Disclaimer: I own nothing that you recognize.

Spoilers: Ha! A/U baby.

Summary: She was always strictly business, but what happens when her seemingly perfect world is turned upside down?

Notes: Italics will be used to represent thoughts… nothing else to add.

My thanks and gratitude as always to those of you that leave me a review.. Even if it's a just a few words, it still means the world to me.

-x-x-x-

As she expected, a mountain of paperwork was waiting when Amy arrived at the office on Tuesday morning. On top of the seemingly endless pile was a note from Shane.. Requesting that the redhead inform the five members of T.I.R.A.C to please meet the McMahon's and herself at Jean Georges for a dinner meeting tomorrow night. Idly, Amy questioned if her boss had lost his mind.. The C.E.O soon reminding herself that he didn't know the five members of T.I.R.A.C at all. And it wasn't that she didn't have faith in them…just that the combination of Jean Georges and the McMahon's might be little intimidating. But, she also knew that Mr. McMahon favored the upscale and pricey restaurant.. So all she could really do was inform the five members when she saw them later that day. With a sigh, Amy sent a glance to the clock, noting that it was only 7:30 …which meant she had at least half an hour before the phones started ringing. And that was the reason why she was there early.. Phone calls always lead to interruptions when she was trying to finish up something…thankfully she had Maria to handle most of the phone calls but there were still a good deal for the redhead to deal with. But it would figure that just as she was reaching for the top piece of paper…there was a knock on the door.

"It's open."

Trish rolled her eyes as she let herself in, "Work much? Ames.. it's not even 8:00.. And most sane employee's aren't here until 8:30."

Amy raised an eyebrow, settling the top piece of paper before her. "Which explains why you're here.."

"Dawn needed me for something, so I agreed to meet her here early." The blonde woman crossed her arms, "but she's not here yet so.."

Amy smirked, hazel eyes skimming over the printout. "She was still sleeping when I left.. But, she'll probably be here in a few.." She glanced upwards when Trish coughed, "is there something I can help you with?"

"You can start by handing over some of those papers," Trish raised an eyebrow, "or have you forgotten about the little offer made to you?"

"No, I haven't forgotten.." Amy set down the pen in her hand, "but if you're meeting Dawn--"

Trish pulled the chair she was sitting in closer to the desk. "Then I'll just help you out with this until Dawn gets here.. And if need be, I'll just take this stuff with me."

"Fine.." the C.E.O sighed, selecting 1/8 of the stack. "But, some of that stuff probably needs my signature on it and--"

"Then, I'll skim it and hand it over.." Trish took another 1/8 of the stack, "now go on.. Back to work."

Amy rolled her eyes, but went back to her tasks none the less…silently thankful that the blonde had offered to help.

Trish glanced up from the piece of paper in front of her, "What's your schedule like today?"

"Forget it Trish.." Amy glanced upwards as she finished signing the paper in front of her, "I have to finish up this…all of this. Then I have to do a quick inventory before I head downtown to oversee the beginning phases of the project." Sighing slightly she added: "Otherwise, yes.. I'd love to have lunch with you, Dawn, Lillian and Lisa."

Trish rolled her eyes, "I was going to ask you about college.. I mean, I know you went to N.Y.U.. and even if I didn't I'd find out by looking at the framed degree's on your wall."

Amy set the pen aside, "Well.. I got my bachelors from Stern and my masters from Stern.. My major of choice was Marketing with a co-major in International Business." A soft smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, "and I was lucky enough to get into the Executive M.B.A program."

Trish inclined her head curiously, "How did you meet your ex?"

Inwardly, Amy sighed. "Freshman orientation.. Alphabetically, we really shouldn't have had to have dealt with each other at all.. But, because of how we placed in our graduating high school classes…we ended up in the same group." She shook her head, "and as luck would have it.. We ended up with almost every class together because he just happened to be majoring in the exact same things."

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "And let me guess…from the moment you two met, you fought? So, what changed?"

"We still fought after we started dating," Amy pointed out first. "But, it was mid-way through Freshman year.. During the holiday break I think it was…we were both at the airport and of course, because fate doesn't like me…both of our flights got cancelled." She smiled wryly, "we ended up sharing a rental car and that was that."

"Sounds interesting.." Trish inclined her head, "so how did your ex and someone like John end up being room-mates? I mean, he just doesn't strike me as the business major type.."

"He wasn't," Amy almost laughed as she recalled the day the two met. "He was going to St. John's University on a full athletic scholarship…apparently, he didn't want to live on campus and since my ex had his own place.." She shrugged, "I asked the same thing when I met him."

The blonde woman nodded, "Well from what little I know of him, John seems like a nice guy."

"He is.." the pen found it's way back to her grasp, "granted.. He and I fought more than me and my ex did when we first met…but after we got to know each other.. I wouldn't say we were the best of friends or anything like that, but we got along pretty well."

Trish nodded slowly, "So what happened between you and your ex? I mean, you've never mentioned him until recently.."

Amy's mouth pressed into a thin line, "We had an all out, relationship ending fight.. And if it's alright with you, I'd rather not talk about it.." She nodded to the paperwork beside her, "I still have a lot to do."

"Okay," thankfully, Trish took the hint…but that didn't prevent her from talking all together. "So.. Dawn and I were thinking.."

"Which usually leads to trouble for me and Lisa…but go on.."

Trish rolled her eyes, "It's about the date situation for the party that Evolution Inc. is hosting.." She held up a hand in defense when Amy glared. "I know you and Lisa aren't too happy about the idea but the guys agreed so.."

"So you two want to start 'assigning' dates.." Amy concluded for the blonde, "or am I wrong?"

Trish grinned, "Jason asked Lillian already, I think Dawn is going with Kurt and I'm going with Chris.." She shrugged casually, "Dawn and I thought that Lisa could go with Tyson and--"

"I'm not hearing this.." Amy sighed heavily, doing her best to ignore her friend and co-worker. "I'm not hearing this…"

-x-x-x

When Trish opened her mouth to question why it was a bad idea… Dawn chose that moment to make an appearance. Amy, in turn, let out a sigh of relief.. Informing Trish that she didn't need her help anymore. But, while Dawn's appearance did save her from the blonde.. Amy soon learned that Maria had called in sick. All that really meant was that, the redhead was without her secretary for the day…Amy hoping that she wouldn't be flooded with phone calls. Of course she knew the chances of that happening were slim to none… but she could still think otherwise. When her office was Dawn and Trish free, the redhead turned her attention to the smaller mountain of paperwork… hoping that she would be able to complete it all by the time she had to leave the office. She knew that the chances of that happening were also slim to none.. The redhead soon calling around the office building to find out who had a secretary to spare for faxing, mailing and copying. It wasn't until the phone started ringing that she wished she had her secretary with her…or at least someone else to answer the phone.

"Good morning, you've reached McMahon Corp.. Amy Dumas speaking, how may I help you?"

There was a pause on the other end, someone clearing their throat before they finally spoke. "Amy.."

The redhead in question visibly bristled, "Randy.." she set the stack of papers in front of her to the side. "Umm…" Smooth.. Really smooth. "How're you?"

"I'm good.." he was lying…and she knew it. "And you?"

"I'm doing well," which wasn't a total lie.. "So.. You're back in New York."

Randy smirked in spite of it all, "Yeah.. I had another offer in London, but Evolution Inc. was pretty persistent."

"I'll bet they were.." she tried to smile, but that wasn't working. "Look.. I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I have a ton of paperwork to get through and--"

"Are you doing anything for lunch?"

Amy almost dropped the phone, "Excuse me?"

He paused, knowing he didn't stutter. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for lunch.. To talk about the upcoming joint company.. Hunter suggested it yesterday afternoon…right after the conference call."

Damn Hunter Hearst Helmsley. "If I didn't have so much to do, I'd say yes.." She paused to collect her nerves, "but as I've stated.. I do have a lot of paperwork to do and I'm scheduled to be somewhere all afternoon."

"But, that's in the afternoon," Randy pointed out tactfully. "This would only be for lunch.. And it's not even 9:00 yet."

"Well yes, that is true.." Amy fiddled with a paperweight, "what time and where?"

"Union Square Café and how about.. 12:30."

Now she was really hesitant…or had he forgotten already.. "That works for me." Damn spine…where is it when I need it. "I'll see you at 12:30 then."

"Sounds good.." I'm going to kill Helmsley for this.. "See you then, Amy."

And she could only nod at the phone, mumbling a good bye before she hung up. The redhead nearly jumped out of her skin when the phone rang again…a hand reaching very reluctantly for it.

"Good morning, you've reached McMahon Corp…Amy Dumas speaking."

"Ah.. Yes, it's Kurt." He cleared his throat, "we were just getting ready to head over to the site when we realized we don't know where it is."

She almost let out a sigh of relief, "Hold on one second.. I need to find the directions." Amy set the phone on the desk, searching through a drawer for the aforementioned directions. "Okay.. I know I put them in here somewhere.."

Unbeknownst to Amy, one of Kurt's colleagues decided to pick up the phone.

"Kurt?"

The man chuckled, "No actually.. Kurt just stepped out to get coffee.."

She rolled her eyes, "John.. I've got the directions to the site.. But the handwriting is really messy.. What's the fax number there?"

"Ya know something.. You're lucky that Chris felt it was necessary for us to have a fax machine." He shook his head, "because up until a few weeks ago.. We didn't."

"Well that must've been an inconvenience," she grabbed the stack of papers that had been pushed aside. "He called me.. A few seconds ago."

John raised an eyebrow, "Really.. And what are you nervous about now?"

She sighed audibly, "He wants to meet me today for a business lunch at the Union Square Café. Of course, he said that Hunter suggested it so--"

John nodded slowly, "And I'm sure Hunter just happened to suggest the Union Square Café.."

"I don't know," Amy tossed down the pen in her hands. "But, if Hunter didn't then I just can't figure out why.. I haven't gone back to that place in years and now.." She growled in sheer frustration, "and the problem is .. I don't know if this is just Hunter trying to get under my skin or what."

"I wouldn't know Amy.." John kicked up his feet, leaning back in the office chair he was occupying. "And I would say I'd go with you or something.. Or that you should cancel but…"

"You think I should go," she finished sullenly. "Yeah, I know I should go.. And I will go. It's just, if I'm in a foul mood when I get to the site.. You'll know why."

He nodded at the phone, "I know.. And you also know that you can talk to me. Don't forget that."

"I haven't." She paused, "I probably sound really pathetic.."

"No you don't.." He sat forwards then, "you're nervous and you have every reason to be. But just keep in mind, it's only lunch…nothing more then that."

"Right.." she nodded at the wall, "thanks John."

The two soon finished their chit chat.. John telling her the fax number for the small office to end the conversation. But, before he did that, he requested that she tell Randy 'hi' for him. For what reasons, she really wasn't sure.. But since he had agreed to be her sounding board of sorts, Amy found herself agreeing to his request. And when that phone call was wrapped up, the redhead put the phone on automatic voice mail forwarding…determined to get through the small mountain of paperwork still on her desk. Because if she did that, at least she could get her mind off of lunch….and one Randy Orton.