Love, in Progress

Happy to hear

Ricky hung up the phone and chuckled to himself. Little did the Detective know, the missing case file had been replaced on his desk, in the last place he'd left it- Ricky hadn't been lying when he told him that.

Getting up from his desk (which he had been rather unceremoniously sat on top of, twirling the phone cord around his fingers), Ricky smiled as he noticed the calendar open on his desk, it was only a few days until his birthday. Sure, he was the future head of a crime family, but he was still a child at heart and goddamn it he was allowed be excited about his birthday if he wanted to be.

He remembered some of his previous birthdays- how could he forget his 13th?! Miguel ran into a tree and had a black eye for the best part of two weeks, best party ever. However, the majority of his more recent partys had been in the traditional Goldsworth style: classy, elegant, mature and glamorous.

As interesting as some aspects of the party could be, Ricky often found himself sat in the corner alone by the fifth hour, nursing a flute of champagne. The more time he spent with other people, and their partners, and families, he became increasingly more aware of the passage of time and how incredibly lonely he was.

As head of the family, it would eventually be in his interest to one day have someone to pass the mantel onto. And sure, Ricky loved the idea of kids, but the more he thought about it, the more complicated it became. What if they got hurt, or wrapped up in business?! It stressed him out just to think about it. And plus! Ricky wasn't sure if he was ready to settle down yet- he enjoyed the nights out, the drinking, and the playboy lifestyle too much- was he sure he wanted to give that all up so soon?!

But he had a sinking feeling that if he couldn't convince his associates that he was the man for the job, they would get rid of him. Replace him with Miguel. Sure, Ricky was the golden boy of the town, but Miguel was a businessman, and a successful one at that. And he had a partner, Miguel never stopped talking about their exploits and their exiting yet dangerous close scrapes with police.

His mom had told him that she would never pressured him to pick a person- but at partys she always made a point to introduce Ricky to as many people as possible, hoping that at least one would stick. However, Ricky could tell that his mom was starting to get worried that he'd never pick someone- it's probably why she agreed to give Tinsley a chance.

Hopefully, when he invited Tinsley to his birthday gathering, he would say yes, and Ricky wouldn't have to spend the next day hungover and clinging onto either Fran or his mother. The other perk of inviting Tinsley would be having someone to talk with that was interesting, instead of being stuck with a dull stranger that came up to him to drone on about 'the state of the economy'. Ricky also intended to get Charlie to dance with him. He didn't know how, but he'd figure it out.

Ricky then realised that he might need just a little help convincing the Detective to come. Maybe his joke with the case file had been too much... luckily, he had faith in his eye on the inside. He picked up the phone and dialled a number quickly.
"Hey Fran? I've got a big favour to ask..."

25 minutes later, Francesca was stood in the kitchen of one Holly Horsely, pretending to ask to borrow some sugar.

Holly was madly rushing around her kitchen trying to find a bag of sugar to lend to her neighbour when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, um...Holly?" Fran asked with her best polite smile, technically what she was pulling was a bit underhanded, but she could always make it up to her bubbly neighbour.

"Yes?" Holly replied
"I don't actually need any sugar."
"So why did you...?"
"Ricky's birthday is coming up in a couple of days... and I wondered if you wanted to come along?"

Holly paused for a second. There was no way that the Francesca Norris, a Goldsworth, was inviting her to a Goldsworth party. Parties thrown by the Goldsworths were the most exclusive events in town- anyone who is anyone would be there!

"I'd love to!" Holly replied, barely containing her excitement.
"Great! Oh and maybe you should drag that Detective of yours along too- he looks like he needs to get out of the office for a hot sec."
"Would he be allowed to come?" Holly asked quizzically.
"I'm sure Ricky wouldn't mind." Francesca replied with a smile, knowing full well that Ricky would be happy to hear the news.