Chapter 11

Saturday came and Angela got more and more nervous. She wasn't sure that their plan would work. The worst thing was that Amber was a very pretty girl who had a crush on Tony and Tony was a man who had a weakness for pretty women. She remembered Frankie making advances at him last week despite her presence. And Tony? He hadn't explained anything to her so far but his kisses… she couldn't forget them. She never felt like this with any other man. Angela decided to push this incident away and perhaps, when everything else was fixed, she would think of it again.

Tony felt jittery, too. He was afraid of messing up the whole thing. What if Amber couldn't be caught? No way that Peterson got away scot-free with all the trouble he caused for Angela. Tony's overprotective nature increased alarmingly. No man, whoever he was, was allowed to provoke misfortune in Angela's life on his watch. The last days had encouraged him immensely and not only because of his money prize. It seemed that his relationship with Angela shipped in other fairways and he didn't want to disappoint her. He didn't want to lose courage when he needed it the most. He sighed and wished the night was already over. Tony spent most of the day hiding in his room to make up the lost classes. He didn't want anyone thinking he quit college, especially not Sam. He had been in trouble already, but made it clear to her that they would stay at Oak Hills Drive. There was no better place for them to live.

Angela sheltered in her study with papers. Jonathan kept her company with his homework. They both trudged along with their work.

"Mom, what will happen if you lose some more accounts?" Jonathan asked his mother.

"That will not happen if Tony does his part well and I'm sure he'll give his best. He always does."

"He is no longer our housekeeper, is he? With all the money he could go away."

"He always was much more than our housekeeper, Jonathan. He is our best friend and that will never change and it doesn't look like that he wants to leave us. Besides he promised you to be there for you no matter what comes years ago, do you remember?"

"Yes, that was when I tried to pair you up with him. I wish my plan had worked out back then."

"Sometimes I wish that, too," Angela sighed, almost forgetting that she was talking to her son, "but that will remain our little secret, promise me?"

"I do," Jonathan chuckled, "maybe I should try it again?"

"Your help is not necessary, sweetie, Tony and I had a date a few days ago."

"Mom, you're not after his money, are you?"

"Jonathan, it's not very nice to say that."

"You never made out with him on the couch before he won the money," Jonathan replied, "so sorry, if that comes to my mind."

"I did not make out, I'm… I did," Angela admitted, "but for now I have more important things to do, so stop interrogating me."

The evening came and nervousness crept in. All together they had decided that it would be best if Angela, Sam and Jonathan stayed upstairs in their rooms pretending that no one was at home. Mona would wait outside the house with her camera. The folder with the brilliant campaign was set on the table, clearly visible to everyone. Tony paced back and forth and was unable to sit down for a minute, checking his watch every second. Ten minutes. Hopefully she will be on time, he thought, and I'll survive this night safe and sound. He had changed his shirt two times already because it was soaked with sweat. The doorbell rang. Tony took a deep breath and counted to ten. Then he went to the door, opened it and put on his beaming smile.

"Hi Amber, nice to see you again. Come in, Tony led her inside, "thank you for picking me up."

"Hi Tony, you're welcome," Amber smiled at him, "I never expected you to call me again but I appreciate that you did."

Tony walked her to the couch and they both sat down.

"So have you adapted to life in New York, "Tony made small talk, "you look great. Did you find a job anywhere?"

"Oh yes, I found an appropriate job," Amber replied but a shadow cast on her face, "it's not what I hoped for but… never mind. I don't want to talk about work tonight. Let's have some fun."

She looked at him adoringly. Tony tried desperately not to think of the kind of "fun" she implied.

"Uuhm,.. we don't need to go for a few minutes. I made a reservation at an Italian restaurant, but first I'll mix you a drink. Make yourself comfortable I'll be back soon." Tony made his escape to the kitchen. He almost ran through the swinging door and opened the back door.

"Mona, "he whispered into the darkness outside, "she is alone; see, that you take some pictures."

"OK."

Mona went round the house and looked through the window. She didn't have to wait longer than thirty seconds.

Amber had the folder in her hands. Then she put it on the table and took a very small camera out of her purse and skimmed through the pages very fast. In record time she shot some pictures. After her illegal activity she put everything back the same way she found it and leaned back.

Mona took her pictures as well and with her telephoto lens she had a clear advantage. Rapidly the razor-sharp photos were taken. She let out her breath which she had been nervously holding. Knocking at the kitchen window she gave Tony a thumb up. Tony grasped the two Martini glasses and went back to the living room. He handed Amber the glass and took a place on the couch with as much distance between them as possible without letting it look rude.

"So , Cheers, "Tony said and held his glass up.

"Cheers, to a wonderful evening," Amber smiled mysteriously. For her it was more than obvious that this man liked her. It seemed too good to be true: A well-paying job and a very handsome guy who showed interest. She could hardly believe her luck. Even though the job was not what she hoped it to be. Her new boss was a thoughtless man who burdened her with things she wasn't made for.

Tony swallowed the Martini in one gulp. At the moment Mona conveyed that she had captured all on film he lost every intention of going out with Amber, but there was no avoiding the fact that he had to play his role.

"Ok, Amber, let's beat it, dinner is waiting for us," Tony rose from the couch and helped her up. He almost pitchforked her out of the door. When she was outside he looked up to the hallway where he assumed Angela was standing. Yes, she was there and gave him a confident smile. He rolled his eyes and left the house.

When Angela heard the car driving away she came downstairs and found her mother already on the phone in the kitchen.

"Hi, Clark, how are you? It's me, Mona, you remember?" Mona purred into the phone, waiting for the guy to overcome his cluelessness regarding who the hell she was. Evidently, he remembered.

"You owe me a favor, sweetheart, there was a time I did something for you and now you have to pay me back."

Angela shook her head at the sound of her mother squeezing this man out. She was incredibly relieved that everything went so well. Without the help from her mother and Tony she was sure it would have been much more difficult for her to be successful in sleuthing.

It turned out that Clark owned a photo shop and was willing to develop the photos prompt and fast. Mona made her way out.

"Bye, dear, it will be late tonight," Mona rushed out of the door.

Angela was left behind in the kitchen being doomed to wait. The kids stayed at their rooms with homework. She entered the living room and grabbed a book, but after a few minutes she put it aside. She couldn't concentrate on Perfume right now; too much violence and death. Turning on the TV was a better option to bridge the time. Out of Africa reflected over the screen. Time to find out whether she had something in common with Meryl Streep or not. Thinking back to the day Tony had tried to figure out what kind of women he liked, she smiled inwardly. Had she really suggested Meryl Streep to him? On the surface she didn't look like the beauties Tony always had a predilection for, but perhaps the inner values were more important. The film had just started and its length suited her needs tonight.

Angela was so captivated by the magnificent pictures that she didn't notice the key in the door at first. Suddenly, she heard a man groan. It was Tony. He hung on the shoulders of Amber who apparently needed all her effort to carry his weight.

"I'm so sorry Amber; this stomach flu came on so suddenly. Thank you for taking me home. We'll make up this night another time," Tony choked heavily, "bye." He ran up the stairs pressing his hand on his mouth. Amber turned on her heels and left without a word. She didn't even look at Angela.

Angela was frightened and ran after Tony.

"Tony, what happened? Are you sick?" she asked him, alarmed by the noises from his room, and burst into his room without knocking. All at once she found herself in his arms. "Are you ok?"

"I'm very, very ok!" Tony replied happily, "it went great. I simply didn't have a desire to sit at the same table with Amber anymore. So I became ill and had a reason to leave early. We got Peterson, the pig! Even though I think, there is something more going on with Amber."

Tony didn't make an effort to let her go, quite the contrary, he pulled her closer. "Don't worry, Angela, everything is fine," he whispered close to her ear, cradling her tenderly and then let her go cautiously. "Shall we watch the rest of the movie now?" he asked, "Meryl Streep, uuh?"

Angela blushed but nodded, "best idea I've heard today."

Tony took her hand and they went downstairs to watch the end of the movie together.