If anything, she'll kill me. She's got no loyalty to me, she hated me before...in fact I think she one time took a knife to all four of my tires."
Elizabeth peered up at him after he said that, Carly hadn't shared that bit of information with her. So either her friend hadn't wanted her to know, or someone else had done it to him in a pique of anger. No, that definitely sounded like something Carly would do, and she knew for a fact she had the knife to do it with. "No," she shook her head, "she got over it. You wised up, came back to me, and asked me to marry you. She won't kill you. She'll kill me."
"And why's that?" he laughed at her melodramatics.
"I broke the girlfriend's code," she informed him simply. "Don't upstage the bride."
"Jason, Elizabeth," John called from the steps of the church. "We wondered where you'd disappeared to. Carly was ready to call out the National Guard. 'Though whether that was to rescue you or hunt you down we're not sure."
"How mad is she?" she asked a bit fearful as they approached.
He winced slightly. "I've seen worse, but I've definitely seen better."
"Well, better go face the music," she sighed and Jason didn't bother to hide the roll of his eyes.
"Ah, cheer up, Elizabeth," John laughed as they approached him. "So you took a few extra days vacation and came a bit late to the rehearsal. She'll forgive you because she loves you. As long as you two didn't run off and elope she won't..."
He trailed off and looked at them as Jason shifted to the side and she stared at her shoes as heat bloomed on her face. "You guys got married?"
"What?" Lorenzo asked as he came out of the doors followed by everyone else. "You two got married?"
Elizabeth looked up, only searching for Carly's eyes and nodded ever so slightly. "Are you mad?"
"Are you happy?"
Her smile was immediate and beaming. "I love him, he loves me, and we didn't want a huge affair...though we missed you guys."
Carly folded her arms across her stomach and Elizabeth felt guilty for beating her friend to the altar, but it started to fade when Carly began to laugh. "You two have never done anything the conventional way. For crying out loud, your first date was a trip to the ER after he felt so bad you may have broken a finger when you punched him. Any normal guy would have had you arrested or never spoken to you again, but he fell in love with you and married you. Of course you two would elope."
Elizabeth smiled as she stepped into Carly's waiting hug. "I don't want to upstage your day."
"Don't worry about it," Carly waved her hand. "You're here and I'd rather have that than you hiding from me. Come on. The reverend's getting impatient and we have a video to watch later."
As the two women walked into the church her friend linked their arms and leaned into her side. "You do realize that in order to make up for me not being at your wedding or in your pictures, that I'm going to throw your bridal shower, help you register and plan your reception? Of course that's after I get back from my two-week honeymoon. So enjoy your freedom while you can, honey."
Elizabeth laughed even when she wanted to groan. But as long as Carly wasn't going to be mad at her, she'd let her friend make all the plans she wanted. And then she'd argue with her once they were presented.
As she took her place in the wedding party Jason slid up behind her. "See, you worry too much." Then he kissed the back of her neck, gave her left hand a squeeze and headed to his place in line.
The tape was everything they could have wished for and more. In addition to being a pretty smart crook, John's cousin was a video wizard. He had set up cameras in key positions so that no matter where anyone stood in the room, their expressions and words would be completely captured. When there were good shots from more than one camera, he put them up split screen style that was very reminiscent of 24.
From the moment Sonny walked in, already talking up the investors and turned, trailing off to a stop as he saw the pictures, the action never stopped. He stared in shock, sputtering at first, and then demanding to know what was happening. Rivera made quick apologies to the investors, ushering them from the room before turning on Sonny. He demanded to know what kind of game the younger man was playing, humiliating him and his daughter, trying to make her look unfaithful in such a grotesque manner.
The fiercely protective papa said that if this was Sonny's attempt at getting out of the marriage while keeping the money, it wasn't going to work. Lily had told him all about how Sonny was cold and distant to her, more interested in reading about his ex's success and upcoming marriage than being with her. There was no way he was going to let his son-in-law besmirch his daughter and then think he could divorce her.
Sonny insisted that he was the one being wronged. His wife was cheating on him, lying to him and sneaking around, there was no way he'd let anyone put the blame on him. In the end, they called Lily and demanded she come down and clear this all up.
So their surprise had been great when she strolled in some time later and didn't even flinch at the pictures plastered on the walls. As they questioned her - Sonny yelling about betrayal and faithlessness, her father certain there was an explanation for it all - she just stood there and said nothing. Finally when they noticed her lack of nervousness, or tears, they silenced and waited for her to speak. And when she did, she held nothing back.
She railed against her father for forcing her to end her relationship and foisting her on Sonny. Each man had used her to further their own interests; it was all about business for them and she was nothing but a pawn. So she figured if guys could do whatever they wanted, then she was going to live her life the same way. Since her father had intimidated and paid off her old boyfriend, she went out and found someone new who treated her like she was special and cherished their time together instead of looking forward to when his next business meeting was.
When the tape ended, Carly leaned back and shook her head. "Lily got a backbone and walked out of her marriage? And I helped her?"
"Funny how life works," Jax laughed. "She's filed for divorce, and Daddy proved that blood is thicker than water."
"He's pulled out of Sonny's business," Jason surmised.
Jax tipped his scotch glass in affirmation. "Corinthos' business is going to collapse. His customers are canceling orders-"
"And he doesn't have the money to return their deposits. He over-extended the company's resources. I knew it was getting bad before I left."
The Australian nodded once again. "Yep. It's crumbling and I wouldn't be surprised if he's investigated. So cheer up, Carly," he flashed her a smile. "You exposed him for a fraud and a cheat, he lost his wife and he's gonna be blacklisted in the community. While you have a highly successful club, you're getting married to the second best businessman in town, and your best friend is an artist who's making quite a name for herself."
"Thank you, Jax," Elizabeth tipped her drink at him.
"You're welcome, beautiful. So, Carly, even if you didn't quite get Lily back the way you'd hoped for, I think we can call the overall mission a success. Now...don't you have a wedding tomorrow?"
She just smiled at him and chuckled. "Yes, indeed I do."
"Then I propose a toast," he said as he picked up his tumbler of scotch. "To Carly and Lorenzo...and a beautiful wedding tomorrow. To Elizabeth and Jason...for decidedly doing things your own way with your unique flair. And to all of us...for a beautifully planned and exceptionally executed revenge."
The End
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