Chapter 6

Michael woke up and looked at his clock glowing in the dark room. 7:15 am. It was early considering how late he got to bed the previous night. His mind was racing, last night had not gone how he had planned. Michael snickered to himself…the look on Leonard's face was priceless when he saw Penny standing there outside the pool house. He had been standing close by listening to Ainsley start to work her magic on Leonard. Leonard looked happy, reminiscing about old times together. Ainsley needed more time though, Emily had brought Penny over to Leonard much too early. Penny did see Leonard and Ainsley laughing together, her hand on his knee. She looked so hurt and angry. Leonard jumped up when he saw Penny, but she just gave him a hurt look and ran out of the backyard. He chased after her, and then they were gone. He didn't see either of them the rest of the evening. It was not exactly how he wanted things to play out, but he it was a decent start.

Michael glanced over at Emily. She was nude, sleeping soundly with the covers pulled tightly around her. She must be exhausted, he had given her quite the little lovemaking session when they had gotten home from the party. She had looked hot in her blue little outfit…and lot better when he took it off of her. She had a beautiful body….but he couldn't stop thinking about Ainsley. God Ainsley had looked so hot in that little black dress she had worn to the party. He couldn't stop thinking about their encounter in his office the previous week. He needed to touch her again…to feel her.

Michael glanced over at Emily. She was still completely asleep. He grabbed his phone off the nightstand, and scrolled down to Ainsley's contact. Perhaps she was up. He sent her a text asking if she was awake and then put his phone back down on the nightstand. A couple minutes later the phone buzzed. He eagerly picked it up. Damn it, it was Hayley.

Hayley: Michael what the hell? Penny is in NYC?! I didn't even see her. I heard she ran off upset, and Leonard went after her. What did you and Evilly do?

Michael grinned at the text. Emily to Evilly? It appears that Hayley had gotten herself into a tizzy quite early over this.

Michael: I plead innocent my dear sister. I did nothing but warmly welcome dear Nickel to our family.

Hayley: Yeah right, I know you too well. This reeks of your interference. I told you to butt out of Leonard's life. I'm going to ask them over for lunch. Try to undo the damage that I'm sure you've started.

Michael: I don't know why you are accusing me of such things. Like I said, I only welcomed her and got her a glass of wine. She was looking for Leonard, and couldn't find him. I couldn't find him either. That's it. I did nothing else. Emily and I will join you for lunch then at your house.

Hayley: Sorry, you are not invited. I don't need you trying to skew everything to meet your agenda. Phoebe also has no desire to see Emily any time soon. You better get Evilly to do some damage control there, or your flower girl is likely to be very uncooperative.

Michael: Fine…fine…. Have a good lunch with Leonard and Nickel. I still plead innocent in all of this.

Michael closed the text app and opened up his calendar. His sister was so routined with her timing, he could almost clock where she would be at any given time of the day. They always had lunch at 12 pm on the dot. He created a new event in his calendar. "Lunch at Hayley's" She couldn't really turn him and Emily away if they showed up at the door. What would Penny think after all….they had already planted the seed in Penny's head that Hayley was a complete bitch. It would also give him opportunity to get a little intel on Hayley. She was becoming a real pain in the ass. It was unfortunate that she was not on his side, she's a lot more cunning than Emily. He'd soon destroy her…it was her own fault for not siding with the correct brother. Michael's phone buzzed again. He sighed…he was tired of talking to Hayley. He opened his text app to see that it was Ainsley.

Ainsley: Hi Michael, I just woke up. What's up?

Michael: Oh I just wanted to talk to you about the party.

Ainsley: I didn't get a whole lot of time with Leonard, but I'm sure I can work my magic on him.

Michael: Oh I have total faith in your abilities. Your little black dress definitely worked its magic on me. Although, I preferred what you were not wearing in my office the other day…

Ainsley: Oh really? Well the purpose is to lure Leonard…not you. I thought we had already worked our little "favour" out. And legally speaking, we are still on the up and up. We "technically" didn't have sex.

Michael grinned. This conversation was turning him on.

Michael: Well I propose we remove that "technicality". I can argue my way out of any situation anyways. What are you doing this morning?

Ainsley: Well I was going to head to the gym.

Michael: Counterproposal. I'll come to your condo and give you a cardio inducing workout. In the living room, in the kitchen…in the shower.

Ainsley: You do make an enticing argument. Do you approve of my workout gear?

A picture flashed on his phone of Ainsley in white lacy teddy. Michaels eyes went wide as he looked at it. Oh…he was going to give her the workout of her life.

Michael: Keep that on. I'll be there in about an hour and a half. See you then.

Michael stared at the picture on his phone. Her beautiful body was just so enticing, it was driving him to madness. Ainsley had managed to get him hot and bothered in such a short period of time….he was going to give her the workout of her life. Looking at Ainsley's photo left him with a bit of a situation down below. He supposed he could take care of it in the shower, eat breakfast and then head over to Ainsley's. Or…..

He looked over at Emily lying there beside him. He took his hand and gently nudged her shoulder. "Em.." he whispered.

"Mmmmm…" she responded sleepily. She sat up and rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. "Michael, what are you doing up so early?" She squinted at him. "Why do you look so flushed?"

"Oh lots to do today. I need to go to the gym to get rid of stress this morning." He gently ran his hand down her face. "God..Em…do you know how beautiful you are? Just seeing you there naked beside me, got me in a bit of a situation."

Emily looked at him, and then gave him a knowing smile. "Oh I see" she cooed as she stroked her hand slowly down his stomach.

"Can you help me out?" he asked mischievously.

She sat up and scooted down the bed. "Of course Michael….anything for you" she smiled.

Michael lay his head back down on the pillow as he held Emily's hair in his hand. Today was turning out to be a great day.

"Penny?"

Penny was standing with her arms crossed looking out of the bedroom window into the backyard of Leonard's childhood home. A morning dew was covering all the trees and the grass giving it a shimmering sheen. She seemed lost in thought as she continued gazing outside.

"Penny?" Leonard said softly as he lightly touched her arm. She finally turned towards Leonard but her eyes were filled with tears.

"Come here", Leonard gently took her hand and led her over to the bed. They both sat down. "You've barely said two words to me since the party. All you've said is that I've lied to you. But I have no idea what you are talking about. Please, can you talk to me. We can't work this out if you don't tell me what's bothering you."

Penny looked at Leonard. His warm brown eyes were filled with confusion and worry. She looked at him. "Sometimes I feel like I don't even know you" she whispered.

Leonard frowned and clasped Penny's hands in his. "What are you talking about? Penny, you know me better than anyone in my life."

Penny sighed. "First there was the Mandy bomb, and now Ainsley. How many women in your past are you going to keep from me? You told me you wanted to enter marriage with no secrets between us, but it seems at every turn lately, I'm learning a new secret from your past."

"Ainsley? You are upset about Ainsley? I haven't seen her, and honestly haven't even thought about her in over ten years!" Leonard exclaimed.

"I thought everything was out in the open between us. Leonard, you know all my ex's, all my history. I've told you everything. How did you miss this girlfriend of yours that you dated for years? That looks like a freaking model? That your family all thought was 'the one'!?" Penny said exasperated.

"The one? Who told you that?"

"Michael! He told me about Ainsley. I couldn't find you, and he said he saw you with her. I felt like such an idiot, when I didn't even know who she was. He assumed that you had told me about her."

Leonard ran his hands through his hair and looked up at the ceiling frustrated. "Michael" he muttered. "Michael is just a troublemaker…"

"That's another thing Leonard. Why do I know absolutely nothing about your family? I learned more from Emily and Michael in ten minutes than you've told me in over eight years. They were both so warm and friendly to me. The only person in your family that I know anything about is your mother, and that's because she's come to Pasadena! You could have at least warned me about Hayley."

"Hayley?" Leonard muttered quietly to himself puzzled.

Penny wiped the tears that had started streaming down her face and got off of the bed. She walked back towards the window. "It's like I said earlier…It's like I don't know you sometimes."

Leonard got up from the bed and walked over to Penny. He held his hand out to hers. She tentatively held it, but kept looking out the window. Leonard gently pulled her towards him. "Listen…you are right. I should have been more open with you. It wasn't for any nefarious reasons…it was just my life back in here in New Jersey doesn't hold a lot of happy memories for me. When I moved to California, I wanted it to be a fresh start. Come back to the bed, I'll tell you everything."

They walked back over to the bed and sat down, still holding hands. Leonard grinned at Penny. "So there was this girl Jessica in third grade…I gave her a peck on the cheek once."

Penny smirked and gave Leonard a little punch. "I'm being serious here…"

"Ok, ok. I just wanted to see that beautiful smile again. So….I dated one girl in high school, but it was nothing serious. High school was just a lot of unrequited crushes for me. When I went to Princeton, I actually didn't meet a lot of girls there. I met Ainsley through Hayley. She was one of her friends. But she was so different than the rest of her friends…a lot of Hayley's friends were these Park Avenue Princesses…but Ainsley was into lots of other things, like music, art, fantasy movies and books. We got along really well, and ended up dating for a few years."

Leonard looked at Penny who started to look quite upset again. "Penny, I'm not the same person I was when I started dating Ainsley. I was just a young college kid then. So was she. I'm sure she's not the same person at all anymore either. She's part of my past, and I honestly never even think about her anymore."

"Not the same person? Leonard you are still into all those things….I'm not. Maybe you two would have been perfect together if Ainsley hadn't broken up with you."

"Ainsley breaking up with me, was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because of it, I moved to California and I met my true soulmate. The woman who touched my soul in a way that no one…NO ONE has ever before. The person I laugh with, the person I'm dying to see every day, the person that lights up my whole day with one little smile. That's you Penny. You are that person. It was never Ainsley."

"Oh Leonard…" Penny said stroking his face. "How do you know the exact right thing to say all the time" she said smiling wiping the tears away from her eyes.

Leonard smiled tenderly at Penny. "Well…I am a genius. Kidding aside, I know what to say, because I'm simply telling you the truth. You are my heart Penny." They embraced in a tender hug. "Now as for my family, I guess I'm just not that close to them. Michael was always an obnoxious brat. Hayley was always busy in her own world with her friends and work. I was closer to Hayley when we were kids, but as adults we just all kind of went about our own paths. Emily, I just met last night also, but I'm not overly impressed with her."

"Really? I thought she was really nice" Penny interrupted.

"Well speaking of family, Hayley called us over for lunch. It'll give you a chance to meet her and the family better.

"Hayley?" Penny whispered to herself with a frown. "I guess…it will be nice to meet the kids. They sound really cute."

"Oh they are. You'll just love them. It'll be fun." Leonard pulled Penny tighter in their hug. "Are we good?"

Penny smiled and gave Leonard a light kiss on the lips. "We are good" she said softly.

"Great!" Leonard said hopping up. "We better get ready, if we want to get into the city on time. Hayley hates when people are late." He walked into the bathroom and started running water in the sink to shave.

Penny shuddered as she looked at herself in the mirror. A couple hours with the woman that Emily described as a bitchier meaner version of Beverly Hofstadter? Penny shook her head. Lunch with Hayley Hofstadter was going to be anything but fun.

Phoebe swung her legs back and forth as she was sitting on the kitchen counter. She was watching her mother rip up lettuce leaves for a salad and put it in a large wooden bowl. Phoebe looked over at the large pot of chicken tortilla soup simmering away on the stove filling the kitchen with an intoxicating smell. Tortilla soup was her favourite.

Hayley smiled at Phoebe "What do you think of lunch? Soup, sandwiches and salad. That should be good right?"

"It smells yum. I just wish we didn't have to have people over AGAIN. We just had so many people here last night" Phoebe complained as she stole a piece of avocado from the salad.

"It's not just people, it's family. Leonard and Penny. You want to meet Penny don't you? Also Michael and Emily."

Phoebe scrunched up her face. "Noooo…..not Emily! I want to meet Penny…but I don't want to see Emily. I hate Emily!" She eyed the pot of soup. "Can we do something to her soup? Like put dish soap in it?"

Hayley grinned. "Hmmm…..let me think about that one. Do you think her mouth would go all frothy if she ate it?"

Phoebe giggled. "Maybe when she tries to talk a bubble will float out of her mouth!" Hayley and Phoebe both burst out laughing.

"Hayley!"

Hayley turned around to see her husband Nate frowning at the two of them. He walked over to Phoebe and picked her up off the counter and set her standing on the floor.

"I can't believe you're encouraging this type of behaviour. I want Phoebe to be a good person, not a bitchy one like her mother."

"Language Nate!" Hayley hissed frowning at Nate.

Nate shook his head. "Oh please…With you..that's the least of our problems." He glanced at the counter. "And why was Phoebe sitting on the counter? That is so unsanitary…we prepare food there. " Phoebe looked guiltily back up at her mom.

Hayley sighed as she watched Nate gather his keys and wallet. "Hey where are you going? My brothers are coming over for lunch. You know that…I told you earlier. Penny's coming, and we haven't met her yet."

Nate glanced down at his phone. "Hayley, I have things to do It's my busy season, and I don't have time for these countless parties you're throwing for your brother. I'll just catch up with Penny at the next boring party." He grabbed his keys and walked out of the kitchen. "Later Phoebe" he called out as he closed the door. Hayley stared at the closed door for a minute not saying anything. He couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye to her…

"Mom?..." Phoebe said worriedly

Hayley's phone buzzed. She grabbed it tensely and looked at the text. It was from her mother.

Hayley, the caterer you chose for last nights party was truly disappointing. I would have thought you would have done a better job considering it's for Michael. Thankfully, you are not planning any other events for him.

Hayley tossed down her phone on the counter and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes…sometimes she wished she could stay at work all the time…at least someone cared about her there…

"Mom?...the doorbell rang." Phoebe said quietly.

"What?" Hayley looked at Phoebe snapped back into reality. She rushed over to the front door and opened it. Leonard and Penny were standing there with a bottle of wine.

"Leonard, Penny! Please come in. You're right on time." She ushered them into the foyer of the house. She leaned over and gave Penny a little hug. "So nice to finally meet you Penny."

"You too" Penny said apprehensively as she looked at Hayley. She was not quite she had expected. Hayley was a little taller than her, wearing white capris and a royal blue cowl neck tank top. Her eyes were really quite striking, they had an animal like intensity. She was quite attractive, she reminded her somewhat of Leonard but she also had a different look. She looked more closely related to Michael. She spied a little girl with curly brown hair staring at Hayley from around the corner with a sad worried look. That must be Leonard's niece Phoebe. Penny gave her a little wave and a smile. Phoebe gave a shy smile back but went back to staring at Hayley.

"Please come in, let's go to the living room." Hayley said as they walked into the house. "You didn't have to bring wine Leonard, but that was really sweet of you."

"Mom?" Phoebe called out.

Hayley glanced back at Phoebe. "Just a minute hon." She turned back to Leonard and Penny. "You both must be hungry. I have some canapes in the kitchen. Let me get some for you." Hayley headed towards the kitchen.

"Mom I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you!" Phoebe burst out crying.

Leonard, Penny and Hayley all looked at Phoebe startled. Hayley walked over to Phoebe. "Can you please excuse us for a minute" she called out as she took Phoebe into the kitchen.

Penny frowned. This must be what Emily was talking about last night. That Hayley was so hard on Phoebe and criticized her all the time that she was super on edge. Poor thing must cry all the time with a mother as critical as Hayley must be. It appeared that Emily was telling the truth.

In the kitchen, Hayley crouched down to Phoebe's height and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Sweetie why are you upset? You never did anything to upset me."

"It's all my fault. I'm the one that suggested putting soap in Emily's soup. And I was the one that hopped on the counter and sat there. Then dad got mad and yelled at you, and you were upset. But it was all my fault" she sniffed.

Hayley pulled Phoebe into a hug. "Sweetie…you did nothing wrong ok. And I'm not upset with you in the slightest. Dad just doesn't understand how we joke sometimes. And don't worry about the counter. It's no big deal. Your dad is just stressed about work…it's nothing you did ok."

"Ok" Phoebe sniffed.

"Listen, our lunch is going to probably be a bit boring. If you want, you can take your soup and sandwich and eat in the family room and watch a movie." Hayley smiled.

"But I'm not allowed to eat in there…"

"Well today is you lucky day. I'm giving you special permission. You can come out later and say hi to everyone. Sound good?"

"Yup!" Phoebe said happily. She gave Hayley a hug and then scampered into the family room.

Hayley returned to the living room where Penny and Leonard were waiting anxiously. "Sorry about that…it was just a small misunderstanding from this morning. She's fine." Penny looked at Leonard and frowned. Silence filled the room but it was soon interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"Oh that must be Michael. I'll be right back" Hayley said as she walked towards the door.

Hayley opened to door to see Michael and Emily standing there. Michael was in a shorts and a t-shirt, and his hair was wet, like he had just come from the shower. Emily was wearing an orange sundress. Hayley narrowed her eyes. "You're late Michael."

"Oh hello to you too." Emily said bruskly as she walked past Hayley and into the house.

Michael grinned at Hayley. "How can I be late when I wasn't invited?"

Hayley gave Michael a playful tap on the cheek. "Oh Michael…when will you learn you will never outsmart me. What better way to get you to come than not inviting you. I knew you were coming all along. I know I have to keep an eye on you."

"Well you win…you get to be dazzled by my company and not just your other boring brother. So what do you think of Nickel?"

"Ssshhh! They are just in the other room. I don't know yet, I've barely had a chance to talk to her yet." Hayley whispered. Michael winked at his sister, and walked into the house.

Michael, Emily and Hayley walked into the living room together where Leonard and Penny were sitting. "Hey Leonard and Penny. Do you mind if we eat right away…I'm starving" Michael announced.

"I guess….everything is ready. Let's all head into the kitchen then." Hayley replied. The group followed her into the bright white sunshine lit kitchen.

Michael walked straight to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He proceeded to gulp down the entire bottle in less than thirty seconds.

"Thirsty much?" Leonard said staring at his younger brother curiously.

"I think I'm dehydrated or something. I had the most amazing workout this morning" Michael grinned. He popped a couple canapes in his mouth. "I'm famished. How about we eat?" He grabbed a sandwich off the tray on his way to the table.

Emily smiled at Michael. "I'm hungry too. I had a very busy night last night after the party" She winked at Michael.

Hayley grimaced. "Oh God…Please spare us the details. We are trying to eat here…I don't want my food coming back up."

"You look like your food comes back up on a regular basis. Is that how you maintain your heroin chic body?" Emily sneered.

Leonard glanced at the scene before him. Michael was sitting at the table wolfing his second sandwich with a stupid grin on his face. Emily and Hayley already looked like they were going to kill each other, and Penny was staring at all of them with wide yes, stunned at the scene before her. He sighed….it was going to be another interesting lunch at the Hofstadters…

A/N: So sorry the for extremely late update on this story. Long story short, I was very very sick…and then the show has been kind of bumming me out, so I lost my writing mojo. Please review, because today is my birthday, and reviews are always a nice little present! Thanks!