AN: I apologize my dear readership for my lack of updates. Like I've stated in past chapters I'm in the midst of my grad apps AND NOW finals are coming next week so I'm going mad crazy with stress. My fear is to fail a class this quarter and then have to pay for an extra quarter, but anyway, I'm here now, so let's just enjoy. I really really REALLY loved this chapter and I promise that once finals are done I'll have another chapter ready and rearing to go. But enough talk! Read and Enjoy! (and review...please?) ;]
Amy bopped along to the beat of the Top 40 hits filling the room as she picked up craft scissors and fallen crayons. Her last batch of kids had left for the day, either picked up by their parents or taken off to their homes by the rides crew and the music did well to soothe her of the day's chaos. As mush as she loved her campers she couldn't deny the peace that came when she was able to clean up and relax. She glanced at the clock and knew she would have to leave soon to wash up and change before Ricky would show up at her apartment. She had been clear in defining that it would not be a date, but still wanted to wash the smell of glue and markers from her hair.
When the final box of crayons had been properly put away in its rightful cubby Amy sighed, took one final sweep of the room, and grabbed her cardigan. She brushed a hand through her hair and slipped the black cardigan on making a grab for her purse that hung on the coat rack. She checked her phone for any messages stepping toward the door and reached instinctively for the tuner on the radio. She switched it off, then the lights, before pulling the door closed behind her. Ricky hadn't texted her or called, but it was still early, so she didn't expect to hear from him for at least another hour or two. That fact alone eased her nerves as she realized that she had enough time to get ready before they went out. Even if it wasn't a date Amy still felt jittery. She did like Ricky, to an extent, and knew that if she wasn't careful she could get herself into more trouble than necessary. She didn't want to be in any sort of relationship, exclusive or casual, so as long as she kept reminding herself of that she knew she would be okay.
With a sigh she pulled her cardigan closer and crossed her arms. "At least let's hope so," she murmured to herself, reaching the end of the hall where the main desk stood. Turning to Margaret who sat looking over some paperwork Amy smiled and gave a slight wave, "I'm off." She ran a hand through her hair once more just as Margaret looked up at her. "I'll see you tomorrow at ten."
Margaret pulled off her glasses and reached out to Amy as she passed, "Wait a second Amy, we've got a situation." With a furrowed brow Amy faced Margaret and cocked her head to the side.
"Sure," she said, "what's up?"
Margaret motioned behind her and Amy turned to see Johnny sitting at the farthest corner of the room, swinging his legs in the air as he watched his shoes waft back and forth. Amy's eyebrows shot up. "Johnny?" she called out, "What are you still doing here?"
The young boy looked up at Amy's approaching figure and blushed his hands folding in front of him as he twiddled his thumbs. "Uh…I don't know. My mom never came…"
Amy's brow furrowed once more and she huffed. "Never came? That isn't like her." Margaret came up behind Amy and set a hand on her shoulder.
"I tried to get in touch with her at the hospital, but she's in the middle of rounds so Gwen at the nurses' desk said she'd have her call me back."
Amy nodded and then looked back at the boy, her eyes softening as he looked up at the two women with a bite of his lip. She knew that Johnny hated to be fussed over and put others at an imposition. He would probably offer to just sit and wait for his mom until she was done with work, but he was only six and Amy had a soft spot for him. She glanced at the clock once more, gauging the time before letting out a sigh and reaching for Johnny's hand. "Come on John, I'll take you home and we'll wait for your mom there. She probably just got caught up with patients." Turning to Margaret Amy smiled and shrugged, "It's on my way home anyway. If Helen calls just tell her I took him home to wait for her, no big deal."
Margaret gave a soft smile and patted Amy again on the shoulder, "You're a good girl Amy. I'll let her know." And then she turned and retreated back to the desk.
Turning back to John Amy grasped the hand that he was reaching out to her and pulled him off his bum with a laugh, "Come on you, how about we pick up some ice cream on the way home?" The young boy's face lit up and he nodded so much she thought he might get a headache.
"I want chocolate!" he shouted and Amy held back a laugh as she nodded and pulled him along.
"Then chocolate it is," she said and glanced at her phone once again, hoping that Helen was on her way home already.
Ricky loosened his tie as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes feeling tired from staring at the laptop screen for so long and glanced at the clock, wondering when the best time to leave would be. He wanted to give himself enough time to prepare for his dinner with Amy and had originally planned to leave earlier, but with Giuseppe in front of him it made it difficult. After the Board Meeting Giuseppe had summoned him to his office where he put Ricky to work going over reports upon reports of sales numbers. The work was monotonous and less than glamorous, but Giuseppe had murmured to him the first time Ricky had let a yawn escape, "Someone's gotta deal with the real meat."
Ricky didn't mind it, he actually enjoyed the quiet of it all in comparison to the schmoozing when handling a customer. That's probably why he and Giuseppe got along so well. They weren't really people pleasers. A gentle knock came to the door and Giuseppe grunted a gruff, "Come in," not looking up as one of the interns came in with two coffees.
"One coffee black for you sir and another two sugars and one cream for Mr. Underwood." She set Giuseppe's cup in front of him with a submissive nod, but handed Ricky his directly, her hand brushing against his just so. He looked up to give her a nod of thanks when he noticed just how low cut her blouse was, one more button undone than the last time he had seen her. He struggled to smirk and throw her a suggestive smolder, but he didn't want to do anything of the sort in front of Giuseppe. A businessman always knew the appropriate line. He cleared his throat and nodded quickly, turning back to his laptop and keeping his eyes focused on the screen. He didn't look up at her again as he heard her retreat from the room.
Glancing at Giuseppe who had yet to look up from his paperwork Ricky let out a sigh of relief until Giuseppe's words cut through it like a knife. "Don't think I didn't see that."
His gaze shot up to meet Giuseppe's form, still unmoved as he transferred one paper to another folder. "I've seen that intern fluttering around the office distracting the best of my employees. I wouldn't get too close to her if I were you, especially because you're underage and she's a bit of an addict."
"Addict sir?"
He finally met Ricky's gaze and fixed him with a steady one of his own. "A sex addict." Ricky choked on his coffee and coughed as he set his cup back on the desk. "Uncle Ben!"
The old man furrowed his brow and shrugged, "What? She is an office slut in the making if I've ever seen one."
When Ricky could finally get his bearings on the words that the man was saying he couldn't decide whether he should laugh or just keep silent. "Well…" he tried to find the words, "Why would you take her on as an intern?
Giuseppe waved him off, still unfazed by the boy's reaction, "Well, Molina is the one in charge of the interns so he deals with the interviewing and what not. But I'm sure her resume didn't mention that she favors her backside." At this Ricky couldn't help but laugh as Giuseppe's dryness continued. "Besides," he sat back in his chair and folded his hands, "just because she's loose with her body doesn't mean she isn't smart. In fact she's probably one of our more resourceful interns, charming her way onto big projects and getting results. But I still would rather that you stay away from her. A sexual relationship in the office is never a good one, personal or physical, and I caution you especially because I know how much you…enjoy…the company of intelligent, but loose women."
Ricky cringed at the mention of Adrian, knowing that Giuseppe hadn't been fond of her much either. He quickly shook his head and leaned forward, "I'm not with her anymore Uncle. I broke up with her before school ended."
Giuseppe eyed him warily as he unbuttoned his jacket, "So that you could come here unattached for the summer or for good?"
Ricky watched him steadily and replied, "For good. She and I…we just couldn't seem to see eye to eye."
"Well," Giuseppe grunted, "That's because you were too busy eyeing her body more than her eye, but I'm sorry if the separation pains you in anyway."
Ricky shook his head and waved him off, "It doesn't. I'm glad to be rid of her." and finally Giuseppe smiled.
"Good. So am I." Ricky finally found himself able to laugh easily as the old man stood and made his way over to him. He set a hand on Ricky's shoulder and squeezed. "You're a good boy Ricky and you'll do well in this business if you keep that good head of yours on your shoulders." He sighed and brushed a hand over his own bald spot, "As well as your good hair on your head." Ricky laughed once again and nodded, turning to his laptop to check the time. Giuseppe leaned forward and shut it in front of him, pulling Ricky to his feet. "I have also seen you checking the clock every five minutes. If you have somewhere to go then I suggest you go now while I'm feeling so congenial to let you go."
Again Ricky laughed and shook his head, "You know me really well Uncle. I'm having dinner with a friend."
He nodded and motioned for the door, "Well get to it then, we've done enough number crunching tonight. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Should I venture to guess that this friend is a girl?"
Ricky smirked, but didn't respond as he gathered his things, "We'll leave it as just a friend."
"Aha," Giuseppe said, "Good for you m'boy. Keep the relations out of the office. We'll make a CEO out of you yet."
Ricky laughed once more and patted his mentor on the shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow Uncle." and made for the door.
Just as his hand reached the door knob Giuseppe called out to him, "Ricky?" He turned to the man who stood leaning against his desk, his hands stuffed into his pockets and one leg crossed over the other. "I'm glad that you decided to come this summer. I'm glad that you're taking an interest in the company. It…" he sighed, "it puts an old man at ease to know that you and your brother understand what it is that your father and I built."
Ricky smiled and nodded, seeing just a glimpse of Giuseppe's age and knowing how rare a moment it was. "Ben and I only want to make you both proud." He said, lingering in the doorway for just a beat longer as Giuseppe crossed his arms and held his gaze.
"I know," the old man replied. He gave a last nod before standing and coughing gruffly, breaking the moment completely as he turned. "Well, off to it then. I'll see you in the morning and remember, stay away from that intern."
Ricky nodded and exited the room, smiling as he stuck his own hands in his pockets and headed toward the elevator.
Amy sighed deeply and checked the clock once more, noting the amount of time that had passed since she entered Johnny's apartment. Helen, Johnny's mother, had given Amy a key for emergencies, in those moments when she couldn't pick Johnny up or when she needed a babysitter. But she had yet to contact Amy with where she was and how long she would be, leaving Amy stuck, unable to leave Johnny by himself. She wanted to groan at the fact that the minutes were dwindling down and if Helen didn't call soon she would have to call Ricky and cancel. After taking a final glance over at Johnny who sat glued to the television she sighed once more and stood from the couch.
Entering the kitchen she took out her phone and dialed Helen's work extension, bypassing the automated messaging and tapping her foot to the call waiting music. She sighed deeply once again and leaned forward onto the counter her nails clicking against the granite. She began to lose herself into the automated hospital advertisement when the familiar click of someone picking up the line cut through it. She held her breath and hoped that Helen was available.
"Good evening, Lennox Hill Hospital Emergency Care, Gwen speaking, how can I help you?"
"Gwen!" Amy cried, standing up straight, "It's Amy, Helen's babysitter."
"Amy!" Gwen responded, "Hi, let me guess, you're looking for Helen?"
"Yeah," she sighed, "is she available?"
She heard Gwen exhale on the other end and felt her hope fade just a little, "I'm sorry Amy, I thought Helen called you, two of our nurses called in sick and we just got a bad car accident rushed into the unit, she's stuck here for at least another hour and a half."
"Oh," Amy closed her eyes and shook her head, "Um, no that's alright, I just wanted to see if…if I should make dinner for her and Johnny or not. No big, I hope everything turns out alright. Tell her I called?"
She could nearly picture Gwen's sympathetic smile, "Sure Amy, I'll let her know." And with that Amy heard the familiar click of the line being dropped and groaned.
"Great," she sighed, turning to lean her back against the counter. "Well," she glanced back at her phone, "Might as well make my rounds."
She first called her mother to let her know where she was and that she would be home late. Then called her sister to tell her she needed to find some time to go home and feed Moose their dog. Lastly, she texted Mariah and Megan, letting them know that if they needed her she would be at Johnny's house, though she ignored Megan's immediate response asking about her dinner date. She really didn't feel like going into it with her. That left Ricky last on her list and she sighed, genuinely disappointed that the night didn't pan out the way that she thought it would. "Maybe it's a sign," she muttered to herself. "Maybe this is all for the best." Though even those words felt oddly disappointing as they left her.
Scrolling to his name in her contacts she clicked call and pressed the phone to her ear. It rang twice before he picked up. "Calling to cancel?" His tone was teasing, making her call even harder to make and she sighed, unsure of how to say it now that he had unintentionally guessed. "Amy?" She could hear traffic behind him, like he was outside walking and a part of her shuddered to think that he was walking toward her apartment.
"Yeah, sorry!" She replied, rolling her eyes at herself, "I'm here, I just…" she trailed off, "Listen, I hate to do this but…something's come up."
"Let me guess," he chuckled, "Johnny's mom got held up at the hospital and you're stuck babysitting him until she comes home?"
To say that she was at a loss for words would be an understatement. Amy found herself unable to even look for words to say, her mind trying to wrap around how he could have possible guessed the situation. "How—How did you-?"
He chuckled again and sighed, "I'm one hell of a guesser."
His joking brought her laugh as well, though she rolled her eyes, "No, come on. Really, how did you know?"
She could picture him smirking, though it somehow didn't annoy her the way it usually would have with anyone else. "I stopped by the Foundation on my way home," he explained, the amusement still evident in his voice. "I wanted to see if I could catch you before you went home, but Margaret said you had already left."
"Okay," Amy sighed, "But how did you know that I'm stuck waiting for Helen?"
"Well," Ricky started again, "Just as I was about to leave, Johnny's mom called the Foundation looking to talk to Margaret, from what I gathered, she got stuck at work and wouldn't be able to pick up Johnny. Margaret explained that you had taken him home and would most likely stay with him until she came back."
"I see," Amy replied, the initial shock of Ricky's "guessing skills" fading as she realized what had happened. "So you knew I was going to call."
"Oh I expected it," Ricky replied, "Now, that's not to say I wasn't hoping that Helen would be relieved some time soon, but I thought it best to wait it out."
"Ah, well," Amy sighed once again, "It seems that both of our waits have been in vain. I just called the hospital and they told me that Helen probably won't be let off for another hour and a half." She looked down, scuffing her shoe against the tiled floor, "I'm sorry about tonight."
"Don't be," Ricky answered, "I understand, we'll just have to figure something out."
Amy nodded, though she knew that Ricky couldn't see her. "So, what are you going to do then? Since our plans must be scrapped."
Ricky was silent for a while, she could hear the traffic behind him, then the shuffle of him moving and she wondered where he was headed, maybe looking for a taxi to take him home? "Well, thought I'd still have some dinner, maybe some Chinese." He finally spoke, "What about you? Have you eaten?"
She shook her head again before she thought to speak, "No, I was just thinking of ordering pizza or something, but Chinese sounds good."
"Well, your wish is my command." He said, causing Amy to furrow her brow.
"What?"
She heard a knock on the door and moved to stick her head out of the kitchen just as Johnny yelled, "Amy! Someone's at the door!"
She glanced at the apartment door questioningly, suddenly unsure of what to do when Ricky spoke again, "Open it," he said, more than a hint of amusement in his voice. "Go on, you might want to get that."
Taking just another beat longer before moving Amy made her way across the carpet to the white apartment door. She tiptoed up to peep through the peephole and laughed instinctively, reaching for the deadbolt and pulling the door open.
"What are you doing here?" She cried out, amazed and shocked to see Ricky Underwood, dressed in a suit and tie, holding two brown paper bags of Chinese in his arms.
"Well we we're scheduled to go out for dinner, but seeing as you can't leave Johnny's house I'd figure we'd stay in. You wanted Chinese right?" He shot her a teasing smirk as he took advantage of her surprise, slipping in passed her and entering the apartment.
"Ricky!" Johnny cried, getting up and leaping to hug Ricky around his knees.
"Hey little man, I heard you were hungry. Your stomach was rumbling so loud I could hear it across town."
The young boy laughed and shook his head, "No it wasn't!"
Ricky set the food down on the coffee table and fixed him with a steady glance, "Yes it was, haven't you been watching the news? We just had an earthquake! Though what the don't know is that it wasn't really an earthquake at all, but your stomach crying out for food."
"Nuh uh!" Johnny cried out, though his smile betrayed his mock anger, "Maybe it was Amy's!"
Ricky laughed and glanced back at Amy who had deadbolted the door and now stood leaning up against the wall, still surprised. "Maybe it was," he teased again, holding Amy's gaze for a minute longer before turning back to Johnny. "Which is why we better start eating this up. I don't think New York could handle another tummy rumble like the last one."
Johnny and Ricky laughed once more, pulling Amy as much out of her surprise as she imagined she could get, and she cleared her throat. "I guess I'll get the plates then." She pushed herself up off the wall and headed toward the kitchen, glancing back to see Ricky watching her go. Johnny had picked up a DVD case from the floor and was waving it in the air asking him if they could watch it while they ate to which Ricky replied yes, though his gaze stayed steady on Amy. As she disappeared into the kitchen she tried to wrap her mind around what exactly was going on but couldn't. Ricky Underwood was simply doing too well to surprise her every chance he got.
AN: Ricky Underwood really does have the capability to be really sweet when he wants to be. =] I hope you liked this chapter dear readers and that it will satiate you until my next update. Review please!
