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The Triumph Of AJ Quartermaine
Chapter Thirty Eight
Clues Galore
Mid-morning before the board meeting everyone is getting prepared at various locations. AJ is closeted in his study gathering his facts and proxies. Ned is meeting with Edward doing some last minute campaigning. Even if Alan and Monica go with AJ, if Edward and Tracy's proxy go with him then he is set as the CEO. Ned had been trying to get hold of Katherine all morning without any luck. She was off on a shoot for Deception and isn't due back until evening. Lila's hairdresser is at the mansion doing her hair. Emily's off at school plotting on how she could get out of the board meeting. Monica's at work avoiding Ned's calls but trying to put in a full surgery schedule before she has to leave for the meeting. Alan's at Kelly's getting coffee before returning to the clinic to finish up his shift and dreading the return to the mansion. If he finished early enough or if it wore his beeper he might even get in a NA meeting before the family fight to come. Sonny and Jason are down at the warehouse working on their coffee project basically ignoring the ELQ boardmeeting. Carly had been closeted with AJ earlier dragging out of him the info she needed to be prepared for the evening. Finally, Carly had left the house to go to the Deception spa after verifying that they had babysitting available. Everything had to go as planned this evening and she was going to make sure that she looked perfect for what AJ had called her "coming out party" with the Quartermaines. The dress she had, AJ said that the dress she wore to the opera in New York would be perfect but she was going to make sure that there was no way that the Q's would forget this evening.
In the kitchen Cook was preparing a feast for the those about to do battle. They might ruin their appetites but it wouldn't be her fault. Sally was dusting and cleaning getting everything spick and span in the nursery as well as the rest of the house while Reggie supervised the arrival of the florist with a shop's worth of cut blooms that needed to be stuffed into vases around the house. There would be no vases in the room with the boardmeeting or at least no breakable ones. After the florist, Reggie contacts the security service making sure that there would be no unexpected visits from Tracy's minions or other riffraff. If only he could get Katherine Bell barred at the gate. The woman was poison. It was bad enough that she had FONDLED him the last time that she stayed at the house. Mrs Q would have a stroke if she knew. Finishing with security, Reggie goes down in the wine cellar to pick out a selection for the dinner if the meeting even got that far; half the time they didn't. Going through his checklist, he realizes the one thing that he forgot. Getting on the phone he contacts Miss Anderson regarding the quarterly group photo, finally getting her on the phone he promises her a bonus and hazard pay for the duty if she can make it to the mansion by seven.
Mid afternoon the day of the meeting. Lila and Emily begin watching a video in Lila's rooms after Emily gets back from school. Monica has finished her last surgury and begins plowing through the reams of paperwork that go along with being the Chief of Staff of the hospital. She reviews the performance evaluations of the latest crop of interns making a note of who would be front runner for this year's Quartermaine fellowship-- hoping that this year there wouldn't be another scandal attached to it. Alan finishes up with his last patient. He consults briefly with Valerie before telling her that he is wearing his beeper but that he was going to a NA meeting. He might not NEED one right now but hopefully it would be a preemptive strike on the stress to come. Edward is on the phone with Dr Evans. Now that AJ had custody of his great grandson and the child would soon be under the Quartermaine roof the only fly in the pudding was that she-devil, Caroline Benson. Ned is meeting with Alexis over at the PC hotel. Meeting is actually a misnomer; they're having sex. AJ has moved from the study to the kitchen table and continues to make calls this time following up on the contract that he owes to the man that helped him get Katherine Bell's block of stock. Sonny and Jason are sharing a late lunch at the penthouse both because there hadn't been time before but also because Sonny can remember practically starving at these damn board meetings. Carly returns to the house with Michael. So she went a little nuts buying products at the spa and she really shouldn't have since it was putting money in Katherine Bell's pockets. Maybe AJ or Jerry could do something about that later. Carly goes directly to the study to talk to AJ but when he isn't there she checks her email and faxes sitting in AJ's chair with Michael on her lap making periodic grabs at the keyboard. More replies were coming in on her inquiries regarding Dr Evans. But what she really needed was the inside scoop from the staffs point of view. There is only one person sneaky enough to get it for her. Carly calls Lorraine Miller.
Over at the mansion. Reggie sits at the kitchen table already exhausted. Sally is taking three hours off so she will be back in time for the meeting. Cook has finished cleaning up after the simple lunch she'd prepared for everyone in the house. The appetizers were ready and all the prep work for the dinner was completed. She sits down across from Reggie. "Are you ready for this?"
"No, but you think that'll stop them?" Reggie protests.
"It never has before. I made a light snack for Miss Emily and Mrs Lila. They probably won't have an appetite later. Sally pressed the ladies outfits and they are all hanging in their closets for when they get ready. You think Ms Benson is going to bring the baby?"
"I'm sure of it. I'm just wondering who is going to be here to vote Jason's stock... Jason or Sonny or both. It could be messier than normal."
The penthouse.
"Jason, you don't have to go tonight." Sonny offers. "I've handled this before without you. Just vote with Ned or Monica; the same rules apply. I know how much you hate going in that house."
"I'll be fine. AJ said that this was Carly's coming out party for the Q's whatever that means. If you can keep them distracted maybe I can talk to her."
"And tell her what? Have you figured out what you want?" Sonny asks.
"I want things the way they were. With Carly and Michael at the penthouse with me."
"Not just Michael."
"Carly is Michael's mother."
"Yeah, you keep saying that. But the stories you were telling yesterday weren't about Michael. They were about Carly. You miss her, don't you? You missed her the whole time she was in Ferncliffe. That's why you took the pictures everyday-- not for Michael but for Carly."
"Miss her?"
"Yeah, miss her, want her, maybe even love her?"
"I loved Robin."
"And I loved Brenda. There are too many times when I wish I had died with her but I know that I'll be with someone else some day. Loving Brenda didn't stop me from being with other women. I married Lily. She was carrying my child when she died; I would have loved Brenda until the day I died but I never would have left Lily or our child. Maria and I got... close when I was living on the island; Brenda wasn't dead then she was with Jax. I wasn't in love with Maria but we were close. Just because you loved one person doesn't mean that you can't love another. Or even love two people at the same time in a very different way. I still love Brenda but that doesn't mean that I'm not attracted to other people, even when I was with Brenda, there has been chemistry with others-- a potential that I didn't act on because I was with her."
"Chemistry with whom?"
"You'll think; I'm nuts."
"You started this. Who?"
"That cop-- Ardanowski. She's got something. Even hating my guts down in Tiger Key there was something about her.... A freshness, brash, honest-- clean. Nothing will ever come of it. Or that attorney the one that represented Tony Jones for the kidnapping."
"ALEXIS DAVIS??"
"Yeah, all woman. She is a powderkeg waiting for the right man to light the fuse. I only really met her once. Her cousin was trying to horn in on the Stone Cates memorial wing. She was just sort of waiting in the wings. You could feel the repressed power and intelligence just emanating from her-- very sexy."
"He's not her cousin. Cassadine is her brother, and he's kicked her out of the family-- something to do with the kid."
"Really?" Sonny gets a considering look on his face. Before going back to the topic. "And you know that Robin loved Stone but that doesn't mean that she didn't love you. Even though that didn't turn out well for the two of you, there was a reason why Robin was so threatened by Carly why she felt she had to destroy that relationship-- and it wasn't Tony Jones."
"Because Carly gave me Michael."
"Because you were having sex with Carly, because you were friends with Carly even after you stopped sleeping with her. Because you didn't break it off with Carly because you weren't attracted to her anymore. Because you looked out for Carly and took care of her. Because you gave something to Carly that you didn't give to Robin. And Robin knew it. By everything that Robin knew about you, you should have kicked Carly to the curb years ago and never looked back. But you didn't do that. Why?"
Jason shrugs. "Carly is Carly-- she just is."
"And you my dear friend whom I love like a brother are a blockhead." Sonny shakes his head in exasperation. "Why can't you figure this out?"
"Spit it out okay, you got something to say-- SAY IT."
"You're in love with her! You want her in your house, in your bed and you think that the stupid sh... stuff she pulls is CUTE!" Sonny throws up his hands and walks away.