Undesirable Arrangements

Confidence. That's what she wore… along with a simple pair of levi jeans and a blue baby doll top she had purchased from JCPenny a few months ago. She had grown so comfortable in those clothes, she almost felt like a stranger as she walked across the beautiful cream and black checkered marble floor in her simple tennis shoes that squeaked every once in while. Though everything was familiar it all felt so distant. Long passed were the days of designer skirts and alligator skin bags. She had given all of that up… years ago…

It had only taken her a moment of entering the luxurious building before she was quickly scoped out by some of the hotel's patrons. Some were older, some younger, but all of them gave her the same look; that of disgust. Sure she hadn't had her hair professionally done that morning… or even trimmed in the last few months, but she didn't think it was that bad. The simple long blond pony tail that hung at her back was modest enough, but none the less she still grabbed the end, self consciously.

"Miss…" A woman's heels sounded behind her. They echoed across the hollow lobby like she was walking fast, not fast enough to be a jog, but one that looked awkward enough in the world of slow elegant saunters. "Miss!"

The young woman turned and gave her heeled pursuer a questioning eyebrow. The woman was tall and lanky, her hair was held up tightly on her head in a perfectly sculpted twist, and she was wearing a navy dress suite… Not just any suit, though. This suit had a silver emblem on the left breast that read, 'Welcott Hotel,' a name tag that read, 'Maria Prene,' and right below those embossed letters was the word, 'manager.' "Yeah?" The young blond asked and smiled at the prim woman.

"I'm sorry, but we don't offer our restrooms to the public. There's a gas station a few blocks away--" she lightly touched the young woman on the back of the arm, intending to lead her back towards the exit of the building.

The blond gently pulled her arm away. "I'm not here to use the restroom…" She replied quickly. "I have an appointment that I'm already late for." She turned back towards the elevators, her original destination; and continued to walk. Her sneakers continued to leave behind their squeaky input.

"Miss!"

The so called 'Miss' turned back. "What?!?" She said hastily as she was stopped again. "Is there something I can help you with?" She was starting to get frustrated.

"I'm sorry, but you must have the wrong building." Maria said forcefully, again she placed her hand on the back of the young woman's arm

"I don't…" She paused for a second thinking on how she could possibly convince this woman that she belonged in this building. Sure, she wasn't dressed in the manner of the 'normal' patron that stayed within these walls, but that didn't mean that she didn't belong. "Look," she sighed. "Call up to Miss Luna Ellery," She gave the woman a look, wondering. "You do know who that is, right?"

"Mr. Welcott's secretary," Maria herself was starting to wear her frustration on her face. It was not very becoming to an employee of Welcott Enterprises. She might have to be dealt with. She crossed her arms, waiting.

"Tell her that Serena Welcott is here… She's expecting me." Without even waiting for the woman to go find an in house phone Serena left her; turning back towards those elevators, not expecting to be stopped again.

It only took a few moments to get to the condo on the sky high top floor of the Welcott Hotel. The doors opened with a chiming 'ding' and the sight of a hallway, not unlike the rest of the hallways that maze through the grand building. The only difference between this hallway and the ones on lower levels was the lack of doors that usually lined each wall. This hall only had one set of double doors with a slide key slit on the side of them. Only select individuals had the key to this door. Not even the hotel manager could get in without the door being opened for him first.

Serena dug into her tight levi pockets. She struggled slightly; the pockets held so close to her hips that even the thin plastic card was a tight fit. When she finally was able to pull the card out she stared at it, sighing. Its gold finish had worn over the years of being pulled in and out of her pockets when she was little. Now she usually kept it in her jewelry box back in her dorm room. No one recognized her as the daughter of the successful business mogul back at school, so there was really no need to keep it locked up. Maybe that had been the reason the manager down stairs hadn't recognized her. She had kept such a low profile in the last few years… no one even remembered she existed.

She carefully brought the key down to the key slot. Maybe she should just forget this. She hadn't been in this building in almost two years, why did she need to be here now? She stared at the door for a moment. If she opened this door, she wasn't going to be able to leave again. The first time had been so hard, she didn't know if she was going to be able to do that again. Not again.

The door suddenly opened, startling the young woman, making her squeak slightly. She gripped the key in her hand as she looked up at the person that had opened the door for her. It was out of her hands now. "Luna!"

"Serena! We've been expecting you." A woman, probably in her early thirties, smiled. Her beautiful black hair was held up in a bun, a few spirals raining down on her forehead, making her look like a classical Greek goddess. "Are you ok?" She made no motion, as if the motive behind opening the door hadn't actually been to leave.

Serena smiled, embarrassed as she shook her head, she looked up at one of the corners of the small hallway where there was a perched security camera. "Eyes and Ears, Luna."

Luna laughed, understanding her meaning. "Eyes and Ears." She placed her hand on Serena's back leading her into the apartment foyer. The room was filled with light from windows that lined the wall opposite the door. The entire room was almost blinding with its white marble floor and staircases reflecting the sun like a mirror. "You're father is in his office, as per usual." She smiled. "But your sister is home, for once. You can see her first if you want. Mr. Welcott is finishing up a meeting, he'll be done in a few minutes."

"Thanks…" Serena felt over whelmed. Every childhood memory seemed to wash back over her. Running through these marble halls and elegantly designed rooms, doing as she pleased, and not having a care in the world. As a teenager her life had been filled with shopping, eating out, partying, and… sometimes school. Things had definitely changed. She walked through the foyer and made a right, passing beneath one of the two carved stairscases. Serena walked down the hall the light of the sun blinding her as one wall was made completely of French windows. Outside she could see the massive balcony where a blue pool sat, undisturbed but not alone. On one of the lounging chairs sat a beautiful blond woman, her hair was thick and long. When Serena finally got to the set of doors that led to the outside she smiled. Her sister sat reading a vogue magazine, listening to an Ipod at full blast. Her blue halter top bikini was showing off every perfect curve, every bulge of cleavage; it only served to make her body look even more fantastic than it usual.

When she noticed the movement behind her important 'textbook' she looked up, and smiled. "Serena!" The young woman jumped up and ran over to her long lost sister, giving her an affectionate hug and kissing her on the cheek. What had it been… years?

"Mina, it's nice to see you." Serena smiled; she received the hug with little stiffness, out of all the family members, Mina had always been the closest to her. Sure, she hadn't seen the girl in anything other than magazines, tabloids, and sometimes 'E!', but that hadn't changed the bond between them.

"Sit with me! Sit!" Mina pulled Serena by the hands and sat her down on the lounging chair. "Where have you been? What have you been doing?" She gave Serena a look, as if she were really interested.

"Oh, I haven't done much… I've just been around… you know." Serena didn't really want to explain to her sister what she had been doing in the last few years. Not yet. She was sure it would only confuse her. Really, why would Serena ever want to go to college and leave all of this?!?

"What about you? I've read the articles, but I know how fabricated those are… so what have you been doing?" She took Mina's hand into hers, smiling.

"Fabri—wha?" Mina gave her a dumfounded look, but ignored the mind-boggling word. "I've just been doing what I do best. You know, clubs, parties, dating. Right now I'm with Jesse, Terrence, and Kent… I haven't really decided…" She giggled and looked back at her sister, hitting her with her signature smile. Serena got a once over, but Mina didn't say anything about her attire, though she looked as if she disapproved. "Luna said you would be coming…"

"Yeah, do you know why Dad asked for me? Luna didn't say anything on the phone when I talked to her." She gave Mina a questioning look.

"No idea. Daddy and I don't talk when I'm at home"

That's right, Mina and their father had never been close. Serena had always been Mr. Welcott's favorite. Of course, he had never said such a thing, but it was evident in most anything the man did regarding his daughters. In interviews he had always been diligent to talk about Serena. She had always been the first attend as his 'date' when he had none to go with to functions, and he had always been severe; so severe with her when she had done something wrong; always expecting excellence from his first born daughter. With Mina, however, no matter what she did she could never get his attention. She was the lost cause, in his eyes.

Serena gave her sister a sympathetic smile. "I guess I should go see what he wants, then." She leaned forward and gave her sister one last hug before getting up. The breeze that was running through the city that day was beautiful. She was almost sad to have to go inside again.

"So it's agreed, then," Mr. Welcott walked around his desk and offered his hand to shake with his colleague, his face staying the same stone it always did when he talked of business. "I'm glad we could finally come to an arrangement."

"So am I. This is a happy day for both of our corporations." The other gentleman straightened his suit and laughed as he looked back at the two young men that stood behind him. "My sons will do me proud, I'm sure."

Mr. Welcott extended his hand to both the men. "Andrew, Darien, it's good to see you two again. You've grown quite a bit in the last few years." His face finally crumbled from its stony self as he smiled, chuckling. "I remember when you two were," he raised his hand to his hip. "This tall. You've raised some fine boys, Robbie. That Hart Empire has raised some fine boys…"

"Yes, I'm very proud of them." Their father looked at the boys, his chest swelling slightly as he saw the two. They were both very different from each other in looks and personality, almost complete opposites, but very handsome.

The elder son shook Mr. Welcott's hand with a firm grip. "I'm looking forward to working with you, sir." He laid his own blazer across his arm. The man was perfectly dressed. His black tailored slacks hung perfectly from his waist, while his upper body sported an Armani white and dark gray pinstripe shirt. Though he was completely covered from neck to toe, no one could deny his strong frame. Handsome, the man took care of himself. He was very sharp looking.

"Yes, of course son. Though I must cut this meeting short, my Daughter's due in any moment, I would like to talk to you a moment in private longer, Darien, if your schedule permits it?" Mr. Welcott rounded his desk again this time looking at some of the papers that lay there. "I have a few things for him to look over. I'd like his opinion. I'll call Luna to show you two out." It seemed that even as the button was being pressed to call Mr. Welcott's secretary she was already there. The two were politely escorted out of the office and condo leaving Darien and Mr. Welcott alone.

Darien exited Mr. Welcott's office with a big smile on his face. Not only had he helped put together a deal for Mr. Welcott and his father, but had also just secured himself one of the best jobs a recent MBA graduate could dream of; Corperate Manager of International Relations for Welcott Enterprises. Sure the job title was a mouth full, but no graduate could ask for less. No twenty year veteran could ask for less. His professors at Stanford would kill for this job.

He slipped on his blazer thinking of all the doors this would open for him. The simple fact that his father and Mr. Welcott were old fraternity brothers had just paid off. Sure, Hart Enterprises was successful enough. They, like Welcott Enterprises, owned several high class hotels throughout the world, but they were looking to expand their empire. Make it greater with the union of two monstrous corporations. As he started his way through the halls, letting himself out, he had been so enthralled with his knew victory that he hadn't even seen the young blond coming his way. He bumped right into her. "Oh, excuse me miss—" When he looked up to see who it was that he had just run into he was surprised. "Sere... Serena?" He almost didn't recognize her at first.

Serena was shocked as she stumbled right into no-other-than Darien Hart! She grumbled to herself, wishing she were dead already, but put on a pleasant smile anyways. "Darien, how nice to see you," she lied outright. "It's been… so long…" Not long enough, she thought to herself as she tried to make as little small talk as possible. Maybe she could just slip into her father's office, run away, and hide under his desk like she used to do when she was a little girl. No… that wouldn't work. She was twenty years old now, an adult. She could handle this.

Darien ran his fingers through his hair, not knowing how to react to this woman standing in front of him. "Six years…" Wow, had she changed. What were those, breast implants? He couldn't help himself. The last time he had seen her she was a skinny little thing, flat chested, with little… take that back; no curves. Now… now she had a curvy figure and full, round, perky breasts. Her hair wasn't done in any particular style; just put up in a simple pony tail, but it suited her. Her simple modest look was almost… He couldn't think that way. This was little Serena, cotton tail. "You've grown up—" He couldn't help himself. He had always teased Serena when she was younger; his nature forced him to do it again. "Nice implants."

"Oh! Fuck you!" Serena knew it. She just knew it. Darien had been a jerk when he was eighteen. She knew he wouldn't have changed in a matter of six years. She stomped away towards her father's office, not even looking back. What was he doing here anyway?

Darien couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. It had always been good fun to play around with the little woman's mind, and it was still true to that day. Oh, with her bag, he couldn't wait to start working for Welcott. He had to look back. He smiled as he saw the perfect curve of her behind walk farther and farther away from him. If only she weren't already spoken for… then again when had that ever stopped him before?

When the young blond heiress arrived in front of her father's doors she took a deep breath. She was still fuming from her run in with Darien, but she couldn't let that show to her father. She needed to be calm, not agitated at all. With one final deep breath in she knocked on the door and let herself in. Luna had already told her that the meeting had ended about 10 minutes ago. "Daddy?"

Mr. Welcott looked up from the papers that had just been signed and smiled as his daughter entered his office. He stood and held out his arms for a hug. "Serena, it's been so long." He kissed her on the cheek, giving her a nice warm embrace. Daddy's favorite.

"It's been a couple of years," Serena confirmed. She had forgotten how much she actually liked being with her father. He had always been so loving and kind to her… and it wasn't only his fault that she had gone away.

"Please, sit. How's school?" He smiled and led her to an aged leather couch that sat against one of the walls "Are you keeping up with your classes? Not too much partying, I hope." He remembered how Serena had been before she left. A little party girl, enjoying every luxury that he could give her, but he liked giving her that. All of those fine luxuries that he had the power to pride for her; anything to make his little princess happy; made him happy.

Serena laughed. "No, no partying. School's doing really great. I'm not struggled to keep my ranking or anything… its school though, let's not talk about it." She gave her father a reassuring smile. School wasn't a place where she talked about her family, why should her home be anyplace that she talked about her school.

"Well, I'm sorry I haven't called you. Things have been busy around here, as I'm sure you know. I've just closed a deal with Hart Enterprises—"

"Is that why Darien Hart was here?" Serena couldn't help but interrupt her father. "I saw him in the hall…"

"Yes, I've just hired him to come on with me in some of our International Relations. He's a very bright boy. I look forward to working with him. But, that isn't the reason I asked for you to come home…" Mr. Welcott sighed; he seemed to have just come to a loss of words, which rarely, if ever, happened to her father. "This family has always made sacrifices for its success…" He took Serena's hands into his own as if he had horrific news to serve to her. "I sacrificed you, my family, to give you the life I always dreamed for you. Your mother, god rest her soul, sacrificed me, her husband. She knew I was working to make things good for all of you… and look you get to go to Harvard now… no problem…"

Serena smiled and tightened her hold on her father's hands. "It's ok, Daddy. Tell me."

"As part of this deal that has just been signed… one of the agreements was that you… you would have to make a sacrifice for this business." He looked to her for some kind of reaction; all he got from her was a look of confusion. "We've made an arrangement with the Hart family. Robert Hart's Son… he's close to your age you know…"

"Yeah," her reaction wasn't thrilling. Darien had to be one of the least favorite people in the world, but it was true they were close in age; she being only twenty and he being four years her senior.

"Well, you're to marry him. The arrangements have been made the papers have been signed." His words sped out. Though the blow he had tried to deliver was meant to be soft, it had come all out in one foul sentence.

"What?!?" Marry Darien! "No!" She suddenly stood up. She felt her stomach turn, and the room started to spin. She felt faint as she held her head. When she finally got a grip on the room she looked at her father. "I can't marry him!"

"Well, sweetheart… I know it doesn't sound good now, but it will work out; you two are young and energetic. You'll become fast friends. I'm sure," He tried to reason with her. He needed to reason with her. He knew this would be painful for her to hear at first but the Hart boy was respectable, polite, and very handsome. Any woman would be happy with this match.

"No! I can't marry him," Serena flat out yelled at him. "He's vile, rude, and hurtful… everything that comes out of that horrible man's mouth is nothing but excrement! How could you make such an arrangement, Daddy?" Tears started to well in her eyes, her heart beat so hard that she felt as if it were to explode in her chest. "What about love?"

"What about love? I'm sure you can learn to love him…" Learning to love a good person wasn't that hard, and if they could at least learn to understand each other that would be enough. Anyway, fifty percent of couples who were 'in love' divorced. Marrying a friend was better than most could admit. A lifetime of friendship would overcome something like divorce.

"No… No! I can't marry Darien Hart! I won't!" She sat back down, knowing her legs were about to give out from under her. She held her head in her hands, tears now freely streaming down her face. Not Darien Hart.

"Who said anything about Darien, Serena? You thought I was talking about Darien? No… I'm talking about his brother, Andrew." He sat next to her and reached out to hold her in his arms. He shushed her, trying to be comforting. "Darien's not the guy for you, I know that."

Serena's sobbing started to quiet itself. Andrew. She hadn't really been good friends with Andrew growing up, but he had never been anything horrible to her. Nothing like Darien was. "Andrew?" She asked, not quite as affected as she had been.

"Yes, Andrew Hart. He's a smart boy, a nice boy. He understands the sacrifices that he must make for his father's business. I'm just hoping that you can understand that too." He put two fingers under her chin gently pushing her to look up into his dark slate eyes. "Please, Serena?"

She sniffed as she looked up into her father's eyes. He was begging, she could tell. A man like him did not beg. Ever. This was a new low that she had never seen before in him. Though he wasn't literally on his knees she knew this was just as hard for him to do. "When would this happen?"

"A couple of months; we could wait until summer. You'll be off of school then, right," His voice rang of sincerity.

His daughter nodded. It was true, her father had sacrificed a lot for his wife and two daughters, it was the least she could do to help him in a time of need, and few months would give her some time to get to know Andrew. Maybe she could learn to love him… or learn to at least be friends. She gave her father a half smile wanting him to be happy with her. "Alright," She sighed. "I'll do it."

Author's note: Some of you might recognize this storyline, slightly. A few years ago I started writing something called, "Marrying Italy." I took it down after I reread it and wasn't happy with the writing or the character design that I had set up. This is a slightly different rendition of the story. Instead of being mobsters these two families are just successful Enterprises. Darien and Serena's characters are much more developed than they were in "Marrying Italy." I hope you enjoy.

By the way, I'm looking for a Beta for this. If you would like to Beta this story please contact me. Thanks guys!