Emily nodded. "I'd love to," she said. "Pizza sounds great." In reality, she was very surprised that people in a fashion office were able to have greasy pizza on a regular basis. Delilah and Amber were plenty thin, especially considering Delilah had just given birth to twins. That was why Emily had asked about cafes - she had expected a soup-salad-sandwich place to be the popular destination around here. Not so, apparently. "And, uh, meeting the old farts sounds good, too."

"Maybe we should invite that new girl," Emily suggested, "the one Gavin was showing around. She's a designer. Her name is Sapphire La Rosa... she sounds like a designer, doesn't she?" Emily glanced over her shoulder, as if to see if Sapphire was there, but she must have been whisked over to the cubicle area where the junior designers worked. Maybe she was near Emily.

"So who is coming to lunch?" Emily asked Delilah. The names probably wouldn't mean a lot to her, but it would be nice to know anyway. And she sort of wanted to know who the "old farts" were: before working here she had assumed that the secretaries didn't stick around for too long, and that the designers would be more veteran members of the company, but that didn't seem to be the case. Emily hadn't met a designer that knew the ins and outs of this place as well as Delilah.

((OOC: A night on the town sounds like fun. If Cecilia and Amber's conversation is going to finish up quickly, perhaps we could wait for them and then cut to either lunch or that night?))

Delilah grinned. "Well, it'll be me, you, Amber, Gavin, maybe Chinsa, and pretty much anyone else who wants to come along. Sapphire can tag along if she wants. It's a free country, you know? As far as I know, Gav and I are the only married people here, so it won't be all talk about, you know, kids and diapers and who's sleeping on the sofa tonight. Most of us have been here pretty much from the beginning, so we had little choice but to bond. I just wish we had more guys here, but..."

Here, a guilty look crossed Delilah's face. Damn, all this time, and I still feel bad about the whole Nicolao thing, she thought, flinching a little. She quickly rearranged her features, trying to look more cheerful. "Well, here's to hoping, eh?"

"Well" said Amber, pausing slightly and trying to phrase her words carefully "We don't really know exactly what happened at the wedding. I don't really like to think about it".

She looked over at Cecilia and bit her lip. "I didn't say going away would change anything here, maybe it would give you some time to just relax. You know, enjoy those babies of yours, get your head in order".

Just then her phone went off again and she pulled it out of her bag. "I'm really sorry". She flipped it up and read the message from Delilah.

"Well" she said, flipping it shut and looking across the table at Cecilia "Why don't you at least think about it, I'm sure it would do you some good. I'm going for lunch, I'll be back in an hour okay".

((OOC: Should we cut to lunch? And Sapphire, do you want to come with us?))

(( Yes, please. Shall Saffy come to you or will you come to Saffy?))

((Let Saffy come to us. Mwahahaha. Yes, come to Delilah. Sorry, being random. But yeah, let her come over. Delilah won't bite.))

Gavin sighed as he sat down on the seat in his office, taking out the flask of hot coffee from his drawer and downed a large amount. It wasn't that he was unhappy - on the contrary he loved his life with Delilah and the twins, it was just that his life was hectic, and people expected so much from him

He dialled Delilah's office and left a quick message on her answering machine
"Hey Dee it's me, just wondering where you are. Love you babe"
He let go of the button and sat back again, smiling to himself as he ran his hands through his hair, just as he noticed a new message on his cell

Hey Gav,
Avoiding me isn't the way you know.
I was wondering why you haven't sent any messages back or... contacted me. I guess you don't want to talk... oh well... whatever.
C.

Cecilia
He typed a reply back, knowing that it wouldn't be long until they faced one another again. He had been on a short paternity leave, and Cecilia had been on maternity leave so they had mostly avoided each other, but not because he was mad at her or anything

Hey C
Glad you're back and okay
Didn't want you to get post-natal or anything
Sorry I havent contacted you, and I'm not avoiding you
Things sometimes are more important
Dee and the kids are great
We'll chat sometime
-Gav R

Cecilia finally got a message, she smiled softly at it and realized he wasn't mad. It surprised her though, why wouldn't he be? Wedding crashers isn't exactly the finest thing.

I'm glad to hear that,
I thought you were angry you know.
And yeah, family's important,
maybe we can talk later?
Go to Bob's or something?
Noah and Macey ar kind of too much,
but I'll speak to you later I gues,
C

She send the message and put the phone back in her purse, she started the computer to check mail and it was like she got blown out of her chair. Hundreds of mails, large company's wanting to work together because of the publicity and much much more.

Gavin looked up as his cell phone vibrated on the desk, stopping the filing he was doing on his computer and he leant back on his chair to type a reply. It was seriously draining his money, all this texting: but it was better than seeing Cecilia face to face he supposed.

Sorry can't right now
I'm going to lunch with Delilah
Maybe sometime later this week
It's great that you had twins too
Ours are so adorable
-Gav R

He looked up and grinned to himself from his reply, thinking about Delilah as he looked at the little picture as the background to his cell again. Man he loved her, and he couldn't stop thinking about her: even though they had been married for nearly six months! Gavin smiled to himself, closing his eyes for a minute and just made a silent prayer for his love to walk through his door

Delilah looked up from the paperwork she'd been engrossed in and noticed that the light on her answering machine was flashing. A message, at this time of day? she thought, leaning over and pressing the button so that she could hear the message. She was astonished that she hadn't heard the phone ring.

Delilah listened to the message and smiled. She plucked her cell phone out of her pocket and pressed buttons, writing out a text message to Gavin:

Hey, sweetie, I'm in my office, catching up on the stacks of paperwork. I'm way behind, but I'll be done in time for lunch. Love you tons. DSR XOXOXO

She sent the message and sat back, smiling to herself. Life is good. I've really come a long way from the trouble-making druggie I used to be, she thought. If things had gone differently, I might have ended up... dead!

Gavin smiled and lifted his cell phone up to his eyes, reading Delilah's message and he let out a happy sigh. Everything was playing out exactly as he had always hoped for: minus the odd dramatic moment and the whole 'Cecilia' thing, but that didn't matter really. He had a gorgeous wife and two beautiful children

He typed out a message in reply, smiling to himself

Oh hope you're not too snowed under. I'm done here, need any help?
Maybe a distraction sorry yes I'm still a child :P
Love you more
-Gav R xxxxx

Amber scooted into her office to grab her coat, grinning at the picture she had displayed on her desk. She didn't quite know how her brother had managed to sneak up on them and take it but she still loved it. She gathered the rest of her things and locked the door behind her before heading down the hallways to Delilah's office.

"Dee" she said, almost bouncing into the room "It's a lovely day and I've escaped from the clutches of dragon boss. Are we going out for lunch or what? My stomach feels like it's eating itself from the inside". Amber grinned and sat on the edge of Delilah's desk.

'And besides" she said, winking "We've gotta show all the newbies how we have fun around here. It's our civic duty".

Delilah raised an eyebrow and poked lightly at Amber with an unsharpened pencil. "Off the desk," she said, in a mock-scolding tone. "No one is allowed to be on my desk except me and Gavin." She giggled.

After checking her cell phone and reading the new message, she quickly pressed in a response:

Yeah, done over here. Amber's being herself. Come on over. DSR XOXO

She pressed "send" and then poked at Amber some more. "Gav is about to come over," she announced, "so behave, okay?" Delilah smirked. "Now remember, we need to show these rookies how we play down in the big leagues known as QC, eh?"

"Ewwwwwwwwwww" she said, wrinkling her nose and jumping off the desk with a mock horrified expression on her face "Do I want to know? Or wait, no, no I don't. Because I probably already have a good idea".

Amber plopped herself down in one of the other chairs and snickered. "Please at least tell me this chair is safe. I've gotta sit somewhere. Where else will we plan the introduction of the newbies? Someone's gotta teach them where to get the best coffee, which desks are good for dancing on, and why never to eat the cafeteria's food".

((OOC: Tis funny how Amber ended up rather different than I initially planned her. She took on a life of her own really LOL)))

((You think Amber ended up different? Delilah was supposed to be a total Romance type!))

Delilah smirked and continued, trying to gross out Amber, "Yeah, I think the twins may have been conceived in this building somewhere. Probably in here or in Gav's office."

Delilah sat back, considering everything that she wished she had known when she'd joined up at QC. "Well," she finally said, "we need to tell them about all the workers-- the normal people and the crazy ones. Tell them about the drama junk, so they know what to expect. But, you know, don't give them all the details. Just stuff like 'XYZ and ABC had some disagreements.' You get the idea, right? Also, I propose we start an ad campaign to get some more male workers. Not for me, obviously. For the single chicks who want some eye candy, seeing as how Gavin is... uh... taken now."

Delilah flashed Amber a broad grin. "Did I forget anything?" she asked.

Delilah smiled warmly at Saffy. "Well, there's a cafeteria on the first floor, I think, but we don't really make use of it. Most of us eat at a bunch of the restaurants on this street. If you want, you can join us. A whole bunch of us are going to hit one of the restaurants and catch up with each other. Or, if you're too busy, we can bring you something back. Whatever is good for you, really."

She blushed a little, realizing she was blabbering on and on. "By the way," she continued, "I'm Delilah Stanton-Ruppetts, one of the secretaries. I don't remember if I introduced myself to you or not. My mind's been kind of bleh lately, what with taking care of the Mini-Mes and all."

Delilah smiled awkwardly, a little intimidated by new people, but still eager to be friendly.

((I was wondering if it would be ok for me to post a new app and have my others deleted?))

"The ridiculously cute and adorable mini-me's Dee" said Amber, laughing and turning around in her chair.

"Amber Radisson, I'm dragon boss' secretary" she said, pointing at herself and then pointing to the desk "And Saffy, trust me when I say you don't want to sit there. Bad things have happened on that desk. Horrible unspeakable things". She snickered and raised her eyebrows in a suggestive manner, trying very hard to to burst into full blown giggles.

Amber was doing her best to be nice for once, even though the designer seemed like a bit of an airhead."Dee doesn't like it when people fight" she thought, twirling a curl around her finger "I've gotta remember to give people a chance".

OOC: I got anxious to see what Amber's daughter Shiloh would look like grown up (she's a toddler now) so i cheated and didn't save.

Child

Teenager

Delilah patted Amber's shoulder, pleased that she wasn't causing trouble. Goodness knows, last thing we need here is more drama. I think I've dealt with enough of it to last a lifetime. Time to make a fresh start for these newcomers, she thought.

She gave Saffy a cheerful smile. "So, if you want to hang out with some of the other QC-ers, you know what the plan is. See you around, then?" She pulled her cell phone from her pocket and wrote out a message to Gavin:

Things are pretty much finished here.
See you soon, maybe?
DSR XOXOXOX

She pressed "send" and pocketed the phone once more. Hopefully Gavin's day has been going well, she thought.

Gavin smiled to himself as he completed the final ordering mail on his computer, sitting back as he shut down excel and let out a happy sigh. Work was getting easier, he was pleased to say, and with rumours that Cecilia was leaving for good: maybe he could take over the entire company!

He looked up as someone knocked on the door, noticing it was Chinsa and he scoffed a laugh, but smiled all the same

"Come in" he said warmly, just as his cell phone buzzed on his desk, another message from Delilah he grinned and opened it, typing a reply

Yea all done up here
Chinsa just came for a visit, but I'll be down there soon
Love u
-Gav R xxx

OOC: I swear to GOD everyone thinks Gavin is schmex on legs in Pleasantview! Look! My Gen2 legacy heir's wife starting going on about his sexiness, and he AGREED with her!

Schmexy

Tho it is a little freaky how alike they look

Creepy

Delilah smiled as she read the text messge. Great, soon Gavin will be coming along, she thought. It was the first time in a while that she'd spent any substantial amount of time away from him.

Delilah tried to mentally calculate how many people would be going to the restaurant, and each time, she came up with a different number. Rats, she thought. Well, fine. I guess we'll just wait and see, then. At least it'll be fun to spend time with everyone, right? I just hope the restaurant won't be ticked that such a large group will be coming in without reservations. She wrinkled her nose a little at this thought. Maybe I should at least try to call the restaurant to warn them in advance?

She dialed the number for the restaurant. "Hi," she greeted the woman who answered the phone. "There's a sizeable group of people from Queen's Clothing planning to come in for lunch. Just giving you guys the heads-up, so you won't be stressed out when we come in. Hm? Oh, you'll save one of the private rooms for us? Wow, that's great. Thank you." Delilah spoke for a few minutes more, then ended the call. She grinned at Amber.

Gavin smiled as he finished his final paperwork and he shut down his computer, standing up and he threw his jacket on. His shoes tapped against the polished floorboards as he made his way out of his own office and across to Delilah's, grinning at her and Amber as she hung up the phone

"That your other lover?" he asked Delilah teasingly as he pulled her to her feet and embraced her lovingly

Gavin smirked and looked at the two pretty girls, amazed how he found himself married and loving it; and having no resolations about skipping off work to go have lunch with his amazing wife

"Missed you" he giggled, planting a soft kiss onto her cheek and he smacked Amber playfully on the butt, "lets go then!"