The Reunion (8 page)

"Jesus!"  Em jumped.  "Quit sneaking up on me."

"You are the jumpiest women I've ever known."  Ryan put an arm around her shoulder.  "I liked the pictures.  I've having them blown up poster size for the office.  One of each of you asleep."

"Thanks asshole."  She hit him then put her arm around him and put her head on his chest.  "I'm still looking at more revenge."  Seeing her with Ryan, Brockton changed his mind and direction to Ham.  He'd sent him to get her.

"I heard you guys are tied.  A Magnum of Dom, huh?"

"It was a bottle not a magnum, that wasn't it at all.  It's the fifty buffet tokens I charged to his room.  He probably doesn't know about them yet."  Ryan looked down in admiration.

"That
is
good."  Ryan gave her an additional squeeze.  "I thought just champagne was a bit tame for you."  Ham came up and smiled at O'Bryan. 

"I need to steal her away.  Em, Brockton says he needs us for a quick review."  He saw Toni across the room.  "Is that Cummins on Toni's arm?"

"She's driving those guys mad.  Marshall was looking for you not five minutes ago."

"I guess they came in mass.  Sarah is one up on your mom.  They're leaving for another show."  Ryan relinquished Em and went back to join Tommy at the bar.  Em left the hotel with Ham heading to the MGM.

"Lost her again."  Ryan apologized.  "Ham just snagged her.  Who the hell let you bartend?"

"The jerk was watering down the drinks."  Tommy said and made Ryan a Sneaky Pete.  "Her mom just headed off with your dad again."

"She's keeping him on a short leash.  Someone said there was a problem at the airport."

"Same old routine.  Hurting the mom through the kid.  I wish he'd quit. He just won't listen.  Never did."

"He'll never change.  He's pissed
you
haven't married and given him a dozen grandkids."

"I come to these things to remind myself why I won't get married."  Ryan looked around "Where's Pete?"

"Kim is keeping him and the kids busy.  They were here earlier and will be back this afternoon."

"She looks great."

"Always.  She's super."

"Sorry to hear about…"

"Yeah, well."  He slammed back his drink.  "This is it.  I'm selling the houses and moving back to California.  I can't keep doing this."

"We could really use you at the restaurant."

"That would be great.  Thanks.  I'll work the bar."

"Can't afford the way you mix your drinks, brah."  He slapped his back.  "Good riddance to bad women."

"I'll drink to that."  Tommy poured two fingers and drank it down.

"Can't live with us, can't live without us."  Toni had dragged Cummins over.

"Here's the worse of the worst."  Tommy handed her a grapefruit soda over ice.

"Ham and Em just went to the suite."  Ryan told Cummins.

"I better head back."  Cummins smiled at Toni.  "See you later?"

"Of course."  Toni smiled.  She watched him weave through the crowded room to the exit.  "Nice guy.  Too serious though.  I'll just break his heart a little."

"Spoken like a true bitch from hell."

"But you love me anyway."  She leaned across the bar and kissed Tommy's cheek.  Ryan put his arm around her shoulders.  "I'm having the sleeping pictures blown up to mural size and putting them in the living room."

"Really?  I'm flattered.  I love you, Ryan."

"Completely opposite reactions."  Ryan told Tommy and led Toni back into the fray.

"God, I can breathe."  Em took a deep breath.  "I hate crowds."

"We know."  Ham smiled.  "SANCHEZ!"  He yelled.  Curtis and Marshall stopped and waited for them.  A minute later Cummins jogged up from behind.

"Some party."  He smiled.

"A circus."  Em shrugged.  "This one is going smoother than any I've been to."

"How often do you have these?"

"Every five years or thereabouts."  Curtis answered.  "The last two were in Texas."

"I didn't go to the last one."

"You were pregnant the one before that.  So it would be four years apart then."  He counted out on his fingers.  "That was a party."

"The Starks
can
throw a party."

"Everyone was a buzz over your pregnancy.  It was finding out about the name change that put me onto you in the mailroom."

"Yeah, whatever."  Em shrugged and wanted a subject changed badly.  Ham provided it.

"They're at seven and six shows so far."

"I heard they were tied again."  She laughed. "Did she really count the lounge show as a show?"

"He had been a headliner."  Ham said sheepishly.  "They're doing a couple together right now."

"Remember the time they saw Gallagher?  I swear they were covered in watermelon for days."

"That was a scream.  Sarah definitely pulled seeds out of her hair for days."  Ham laughed.

"Competition is fierce with this group isn't it?"  Marshall speculated.

"You have no idea."

"So what's the score with you and Ty?"

"Two up."

"I heard about the case of champagne."

"OH SHIT.  It was one bottle. The champagne wasn't the second one. It was frosting. Until he figures it out everyone's going to have it wrong."

"I thought that was a little light weight for you."  Curtis laughed.  "What was it?"

"Fifty buffet tokens charged to his room, along with the champagne."

"FIFTY?"  Cummins hoped he didn't get on her bad side.  They were in the elevator and headed up.

"I didn't want to get this started again.  I'm sorry I dumped him in my room and took his.  He's just being pissy."  This started Curtis laughing again. 

"Knowing what you make, I bet it was a small room."

"Yeah.  Your point being?"  She got her back up instantly.

"Nothing."  Curtis laughed and coughed.  "I would have loved a picture of him waking up in the room though."

"I'm glad I wasn't there."  Em smiled.

"He's going to count the Dom as three and you're going to be a target again."

"I've got insurance."  She smiled.  "Toni, Tommy and Ryan have my back."

"If it's as good as the bathtub pictures you know how long that'll last."

"They're not getting me in a bar or in someone else's bed again this trip."  She announced firmly and Marshall and Cummins looked at each other.  Then she realized how bad that sounded.

"It looked like a window seat to me."  Cummins was elbowed by Ham.

"There's a story there and I don't think they want us to hear it."  Marshall laughed as he opened the door.  "I want details and pictures if you have them."  He whispered to Ham. 

Ty was standing in the middle of the common area with a crumpled piece of paper in his hand.  Adrenaline dumped into her system sending her running back to the elevators.  He caught her half way there and carried her back into the rooms.  She was kicking and pounding on his back when he strode back in and carried her into the nearest bedroom and kicked the door shut locking it with his free hand. 

Ty threw her on the bed and waived a fist with the room charges in her face.  The grimace on his face didn't reach his eyes but she still couldn't figure out if he was furious or just pissed that she'd got him.

"FIFTY!"  He gritted his teeth  "I thought the Dom was good, but 50 buffet tokens?!"

"OH come on Ty, it's not like you can't write it off the expense report or taxes or something."  She bounced up and was jumping on the bed trying to figure out her best evasive maneuvers.  "How did you get that so soon anyway?"

"Someone mentioned my wife's meal charges and I ran the daily." 

"You know Mike will never forgive you if you kill me."  She bounced to the end of the bed and into his arms wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him.  "You can't punch me when I'm this close and get any shoulder into it." 

"True."  He held her, squeezing her until she was uncomfortable.  They suddenly turned when the door behind them flew open and Ham stood there with a screwdriver.  He took a step back and started laughing.

"They're already kissing and making up."  He told Curtis.  "She's got him again."  Em was shaking her head.  Then stopped and smiled when Ty looked down at her again.  There was pounding on the suite door and when Cummins opened it Josh came running in and slid to a stop in the doorway and suddenly looked relieved.

"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me!"  Josh bent over, his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.  Cummins was still standing there dumbfounded watching when Carole strolled in a moment later with Ryan and Toni.

"You found him."  Toni smiled.  "I thought we had misplaced Ty again."  She walked over and started trying to pry his arms away from Em.  Brockton sat across the room, he couldn't figure a way he could pay to be more entertained.  "Let her down now Ty, she's got a brother and son worried sick."

"Mike went with Pete and Kim to the Hoover Dam."  Ty said softly.

"Ok, she has a brother and her cousins worried sick.  Look worried Ryan."  Toni smiled sweetly.

"I don't think the airport should count."  Ty was completely calm.

"I had to create a diversion and recruit innocent bystanders.  I think it counts.   And you were all but passed out when I tucked you in last night.  It wasn't like I left you naked, sleeping on the stage of the Celine Dion show."

"OH that's good."  Ty smiled.  "See Toni, your mind just doesn't work like that."

"Anyway, the pictures will be part of family lore for generations and the suite switching will be forgotten tomorrow."

"True.  I won."  He let her feet touch the floor.  "Who got the tokens?"

"Family.  They were the door prize to the first ones at the luncheon." They both accepted Family in the loosest of terms.

"OK."  He released her.  She took two steps back, then another and slowly started backing towards the door until she ran into Ryan who wrapped his arms around her shoulders. 

Toni kissed Ty's cheek.  "Thanks Ty." 

Brockton cleared his throat getting everyone's attention.  It was like being on stage suddenly when they all focused his direction. 

"The final analysis for the implementation."  Cummins had stayed exactly where he was and finally coming out of his coma, closed the suite door and went to the computer set up in the middle of the room.

"You still pirating software sweetie?"  Ty asked Em.

"I never pirated.  Don't even start a rumor like that in front of my bosses."  She stepped forward and took Ham's arm.

"She downloads freeware and shareware, that's different."  Curtis said; he wasn't helping.

"Don't help me Sanchez."  Em snapped; she could feel Ham laughing.  Curtis squeezed her shoulder and went to look at the revised plan.  Em and Ty had resumed their wary appraisal of each other.  Marshall decided to stir the pot.

"So tell me about this billboard."  He slapped Ryan on the back and Ty, Toni and Ryan started laughing.  Em huffed out a frustrated breath and went to join the others at the computer.

"It was still poster size the last I heard." Em hissed.

"He was doing a mural last I heard."  Toni offered.

"It'll be the side of a stadium before we leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow isn't soon enough."  Em said it softly but still knew they had heard her.  She borrowed Ham's glasses and looked over the outline and PowerPoint. 

"She looks so serious when she's working."  Toni observed.  "You would think she was concentrating or something.  I know she's plotting revenge."

"Retaliation, retribution, revenge, whatever."  Em murmured.  Josh came up behind her and squeezed her shoulder.

"We're not playing anymore Em."  He warned.  "You take this any further and we're out."

"I'm not doing a thing."  Em said defensively.  "It's Ryan, I'm going to get.  This monster kicked my ass!  Who, in this room, thinks I'm stupid enough to take him on?"  Everyone laughed and raised their hand.  She closed her eyes in exasperation.  "You did that because I said
stupid
."  She handed Ham his glasses back.  "It's good for me.  I still think we should add another dozen servers."

"Add servers.  This is the first I'm hearing of this."  Marshall looked at her.

"It was in the server schematic.  I probably left it out of the previous submission because we were doing the hardware upgrade."  Em pulled up her other proposal and went right to the page.  "That by having the servers running between 80 and 90% blah blah blah…"

"That's high."  Ty looked over Ham's shoulder and started reading the document.  "You wrote this?"  He asked Em.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"It's well stated."  Ty looked down at her.  "You're analysis is thorough, you gave good arguments and several options with various time and cost estimates…  It's good that's all." Josh and Carole slipped out.  Toni elbowed him.