Life As It Should Be
Saturday, 03-Jun-00 11:00:32

4.54.20.250 writes:
Chapter 1

She was pissed off and bored out of her mind, it was the same routine tonight as it usually was with society gatherings. Port-Charles was apparently not exempt from these gatherings. A bunch of rich snobs gathering around to raise money to save or conserve some trivial thing they thought was important. Tonight they were trying to raise money for some stupid gardeners’ club. What did a bunch of gardeners’ need with over half a million dollars? Did planting flowers cost this much? God forbid they forgo planting their flowers so that some hungry children could eat. Self-centered hypocrites. Usually she would not be caught dead in one of these things, but her uncle had dragged along she as some sort of punishment. She knew it was his way of showing his resentment for getting saddled with her. He would never have been caught dead here otherwise. He had told her that they were attending a business function, and she had agreed to accompany him there wasn’t much to do at his home anyway. The moment they had gotten here he had given her a seemingly innocent smile and encouraged her to ‘mingle’ and walked away from her.

Mingle? Yeah right. She had grabbed a drink from one of the waiters found a seat at a table in the corner and sat down. From here she had a full view of the room and it’s occupants. She watched them for a while then sat back with a sigh. She turned to her quiet companion.
"So what do you think Jonas, do I really deserve to be punished like this?" she asked with a pout. The six foot two bodyguard gave her a glance filled with disgruntlement. They both knew this was the least she deserved.
" Ms. Cassadine you made us all run around two continents for almost six months looking for you! This is the least you deserve." He said with forced sternness.

"Oh come on! I never told anybody to go around looking for me. I am old enough to do as I please, when I please, and it is time Stefan realized that!" she said in frustrated anger.

"Your Uncle was merely trying to make sure you were safe" Jonas answered with loyalty to his boss.

"I told him that I was traveling in Europe and Asia with friends, AND guards, he should have respected that and left me alone, I am old enough to take care of myself!" She retorted.
"Oh yeah, and you were in those continents all of those six months right?" Jonas questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I was" she muttered glaring at the dark-haired man next to her. Jonas snorted in disbelief.
"Yeah and I am the queen of England" he mumbled.

" What would make you think I wasn’t there for the six months?" she demanded angrily.
"Uh-mm let’s see… WE couldn’t find you. You might not realize this but we ARE the best security in Europe and if we couldn’t find you there then you weren’t there!" he almost snapped.
"Ooh Jonas, you are just bitter cause you and your macho boys couldn’t find me, as fast as you believe you should have" she mockingly soothed, cupping his handsome face in her hand. Jonas sighed and moved her hand away from his face. It was true that he had been mad when it took them three months to realize she was not in Europe, but what annoyed him most is that they still had no idea where she had been. He had tried every way to ask her where she had been but had gotten no answers. Of all the assignments he had ever gotten he liked her most but she could be sooo aggravating at times.

When she saw that Jonas was too annoyed to talk to her anymore she let her eyes wonder around the room again. She noticed a slight disturbance to her right and leaned in to get a closer look. A man walked in followed by two guards. She watched them as they moved towards the bar. One of the guards looked familiar…..Johnny?….yeah that was it…….Jason’s guard. What was he doing guarding the other guy? She looked at the man the two guards were obviously protecting. He had dark hair, he had an air of power about him that demanded attention. Her gaze went to his face….he was definitely good looking! Hmmm…she wondered if Jason was around, she quickly but discretely looked around,…. she couldn’t have him pop out of nowhere especially not with Jonas around. That would open up a whole can of worms. She might as well go ask Johnny….maybe she would socialize with Mr. Magnetism too….she thought with a wicked smile.

" Since you are going to give me the silent treatment, I am going to get myself a stronger drink from the bar, and ‘mingle’ as Stefan commanded" she stated standing up and smoothing her dress. Jonas looked at her steadily for a moment. Then nodded his head slowly. He saw the look in her eye and it made him uneasy….he had to watch her.

She sauntered towards the bar…..she knew she looked good in the long black slip dress. It came to her ankles giving the dress an innocent air, …at least until one saw the side slits that came up to mid thigh. The top part of the dress had a scooped neckline and conformed to her figure but without being vulgar. Her hair was pinned up with a diamond pin, a few tendrils falling softly around her face. Overall she was a picture of elegance and seduction. She felt the pairs of eyes that followed her path to the bar. Some with ill-concealed appreciation others in envy.

Sonny watched the woman approach. She was heading right towards him. He turned so that he could watch her progress. She was definitely beautiful, and sexy, he could tell that she knew she looked good, and apparently was not above drawing more attention to herself from the way she was walking. She did not fall into what people had classified as his type, but he was definitely captivated.

She came up next to him, she was looked him up and down and smiled and he smiled back. This should be interesting he thought. He was about to make a comment when she turned away from him and smiled at Johnny. Johnny? What the..?

"Johnny! Long time no see!" she turned to the guard engulfing him in a hug before he could say anything. " How have you been?" she pulled away and smiled at the stunned man.

" I have …I have been fine" Johnny stammered slightly. He never thought he would see her again. The woman was definitely an enigma.
"Aren’t you happy to see me?" she pouted prettily.

" Of course I am!" he said quickly with a smile. Forgetting that his boss was standing right next to them.

" Good! So where is your boss?" she asked looking around him.

"Uh….uh –" before he could answer. Sonny stepped in. He would be damned if they would ignore him. What was going on here? How did Johnny know this woman?

"I am his boss" he stated in a tone that demanded attention. She looked at him and smiled. She knew he was irked at being ignored. Although she was very aware of him she kept up the pretense of having forgotten him. Men who were too sure with themselves had to be toyed with a little. " Sure you are," she said with a polite smile to him. Then turned to Johnny. " Where is Jason?"

" Mr. Morgan is not here at the moment," the guard answered uncertain of the tense situation.
" Do you still see him around? He doesn’t live in his old apartment any more," she asked and clarified. She had tried to get in touch with Jason but had found that he had moved. She hadn’t had the time to get someone to get his new address.

" What do you want with Jason?" Sonny snapped. The woman didn’t seem so charming anymore. He new she was playing a game the problem was he didn’t know what it was.

" He is a friend," she said with a raised eyebrow at his tone. It seemed like Mr. Magnetism didn’t really like games did he? She saw Jonas moving towards them and tried to figure out a way to get out of here before he reached them. With a sigh she turned to Johnny. She quickly got out a piece of paper and wrote her number on it. " When you see him tell him I am in town and to give me a call, it’s important!" she handed the paper to Johnny just as Jonas reached her side.
"Caroline Cas--" before he could finish what he was saying. She grabbed his hand. "Jonas, darling the bartenders are too busy, let’s grab some champagne instead," she said turning him back towards the table. As they walked away she turned to Johnny and mouthed. ‘Tell him to call me tonight’. When Johnny nodded she smiled and turned back to her guard.

" Who the hell was that?" Sonny snapped at Johnny.
" That was Ms. Carly Benson, at least that was what she called herself when she was in town last time" He had not missed the fact that the other man had called her Caroline.

" How does she know Jason?"
" They….umm……they were….umm….close friends," the guard blushed.
" Wait is this the woman that tried to steal Bobbie’s husband Tony?" Sonny asked with a raised eyebrow.
" She didn’t actually try to steal him, I think she was just toying with him," Johnny said defensively.
"Yeah right," Sonny snorted and watched her walk away. He could not blame Tony for falling for her. She was definitely a captivating woman. She had a certain air about her… he couldn’t put his finger on it. All his senses screamed trouble, but he ignored them and sat back to watch her. Jason was back with Robin, so he felt no guilt as he watched her. He wondered who the Jonas guy was.


Caroline could feel his eyes on her, but she didn’t turn around. Instead she reached out and grabbed a glass of champagne from a passing tray. She sipped from her glass.

"So what was that?" Jonas asked watching her critically. She was up to something he could feel it.
" What was what?" she looked at her companion innocently.
" Caroline, what are you up to?" he demanded even though he knew he was not going to get an answer.
"Honestly, Jonas I have no idea what you are talking about," she smiled at him putting on a blank expression. He sighed. It looked like he and his boys would have to be on their toes again. No one wanted a rerun of the last incident.

Caroline led them back to their table and sat down where she could watch mystery man watch her from the corner of her eye. He seemed a bit pissed, she thought with a smile. She was intrigued despite herself. Maybe she would catch up with him later. First things first.

After another hour, at the party spent evading male advances and nosy old bats she decided it was time to flee from this scene. Johnny and his boss had just left a couple of minutes ago so she had nothing to keep her attention anymore.

" Jonas we are leaving," she had played Stefan’s game long enough. She was bored she was ready to go home.
" Your, Uncle said we were to stay here until he was ready to leave," Jonas said not barging from his position.
" We’ll then enjoy the party. I am out of here," she said walking away with her purse in hand. Jonas watched her speak to the hostess of the party then walk out the front door.

He just smiled. She would not dare disobey her Uncle’s orders. And even if she did, she had no ride out of here, the driver had orders not to let her leave without her Uncle. The party was on private property, removed from any public transportation. And she had too much pride to ask any of the other guests for a ride. Or did she?…… Shit! He jumped from his chair and rushed to the entrance.

He ran outside, and down the stairs, ignoring the cold air that hit him. He looked around frantically, and didn’t see her. He rushed to the other side of the mansion to where the Limo was parked. He opened the driver side, startling the driver.

" Have you seen Ms. Cassadine?" he demanded harshly
" N…no " the young man behind the wheel stammered recovering from his surprise.
" She didn’t come to the car?" Jonas demanded again.
"No. I haven’t seen her since we arrived" the man answered quickly.
" Shit! Shit! Shit!" he banged the top of the car and walked back towards the entrance. When he found her he was going to wring her neck! At the moment he had to go and find Mr. Cassadine. He was not going to be happy.

Meanwhile a Limo pulled away from the windy driveway. With two passengers in the back and Francis on the wheel.

Mikmi