Devil's House

Pizza and a Pool Party

Now that Score was only a few blocks away from the house, and Ryan was officially a free-lance Score agent, he felt confident walking in the doors, even if he wasn't there to actually work. It was Monday, and after the crazy weekend they'd all been through with Rob and Talinda, Ryan had brought Julien with him to surprise Chester at work and take him out to lunch.

The moment the elevator doors opened, Ryan smiled at the sight of Elka sitting behind the large front desk. "Come on, buddy," Ryan whispered to Julien, who was settled on his hip, one hand latched to the front of Ryan's dark gray muscle shirt.

The sound of the doors opening instantly brought Elka's attention up from her computer and she smiled. "Ryan, and Julien!" she said, taking off her headset so she could stand up. "Look how big you are!" She'd seen Ryan's son a few times now, and each time he was bigger than the last. "I can't get over how big he is," she repeated as Ryan stood close enough for her to get a good look at the almost-toddler. "And those eyes," she said, almost with a sigh as she looked from Julien to Ryan. "It always takes my breath away how much he looks like you."

"I know. He's totally cursed," Ryan snorted.

"Oh, you," Elka refuted, slapping her hand through the air. "You know that's not true. You're a model, Ryan. Blessed. He's blessed, not cursed."

Ryan smiled, even as he shrugged. "I hope you're right."

"I know I am. I'm sure he's going to grow up with your kind heart, too." She smiled again before she glanced down at her desk planner that was sitting open. "I don't remember seeing your name on the shooting schedule for today."

"I'm not here to work. If I was, I wouldn't be lugging this little guy around with me." Ryan tickled the front of Julien's orange tank top that had cats all over it, making him squeal and laugh for a few seconds. "I'm actually here to see Chazzy. We're going to surprise him and take him out to lunch."

Elka let out a sigh with a short smile. "That's nice, Ryan. And I'm sure it will be a nice surprise. He's been running around here all morning, bouncing from one thing to another. With Talinda gone, it's been crazy."

Ryan narrowed his eyes. He knew Forrest was filling in for Talinda while she was on bedrest. He didn't know that Chester was involved with that. "Oh yeah? Well, you know he is a bit of a beast when it comes to getting things done."

"He is," Elka agreed as she retook her seat. "In fact, I think he's in Talinda's office right now if you want to go hunt him down. Or I can call him to the front." She motioned around her desk.

"No, that's okay. We'll go find him," Ryan decided before turning his attention to Julien. "Come on, buddy, let's go find Uncle Chazzy. Tell Miss Elka bye." He took the baby's hand, helping him wave.

"Bye, Julien. Bye," Elka cooed. "I'll see you after you find Chester." She waved to the baby, and the moment Julien smiled at her - a big gummy smile with only two little teeth showing - her hand went over her heart. She watched until the pair were out of sight, and then her mind was back on her work.

Ryan rounded the corner. He only glanced into the open doorways as he went. He knew Chester wasn't there, so he kept his pace steady, only stopping twice - once to show Julien the beautiful city skyline view from the great room, and to talk to Jeff, one of the camera guys who spotted him in the hallway.

When he finally made it to Talinda's office, the door was open and Ryan stepped right into the doorway, ready to yell surprise! or something else cheesy, but he stopped. Chester was sitting behind the desk, his head down as he scribbled something with his rainbow pen. Talinda's office phone was cradled between his ear and his shoulder.