Disclaimer: Standard... I own not except the idea, the words and any OC's that may appear.

Note: This chapter is about half of what I usually aim for with this story, however, I'm trying to get myself back into it and others that have been hanging in the balance for awhile.

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The next morning, Amy is in the office early, practically barricading herself inside once she's entered. This accomplishes two things... one, the more important, giving her the opportunity to put a dent in the usual mountain of paperwork and secondly, to give her some peace and quiet from her room-mates. Most of the time, they don't interrogate her this much after a date or casual dinner. But, Amy has long since admitted to herself that it was more than just a casual dinner, but not quite a date. In spite of how awkward the evening could have gone, the redhead had been surprised at how much fun she had had and how comfortable she had felt. She had already come to terms with the fact that she would always care about Randy, that he would always hold a place in her life but.. well, since he had come back into it, Amy hadn't realized just how much. It bothered her, to dwell so much on the past... a past that she had thought she had moved on from. And in some ways she had, but it was obvious after last night, that there was still something there. Their relationship would never be quite the same as it was because they'd both changed and grown since then, but...

Shaking her head, Amy focused her attention on the paperwork on her desk, just now noticing the cup of coffee on her desk. There's only one person in the building who could possibly be here now and who would know how she takes her coffee. Mug in hand, Amy is on her feet within seconds, poking her head out of the door; a smile crossing her features as she does so. Her personal secretary has finally returned and while the future may be a little uncertain, at least this day will start right.

By mid-day, Amy's morning has been mostly uninterrupted; thanks in part to Maria's return and also because everyone else at McMahon Corp. is extremely busy. "Maria?" The redhead waits for her to respond, "could you please get Mr. Bischoff on the phone? There have been some changes recently made to the travel schedule and I'd like to discuss that with him."

Gritting her teeth, Amy prepares for the conversation, not one that she was looking forward to by any means but it has to be done at some point... "Hello, Mr. Bischoff? Amy Dumas of McMahon Corp. speaking."

From his top floor office, the dark haired owner of Evolution Inc. smiles, "Ms. Dumas... to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Amy rolled her eyes, "it's about the upcoming travel schedule for McMahon Corp. well, really, for the joint company. A few changes have been made in regards to location and length of stay."

Eric nods, waving in Hunter and Randy, "ah yes, Mr. Orton brought that up at this morning's meeting.. in fact, would it be too much trouble if I put you on speaker? Mr. Helmsley and Mr. Orton have just stepped into my office."

"I wouldn't mind at all, Mr. Bischoff," Amy taps a pen on the notepad in front of her, "I'll have my secretary fax over an updated copy of the travel schedule as well."

Of course, she doesn't know that they already have one, not that they're about to reveal that interesting tidbit of information anyway. The point will be moot once the joint company is started, after all, so really it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. And even if she is the who contacted them, the redhead doesn't wish for this to be a lengthy conversation..

"Well, if you gentlemen would excuse me, I have a late lunch meeting to attend." Amy's only half lying, really.. "Until Thursday; Mr. Bischoff, Mr. Helmsley, Mr. Orton."

Amy waits until they have also bid her farewell before hanging up the phone, the redhead quickly back on it to ask Maria to fax over the promised schedule.

"Hey Ames?" Lisa speaks as she's entering the office, "are you up for our usual Tuesday lunch spot?"

"Yeah, I just need a few minutes to finish making the necessary corrections to this financial report," Amy nods to her computer screen."Is anyone else coming with us?"

Lisa shakes her head as she seats herself in one of the plush chairs in the office, "everyone else is working through lunch or late today because of the new date for the Stockholders Ball... no one wants to be in that state on Friday, you know."

Amy smiled wryly, "I still can't believe Helmsley would have the nerve to do that. I'm sure it's an inconvenience to the stockholders as well. But, then again, he's never really been one to consider others in his thought process. Unless it's going to benefit him in some way."

"True," Lisa agreed easily, tucking a few wayward strands of hair behind her left ear, "... why are you preparing financial documents?"

"Something else that's needed for the congressional hearing," Amy explained with a soft sigh, quickly proofreading the document, "in fact, it's the last piece of paperwork needed from McMahon Corp."

Lisa grinned, "well that's certainly a relief.." She stood when Amy did, "would you mind if we met up with Ty for lunch?"

Amy grabbed her purse from the coat rack, "you already know I don't mind, Lise.. is going to meet us over there or should we pick him up?"

Lisa shrugged, "he didn't really specify when I talked to him earlier, so whichever is going to be more convenient for you."

Amy chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip as they made their way to the elevator, "well.. if we pick him up, then we'll be able to see how the construction is going. I'm actually interested to see exactly how they're going to design that free space."

"Oh you mean the office you're sharing with Randy?" Lisa held up her hands in mock defense when Amy glared, "relax, alright? I wasn't going to ask how your date went.. you already told Dawn and I all that we needed to know."

"I'm confused," Amy admitted once they were headed to the lobby, "before... Randy was just a name, I didn't have to worry about running into him, or working with him in the near future. I could just remember him or not remember him."

Lisa eyed her friend with a mixture of concern and curiosity, "and how about now?"

Amy sighed, loosening her hair from the bun it was in, "Randy and I went to Sevilla in the West Village last night for dinner. Afterwards, we ended up at this one jazz club that we always used to go to. It just reminded me so much of how we used to be, how good our relationship was." Leaning back against the back wall of the elevator, she continued: "and it also reminded me of how much has changed and how much hasn't changed."

Lisa reached out a hand, squeezing her friend's near shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I'm going to call Ty before we get to the parking garage... let him know that plans have changed slightly and that I'll just meet him for drinks after work." She held up a hand when Amy looked ready to argue, "this is more important right now, Ames."

The redhead smiled gratefully, knowing full well that a good chat with Lisa over lunch would help her immensely right now. Even if it was only to get the rest of her scattered thoughts out of her head, something was better than nothing and really, as she thought about it; the only other person she would usually talk to? Well, Amy wasn't quite sure if she wanted to broach this particular subject with him.