And when those blue snowflakes start falling
That’s when those blue memories start calling
You’ll be doin’ all right, with your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas
– Blue Christmas, Sheryl Crow

---

December 24

Morgan Penthouse: Jason’s Bedroom

“Kiki, I don’t care if God himself plants his ass in front of you to block traffic, you had better have those presents in GH’s conference room by 11 AM this morning or I will send you back to your mother in pieces.”

Elizabeth hit the end button on her phone and scowled. “I miss being able to slam my phone down. It was so much more satisfying.”

Jason laughed from across the room where he was hanging up the tuxedo they’d tossed over a chair the evening before—her dress had only fared mildly better. The fear of Kate Howard’s wrath had caused her to break off the delightful activities right after he had peeled it away (with the promised teeth) in order to carefully place it on a hanger in the closet.

“Why did you go to the trouble of stealing her from Ava Jerome if she’s not capable?” he asked, closing the door and striding towards her.

She pursed her lips, considering him in those black briefs, and winced. Her schedule this morning did not allow for more than another twenty minutes at his place.

She had a party at GH at noon, another at Mercy at two, and then the gala at the Metro Court at eight. Christ on a crutch, how did Emily do this every year?

She blinked because he had asked her a question and he stood there, patiently waiting for the answer. “Oh. Kiki. Well, first, she’s usually fine. She’s just feeling the pressure of it all. Second, I did it because Ava was a pain in the ass who threatened to sue me for terminating my contract with her because I was supposedly violating my non-compete clause.”

“You’re a corporate planner,” Jason said. “We wouldn’t use Ava’s services anyway.” He wrinkled his nose. “Though she used to be Ned’s type.”

“I have no doubt of that—I’m familiar with Faith Roscoe.” Elizabeth crossed to the dresser and slid a watch over her wrist. “Kiki’s got a great eye for colors and design. She’s only hanging with me to get experience and contacts—she wants to break out into wedding planning eventually.”  She shrugged. “Anyway, she just doesn’t want to mess up the GH party since your father is on the board.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He stepped behind her and slid his hands up and down the arms left bare by her green silk dress. “I think you did a great job last night.”

“Hmm, well, you’re biased.” She reached for the diamond studded earrings in the porcelain bowl she used to store her jewelry. “Honestly? I don’t know how Emily does this every year—juggling all of this while still doing the estimates for the next year.” She shuddered. “Thank God I don’t have her job.”

“You never know.” Jason brushed his lips over her nape. “Her boyfriend that swept her away on this vacation? He’s the head of Cassadine Industries and might steal her away for his events.”

“That’s not remotely funny.” She bumped him. “You have to get a shower, and I have to finish dressing. We’ve both got a crazy day in front of us.”

“Only because I want to take off the week after Emily gets back from Greece. How would you feel about a trip to the Bahamas?”

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. “Are you asking me to go on a tropical vacation, leaving all my duties and responsibilities on your sister?” She smirked and reached for a comb to draw her through her hair. “Where do I sign up?”

“Maybe not the islands, though,” Jason said, leaning against the wall next to the dresser. “What about Europe? You’ve been to London as part of ELQ, and I know Ava worked out of France and Spain.”

“Mmmhmm….and I spent a month in Portugal to plan one of her events.” Elizabeth reached for the charcoal blazer she’d left on the armchair. “I’ve never been to Scotland or Germany.”

“What about Italy? Florence or Venice?”

She paused. “Seriously? You think I could do either of those in a week?” She laughed. “I couldn’t do those in a lifetime. Maybe we should stick to the islands where I won’t be so distracted by the scenery.”

“Well, we’ll nail it down after tonight. You have a lot on your plate today.” He kissed her forehead. “Too bad you’re almost ready or I’d suggest you jump in the shower with me.”

“The next time I have to go early, I’ll wake you up.” She slid her arms around his waist and reached for up another kiss. “Now, let me finish my makeup in peace or I’m going to miss meeting with your father on time. I don’t want him thinking because I’m sleeping with his son that I expect special treatment.”

“All right, all right.” He kissed her again before disappearing into the bathroom. A moment later, she heard the water running.

She was glad she’d put last night out of her head. She was not going to let catty, jealous women ruin this for her.

Or his grandfather with his innuendo. Or his father. Or any other Quartermaine.

The cell phone on the dresser buzzed. Elizabeth reached for it, had it in her hand before she realized that it was Jason’s and not hers.

And then she saw the name scrawled across the front. Samantha McCall.

An image of the tarty brunette with the plunging neckline flashed in her mind. Why the hell…?

And even though she knew she’d regret it later, she hit the decline on the call, slid the bar to unlock his phone and went into his call history for her number. God, she was one of those women now. Her life sucked.

Sam had called him three times the day before. Twice before that. And they’d spoken several times—not all her calls had been declined or sent to voicemail.

Carefully, she set the phone back on the dresser and reached for her eyeliner.

Had that been why the woman was so upset the night before? Had she harbored hopes of reuniting with him? And why hadn’t Jason mentioned an ex-girlfriend calling him so often?

Wasn’t that part of the relationship rules?

She set the eyeliner on the dresser with a thud, her eyes meeting her own in the image reflecting back. They were exclusive, weren’t they? They hadn’t said it, but you didn’t always have to say it.

Did you?

“Damn it.” Elizabeth dumped the rest of her makeup in her bag and left the room without another word.

So much for not letting last night in her head.

ELQ: Conference Room

Jason frowned at the text message from Elizabeth, then glanced up at his cousins, busy with their own paperwork. “Elizabeth just told me not to pick her up tonight, that we’d meet at the hotel.”

AJ finished scrawling his signature at the bottom of a contract and slid it over to Ned. “So? She’s the party planner, not just your arm candy. Maybe she has to be there early.”

“So I’d go early.” Jason set his phone aside. “I—I think she saw a phone call on my phone this morning. Before she left. I was in the shower.”

“You left a phone unintended with a woman you’re sleeping with?” Ned said. He shook his head, sadly. “Young Skywalker, have I taught you nothing?”

“Shut up. I’m saying that maybe the phone rang and she saw the caller ID. I had a missed call when I got out of the shower.”

“Your phone was locked, though, right?” AJ leaned forward. “If nothing else, little brother, that much you’ve learned from me.”

“Who the hell has time to put a fucking pin code in every damn time they want to use their phone?” He scowled. “No, it wasn’t locked.”

“Hell. Then if she saw the phone call—and believe me, we’re getting back to that in a moment—then she probably checked the call history.” Ned arched a brow. “Would that have raised flags?”

Jason glared at his phone. “Sam called me this morning.”

“Oh, hell. I knew you should have fired her. We could have settled any sexual harassment lawsuit,” AJ told Ned. “She tried to get her hooks in me, too. Thought I’d be too drunk to remember protection. Ha. Haven’t forgotten to dress myself for a party since Carly.”

Ned rolled his eyes at AJ, and turned his attention to Jason. “Listen. It’s not the end of the world. She probably doesn’t even know who Sam is. It’s a guy’s name—” He closed his eyes. “She’s in your phone as Samantha, isn’t she?”

“I’ll just tell her that Sam’s been annoying me to transfer back to Port Charles, into my department, but I usually tell her it’s not my decision and hang up.” Jason nodded. “That’ll fix everything.”

“You’re an idiot. Never let one girlfriend know about the other—” AJ scowled. “Do you not know the rules? You’ve dated enough women in the company—”

“Three,” Jason said, his teeth clenched. “And Brenda barely counts.”

“Your forty-eight hour wife doesn’t count?” Ned asked. “Because—”

“We were drunk and AJ bet me—” Jason shook his head. “Not important. Where else do I meet women? I’m always working.” He hesitated. “People don’t think I’m like you idiots, do they?”

“Ah…” AJ blinked. “You mean, that you’re following in the footsteps of our illustrious grandfather? Of the nefarious Alan Quartermaine? You’re kidding, right? You’ve dated four women total at ELQ, and Elizabeth is the only one who still works here.”

“Son of a bitch.” Jason rapped his fist against his head. “How much do you think people said to her last night? She was acting off for most of the night. And, of course, Grandfather didn’t help.”

“The sad fact is he tries so hard to,” Ned mused. “But, odds are more than one person commented on it. Listen, explain the Sam thing to Elizabeth. I’m sure it’s not an issue.” He looked at AJ, jabbing a finger at him. “You, stop comparing Jason to the rest of us. Do not insinuate in front of Elizabeth that she’s like all the other women.”

“Well, I know she’s not. She’s got more brains. But I can’t control the world.” AJ shook his head. “Much as I’d like to, I just don’t.”

“I hate you both.”

General Hospital: Nurse’s Station

“Did I do it right?” Kiki asked, wringing her hands together as she and Elizabeth watched various children, doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff members and their families gathered around Edward Quartermaine dressed as Santa Claus, listening to a story.

“You were fine, Kiki. I need you to relax.” Elizabeth shifted from one foot to the other. She loved these shoes, but her Jimmy Choos were not made to hit the ground running at seven-thirty without sitting for six hours.

“Okay, I mean, it’s just a big deal, you know? Because the board is here and I just want them to like me.” Kiki blew her hair out of her eyes. “And there’s Michael Quartermaine. Oh, he’s so pretty. Does he work at ELQ? Can you introduce me?”

Elizabeth glared at her assistant who just offered a sheepish grin. “Does everyone think with their hormones in this company?” she muttered.

“Totally not picking that up and running with it.” Kiki sucked in a breath. “Dr. Quartermaine is heading for us, Lizzie. What do we do?”

“First, you stop calling me that. Your mother always thought it was hilarious.” Elizabeth tried not to look directly at Alan Quartermaine as the older man approached them, but eventually, there was no ignoring the fact he was coming right for them.

“Elizabeth, we didn’t get a chance to speak much last night.” Alan reached for her hand, held it between both of his with a winning smile. “You were flawless at the gala.”

“Well, I couldn’t have done it without Kiki and my team,” Elizabeth said, tightly, choosing to believe he was referring to her work on the party and not her appearance. Jason’s father was not hitting on her. Her fragile temper could not handle that nonsense today.

“I was so pleased when I saw you arriving on Jason’s arm,” Alan continued. “From what I heard, you’re a step above his usual sort.”

Kiki’s eyes were as wide saucers. “You’re kidding me, right?” she muttered, but the chief of staff either ignored her or didn’t notice.

Elizabeth’s smile froze in place, a familiar feeling when dealing with Quartermaine men. Was any man in the world worth this kind of nonsense?

Thinking of that morning and the black briefs, she took a deep breath. “That’s very nice, Dr. Quartermaine. If you’ll excuse me, I have another party at Mercy—”

“I didn’t like the last one at all,” Alan said. “And of course, Courtney was all right but not really up to par with the Quartermaines.” He furrowed his brow. “I could have lived with Brenda, but they annulled that—”

Annulled? What in the name of all that was holy—had Jason been married? Shouldn’t that have come up at some point?

“I’m very…” Elizabeth tugged her hand from his. “I’m flattered, I’m sure. But as I said, Kiki and I have a long day in front of us. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

She grabbed Kiki by the arm and steered her towards the elevator. To hell with this.

Metro Court Hotel: Ballroom

“Elizabeth, I really think you’re overreacting,” Kiki murmured as she handed a glass of champagne to her. “His family is appalling, but he’s been nice enough—”

“You’re not being paid for your opinion on my love life.” Elizabeth flexed her ankle, wishing she’d sprung for a set of flats rather than the silver Manolo Blahniks Maxie had insisted went perfectly with the green confection she wore.

Why did men get to wear flats and still look professional but women were pressured into these heels to make their legs long and their asses stick out? Damned patriarchy.

“No, that’s free,” Kiki chirped. “Look, he’s got a colorful history. I’m sure yours doesn’t look as good under scrutiny—”

“Yes, but my family isn’t walking around reminding him of it—” Elizabeth stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m fine, Kiki. I need you to run interference with the orchestra and keep them from enjoying the booze as much as last night.”

“I’m on it,” Kiki began, but as she turned away, she almost ran into another member of the Quartermaine family.

“Ms. Quartermaine,” Elizabeth said politely to Ned’s mother, Tracy. “You look lovely this evening.”

“You’re smart to keep your day job, Ms. Webber,” Tracy snipped. “That sets you apart from the rest of the social climbers that try to weasel their way into my family’s money.”

“I enjoy my job,” Elizabeth said blandly. She reached for Kiki’s arm to hold her in place. “Kiki Jerome, this is Tracy Quartermaine. My assistant—”

“You want to be taken seriously?” Tracy snapped. “Drop the Kiki. You sound like a stripper.”

Kiki’s mouth dropped. “Are you kidding me? You people are—”

“Don’t make the same mistake the others do,” Tracy said, dismissing Kiki’s protests. “Jason doesn’t marry whatever walks in front of him like my son, and he’s not going to buy an accidental pregnancy like my idiot nephew.” She smirked. “He’s more like my brother and father. They’ll screw whatever is on front of them, maybe even pretend to love them, but they never do.”

She pursed her lips. “So don’t get your hopes up.”

Tracy whirled and disappeared into the crowd.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Kiki said. “I don’t want to meet Michael after all. These people are insane. You should run as fast as you can.”

Was it worth the headache for another few months of fun? Of constantly being accused of being just a step under a whore every time she went in public or saw a member of Jason’s family?

And what about those phone calls to his last girlfriend?  Why bother to wait around two months and find herself transferred?

“I’m certainly considering it,” she murmured.

← Part Five | Part Seven →