Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters


Chapter 4: Cold Reading

His chest glistened with sweat as he continued to pound into Lenora, their bare thighs and body parts slapping together. Darien had tried to wait it out, but he had been sex deprived for a whole three or four days! The trailer's kitchen counter was not meant for a rough and wild time, however he had ways of holding the girl's legs in the air and adjusting her weight so that the flimsy creation didn't break or crack. His muscles tensed and his veins were popping out around his arms as he gripped tightly on her hips that had her charcoal pencil skirt pushed up. His eyes darted up from watching himself stab her to the slits of the outside that could be seen through the blinds on the window. As Lenora moaned and groaned loudly, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Serena walking up toward a lackey who was running around with a clipboard in hand and a headset. He stopped his movement, feeling himself deflate ever so slowly. Lenora was still begging wildly for him to continue.

"Please! Please!" she hollered hoarsely.

"Shut up," he mumbled under his breath as he pulled out of her and walked down to the bathroom where he could get cleaned up, removing any remnants of her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, feeling rather exposed sitting up on the counter top in just her lace bra and scrunched up skirt.

When he came back from the bathroom, he didn't answer her question but instead changed into some other clothes that he brought just for this occasion. Darien looked through the window again and was relieved to find that Serena was still talking to the inept boy who was pointing in all sorts of directions. He pulled a black t-shirt over his head and quickly jumped back into his boxer-briefs and a pair of dark blue jeans. While he was tending to himself and trying to look modest, yet sexy, Lenora was busy picking up the button down shirt he had worn before they ripped each other's clothes off. She quietly slipped it on over her body and waited for him to see her in that and just her panties and bra. He wasn't noticing her in the slightest bit though and was now heading for the door.

"Hey there," he grinned as he leaned against the doorframe of the trailer and narrowed his gaze due to the harsh sunlight beating down on him.

Serena turned around and he heard a distinct growl come from her coupled with a roll of her eyes, "Hi."

"Here for the reading?" he asked.

"Did you have something to do with it?" she replied, placing a hand on her hip.

"No. I had no idea you were coming until Haruka told me," he said honestly.

Lenora walked up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist and he looked over his shoulder at her. She was already fully attached to him emotionally now that they had had a romp around in his trailer. It was rather pathetic; he didn't know how long he could hold out with such an unstable girl. He gestured for Serena to wait for him and he gently pushed the girl back into the trailer, shutting the door behind them.

"I have work to do," he announced.

"So? I'll just wait in your trailer," she beamed as she rubbed his chest.

"No. You can't do that. I need you to leave the premises. If you need an escort, please feel free to ask for one, although with how the way things are run around here, that might be difficult," he explained. "I'll call you later tonight and you can come over for dessert or something."

She looked like she was about to cry so he pulled her in for a quick hug and a long, deep kiss before he exited the trailer. He was trying to play his cards right and it was proving to be more difficult than he expected. He hadn't anticipated that Lenora would have a personality as irrational as a high school teenager.

When he finally made it up to Serena he asked, "So are you lost or something?"

"As much as I don't want to admit it…" she trailed off, adjusting the strap on her bright red leather bag.

"I'll show you the way," he said holding his arm out to her like an English courtesan.

She ignored the jabbing elbow and just continued to walk alongside him as she continued with their conversation, "That girl in the trailer seemed absolutely smitten with you. New girlfriend?"

"Something like that," he shrugged.

"You have no shame, do you?"

"Compared to you, no."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with an offended expression written on her visage.

"I'm much more free than you," Darien answered simply as they approached the one floor office room they were supposed to be at.

He held the door open for her as she slyly responded, "And yet you're so restricted by your image."

Before he could retort, he was interrupted by a joyous exclamation from Haruka. She ran up to Serena and hugged the girl tightly. Darien couldn't help but laugh at the shocked look on her face that was quickly erased once the director pulled back from the embrace.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" she said cheerfully.

"Wish I got a greeting like that," Darien pouted as he sat down in his seat next to Rei.

"You'd get annoyed with it in two seconds," the raven haired vixen replied.

"You're right. I'm even bored with talking about it now. Can we get our scripts?"

The assistant was dishing them out right as he said that and tossed him a rather irritated look before sliding the bound pages toward him. He flipped through a few of the pieces of paper, coming up to the opening scene.

"Alright guys," Haruka said as she took her place next to her partner in the television show and also one of the main writers, Michiru. "The lovely Ms. Kaioh is going to explain the concept of this episode that kicks off the new season."

"So," the stunning turquoise haired woman started, "we have Ares, aka Darien, waking up from a foggy dream where we're going to put in old shots of him fighting with Helena, aka Rei, from previous episodes. He gets ready for the night and leaves his apartment to stroll down the rather deserted streets of LA. He enters a club, lights up a smoke out on the patio and is asked for a light by Aphrodite, aka Serena. He automatically recognizes her as the assassin he's supposed to kill from a file we'll have him look at before he leaves. She knows he's her target but they end up having some witty banter here and there. He decides not kill her right away and instead plays with the idea of making her his concubine or something to that notion."

"Sounds like real life," one of the other actors quipped which created a wave of low laughter.

"Yes, we're a regular Law and Order, ripping stories from the headlines," Michiru glossed over with a wave of her hand. "Moving on, the next morning, he finds a rose on his desk with a tag that is clearly Aphrodite's signature … hearts, cupid's arrow or something of that nature. He goes to his head of M.O.D. and they have a discussion about the previous fight he had with Agent Helena. Zeus ends up getting angered that his top people can't get along with each other and says that he'll assign her to kill Aphrodite if Ares can't do it himself. There's a roof fight that night between Aphrodite and Helena and Ares ends up getting in the middle of it, leaving all three of them to point their guns at one another. End scene."

There was a joint sigh exhaling from all the actors before they started to dive in and do a cold read. They took notes here and there on their pages and made it through quickly with the help of food and coffee. Once they were all finished, they shook hands with one another, said their goodbyes and exited to their respective cars. As Serena strolled out to her own vehicle, she was accosted by none other than Darien.

"Excited?" he asked, walking beside her toward the parking lot.

"Not in the slightest," she grimaced.

"If you keep having such a negative attitude about everything, you'll never get anywhere," he informed her.

"And if you keep pursuing me like you have been, my father will have your head," she remarked as they made it to her silver automobile. She unlocked the car and started to get in as she said, "We're going to be working together; don't make this harder than it has to be."

She zoomed off of the premises and dialed her mom's cell phone using the digital car phone her dad had installed. It rang out loud on her speakers a couple of times as she kept her eyes on the road and then her mother's sultry voice answered.

"How'd it go darling?"

"It was alright," she replied.

"That doesn't sound good."

"I just hate working with him Mom."

Karen sighed, "Well you can always back out before it leaks to the press."

"Eh, too late. The paparazzi clicked a few photos of me and Darien talking in the parking lot I think."

"Those guys swarm him like flies to shit."

"I know, right? It's disgusting. I don't know how he handles it."

"Oh, by the way your father is coming home tonight."

"Back from Brazil so soon?"

"He was only looking at locations. He wasn't doing that much research."

"Is that your job?"

"I'm afraid so."

"If you need any help, let me know," she offered.

"Of course dear," Karen replied. "Listen, I'm just about to have lunch with an old friend, so I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah sure. I'll see you at home."

"Okay sweetie. Love you."

"Love you too mom. Bye."


Karen adjusted her formfitting blue tweed dress as best as she could with her hands delicately covered with half black leather gloves. She stepped up to the secretary at the desk and leaned forward.

"Please notify Mr. Crane that Karen Roddenberg has arrived," she declared.

"Will do ma'am."

The busty brunette spoke into the intercom and announced the lady waiting for her appointment. She was sent in immediately and was met with arms wide open from the silver-haired fox. She shut the door behind her, knowing that this wasn't going to be a pleasant discussion.

"You've finally caught my attention," Karen said to him as he strolled toward her.

"You've always had mine," he winked.

"Was it you who had this extravagant idea to ask my daughter to do the same show as your top client?" she asked.

"Maybe…"

"You're despicable."

"And you're a slippery one to catch," he retorted as he walked past her toward the mini bar adorned with whiskey and scotch among other alcoholic beverages to his liking. He held out a crystal glass toward her, "You're also not drunk enough for this conversation. Care for a drink?"

"You know I don't drink unless there's food to coincide with it," she said with a snide tone.

"No I don't actually," he grinned. "When we were together, you always drank no matter what coincided with it."

"And you also knew me before I married my husband. Must I remind you of this all the time?"

"No," Cooper replied, shaking his head. "Your last name and giant rock of an engagement ring remind me enough as it is."

"Seems like your brain is slipping in your old age," she snipped.

"Are we going to continue this petty banter?" he asked as he swirled his amber colored drink in his hand and stared at her with a glint his eye.

"If you keep looking at me like that, then yes this arguing will never end."

"Let's get down to business then, shall we?" he said as he sat down at the couch and bid her to join him, but she refused politely, standing in front of the coffee table instead. "Why won't you let Darien be apart of any of your projects?"

"You know very well why," she answered curtly.

"You're afraid of falling back in love with me, Red, I know," he smiled.

"You're so full of yourself."

"Can we be serious for a moment?"

"I don't want anything to do with you or that brat," Karen snapped. "Having him around my daughter is like feeding a baby poison! He'll ruin her platinum reputation that I have worked so hard to build!"

"You mean you and your husband?" he corrected.

"That's what I said."

"No it's not. You said, quote, 'her reputation that I have worked so hard to build,' end quote. It's alright, your husband rides on your intelligence and everyone knows it," he said. "Let's be frank, Karen. How long have you been married?"

"You know full well—"

"Seriously, Red. Just answer my questions."

She pursed her lips and started to fidget a bit, ending up sitting in a chair across from him, "I've been married for … for fifteen years."

"And Serena is twenty-two?"

"Y-yes."

"Why wait so long to marry the bastard?"

"I was waiting for you to claim your stake," she said, her blue eyes glassy with tears. "Luckily Serena was young enough to not remember her father's absence."

"Which one are we speaking of? Me or the louse you caught with your sashaying hips?"

"This is the reason why I didn't want to be around you!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and wiped away the tears that were threatening to leap from her eyes. "You cause too much chaos in a life that is all about control."

"You're so melodramatic."

"I want that super rat to stay away from my daughter once she's done with the series. I'll see to it that she only do as many episodes as I see fit to raise her fame and not a minute more," she said sternly. "After that, I don't ever want to be contact with him. Ever."

She was about to reach for the handle on the door when he cut in front of her unexpectedly. She gasped shakily as he gripped onto her sharp chin, examining her face. Cooper pulled her closer to him. He pressed his forehead against hers and let his breath fall on her lips.

"You miss me, don't you?" he asked quietly.

"I miss who you used to be."

"I haven't changed much."

"That must mean I've changed what with raising a child and feigning a fake father."

"DNA … it's so overrated."

"Still as immature as ever," she growled, her tone dripping with venom. "Your wife is a lucky woman."

With that said, she whisked open the door and rushed out of there as fast as her Louboutin heels would take her. Once she made it into the elevator, she allowed herself to break down and cry, trying to take as deep of breathes as she could. Her chest heaved as she pounded her fist against the metal wall of the elevator. If anyone ever found out about her and Cooper having a child together, the news would be scandalous. Karen had built an empire upon her name and her husband's name which her daughter shared. Bringing shame upon her only child would break her heart more than any divorce that could possibly ensue.


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