Got Milk?
PG13
By: L.V. Scarlette
eve413@hotmail.com
AIM: XxCrystalScarxX
Romance/Comedy
Hope you all like this...
-----
Her blonde brows knitted together in anger the moment she poked her head in the refrigerator. Her sky blue eyes that once sparkled with joy from the idea of getting breakfast fell into a dull state. Her hand gripped the refrigerator door handle tightly, causing her knuckles to turn white and her arm to shake rapidly. Here she was, looking forward to her morning coffee and cereal, only to find out that she was out of milk?!
Growling, Serena Parker restrained herself from slamming the refrigerator door shut and stomping out of her apartment. Her refrigerator was black and she had just dusted it the day before just to make it shine. Taking her anger out on the poor thing would only be stupid. Come to think of it, SHE was stupid. How could she forget to buy milk at the grocery?! But did she really forget?
Taking a deep breath, Serena gently closed the door and plopped herself down on her black leather couch, causing it to squeak. Scanning her memory, she thought back to two days ago when she still remembered having some milk left. She remembered that the carton was almost empty and she had just enough left to fix herself some coffee. She remembered that part...but what about the rest of it? (AN: Some people like milk in their coffee, ya know.)
Growling in frustration, she kicked the glass coffee table before her. This stupid act only caused her to cry out in pain.
Holding her breath, she sat back down on the couch and grasped her right foot. God...she WAS stupid! Perhaps she did forget to buy more milk. But how come she didn't feel responsible for it?
A few seconds passed and the pain finally subsided. Limping slightly, she walked over to her furnished, wooden counter table and sat down on one of the round stools that were set before it.
Turning the seat around slightly, she leaned over the counter and reached for a cabinet which was to her upper left hand corner.
Grabbing a peach packet, Serena took a bagel out of it, placed it back in the cabinet, and began munching. Pushing herself up, she plopped herself on the counter and examined a light blue, crystal clock above her. She always loved the round thing. It was one of her favorite things in her apartment, and she loved it even more since her cousin, Mina, gave it to her. Mina always knew what she liked, and she always offered to buy things for her. The clock was one of them, along with a statue of a ballerina in her living room, and even little things like just running to the nearest grocery to buy eggs for Serena, and...
The piece of bagel in her mouth crookedly made it's way down her throat, causing her to choke on it. Jumping off the counter, she grabbed a glass of cool water and gulped the liquid down instantly.
Coughing, she set the rest of the bagel aside and grabbed her phone from it's cradle. Muttering to herself, she cursed Mina's stupidity while dialing her number.
The milk! Of course! How could she have forgotten all about it? Mina had promised to buy her milk for the past two days, and she even offered to drop it at her apartment. Mina had an extra pair of keys to Serena's apartment, and she knew that Serena would be too busy with her work to buy milk. She even promised to deliver the milk at Serena's place, and she didn't!
Growling in frustration, Serena waited impatiently for Mina to answer the phone. One ring...two rings...a third ring...God, where was that girl?! Tapping her fingers, Serena leaned against one arm and waited for Mina to answer the phone.
It had reached a sixth ring...a seventh one...and eigth one...a ninth one...
" Hello, " came Mina's bubbly voice. Serena sighed in relief.
" I'm not in right now, but if you'll please leave your name and message, I'll get back to you soon! "
" Shit! " Serena cursed, feeling rather pleased with her colorful choice of words. But she wasn't pleased enough. " Shit " didn't seem enough to cover up her wave of bad luck.
Scratching her counter table with her nails, Serena grinned when she heard an eerie, screeching sound. Stomping her foot in annoyance, she cursed continously under her breath, not realizing that the beep had just passed.
Her language lowered but her voice only rose. " Mina! You promised to get me my milk days ago, and you didn't! Now, I can't eat my cereal, I can't have the glass of milk that I need to keep myself going while I teach my ballet classes, and I can't even drink coffee! Do you have any idea what milk-less coffee tastes like?! I need caffeign! When I get my hands on you, I'll be wringing your neck like what I did to mom's turkey last Thanksgiving! I know you remember that, " Serena grinned to herself at the memory. " This will be the last time I trust you with my milk! "
Turning off her phone, she restrained herself from slamming it into it's cradle. She was a very patient person when it came to controlling herself from throwing things everywhere. However, when it came to not having any milk, she could pass for the damn spawn of satan...except she was a more controlled version.
Pacing around her living room, she bit her lower lip, thinking about what she would do without her milk. Not only did she miss her cereal, but she didn't have milk to add to her coffee. She hated coffee, let alone coffee without milk. She only drank coffee to keep her energy boosted, and she needed the milk to make it taste better. Plus where the hell in this God forsaken world was she suppose to get the milk she needed for her ballet classes?!
Her body froze while her eyes widened in terror. Her ballet classes! They had started 15 minutes ago.
" Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm starting to get Mina's idiotic habits. My students are not going to like this! "
Grabbing her jacket, Serena reached into her jean pockets and grabbed her keys. Slamming the door shut, she made sure it was locked and ran to her car. She plopped herself in the driver's seat and didn't even bother to buckle up before she started the engine and drove away. She was going a tad bit over the speed limit, though that didn't really matter at the moment.
-----
" C'mon! Get on right, you stupid thing! " Darien Blake muttered while fumbling with his tie. His morning was wonderful! It was unlike any other morning that he had. First off, he started his day with a nice wake up call from the sound of cars honking outside in the morning traffic. He had slept in that morning, due to the fact that he had broken his alarm clock the night before. He had carelessly set the thing three hours earlier than it was supposed to ring which is exactly what it did. It woke him up three hours earlier than he was supposed to wake up.
Of course, poor Darien needed more sleep than that if he was going to survive in the morning. He had gotten home at midnight since his job always kept him busy, and waking up three hours earlier wasn't exactly his idea of rest. Sometimes, he wished he wasn't the vice president of his father's company since having all that work was just hell for him.
So of course, if people woke up three hours earlier by a loud object which happened to be only inches away from their ears, what were they supposed to do? They'd hit the alarm clock and send it flying down it's table top. That, my friends, is what our ebony-haired, hot tempered man just did.
So without an alarm clock, he ended up waking three hours later than the time he was supposed to. That just made him two hours late for work, so what the hell was he suppose to do?! He did what any grumpy man would've done. He hurried up, which resulted to him missing his morning coffee, rushing through his morning bath, and tripping over the alarm clock which happened to be in the way on his carpeted floor.
He cursed rather audibly that morning and kicked the blasted thing across the room. This only caused the alarm to turn off and create an annoying loud sound that shook his house. It never seemed to stop. He practically had to break it just to get it to shut up. Plus his window, which often revealed such a beautiful view, only revealed the morning traffic which he was supposed to miss everytime he drove to work early in the morning.
And that brings us to the present, where our dear Darien is fumbling with his tie which seems too stubborn to look presentable enough for him. It either ends up crooked, sideways, too lose, or it drains him of his oxygen supply.
Finally straightening the blasted thing, he smoothed out his shirt which revealed some parts of his muscular chest through the thin, white fabric. That didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that he had to get to work.
Grabbing his suitcase, Darien looked at his forest green, marble clock which hung on the wall right above his marble counter table. His midnight blue eyes sparkled at the sight of the clock's hands. Looks like he could spare some time to fix himself a nice glass of milk before he drove to work.
Pushing away his ebony strands of hair from his eyes, he walked over to his black refrigator and opened the door, scanning the area for milk. Blinking, his blue spheres scanned it once again before darkening in anger. He was out of milk! The one thing in this world that he needed to keep himself from totally loosing control during busy days was unavailable. Where were the beverages in his life when he needed them?
Growling in frustration, he roughly shut the refrigerator door and grabbed his jacket before stomping out of his apartment. He needed to get milk...fast!
Practically jumping into his red convertible, Darien slammed the door shut and began to drive, forgetting about the seat belts. All that mattered was that he had to get milk as soon as possible. It was bad enough that he missed coffee, and then he didn't get to drink milk. But he wasn't going to give up just there. He may have missed his coffee, but he wasn't going to miss his glass of milk.
Driving to the nearest cafe, he asked one of the waitresses for a cup of coffee and a glass of milk. But the waitress replied that they were out of coffee at the moment, and they had run out of milk the day before. Darien wanted to kill the damn female for even suggesting cappuchino or waiting for the next half hour for their milk to arrive. But he couldn't. He was a man of self control, and he couldn't take out his anger on a female who only told him that they were out of certain beverages. If he wasn't calm enough to restrain himself then he would've killed the woman for even delivering such horrible news.
Cursing , he stomped out of the coffee shop and got into his car again. That was the last spare time he slipped in before he got to work. He couldn't spare any more time. If he was going to get anywhere today, then he should at least get to work soon to catch up on things. After all, he could sneak in a little break later that day to check back for some milk or coffee. But at the moment, first things had to come first.
-----
" I'm sorry, Ms. Parker, but in case you have forgotten, your ballet classes have been cancelled, remember? Ms. Mina Adams cancelled them yesterday for you, " the lady behind the information booth reminded Serena, who only blinked at her.
" You're kidding, right? "
" No, I'm not. I'd be happy to hear that I got a day off if I were you. "
" But I can't be happy! I just panicked and went through a lot this morning just to get here. "
" Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but everyone forgets something once in a while. "
" So you're saying that I had Mina cancel my ballet classes for today yesterday.... "
" Yes, Ms. Parker. "
" And I hurried up to get here for nothing?! "
" I'm afraid so. I know that you must feel feel terrible for hurrying up for nothing..."
" Oh, I feel beyond terrible! "
" Well, that's true, but instead of feeling that way just be glad that you have a day off. "
" A day off from my ballet classes. I still have other things to do. "
" Like your other job right? "
" Yes, " Serena sighed.
" Well then, let me be the messanger of good news. Ms. Hamlet from your modeling agency called. "
" Uh huh. "
" And she thought that you'd be here but you weren't, so she wanted me to deliver a message. "
" Go on. "
" She wanted me to tell you that your photo shoots for today have been cancelled since Mr. Mc. Olord or something....."
" Mr. Mc Olsen....he's in charge of our company. "
" Mr. Mc Olsen, pardon me. He cancelled all your photo shoots for today since he had some business he needed to attend to. So it looks to me that you have your entire day free. You're free from work. "
A huge grin dawned on her face as Serena's eyes began to sparkle with joy. She was free from work! " Are you sure about this? Are you sure Ms. Hamlet called and told you this? "
" Yes. She even left a message here for you, just to assure you that your day's free. Listen..."
The woman pressed a button on the answering machine which made a loud beep before playing Ms. Hamlet's recorded voice.
" Hello, Ms. Parker. I have come with good news for you. Mr. Mc Olsen just phoned in earlier, and he asked me to tell you that all your photo shoots for the day have been cancelled. One of his friends gave out a meeting that he had to attend. I believe that they would be discussing things related to your work and other models as well. So not only do you have a free day, but you just might be promoted to higher levels of modeling. I can't be exactly sure, but I'll call you through your cell phone to tell you if something comes up. So please keep your cell on, and I'll be talking to you later. Have a good day, Ms. Parker. "
It beeped again.
" Yes, yes, and yes! Yes, yes, yes!!!! " Serena exclaimed excitedly as she tried to restrain herself from jumping.
The woman behind the booth smiled, then squeaked when Serena hugged her.
" Oh, I'm sorry....I didn't mean to hug you. But I'm sooo happy! My God! I guess my day is going great! "
Serena giggled, causing the older woman to smile wider.
" Well, it looks like you got yourself something more than a free day. "
" But why didn't you tell me about the "promotion" I might get? You heard the message, and you didn't tell me. "
" Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. "
" Oh, it was. I'm beyond words, extremely happy right now! Thanks a lot, Ms. Standford. "
" No problem, Ms. Parker. "
" I have to go. I still have to buy milk from the grocery. I'm out. "
" Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. "
" Yeah... "
" And tell me if you do get promoted. I want to be the first in this building to hear about it. "
" Oh, you will be. I'll call you as soon as I can. "
" Good. "
" I'll see you around, Ms. Standford! And thank you. "
" You're welcome. Goodbye. "
" Bye! "
-----
" You're kidding me..."
" No, Dare! I'm not kidding you. C'mon, have I ever lied to you? "
" Well, no...but-"
" I'm your bestfriend, Darien. Don't tell me you actually doubt me. "
" Well, no. I don't doubt you, Andrew, but....if you were in my place, and you were just told that you were promoted to be president of the company, wouldn't you be skeptical, too? "
" Nah...just happy. "
" C'mon! "
" Alright! I would. But if you don't want to believe me, then you can call your dad at home and ask him yourself. I brought my cell. "
" Okay...but I have my own cell phone you know. "
" I know. But where is it? "
" It's...in my suitcase. "
" Your suitcase is closed. I don't think you want to waste time just to get it. Use mine for now. "
Darien looked doubtfully at his bestfriend's grinning face. He had just gotten to work late, only to find out that he had been promoted to be the president of the Sherwington Modeling Company by his father. Believing Andrew right away seemed impossible, even though he trusted Andrew like a brother.
Talking to his father on his friend's phone wasn't right either. There was something about Andrew's expression that told him that there was some kind of trick to this. But then again, knowing if he was actually president of the company sounded better. He might as well accept the offer.
Taking his friend's phone, Darien eyed Andrew suspiciously before dialing his father's number. Andrew simply smirked at him while Darien waited for his father to answer the phone.
" Hello, Blake residence here, how may I help you?, " came one of the maid's shrill voices.
" Hello, Amelia. "
" Mr. Blake? "
" Yeah, it's me. Is dad there? "
" Yes, sir. He's resting in the study room. Would you like me to get him for you? "
" Yes, please. "
" It'll be just one minute. "
" Thanks..."
Tapping his foot impatiently, Darien shifted uncomfortably from his right leg to the left, hoping that this wasn't some joke. If it was, Andrew wouldn't live to see another ray of sunshine.
" Hello? "
" Hello, dad. "
" Oh, hello son. Nice to speak to you again. "
" Yeah, dad. Same here. Look I was wondering about something. "
" Yes? "
" I just got to work, and I'll admit that I'm late..."
" I see. "
" And Andrew told me that..."
" Go on. "
" Well, I know this might sound silly but...Andrew told me that I-I got promoted. Is that true? I know this might be some joke and all but-"
" Yes, son. I did promote you. "
" Excuse me? "
" I promoted you. It's time you become the president of our company. "
" B-but why? I thought you liked being the president. "
" Of course, I did. But I'm getting rather old and so is your mother. We need each other, especially at this age. It's about time that I retire and make you the company's new president. "
" But dad...you're not that old. "
" That's what every young man says. I used to tell myself that 50 wasn't an old age, and I must admit that 50 isn't that bad. In fact, I am still in pretty good shape. "
" Yeah..."
" But even if I could probably still manage to be the president of our company, I don't want to anymore. Sure, it's fun and I love the job, but I feel that it is best for me to just stay home now. Your old man needs some rest, you know. And I need to spend more time with your mother, too. Young folks are lucky these days to still have enough time for their wives, and that's another reason why I think you should be president. Well, actually I have three reasons. "
" Really? "
" Yes. The first one, I just told you. The second one is that I believe that it is time for you to learn how to be a real man. You already are a real man. And an independant man, too. But I think it's time you take charge of this business since I believe in you, and I know that you can handle such a job. You've shown me that you're a responsible young man for the past seven years since you've graduated from high school. It's time you take my place, my boy. It's time you become the president. "
" But dad, I-I'm only 24. Isn't that a little too young for someone like me to-to take charge of one of the world's finest modeling companies? Do you really think that I can handle dealing with all these models, making sure everything goes right, planning their schedules for them, making sure I get the right people to model, to take the photos, to design clothes and a million other things? "
" I don't think you're capable of that, son...I know you are. "
...
" Pretty speechless, aren't you? " His father chuckled.
" Well, yeah. I mean, it's already a big honor knowing that I got promoted, but to hear that you have such high confidence in me is just..."
" Is just? "
" Wow! "
He laughed. " That's the exact same word I used when I was your age. I know you'll do a wonderful job, my boy. "
" Thanks, dad. But...didn't you say that there was another reason? "
" Yes, actually, there is. "
" And what reason is that? "
" The last reason I have is that you must have a fine job to earn enough money to support your new family, my son. "
" My new family? "
" Your wife...your kids. "
" Dad! I know that you think I should be president but getting married is a...a huge thing. It's one of the biggest commitment anyone in can make in life, and I don't think I'm ready for that. I don't even have a girlfriend. "
" Find one. "
" Dad...how? "
" You have a lot of models who seem to have crushes on you. Choose one of them. "
" It's not that easy, dad. I don't even like them. "
" Aren't they pretty enough? "
" Well, of course they are, but they're just not my type. Besides, I don't like most of their attitudes. Some are nice, but I think that if I would marry one of them, they'd just be willing to marry me because of my money, my looks, or something. "
" Yes, yes, true. I see your point. "
" So I'm not marrying any one of them. "
" Alright...just marry soon enough. I want to be a grandpa pretty soon, you know. And your mother would want some new kids running around the house, too. "
" Uh, yeah dad...."
" Well, just tell me when you meet a girl you like. I hope to hear that news soon. "
" Um, sure dad. "
" But for now, as the new president of the company, I'm giving you my last orders as former president of Sherwington Modeling Company. "
" Okay..."
" First off, let me tell you that we will be having a new model in our company. She will be meeting you and perhaps Andrew as well since I appointed him vice president of our company..."
Darien turned toward Andrew who was grinning widely. Darien smiled and focused his attention on his father once again.
" She will be meeting you at the Flemmington Hotel, in the lobby by the coffee area. They'll have some hot coffee and pastries there in case you want to grab a bite to eat while you're waiting. She'll be meeting you at around two thrity this afternoon, so be prepared. Just come early in case she shows up soon. We held interviews with her, and she's a very charming young lady with the height of 5'7 and the age of 23, I believe. She's very nice and beautiful, I must tell you. She's practically better then the other models we've had and I'm sure you'll like her. "
" Like her? "
" Ahem...Like her as in, you'll think she's a good model for our company. You know what I mean. "
" Right. "
" Well, she graduated with a Master's Degree in college, and she accepted scholarship during her high school years. She's a very rich, and talented young woman, who's very responsible too, I might add. She works as a ballet teacher at the Suavelleno Arts Building and she's also one of the most succesful models at the Presington School of Modeling. I talked with the president of the place, Mr. Mc Olsen, and he decided that he would have a meeting with his business associates to discuss how and when they will send her in. They will send her to the hotel and I want you to get to know her very well and fill her in with the details of how she'll be working here at our company. I want you two to get along very well. I'm sure you will. "
" Get along well...as friends? Or get along well as-"
" Friends of course! " He cleared his throat. " Friends, my boy, friends. "
" Sure, dad..."
" Anyway, I'm sure you'll take interest in her..."
" Interest in her? "
" Oh, will you just let me finish?! "
" Okay, okay!"
" Interest in her...as in, interest in having her work for our company. She may have only graduated from modeling class a month ago, but according to the reports I recieved along with her records, she's a very responsible woman, and she knows what she wants. She has been trying out for companies lately, taking photo shoots and all, like Tommy Hillfiger, Victoria's Secret, and companies like that. I hear she got her photos published on magazines and she keeps rising and rising. She may be young but she certainly has high dreams and we're going to help fullfill those dreams for her. She knows that our company is practically the best..."
" Yeah, dad. " There goes his father being proud about the company again.
" It's true. If we can get her to model for us then not only will that make her very famous, that will also get us to top other leading companies that are a big challenge for us. This is a great opportunity and I'm sure that if you two are together..."
" ARE together? "
" Excuse me...WORK together, then we can beat any leading company. We'll even top Victoria's Secret! "
" Sure, " Darien croaked.
" Just meet this young lady and I want you to look your best, make sure you smell great, make sure you have nothing in your teeth, and..."
" Dad, I think I can take care of that. Why are you so excited about this anyway? "
" You know I have high hopes for our company, son. "
" Sure..." High hopes for our company and something else, Darien muttered inwardly.
" Just do and look your best. "
" Alright, dad. Don't worry...everything will turn out great. "
" Good. I want to have a few babies here pretty soon..."
" Dad-"
" Well, I'll be seeing you soon. By the way, you've been working too much lately and you got home late last night. Later than ten, which was supposed to be the latest. "
" How do you know that? "
" Didn't you say you woke up late this morning? "
" Oh, right. "
" I may be old and bald but my brains are certainly still in perfect shape. "
" I know, dad. "
" Alright, son. I'll talk to you later. "
" Sure, dad. And thanks for all of this. You're a great dad. "
" Yes, and I'm sure I'll make a great grandfather..."
" Dad-"
" Okay, goodbye Darien. I'll talk to you later. Be sure to call and tell me how your meeting went. "
" Um...sure. By the way....what was her name? "
" Oh, her name's Se-" His sentence trailed off at the sound of a beep. Darien looked puzzled while Andrew shifted in embarassment.
" Sorry...I think the battery died. "
" Oh, that's okay. "
" Good. Sooo...this is a great opportunity for us if you two are together..." Andrew mimicked.
" Shut up! You heard every word didn't you? "
" Hey! I didn't put my cell on full volume for nothing. "
" You rat! That's why you wanted me to use your phone. "
" Well...yeah. That and the fact that I just cleaned my ears this morning just to hear this little thing. I don't want to think that I did that for nothing, " he grinned.
Smacking him with a newspaper, Darien shook his head and grabbed his suitcase before he headed for the door. However, he couldn't help but smile slightly.
Andrew simply laughed and walked after him. " Where are you going? "
" I'm going to the grocery. I have to buy some milk. "
" Alright. Tell you what...I'll go over to the hotel right now to reserve us some seats. I'll wait for you there. "
" Are you sure you can wait that long? "
" It's only about half an hour until two fifteen. Knowing you, you'll probably be there at that time. "
" Our meeting was at two thirty. "
" Yeah, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to be late. "
" Go to hell. "
" Oh, I will. After all, that's where I belong, right? "
" Yeah, you're the satan of my life, " Darien remarked sarcastically before heading into his car.
" I'll see ya there, Dare. "
" Alright. See ya, Andrew. "
" Bye. "
-----
" Okay...dairy products section, where is it? " Serena mumbled to herself while scanning the huge supermarket for the dairy isle. Spotting a huge sigh that read "DAIRY PRODUCTS" in bright red, bold writing, she grinned to herself and headed for the isle.
Her day was going great. Ms. Hamlet had just called her and told her about her promotion. She couldn't believe they accepted her after the interview. God, she just wanted to hug any passing person in joy, but she had to keep her mind focused on the milk before she did anything.
Looking at her wrist watch, she checked to make sure that she wasn't late for her meeting yet. Ms. Hamlet had told her that she would be meeting the company's president who was a hunky, young man. She even emphasized "hunky" to get her all excited for this. And she hated to admit it, but it did. She even went home to change into a tight, black skirt which hugged her hips rather tightly, and flowed a little loosely past her mid-thigh. Her creamy, long, slim legs were exposed. High-heeled sandals adorned her feet. Many men were eyeing her, but they didn't really seem to matter. All that seemed to matter was the mystery man she would meet.
Straightening her back, she walked confidently passed the dairy products in search of milk. Her white top flowed softly under her black blazer which was buttoned in the middle, to prevent anyone from seeing too much cleavage if she bent over. She felt a little odd looking so formal in a super market, but someone else in there seemed formal as well.
Just a few feet away from her stood a man with silky ebony hair and beautiful dark blue eyes. He straightened his business suit which was a dark gray color that hugged his muscular body slightly. God, he's drop dead gorgeous, Serena thought to herself, not realizing that she had just licked her lips.
He was bending over, looking at some of the dairy products, extending one strong arm to grab...the last carton of milk!
Serena's eyes went wide. She quickly walked over beside him and reached her arm out to grab the carton, pretending not to see him. Electricity shot through her veins at the brief contact of their fingers. However, his masculine, smooth voice, sent more shock waves flying through her body.
" Excuse me? I was going to get that carton..." His voice trailed off the moment they made eye contact. His eyes quickly scanned over her body before returning to face her.
" Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there, and I was going to get that last carton of milk. " She stated cooly, emphisizing the "I".
" Well, I'm sorry to hear that miss, but I was going to get that last carton as well. "
" You don't understand. I need that milk. "
" Well, Miss-"
" Serena. "
He narrowed his eyes at her. " Serena...I need that milk, too. I missed my cup of coffee this morning and I had to miss my glass of milk. I'm not going to miss it again. "
" Well, excuse you, Mr..."
" Darien, " he smirked.
Arching one brow, Serena nodded. " Darien...I went through a whole day without milk and I even missed it days ago. I missed a lot of things all because of that. I need that milk now. "
" Oh, like what? "
" Well for starters, I missed my glass of milk-"
" So did I. "
" Well thank you very much for rudely interrupting me, but not only did I miss my glass of milk, I also missed my cup of coffee because I didn't have milk. "
" Coffee? What does coffee have to do with milk? "
" I drink my coffee with milk, and I never drink coffee without it. "
" Coffee with milk? That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard! "
" Well, for your information, some people actually like coffee with milk...and it is not disgusting! "
" Well, pardon me for speaking my mind. "
" Don't be a rude bastard. "
" Oh, you should talk, slut! "
" You bloody little rat!! "
" You slutty little whore! "
" Why you..."
Her sentence trailed off as a woman carrying a basket of eggs, flour, and cake mix, walked over beside them and grabbed the milk carton. Not even bothering to look at the two of them, the woman walked off. Serena's mouth hung open and Darien only growled.
" Did you see that?! Did you see what you just did?! " Serena hissed.
" What I did? Lady...number one: I am not blind. And two: It isn't my fault if that lady took the last milk carton. "
" If you hadn't argued with me then she wouldn't have taken the milk! "
" If you hadn't butted in my business then I would probably have that milk carton and I'd be off in peace right now! "
" Well, excuse you! "
" Oh, yeah! Excuse me for pointing out your fault! Anyway, I would rather have that lady take the last carton than you, witch! "
" Witch?! Oh, I don't think so, you ignorant dwarf! "
" Hey! I may be pint-sized but at least my brain isn't the size of a peanut! "
" Oh, so you're saying I have a brain the size of a peanut now, huh? Well at least I use it! "
" You should talk, you pig. "
" You should learn to keep your mouth shut, you cow! "
" I may be a cow but at least my ass isn't the size of Texas! "
" You're right. You're butt isn't the size of Texas...it's the size of Asia! "
" Lady, you don't know who you're dealing with. "
" I was about to tell you that. "
Clenching his fists together, Darien restrained himself from wringing her neck and just glared at her intensly. " Look....the milk's gone, and we don't have it. I don't think either of us would have wanted to see the other take it anyway. "
" Hell, you're right! "
" This arguement is immature. The milk's gone so we might as well stop it. "
" Actually, Darien...the only one who's immature here is you! "
" Don't start with me, kid! "
" Kid?! Sure thing, gramps. "
" Don't mess with me, Serena! "
" You shouldn't mess with me either, Darien! "
Their "conversation" was cut off by the sound of Serena's cell phone. Growling at him, she turned around and answered it, glaring at him while speaking.
" Hello?...Oh, hi Mina...yes, the meeting's still on...yes I am pretty excited...no actually I...well, yes actually I am caught up in a little business, " she drooled while laying an "L" on her forehead which meant loser in Darien's direction. He only rolled his eyes and stuck out his middle finger.
" Well...yeah, I am excited...yes, I'll be on my way...I'll see you there...alright, I'll just look for you wherever you're seated in... " She laughed. "...Yes, I'll tell you the details and what my promotion was...I'm in the grocery...because you didn't buy my milk!...Well, no, I didn't exactly get any milk...it's okay, just be more responsible nextime... " She laughed again. " Alright, I'll see ya there...yeah, bye. "
Turning off her phone, she turned to Darien who cocked his brow at her. Glaring at him, she placed her cell back in her purse and crossed her arms. " Well, I have some business to attend to. I have a meeting in a couple of minutes. I hope I'll never see you again, you conceited jerk! "
" Same here, Cruella. "
" Oooohhh!!! You just get on my nerves! "
" Glad to hear it. "
" Whatever. I have to go. Bye, jackass. "
" Bye, moron. "
Glaring at him one more time, Serena turned around and left. How dare me treat her that way! What an arrogant man! Though he was kinda hunky...Oh Serena, shut up!
She scolded herself, mentally kicking her brain. Now is not the time tot hink about him. She still had a meeting to catch and she had to be early to give a good impression. Besides, who needs a guy like him when there could be another guy who was waiting for her? She could think about Darien later.
-----
" Hey Dare! " Andrew called out from a furnished, wooden table next to a low wall of roses.
" Hey, Andrew..."
" You don't look so good. Something wrong? "
" No, not really. I just got into this arguement with this girl at the grocery. "
" Oh, really? "
" Yeah. "
Leaning over the table, Andrew cocked one brow, eager to hear the juicy details. " What exactly happened? "
Darien frowned at him, but he was too tired to start another arguement. He might as well tell him. " Well, I was about to get this carton of milk...it was the last one... "
" Uh huh. "
" And, this girl, she just came up and she was about to get the carton. She pretended not to see me. The nerve of her! Of course, I had to defend my milk. So I said excuse me then she started arguing with me. "
" And...? "
" And then this lady just took the last carton of milk and left as if we were the bloody ghosts of Christmas past! It was as if we were invisible. God...women are so strange. "
" All this over a carton of milk, huh? "
" Shut up! "
" It's not like you to just blow up over milk. Could it be possible that you actually wanted to argue with this girl for the fun of it? Maybe because...you like her? "
Darien punched his arm, only causing him to laugh. " Stop it! "
" Hey, Mina! " Came a bubbly voice, causing both guys to look up. Darien's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. Andrew only grinned.
" Ah...I see you like that girl. "
" No, asshole! That was the girl at the grocery. "
" You're kidding me. You fought with that fine babe? Damn you, Darien! She is so fine. "
" Oh, please. "
" C'mon Darien. Admit it, she's hot. "
" She is not! "
" Your brain's dead if you don't like her. Either that or maybe you do like her and you just won't admit it-"
" Shut up! "
" Why? So you could hear their conversation? "
" Okay...that's it! I'll-"
" Okay, okay! I'll shut up. I wanna hear their conversation too, anyway. "
Growling, Darien rolled his eyes before turning to his side. He couldn't exactly see anything with the wall of roses beside him, but he could hear enough.
" Serena! There you are! "
" Hey, Mina. Sorry I'm a little late. I had this little arguement with this guy at the grocery. "
" Oh, really? A secret crush? "
" No, you dork! How could an arrogant man who I just had an arguement with be my crush? "
" Well, there is a tiny chance. After all, hate is the closest thing to love. "
" Shut up! "
" Okay....I'll shut up. Now let's hear the juicy details...starting with your grocery incident. "
" Alright, well... "
Darien's concentration was cut off at the sound of Andrew snickering. Glaring at him, Darien sighed in frustration. " What now? "
" Has it ever occured to you that you and that Serena person sound so much alike? You could pass for a married couple. "
" Oh, and I suppose you and that Mina girl couldn't pass for soulmates? "
That got him to shut up.
Shaking his head, Darien took a sip of his coffee and continued listening. If he was going to wait for that new model to come, then he might as well make use of the time he had.
" And you just left? " Mina interrogated, leaning over the table.
" Yeah, I had to get here. Besides, I didn't want to waste time on a gnome like him. "
Darien smirked upon hearing this. So she she thinks I'm a gnome, he thought bitterly. Well, I'm worse than that. She doesn't know me very well.
" Okay, whatever. Let's drop the whole grocery thing and get on to the juicy gossip. So what's this about your new promotion? "
" Well...it's really big. "
" Tell me about it. I bet it's something better than big. "
Serena giggled. " Yeah, you could say that. But I don't think I wanna tell you. "
" Hey! C'mon! That's unfair...you know I have to know about this. You have to tell me. "
" Alright. But first, take a guess..."
" Damn you! "
" C'mon. Just take a couple of guesses. "
" Fine! It's better than just ordinary modeling right? "
" In my opinion, yeah. "
" Okay. Let me see...did you get promoted to model in the season's premier for the autumn modeling thing? "
" I wish it were that big. "
" Cheater. "
" How am I a cheater? "
" I have a feeling it has something to do with that. "
" Well..."
" Let me guess...you were accepted for Victoria's Secret? "
" Been there. "
" GAP? "
" Done that. "
" Um...Calvin Klein? "
" Do I look like a man to you? "
" Well...no, but Calvin Klein does have a few things for women. "
" True, but they usually pick guys to model. And I'm not really interested in that. "
" Oh, I think I know what you were accepted for. "
" Really? "
" Yeah...just admit it, to make things easier. "
" No, you're only saying that so I'll give away the answer. "
" I'm not! I believe I know the answer so just spill. "
" Why? "
" Please? "
" I'm nice, but I'm not that nice. "
" C'mon! "
" No! "
At this point, both Andrew and Darien have relaxed while listening to the conversation. Both men picked up their cups of coffee and took a sip.
" Oh, admit it, Serena! You're a porno model! "
Both guys spit out their coffee and coughed, gasping for breath. Andrew was half-wheezing and half laughing at this. Darien was just blue...literally.
" Mina! I am not! "
" Then why won't you tell me? "
" Oh fine! I got accepted for the Sherwington Modeling Company. They told me that they chose a new president and he's suppose to be meeting me here sometime now. "
Darien's eyes went wide. No! No way! Could it be possible that she...
His eyes caught sight of a magazine on a rack just a few feet away from him. Quickly standing up, he grabbed the magazine. His eyes widened in shock.
There, on the front page, was a picture of Serena wearing the latest design for Victoria's Secret. She had her thumbs stuck in the pockets of her jeans and she had a tank top that open in the middle, revealing the latest style of Victoria's Secret's bras. Her hair seemed to flow in the wind and she appeared to be licking her full, pink lips seductively to tease whoever was observing her picture. My God! She was the model his father told him about!
Andrew had noticed his friend's shocked expression and grinned evily upon seeing the picture. Turning around, he called out, " Hey, Serena Parker! I believe that you're here for a meeting with the president of the Sherwington Modeling Company? "
Serena turned around and smiled, flashing her pearly white teeth. " Yes, actually. How did you know? "
Andrew grinned and extended his arm for a handshake. Serena took it and smiled back. " I'm Andrew Johnson, the new Vice President of the Sherwington Modeling Company. And this young man beside me here, is the new president of our company, Mr. Darien Blake. "
Serena seemed a bit confused at first, but her facial expression instantly turned into shock the moment she and Darien made eye contact. " YOU?! "
-----
AN: Pardon any errors please. Reviews? I'll leave ya hanging. ;)
PG13
By: L.V. Scarlette
eve413@hotmail.com
AIM: XxCrystalScarxX
Romance/Comedy
Hope you all like this...
-----
Her blonde brows knitted together in anger the moment she poked her head in the refrigerator. Her sky blue eyes that once sparkled with joy from the idea of getting breakfast fell into a dull state. Her hand gripped the refrigerator door handle tightly, causing her knuckles to turn white and her arm to shake rapidly. Here she was, looking forward to her morning coffee and cereal, only to find out that she was out of milk?!
Growling, Serena Parker restrained herself from slamming the refrigerator door shut and stomping out of her apartment. Her refrigerator was black and she had just dusted it the day before just to make it shine. Taking her anger out on the poor thing would only be stupid. Come to think of it, SHE was stupid. How could she forget to buy milk at the grocery?! But did she really forget?
Taking a deep breath, Serena gently closed the door and plopped herself down on her black leather couch, causing it to squeak. Scanning her memory, she thought back to two days ago when she still remembered having some milk left. She remembered that the carton was almost empty and she had just enough left to fix herself some coffee. She remembered that part...but what about the rest of it? (AN: Some people like milk in their coffee, ya know.)
Growling in frustration, she kicked the glass coffee table before her. This stupid act only caused her to cry out in pain.
Holding her breath, she sat back down on the couch and grasped her right foot. God...she WAS stupid! Perhaps she did forget to buy more milk. But how come she didn't feel responsible for it?
A few seconds passed and the pain finally subsided. Limping slightly, she walked over to her furnished, wooden counter table and sat down on one of the round stools that were set before it.
Turning the seat around slightly, she leaned over the counter and reached for a cabinet which was to her upper left hand corner.
Grabbing a peach packet, Serena took a bagel out of it, placed it back in the cabinet, and began munching. Pushing herself up, she plopped herself on the counter and examined a light blue, crystal clock above her. She always loved the round thing. It was one of her favorite things in her apartment, and she loved it even more since her cousin, Mina, gave it to her. Mina always knew what she liked, and she always offered to buy things for her. The clock was one of them, along with a statue of a ballerina in her living room, and even little things like just running to the nearest grocery to buy eggs for Serena, and...
The piece of bagel in her mouth crookedly made it's way down her throat, causing her to choke on it. Jumping off the counter, she grabbed a glass of cool water and gulped the liquid down instantly.
Coughing, she set the rest of the bagel aside and grabbed her phone from it's cradle. Muttering to herself, she cursed Mina's stupidity while dialing her number.
The milk! Of course! How could she have forgotten all about it? Mina had promised to buy her milk for the past two days, and she even offered to drop it at her apartment. Mina had an extra pair of keys to Serena's apartment, and she knew that Serena would be too busy with her work to buy milk. She even promised to deliver the milk at Serena's place, and she didn't!
Growling in frustration, Serena waited impatiently for Mina to answer the phone. One ring...two rings...a third ring...God, where was that girl?! Tapping her fingers, Serena leaned against one arm and waited for Mina to answer the phone.
It had reached a sixth ring...a seventh one...and eigth one...a ninth one...
" Hello, " came Mina's bubbly voice. Serena sighed in relief.
" I'm not in right now, but if you'll please leave your name and message, I'll get back to you soon! "
" Shit! " Serena cursed, feeling rather pleased with her colorful choice of words. But she wasn't pleased enough. " Shit " didn't seem enough to cover up her wave of bad luck.
Scratching her counter table with her nails, Serena grinned when she heard an eerie, screeching sound. Stomping her foot in annoyance, she cursed continously under her breath, not realizing that the beep had just passed.
Her language lowered but her voice only rose. " Mina! You promised to get me my milk days ago, and you didn't! Now, I can't eat my cereal, I can't have the glass of milk that I need to keep myself going while I teach my ballet classes, and I can't even drink coffee! Do you have any idea what milk-less coffee tastes like?! I need caffeign! When I get my hands on you, I'll be wringing your neck like what I did to mom's turkey last Thanksgiving! I know you remember that, " Serena grinned to herself at the memory. " This will be the last time I trust you with my milk! "
Turning off her phone, she restrained herself from slamming it into it's cradle. She was a very patient person when it came to controlling herself from throwing things everywhere. However, when it came to not having any milk, she could pass for the damn spawn of satan...except she was a more controlled version.
Pacing around her living room, she bit her lower lip, thinking about what she would do without her milk. Not only did she miss her cereal, but she didn't have milk to add to her coffee. She hated coffee, let alone coffee without milk. She only drank coffee to keep her energy boosted, and she needed the milk to make it taste better. Plus where the hell in this God forsaken world was she suppose to get the milk she needed for her ballet classes?!
Her body froze while her eyes widened in terror. Her ballet classes! They had started 15 minutes ago.
" Shit! Shit! Shit! I'm starting to get Mina's idiotic habits. My students are not going to like this! "
Grabbing her jacket, Serena reached into her jean pockets and grabbed her keys. Slamming the door shut, she made sure it was locked and ran to her car. She plopped herself in the driver's seat and didn't even bother to buckle up before she started the engine and drove away. She was going a tad bit over the speed limit, though that didn't really matter at the moment.
-----
" C'mon! Get on right, you stupid thing! " Darien Blake muttered while fumbling with his tie. His morning was wonderful! It was unlike any other morning that he had. First off, he started his day with a nice wake up call from the sound of cars honking outside in the morning traffic. He had slept in that morning, due to the fact that he had broken his alarm clock the night before. He had carelessly set the thing three hours earlier than it was supposed to ring which is exactly what it did. It woke him up three hours earlier than he was supposed to wake up.
Of course, poor Darien needed more sleep than that if he was going to survive in the morning. He had gotten home at midnight since his job always kept him busy, and waking up three hours earlier wasn't exactly his idea of rest. Sometimes, he wished he wasn't the vice president of his father's company since having all that work was just hell for him.
So of course, if people woke up three hours earlier by a loud object which happened to be only inches away from their ears, what were they supposed to do? They'd hit the alarm clock and send it flying down it's table top. That, my friends, is what our ebony-haired, hot tempered man just did.
So without an alarm clock, he ended up waking three hours later than the time he was supposed to. That just made him two hours late for work, so what the hell was he suppose to do?! He did what any grumpy man would've done. He hurried up, which resulted to him missing his morning coffee, rushing through his morning bath, and tripping over the alarm clock which happened to be in the way on his carpeted floor.
He cursed rather audibly that morning and kicked the blasted thing across the room. This only caused the alarm to turn off and create an annoying loud sound that shook his house. It never seemed to stop. He practically had to break it just to get it to shut up. Plus his window, which often revealed such a beautiful view, only revealed the morning traffic which he was supposed to miss everytime he drove to work early in the morning.
And that brings us to the present, where our dear Darien is fumbling with his tie which seems too stubborn to look presentable enough for him. It either ends up crooked, sideways, too lose, or it drains him of his oxygen supply.
Finally straightening the blasted thing, he smoothed out his shirt which revealed some parts of his muscular chest through the thin, white fabric. That didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that he had to get to work.
Grabbing his suitcase, Darien looked at his forest green, marble clock which hung on the wall right above his marble counter table. His midnight blue eyes sparkled at the sight of the clock's hands. Looks like he could spare some time to fix himself a nice glass of milk before he drove to work.
Pushing away his ebony strands of hair from his eyes, he walked over to his black refrigator and opened the door, scanning the area for milk. Blinking, his blue spheres scanned it once again before darkening in anger. He was out of milk! The one thing in this world that he needed to keep himself from totally loosing control during busy days was unavailable. Where were the beverages in his life when he needed them?
Growling in frustration, he roughly shut the refrigerator door and grabbed his jacket before stomping out of his apartment. He needed to get milk...fast!
Practically jumping into his red convertible, Darien slammed the door shut and began to drive, forgetting about the seat belts. All that mattered was that he had to get milk as soon as possible. It was bad enough that he missed coffee, and then he didn't get to drink milk. But he wasn't going to give up just there. He may have missed his coffee, but he wasn't going to miss his glass of milk.
Driving to the nearest cafe, he asked one of the waitresses for a cup of coffee and a glass of milk. But the waitress replied that they were out of coffee at the moment, and they had run out of milk the day before. Darien wanted to kill the damn female for even suggesting cappuchino or waiting for the next half hour for their milk to arrive. But he couldn't. He was a man of self control, and he couldn't take out his anger on a female who only told him that they were out of certain beverages. If he wasn't calm enough to restrain himself then he would've killed the woman for even delivering such horrible news.
Cursing , he stomped out of the coffee shop and got into his car again. That was the last spare time he slipped in before he got to work. He couldn't spare any more time. If he was going to get anywhere today, then he should at least get to work soon to catch up on things. After all, he could sneak in a little break later that day to check back for some milk or coffee. But at the moment, first things had to come first.
-----
" I'm sorry, Ms. Parker, but in case you have forgotten, your ballet classes have been cancelled, remember? Ms. Mina Adams cancelled them yesterday for you, " the lady behind the information booth reminded Serena, who only blinked at her.
" You're kidding, right? "
" No, I'm not. I'd be happy to hear that I got a day off if I were you. "
" But I can't be happy! I just panicked and went through a lot this morning just to get here. "
" Well, I'm sorry to hear that, but everyone forgets something once in a while. "
" So you're saying that I had Mina cancel my ballet classes for today yesterday.... "
" Yes, Ms. Parker. "
" And I hurried up to get here for nothing?! "
" I'm afraid so. I know that you must feel feel terrible for hurrying up for nothing..."
" Oh, I feel beyond terrible! "
" Well, that's true, but instead of feeling that way just be glad that you have a day off. "
" A day off from my ballet classes. I still have other things to do. "
" Like your other job right? "
" Yes, " Serena sighed.
" Well then, let me be the messanger of good news. Ms. Hamlet from your modeling agency called. "
" Uh huh. "
" And she thought that you'd be here but you weren't, so she wanted me to deliver a message. "
" Go on. "
" She wanted me to tell you that your photo shoots for today have been cancelled since Mr. Mc. Olord or something....."
" Mr. Mc Olsen....he's in charge of our company. "
" Mr. Mc Olsen, pardon me. He cancelled all your photo shoots for today since he had some business he needed to attend to. So it looks to me that you have your entire day free. You're free from work. "
A huge grin dawned on her face as Serena's eyes began to sparkle with joy. She was free from work! " Are you sure about this? Are you sure Ms. Hamlet called and told you this? "
" Yes. She even left a message here for you, just to assure you that your day's free. Listen..."
The woman pressed a button on the answering machine which made a loud beep before playing Ms. Hamlet's recorded voice.
" Hello, Ms. Parker. I have come with good news for you. Mr. Mc Olsen just phoned in earlier, and he asked me to tell you that all your photo shoots for the day have been cancelled. One of his friends gave out a meeting that he had to attend. I believe that they would be discussing things related to your work and other models as well. So not only do you have a free day, but you just might be promoted to higher levels of modeling. I can't be exactly sure, but I'll call you through your cell phone to tell you if something comes up. So please keep your cell on, and I'll be talking to you later. Have a good day, Ms. Parker. "
It beeped again.
" Yes, yes, and yes! Yes, yes, yes!!!! " Serena exclaimed excitedly as she tried to restrain herself from jumping.
The woman behind the booth smiled, then squeaked when Serena hugged her.
" Oh, I'm sorry....I didn't mean to hug you. But I'm sooo happy! My God! I guess my day is going great! "
Serena giggled, causing the older woman to smile wider.
" Well, it looks like you got yourself something more than a free day. "
" But why didn't you tell me about the "promotion" I might get? You heard the message, and you didn't tell me. "
" Well, I wanted it to be a surprise. "
" Oh, it was. I'm beyond words, extremely happy right now! Thanks a lot, Ms. Standford. "
" No problem, Ms. Parker. "
" I have to go. I still have to buy milk from the grocery. I'm out. "
" Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then. "
" Yeah... "
" And tell me if you do get promoted. I want to be the first in this building to hear about it. "
" Oh, you will be. I'll call you as soon as I can. "
" Good. "
" I'll see you around, Ms. Standford! And thank you. "
" You're welcome. Goodbye. "
" Bye! "
-----
" You're kidding me..."
" No, Dare! I'm not kidding you. C'mon, have I ever lied to you? "
" Well, no...but-"
" I'm your bestfriend, Darien. Don't tell me you actually doubt me. "
" Well, no. I don't doubt you, Andrew, but....if you were in my place, and you were just told that you were promoted to be president of the company, wouldn't you be skeptical, too? "
" Nah...just happy. "
" C'mon! "
" Alright! I would. But if you don't want to believe me, then you can call your dad at home and ask him yourself. I brought my cell. "
" Okay...but I have my own cell phone you know. "
" I know. But where is it? "
" It's...in my suitcase. "
" Your suitcase is closed. I don't think you want to waste time just to get it. Use mine for now. "
Darien looked doubtfully at his bestfriend's grinning face. He had just gotten to work late, only to find out that he had been promoted to be the president of the Sherwington Modeling Company by his father. Believing Andrew right away seemed impossible, even though he trusted Andrew like a brother.
Talking to his father on his friend's phone wasn't right either. There was something about Andrew's expression that told him that there was some kind of trick to this. But then again, knowing if he was actually president of the company sounded better. He might as well accept the offer.
Taking his friend's phone, Darien eyed Andrew suspiciously before dialing his father's number. Andrew simply smirked at him while Darien waited for his father to answer the phone.
" Hello, Blake residence here, how may I help you?, " came one of the maid's shrill voices.
" Hello, Amelia. "
" Mr. Blake? "
" Yeah, it's me. Is dad there? "
" Yes, sir. He's resting in the study room. Would you like me to get him for you? "
" Yes, please. "
" It'll be just one minute. "
" Thanks..."
Tapping his foot impatiently, Darien shifted uncomfortably from his right leg to the left, hoping that this wasn't some joke. If it was, Andrew wouldn't live to see another ray of sunshine.
" Hello? "
" Hello, dad. "
" Oh, hello son. Nice to speak to you again. "
" Yeah, dad. Same here. Look I was wondering about something. "
" Yes? "
" I just got to work, and I'll admit that I'm late..."
" I see. "
" And Andrew told me that..."
" Go on. "
" Well, I know this might sound silly but...Andrew told me that I-I got promoted. Is that true? I know this might be some joke and all but-"
" Yes, son. I did promote you. "
" Excuse me? "
" I promoted you. It's time you become the president of our company. "
" B-but why? I thought you liked being the president. "
" Of course, I did. But I'm getting rather old and so is your mother. We need each other, especially at this age. It's about time that I retire and make you the company's new president. "
" But dad...you're not that old. "
" That's what every young man says. I used to tell myself that 50 wasn't an old age, and I must admit that 50 isn't that bad. In fact, I am still in pretty good shape. "
" Yeah..."
" But even if I could probably still manage to be the president of our company, I don't want to anymore. Sure, it's fun and I love the job, but I feel that it is best for me to just stay home now. Your old man needs some rest, you know. And I need to spend more time with your mother, too. Young folks are lucky these days to still have enough time for their wives, and that's another reason why I think you should be president. Well, actually I have three reasons. "
" Really? "
" Yes. The first one, I just told you. The second one is that I believe that it is time for you to learn how to be a real man. You already are a real man. And an independant man, too. But I think it's time you take charge of this business since I believe in you, and I know that you can handle such a job. You've shown me that you're a responsible young man for the past seven years since you've graduated from high school. It's time you take my place, my boy. It's time you become the president. "
" But dad, I-I'm only 24. Isn't that a little too young for someone like me to-to take charge of one of the world's finest modeling companies? Do you really think that I can handle dealing with all these models, making sure everything goes right, planning their schedules for them, making sure I get the right people to model, to take the photos, to design clothes and a million other things? "
" I don't think you're capable of that, son...I know you are. "
...
" Pretty speechless, aren't you? " His father chuckled.
" Well, yeah. I mean, it's already a big honor knowing that I got promoted, but to hear that you have such high confidence in me is just..."
" Is just? "
" Wow! "
He laughed. " That's the exact same word I used when I was your age. I know you'll do a wonderful job, my boy. "
" Thanks, dad. But...didn't you say that there was another reason? "
" Yes, actually, there is. "
" And what reason is that? "
" The last reason I have is that you must have a fine job to earn enough money to support your new family, my son. "
" My new family? "
" Your wife...your kids. "
" Dad! I know that you think I should be president but getting married is a...a huge thing. It's one of the biggest commitment anyone in can make in life, and I don't think I'm ready for that. I don't even have a girlfriend. "
" Find one. "
" Dad...how? "
" You have a lot of models who seem to have crushes on you. Choose one of them. "
" It's not that easy, dad. I don't even like them. "
" Aren't they pretty enough? "
" Well, of course they are, but they're just not my type. Besides, I don't like most of their attitudes. Some are nice, but I think that if I would marry one of them, they'd just be willing to marry me because of my money, my looks, or something. "
" Yes, yes, true. I see your point. "
" So I'm not marrying any one of them. "
" Alright...just marry soon enough. I want to be a grandpa pretty soon, you know. And your mother would want some new kids running around the house, too. "
" Uh, yeah dad...."
" Well, just tell me when you meet a girl you like. I hope to hear that news soon. "
" Um, sure dad. "
" But for now, as the new president of the company, I'm giving you my last orders as former president of Sherwington Modeling Company. "
" Okay..."
" First off, let me tell you that we will be having a new model in our company. She will be meeting you and perhaps Andrew as well since I appointed him vice president of our company..."
Darien turned toward Andrew who was grinning widely. Darien smiled and focused his attention on his father once again.
" She will be meeting you at the Flemmington Hotel, in the lobby by the coffee area. They'll have some hot coffee and pastries there in case you want to grab a bite to eat while you're waiting. She'll be meeting you at around two thrity this afternoon, so be prepared. Just come early in case she shows up soon. We held interviews with her, and she's a very charming young lady with the height of 5'7 and the age of 23, I believe. She's very nice and beautiful, I must tell you. She's practically better then the other models we've had and I'm sure you'll like her. "
" Like her? "
" Ahem...Like her as in, you'll think she's a good model for our company. You know what I mean. "
" Right. "
" Well, she graduated with a Master's Degree in college, and she accepted scholarship during her high school years. She's a very rich, and talented young woman, who's very responsible too, I might add. She works as a ballet teacher at the Suavelleno Arts Building and she's also one of the most succesful models at the Presington School of Modeling. I talked with the president of the place, Mr. Mc Olsen, and he decided that he would have a meeting with his business associates to discuss how and when they will send her in. They will send her to the hotel and I want you to get to know her very well and fill her in with the details of how she'll be working here at our company. I want you two to get along very well. I'm sure you will. "
" Get along well...as friends? Or get along well as-"
" Friends of course! " He cleared his throat. " Friends, my boy, friends. "
" Sure, dad..."
" Anyway, I'm sure you'll take interest in her..."
" Interest in her? "
" Oh, will you just let me finish?! "
" Okay, okay!"
" Interest in her...as in, interest in having her work for our company. She may have only graduated from modeling class a month ago, but according to the reports I recieved along with her records, she's a very responsible woman, and she knows what she wants. She has been trying out for companies lately, taking photo shoots and all, like Tommy Hillfiger, Victoria's Secret, and companies like that. I hear she got her photos published on magazines and she keeps rising and rising. She may be young but she certainly has high dreams and we're going to help fullfill those dreams for her. She knows that our company is practically the best..."
" Yeah, dad. " There goes his father being proud about the company again.
" It's true. If we can get her to model for us then not only will that make her very famous, that will also get us to top other leading companies that are a big challenge for us. This is a great opportunity and I'm sure that if you two are together..."
" ARE together? "
" Excuse me...WORK together, then we can beat any leading company. We'll even top Victoria's Secret! "
" Sure, " Darien croaked.
" Just meet this young lady and I want you to look your best, make sure you smell great, make sure you have nothing in your teeth, and..."
" Dad, I think I can take care of that. Why are you so excited about this anyway? "
" You know I have high hopes for our company, son. "
" Sure..." High hopes for our company and something else, Darien muttered inwardly.
" Just do and look your best. "
" Alright, dad. Don't worry...everything will turn out great. "
" Good. I want to have a few babies here pretty soon..."
" Dad-"
" Well, I'll be seeing you soon. By the way, you've been working too much lately and you got home late last night. Later than ten, which was supposed to be the latest. "
" How do you know that? "
" Didn't you say you woke up late this morning? "
" Oh, right. "
" I may be old and bald but my brains are certainly still in perfect shape. "
" I know, dad. "
" Alright, son. I'll talk to you later. "
" Sure, dad. And thanks for all of this. You're a great dad. "
" Yes, and I'm sure I'll make a great grandfather..."
" Dad-"
" Okay, goodbye Darien. I'll talk to you later. Be sure to call and tell me how your meeting went. "
" Um...sure. By the way....what was her name? "
" Oh, her name's Se-" His sentence trailed off at the sound of a beep. Darien looked puzzled while Andrew shifted in embarassment.
" Sorry...I think the battery died. "
" Oh, that's okay. "
" Good. Sooo...this is a great opportunity for us if you two are together..." Andrew mimicked.
" Shut up! You heard every word didn't you? "
" Hey! I didn't put my cell on full volume for nothing. "
" You rat! That's why you wanted me to use your phone. "
" Well...yeah. That and the fact that I just cleaned my ears this morning just to hear this little thing. I don't want to think that I did that for nothing, " he grinned.
Smacking him with a newspaper, Darien shook his head and grabbed his suitcase before he headed for the door. However, he couldn't help but smile slightly.
Andrew simply laughed and walked after him. " Where are you going? "
" I'm going to the grocery. I have to buy some milk. "
" Alright. Tell you what...I'll go over to the hotel right now to reserve us some seats. I'll wait for you there. "
" Are you sure you can wait that long? "
" It's only about half an hour until two fifteen. Knowing you, you'll probably be there at that time. "
" Our meeting was at two thirty. "
" Yeah, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to be late. "
" Go to hell. "
" Oh, I will. After all, that's where I belong, right? "
" Yeah, you're the satan of my life, " Darien remarked sarcastically before heading into his car.
" I'll see ya there, Dare. "
" Alright. See ya, Andrew. "
" Bye. "
-----
" Okay...dairy products section, where is it? " Serena mumbled to herself while scanning the huge supermarket for the dairy isle. Spotting a huge sigh that read "DAIRY PRODUCTS" in bright red, bold writing, she grinned to herself and headed for the isle.
Her day was going great. Ms. Hamlet had just called her and told her about her promotion. She couldn't believe they accepted her after the interview. God, she just wanted to hug any passing person in joy, but she had to keep her mind focused on the milk before she did anything.
Looking at her wrist watch, she checked to make sure that she wasn't late for her meeting yet. Ms. Hamlet had told her that she would be meeting the company's president who was a hunky, young man. She even emphasized "hunky" to get her all excited for this. And she hated to admit it, but it did. She even went home to change into a tight, black skirt which hugged her hips rather tightly, and flowed a little loosely past her mid-thigh. Her creamy, long, slim legs were exposed. High-heeled sandals adorned her feet. Many men were eyeing her, but they didn't really seem to matter. All that seemed to matter was the mystery man she would meet.
Straightening her back, she walked confidently passed the dairy products in search of milk. Her white top flowed softly under her black blazer which was buttoned in the middle, to prevent anyone from seeing too much cleavage if she bent over. She felt a little odd looking so formal in a super market, but someone else in there seemed formal as well.
Just a few feet away from her stood a man with silky ebony hair and beautiful dark blue eyes. He straightened his business suit which was a dark gray color that hugged his muscular body slightly. God, he's drop dead gorgeous, Serena thought to herself, not realizing that she had just licked her lips.
He was bending over, looking at some of the dairy products, extending one strong arm to grab...the last carton of milk!
Serena's eyes went wide. She quickly walked over beside him and reached her arm out to grab the carton, pretending not to see him. Electricity shot through her veins at the brief contact of their fingers. However, his masculine, smooth voice, sent more shock waves flying through her body.
" Excuse me? I was going to get that carton..." His voice trailed off the moment they made eye contact. His eyes quickly scanned over her body before returning to face her.
" Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there, and I was going to get that last carton of milk. " She stated cooly, emphisizing the "I".
" Well, I'm sorry to hear that miss, but I was going to get that last carton as well. "
" You don't understand. I need that milk. "
" Well, Miss-"
" Serena. "
He narrowed his eyes at her. " Serena...I need that milk, too. I missed my cup of coffee this morning and I had to miss my glass of milk. I'm not going to miss it again. "
" Well, excuse you, Mr..."
" Darien, " he smirked.
Arching one brow, Serena nodded. " Darien...I went through a whole day without milk and I even missed it days ago. I missed a lot of things all because of that. I need that milk now. "
" Oh, like what? "
" Well for starters, I missed my glass of milk-"
" So did I. "
" Well thank you very much for rudely interrupting me, but not only did I miss my glass of milk, I also missed my cup of coffee because I didn't have milk. "
" Coffee? What does coffee have to do with milk? "
" I drink my coffee with milk, and I never drink coffee without it. "
" Coffee with milk? That is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard! "
" Well, for your information, some people actually like coffee with milk...and it is not disgusting! "
" Well, pardon me for speaking my mind. "
" Don't be a rude bastard. "
" Oh, you should talk, slut! "
" You bloody little rat!! "
" You slutty little whore! "
" Why you..."
Her sentence trailed off as a woman carrying a basket of eggs, flour, and cake mix, walked over beside them and grabbed the milk carton. Not even bothering to look at the two of them, the woman walked off. Serena's mouth hung open and Darien only growled.
" Did you see that?! Did you see what you just did?! " Serena hissed.
" What I did? Lady...number one: I am not blind. And two: It isn't my fault if that lady took the last milk carton. "
" If you hadn't argued with me then she wouldn't have taken the milk! "
" If you hadn't butted in my business then I would probably have that milk carton and I'd be off in peace right now! "
" Well, excuse you! "
" Oh, yeah! Excuse me for pointing out your fault! Anyway, I would rather have that lady take the last carton than you, witch! "
" Witch?! Oh, I don't think so, you ignorant dwarf! "
" Hey! I may be pint-sized but at least my brain isn't the size of a peanut! "
" Oh, so you're saying I have a brain the size of a peanut now, huh? Well at least I use it! "
" You should talk, you pig. "
" You should learn to keep your mouth shut, you cow! "
" I may be a cow but at least my ass isn't the size of Texas! "
" You're right. You're butt isn't the size of Texas...it's the size of Asia! "
" Lady, you don't know who you're dealing with. "
" I was about to tell you that. "
Clenching his fists together, Darien restrained himself from wringing her neck and just glared at her intensly. " Look....the milk's gone, and we don't have it. I don't think either of us would have wanted to see the other take it anyway. "
" Hell, you're right! "
" This arguement is immature. The milk's gone so we might as well stop it. "
" Actually, Darien...the only one who's immature here is you! "
" Don't start with me, kid! "
" Kid?! Sure thing, gramps. "
" Don't mess with me, Serena! "
" You shouldn't mess with me either, Darien! "
Their "conversation" was cut off by the sound of Serena's cell phone. Growling at him, she turned around and answered it, glaring at him while speaking.
" Hello?...Oh, hi Mina...yes, the meeting's still on...yes I am pretty excited...no actually I...well, yes actually I am caught up in a little business, " she drooled while laying an "L" on her forehead which meant loser in Darien's direction. He only rolled his eyes and stuck out his middle finger.
" Well...yeah, I am excited...yes, I'll be on my way...I'll see you there...alright, I'll just look for you wherever you're seated in... " She laughed. "...Yes, I'll tell you the details and what my promotion was...I'm in the grocery...because you didn't buy my milk!...Well, no, I didn't exactly get any milk...it's okay, just be more responsible nextime... " She laughed again. " Alright, I'll see ya there...yeah, bye. "
Turning off her phone, she turned to Darien who cocked his brow at her. Glaring at him, she placed her cell back in her purse and crossed her arms. " Well, I have some business to attend to. I have a meeting in a couple of minutes. I hope I'll never see you again, you conceited jerk! "
" Same here, Cruella. "
" Oooohhh!!! You just get on my nerves! "
" Glad to hear it. "
" Whatever. I have to go. Bye, jackass. "
" Bye, moron. "
Glaring at him one more time, Serena turned around and left. How dare me treat her that way! What an arrogant man! Though he was kinda hunky...Oh Serena, shut up!
She scolded herself, mentally kicking her brain. Now is not the time tot hink about him. She still had a meeting to catch and she had to be early to give a good impression. Besides, who needs a guy like him when there could be another guy who was waiting for her? She could think about Darien later.
-----
" Hey Dare! " Andrew called out from a furnished, wooden table next to a low wall of roses.
" Hey, Andrew..."
" You don't look so good. Something wrong? "
" No, not really. I just got into this arguement with this girl at the grocery. "
" Oh, really? "
" Yeah. "
Leaning over the table, Andrew cocked one brow, eager to hear the juicy details. " What exactly happened? "
Darien frowned at him, but he was too tired to start another arguement. He might as well tell him. " Well, I was about to get this carton of milk...it was the last one... "
" Uh huh. "
" And, this girl, she just came up and she was about to get the carton. She pretended not to see me. The nerve of her! Of course, I had to defend my milk. So I said excuse me then she started arguing with me. "
" And...? "
" And then this lady just took the last carton of milk and left as if we were the bloody ghosts of Christmas past! It was as if we were invisible. God...women are so strange. "
" All this over a carton of milk, huh? "
" Shut up! "
" It's not like you to just blow up over milk. Could it be possible that you actually wanted to argue with this girl for the fun of it? Maybe because...you like her? "
Darien punched his arm, only causing him to laugh. " Stop it! "
" Hey, Mina! " Came a bubbly voice, causing both guys to look up. Darien's eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. Andrew only grinned.
" Ah...I see you like that girl. "
" No, asshole! That was the girl at the grocery. "
" You're kidding me. You fought with that fine babe? Damn you, Darien! She is so fine. "
" Oh, please. "
" C'mon Darien. Admit it, she's hot. "
" She is not! "
" Your brain's dead if you don't like her. Either that or maybe you do like her and you just won't admit it-"
" Shut up! "
" Why? So you could hear their conversation? "
" Okay...that's it! I'll-"
" Okay, okay! I'll shut up. I wanna hear their conversation too, anyway. "
Growling, Darien rolled his eyes before turning to his side. He couldn't exactly see anything with the wall of roses beside him, but he could hear enough.
" Serena! There you are! "
" Hey, Mina. Sorry I'm a little late. I had this little arguement with this guy at the grocery. "
" Oh, really? A secret crush? "
" No, you dork! How could an arrogant man who I just had an arguement with be my crush? "
" Well, there is a tiny chance. After all, hate is the closest thing to love. "
" Shut up! "
" Okay....I'll shut up. Now let's hear the juicy details...starting with your grocery incident. "
" Alright, well... "
Darien's concentration was cut off at the sound of Andrew snickering. Glaring at him, Darien sighed in frustration. " What now? "
" Has it ever occured to you that you and that Serena person sound so much alike? You could pass for a married couple. "
" Oh, and I suppose you and that Mina girl couldn't pass for soulmates? "
That got him to shut up.
Shaking his head, Darien took a sip of his coffee and continued listening. If he was going to wait for that new model to come, then he might as well make use of the time he had.
" And you just left? " Mina interrogated, leaning over the table.
" Yeah, I had to get here. Besides, I didn't want to waste time on a gnome like him. "
Darien smirked upon hearing this. So she she thinks I'm a gnome, he thought bitterly. Well, I'm worse than that. She doesn't know me very well.
" Okay, whatever. Let's drop the whole grocery thing and get on to the juicy gossip. So what's this about your new promotion? "
" Well...it's really big. "
" Tell me about it. I bet it's something better than big. "
Serena giggled. " Yeah, you could say that. But I don't think I wanna tell you. "
" Hey! C'mon! That's unfair...you know I have to know about this. You have to tell me. "
" Alright. But first, take a guess..."
" Damn you! "
" C'mon. Just take a couple of guesses. "
" Fine! It's better than just ordinary modeling right? "
" In my opinion, yeah. "
" Okay. Let me see...did you get promoted to model in the season's premier for the autumn modeling thing? "
" I wish it were that big. "
" Cheater. "
" How am I a cheater? "
" I have a feeling it has something to do with that. "
" Well..."
" Let me guess...you were accepted for Victoria's Secret? "
" Been there. "
" GAP? "
" Done that. "
" Um...Calvin Klein? "
" Do I look like a man to you? "
" Well...no, but Calvin Klein does have a few things for women. "
" True, but they usually pick guys to model. And I'm not really interested in that. "
" Oh, I think I know what you were accepted for. "
" Really? "
" Yeah...just admit it, to make things easier. "
" No, you're only saying that so I'll give away the answer. "
" I'm not! I believe I know the answer so just spill. "
" Why? "
" Please? "
" I'm nice, but I'm not that nice. "
" C'mon! "
" No! "
At this point, both Andrew and Darien have relaxed while listening to the conversation. Both men picked up their cups of coffee and took a sip.
" Oh, admit it, Serena! You're a porno model! "
Both guys spit out their coffee and coughed, gasping for breath. Andrew was half-wheezing and half laughing at this. Darien was just blue...literally.
" Mina! I am not! "
" Then why won't you tell me? "
" Oh fine! I got accepted for the Sherwington Modeling Company. They told me that they chose a new president and he's suppose to be meeting me here sometime now. "
Darien's eyes went wide. No! No way! Could it be possible that she...
His eyes caught sight of a magazine on a rack just a few feet away from him. Quickly standing up, he grabbed the magazine. His eyes widened in shock.
There, on the front page, was a picture of Serena wearing the latest design for Victoria's Secret. She had her thumbs stuck in the pockets of her jeans and she had a tank top that open in the middle, revealing the latest style of Victoria's Secret's bras. Her hair seemed to flow in the wind and she appeared to be licking her full, pink lips seductively to tease whoever was observing her picture. My God! She was the model his father told him about!
Andrew had noticed his friend's shocked expression and grinned evily upon seeing the picture. Turning around, he called out, " Hey, Serena Parker! I believe that you're here for a meeting with the president of the Sherwington Modeling Company? "
Serena turned around and smiled, flashing her pearly white teeth. " Yes, actually. How did you know? "
Andrew grinned and extended his arm for a handshake. Serena took it and smiled back. " I'm Andrew Johnson, the new Vice President of the Sherwington Modeling Company. And this young man beside me here, is the new president of our company, Mr. Darien Blake. "
Serena seemed a bit confused at first, but her facial expression instantly turned into shock the moment she and Darien made eye contact. " YOU?! "
-----
AN: Pardon any errors please. Reviews? I'll leave ya hanging. ;)