Chapter 2: Golden
Mina stood up, she figured it was time the shout fest she'd been guiltily enjoying for the past couple minutes before the manager came and either fired this waiter or kicked them all out. She looked at the two, now yelling at one other from across the round table. Hair was beginning to escape Serena's ponytail and Darien's was beginning standing on end. The sight itself was enough to keep spectators at a safe distance. The scene vaguely reminded Mina of two hyenas fighting over food. 'Well, maybe they'll calm down on their own.' She sat herself back down and tried desperately to hide herself behind her menu. If those two were going to be kicked out, she wasn't going to be associated.
"Sod you!"
"Who says GIT? I mean is that even a WORD!?"
"YOU ARE IN ENGLAND! IT IS A BLOODY WORD HERE!" Spit was flying from Darien's mouth and Mina was beginning to worry that Serena's eyes would be expelled from her head at any moment.
"Well you don't have to YELL!"
"Who's YELLING NOW?"
"YOU ARE!" Serena pointed a long finger at Darien, her arm quivering in rage. She looked around for a moment and spotted something slivery with a pointed end. Her hand made a quick reach for it.
Mina caught a glint of metal and decided that it was truly time to put and end to this bickering before someone got hurt, namely Darien. "Alright you two calm down!" But the two could not hear her over their own screaming, as that was what they were doing now, screaming at one another: profanities of which none had ever heard in such creative or vulgar context before were being exchanged like money in a casino. Serena's hand was hidden behind the pot of flowers but Mina was sure that her hand was clasped over some sort of weapon. She had to end this before blood was drawn.
A loud whistling suddenly brought the childish bickering to a standstill. Mina removed her fingers from her mouth and sighed. "That is enough. The two of you are you are acting like five year olds. Now I dare the both of you to take a look in a mirror because at this moment neither of you look civilized let alone like adults." Mina sat down with a stern look on her face and waited for Darien to do the same. He growled and shot one last glare at Serena before roughly sitting himself down. Serena, who had jumped and now looked as if she had just been slapped across the face, picked up what she had been holding and shoved it into her pocket. The object Mina had feared was a knife had simply turned out to be a silver pen.
"I'm going on my lunch break." With that said she stormed off to the exit. Mina watched her throw her note pad onto the hostess' podium before hanging her apron on the coat hanger and leaving in a huff.
"That stupid girl, now what do we do about ordering." Darien looked almost pleased with himself that she had stormed out this time instead of the other way around. Mina smiled inwardly. Never had she imagined she'd see the composed Darien Shields, hailed as the calmest most in-control man in all of London lose such dignity in the period of only fifteen minutes. She chuckled. 'Guess he's more human than I thought.'
Mina was thankful that after the little, well large fiasco, they were served. However, it did take Darien several attempts to gain attention from the staff. He went up and asked the hostess for a waiter, twice, went up to a waiter only to be ignored and finally giving up the pursuit in a civilized fashion, stood on top of his chair demanding a waiter; the waiters previously fearing a row with the tycoon now conquered their fears and quickly came so as not to anger such an intimidating customer any further.
---
"So, I hear that you are contributing to my father's charity ball next Friday. It really is a considerable sum of money. Are you sure you want to give all those little zeros to the cancer society?" Mina looked up from her cup of coffee and chocolate gâteau. What an interesting man she had spent the past two and a half hours with. She found it exciting to have met someone so like her and someone she could be comfortable with on a purely friendly level. She studied him; sure he was good looking; but there was no spark. While most women in the country fainted at his feet she felt a strange flood of comfort in realizing that he had no affect on her what so ever; and similarly, she on him. A comfort that came with this surprising friendship the two had quickly and easily formed.
It was no secret that Mina was a beautiful woman herself and had no problem finding men to shower her with gifts. But she was glad that Darien would not be part of that pack and had a feeling that Darien was happy she would not be one of the many to fall into his bed with him as well.
The two spent the rest of the afternoon walking around a nearby park. They talked about current events, ( Darien enjoyed watching American politics. "It's the little things you know? That a simple woman's body part can turn into a legal battle over broadcast delays) art, (Mina painted in her off time and is still featured in some galleries around the country. "One day I was so mad that I just threw paints around my apartment, a dealer came around the next day and thought that the couch splattered in every color imaginable was purposeful, so I sold it to him) the past, ("I've never needed to be engaged or in a serious relationship for that matter. My work is my one true love. I'll take an advertising case over a relationship with messy strings any day") and the future. ("I want a loving husband and children some day: a boy and a girl to be exact. I want a legacy, I want to be able to say, 'Hey, I did something worthwhile and right.'")
They talked about their jobs; Mina was a fashion designer. She owned a small boutique that sold everything from vintage clothing to new designs created by her. "Actually I went to University to study accounting but when I was taking my exams at the end of my first year I just had an epiphany. I was sitting there staring at all the numbers and just said to myself why am I here? I hate maths, always have and always will. So I got up half way through the paper and headed straight to the administrations office. I dropped out of the school that day and enrolled in an art school the next."
Mina and Darien were sitting comfortably under a shaded tree eating ice cream and watching the birds fly by the river. "You just got up during your exam?" Darien chuckled; he could see her doing something so rash. "Yup, packed my bags that same afternoon and set off to start a whole new life for myself. And I've never been happier."
---
For a while the two new friends sat quietly by the lake admiring the sunset and reflecting on their long day together. In a short period of time both Mina and Darien realized that they had each made a valuable new friend. As the bright ball of light fell below the horizon, Mina stood to stretch her limbs. "You know, I'm really glad that my dad had us have lunch."
Darien grunted in response before sitting himself upright; he had previously been lying comfortably in a patch of soft grass. "I agree, it's been a long time since I've taken time out of my schedule to just watch the sun set. I'd almost forgotten how beautiful it was." The sky had turned a deep indigo mixed with swirls of pink and blue. The clouds converged overhead as a soft breeze blew stray strands of hair into the respective eyes of the two.
As the sun said its last farewell for the day, Darien stood and playfully threw his arm around her shoulder. "What do you say to dinner?"
Mina smiled. "Alright but I pay." He smiled.
"You've got yourself a deal Ms. Worthington."
---Across town---
Serena threw her tired body onto the sofa and sighed. 'What a long day.' She pulled her hair out of the loose ponytail and lifted her head in order to breathe better. Just as her body began to relax and conform to the curves of the old couch the flat's intercom rang. She groaned and lazily pushed herself upright. 'Who could be at her door now?´ She stumbled her way across the flat to the intercom phone. "Hello?" Her voice had come out groggy and tired, despite her efforts to rid the exhaustion from her mind.
A strained voice came from the other end. "Sere, I'm sorry to wake you, but I left my keys at the restaurant and my arms are filled with groceries. Could you please buzz me in?" Serena nodded, not that it did anyone much good, and pressed the little black button next to the phone before trudging back to the couch. Lita Collins, her roommate was the head chief and owner of Le Jardin des Rose: an exquisite, up and coming restaurant that mixed, sophistication, glamour and new age cooking together with fresh French methods of preparation that brought people from all walks of life clamouring for a taste.
It was because of the restaurant that Lita had moved to England with Serena from her cozy New York bistro. Her life long ambition was to be the owner of her own restaurant; instead of just the chief for one. Lita had fallen in love with London - "the guys are so gorgeous, how could I not?" - during a brief vacation from The French Culinary Institute where she'd gotten her training, so when Serena told her of her dilemma, Lita didn't hesitate to follow her across the pond.
Serena's tired form flopped once more onto the comfortable couch, which gladly accepted her with open arms. She snuggled up to the pillow and inhaled deeply. The fabric always smelt so refreshing. There were two major pluses to having Lita as a roommate other than the obvious friendship. The first being that Lita was a cook for crying out loud and as such there was always was good food available whenever Serena needed it. Secondly was that Lita was a neat freak, meaning that everything in the house was always clean, and fresh smelling.
---
Serena woke to the smell of freshly baked rolls. Lita's signature rolls to be exact; sesame-wheat rolls which were served at her restaurant. She slowly stretched her body and rubbed her tired eyes. 'Food will always be the best alarm clock', she thought. Serena gave one last flourishing stretch before leaving the comforts of the sofa to pad over to the kitchen. Entering the kitchen she reached over Lita's head to grab a bottle of "Calypso Oil", one of the best olive oils imported from Greece. After her first taste of bread and olive oil, Serena had been hooked. No more butter for her. It was green gold all the way.
Serena sat herself down at the counter and poured some of the oil onto a clean white plate. She dipped a chunk of fresh warm bread into the pool of oil and waited for the excess liquid to drip back onto the plate before shoving the chunk into her mouth. Instantly the flavours exploded in her mouth. There was nothing like homemade bread and some of the best olive oil in the world to make a long hard day worthwhile.
"Mmm, Lita, what would I do with out you?" Lita chuckled. "You'd survive just like you do at school when you're not bumming around my flat." Lita ducked the red wax apple aimed for her head. "Lita! I do not BUM around your flat. Besides, you love me and wouldn't have it any other way. Now, do you have any prochuto I can add to this wonderful bread of yours?" Lita smiled again before pointing to the fridge. "I just bought some, but don't take too much. I'm making dinner with it so don't eat it all. Oh and by the way, I'm having a friend over for dinner tomorrow which means you'll either have to control your eating today so you have leftovers for tomorrow or fend for yourself."
Serena's head snapped up and she grinned. Only one thing got her kicked out of her place. Men. "So what's his name? Do I at least get to meet him before I'm unceremoniously thrown out of my home? How tall is he? Have I met him before? What does he do? How did you two meet? Is he cute? Oh that's a stupid question they're always cute. Well except for Kyle, man was he ugly, and annoying, what were you thinking then? Never mind. Did he ask you out? Did you ask him out? Why are you cooking for him? Is this not your first date? Oh my god Lita, have you been dating someone with out telling me? Are you holding out on me? Lita, you're a horrible best friend."
Lita laughed. Serena stopped. "What? Why are you laughing? What's so funny? Are you laughing at me? Lita! Hey stop laughing! Tell me what's so funny! Lita! I'm serious. Stop laughing! Lita stop laughing! Get up. GET UP! GET OFF THE FLOOR! STOP ROLLING AROUND LIKE A FOOL WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!" Serena stomped her foot on the tiles. Lita was lying in fetal position on the floor, a spatula cradled in her hands, laughing her head off. "Lita it is NOT funny! Stand up! Oh for crying out loud at least TELL me what you're laughing at! LITA! DON'T POINT THAT AT ME!" She slapped the wooden spatula away.
Lita couldn't help herself. Every time the notion of a boyfriend was involved Serena turned into the world's most curious and inquisitive person. It was an inevitability of life. The questions were often the same. But it never got old and the speed in which the questions had escaped Serena's mouth today had been all too much. Slowly Lita propped herself up on her elbows, calmly she looked into Serena's eyes and said "Serena, you are too funny sometimes." Lita finally managed to stand up and resume her cooking. Serena stared.
"LITA!" Lita swiveled around. "What is it?"
"Tell me why you were laughing for crying out loud! And tell me who your mystery man is or I won't leave this house tomorrow." Serena situated herself back down on the stool behind the counter. Her arms crossed over her chest. Serena hated being subject to Lita's crazy mind games.
Lita smiled. "I'm just laughing at your quirky personality Ser. There's no one else like ya." Lita grinned.
"Hey! I am not quirky. I'm just different." Serena huffed in mock indignation before grinning as well. "So what is his name?" Lita chuckled. There was no avoidint the inevitable.
"His name's Chris. Chris Weinberger. He's German; it adds to his appeal. His accent is so sexy. He's tall, got brown hair, hazel eyes and a killer smile." Serena squealed. Accents were always a plus. And smiles were a clincher. "So how'd you two meet?" Lita turned back around to work on dinner while she answered.
"Well he came in looking for a job which was perfect cause you know Karl, my host for Friday nights? Well he's just about to leave. And Chris has this amazing personality; I know he'll make the restaurant a nicer place for everyone."
"You don't think it'll be dangerous dating someone you're just about to hire? I mean what if it doesn't go well. What're you gonna do? Just fire him cause he wasn't good as a boy friend?" Serena resumed her eating. 'Bread, mmm, bread and pestering Lita, this is the life.'
"Ser, you know I'm not that shallow. If things between us two don't work out, I'll make sure he breaks a couple things first to take things off the relationship; you know give me a valid, owner's reason to fire him. Then I'll sack his ass. Simple." The two friends grinned and began making plans for the "perfect" evening ahead.
---Friday 7am---
'Miss, if you eat so many ice creams you're sure to gain some weight'
'Non sense, I've packed away 20 of these babies and I haven't gained a pound. See I'll stand on this scale and prove it to you.'
Ring
'Alright maybe a pound'
Ring
'fine two'
Ring
'three'
Ring
'Four! Five! Six! Seven!'
Ring Ring Ring
'Twenty pounds!'
Serena woke with a start. What a horrible dream. Bloated, and in a clown suit. Not cloud nine worthy. Ring. With another start, she realized the cause of the insane dream. She grudgingly reached for the phone on her bed side table.
" Mm 'ello?" She rubbed her eyes and propped herself up against her head board."
"Morning sunshine, how's my favorite cousin doing?" Serena half smiled half sighed. Just like her cousin to wake her up early in the morning. It seemed he always forgot that she was a late riser.
"Very tired, and you? How are you my dearest irritating cousin that seems to adore waking me up at ungodly hours of the day?" Serena looked at the clock - 6am. She had barely gone to sleep 5 hours ago. Movies, good food and talking with Lita had been the cause of the late night.
"Ah, quite well thank you. I see grumpy is your dwarf for the day. Now before you can interject I have a proposition for you-a night out. Good food, drinks, dancing, and fancy clothing. What do you say?"
"I say, what type of business function is it?"
Since school had let out, her cousin had taken it upon himself to show her life in London. He was after all, the only family she had in jolly old England. However, due to his work and his separate social schedule, little time was actually left to showing Serena the sights. In its place, he chose to introduce her to the working world via various business dinners the two were able to work into their separate schedules. She wasn't complaining; the business functions were fun. It was free food and a chance to dance with various other people. It was essentially dress up time for a loving university student; a chance to let her hair down; or rather, have it styled up. But sometimes she missed the simple things. Little time was left for reminiscing over past events when you were busy chatting up a new client.
The few talks they managed to squeeze in were often in the car to and fro. And while she missed the days when the two would visit one another on vacation and just talk until the sun came up she had accepted that times changed and with age comes responsibility. And she knew also knew that some attention had to be re-routed to his manly parts.
"It's a really formal affair: a gala to be exact. Not like the other simple business dinners where I just wanted you to get a nice meal and some dancing. It's going to have a lot of important people going but because it's a charity event and so there'll be a bit more time for you and I to chat. Now I know you don't have anything of the type to wear so I picked up an outfit for you. Now before I let you comment - it was no trouble. Think of it as a thank you gift for going with me to those other boring dinners. I'm sorry I haven't taken you out for anything more fun, but this'll be the last thing I drag you to, promise. After this gala, you and I will go wherever your heart takes us."
"Hey, don't worry about it. It's been nice getting insight into your life. I mean you live in almost a completely different world from me, and it's been really educational for me. So you really, really didn't have to bother." Worry was seeping into her voice. She knew her cousin was trying to save her money, god bless him, cause things were mighty expensive for her in London, but her cousin buying her a dress was NOT a good thing. Let's just say, she'd look better in a garbage bag than anything he would possibly get her.
She smiled, he meant well, she knew, but she really wished he wouldn't. "So it's settled, I'll be at your place to pick you up, Friday at around 5:45. The dress should be arriving on Thursday" 'damnit' "And stop worrying so much because I can sense your panic. I didn't do the shopping this time at least not alone I had a friend of mine pick out the dress. It's really nice. Promise."
"Nice by who's standards!"
"Ha ha, very funny cous. I'll see you on Friday. And the dress IS nice, so you can stop planning your great dress exchange. Relax and go back to sleep. See you Friday." With a soft click he was gone. Serena sighed, she hoped his friend was of the female type, that or blind.
'I just hope it's not neon orange. Please please just don't be neon orange.' With that last thought she flopped onto the large pillow and drew the covers over her head fully ready to return to dream land.
---Thursday 4 pm---
Serena entered her flat, her hair matted to her fore head. She shook off the rain from her coat and hung it to dry on the rack by the door.
"Hey, how was work today?" Lita called out from the kitchen.
"Madness! It's pouring like mad out there! That's the last time I make a delivery when the skies are starting to darken. Light rain my ass. I'll show that guy light rain." Lita laughed; sometimes the simplest things riled that girl up.
"I'm going for a nice long shower. I'm beat."
"Alright, just don't fall asleep on your way."
"Har har har" She opened her closet and grabbed a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
She stepped into the shower and let the hot water ease her nerves. What a day. Delivering packages was no easy task. Nor was it her favorite job to date. Some of those packages were mighty heavy and the last one she had delivered was a killer. Just one more run her boss had said. One more run it was. One long run; one very long, very wet, very heavy run it was.
Running in the rain had long been a love of hers. But it was running in the rain when one knew that it would be another hour before dry clothing was available that made a person irritable. She sighed, at least that was over with. Tomorrow she'd be off. It left her an entire day to get ready for the gala.
---
Serena was just sitting down to a nice hot cup of coffee, waiting for her hair to dry, when the intercom rang. "Hello?"
"Delivery for a Ms. Serena Stanton." Serena cringed. The dress had arrived. "I'll be down to pick it up in a moment, please wait there." She hung up the phone and went looking for a pair of flip flops. "Going to pick up my dress down stairs, be back and then we can see how bad it is."
Serena walked down the four flights of stairs to the main entrance hall where she saw a man in a uniform akin to the one she had worn earlier that day. She pushed open the double glass doors and greeted the man. "Long day?" she asked as she signed for the package.
"Tell me about it. I still have three more runs to do." She looked at the man with pity. Three more runs in this weather was bound to take a while. "That's a bummer, sorry. But you've managed to keep yourself fairly dry." The man motioned to a very large umbrella by his foot. She nodded in recognition.
"There you go." She handed the man back his clip board and picked up the package. "Have a good day."
"You too."
---
"So from the looks of the box, it's designer. But that doesn't always ensure a nice looking thing." Lita nodded. The package was currently residing on the coffee table. The two had finished dinner and were now just staring at the box, waiting for it to do something. Serena secretly hoped that if she just stared long enough, she'd manage to brace herself for the impact. Or set the thing on fire, both sounded fine.
"Well, I guess you should just open it. I mean it can't be that bad…" Lita gave a wary glance.
However, no amount of preparation could have ever prepared Serena for what lay inside the box. The moment the lid was removed her eyes doubled in size. "Oh my god Lita, come look at this." Lita, expecting a good laugh was shocked when she looked over Serena's shoulders.
"No fucking way! That's, that's …"
"Amazing." Folded neatly inside the oblong box was a spectacular dress. The champagne colored fabric was soft to the touch and satin-like. She lifted the gown out of the box and held it to her person all the while admiring the beading which covered the bodice. The dress flowed down past her ankles and shimmered in the light of the room. "I'll have to find a way to adjust it to my length, and hopefully it fits well, but … wow."
"Hey Sere, try these on for size." Lita handed over a separate box Serena had previously over looked. A pair of gold high heeled sandals and a small clutch purse just large enough for all the necessities was inside. "You gotta hand it to him this time Sere. He did a magnificent job."
"That he did Lita, that he did. I have got to thank who ever helped him pick this out. It must have cost him an arm and a leg"
"You mustn't forget Serena dearest, that your cousin is LOADED. So don't fuss over the price, fuss over how you're going to do your make-up and hair. You never know when you'll meet a cute guy. Now go, try that on, make sure it fits."
---
"Let me take a look. Oh Sere, that dress was made for you. It's a perfect match. How bout the length? Try the shoes, make sure it all fits together." She sat down on the sofa and buckled the strap-y gold sandals to her feet. They were unusually soft given their design and added a good inch and a half to her frame. She stepped in front of a full length mirror and smiled.
"I love this dress."
---Friday-5:20 pm---
Serena checked her make-up and hair one last time. She had spent three hours prepping, which in her book, was way too much time. (Lita had insisted on the works, manicure, pedicure in which clear polish was applied. That along with a facial, make-up and hair had caused the three hour prep. Sure it had put a dent in her wallet but as Lita mentioned, over and over it was a little price to pay for what she was inevitably going to get out of a night in which such and expensive dress was required.)
So there she was, ready to run, and there Lita was snapping pictures like a crazed mother on prom night.
She smiled when Lita announced the arrival of her "date" for the night. "Just one picture for the road folks." Lita smiled good naturedly. "Lita, you've got pictures all the way back to me waking up! Don't you think you've got enough?"
"Oh Sere, just one final 'on-the-way-out' picture and you two will be off. You'll thank me later, I'm sure."
There was a snap, then a second and a third, and before there could be a seventh Serena protested. "Lita, you are going to have to learn to count! I mean you'd think after 24 years, a girl would learn how to count properly." Lita threw a pillow at Serena. "Alright alright, go" Serena smiled. "Have a good night!"
"She's really nice for doing that you know. With the pictures and all, I'm sure you will be thanking her later."
"Heh, as long as the pictures don't come out with me as a hideous creature I guess it'll be alright."
"Sere, you could never be hideous. You look amazing tonight."
She blushed. "Thanks. It's all because of this dress. By the way, who picked out this dress? Because it's far too nice to be something you'd choose."
"It's not just the dress, it's you. And you'll meet him tonight. We can both thank him then and I'm really not that bad at choosing outfits." She gave him a knowing look then smiledsmiled and slipped quite ungracefully into the limo. (She hit her head and let loose a few profanities.) The two cousins laughed their way to the dinner; some things like klutziness never change.
---Charity Banquet, 6:30 pm ---
Darien had arrived at the ballroom early in hopes of speaking to Mr. Worthington about the presentation ceremony, where he'd deliver an overly large check in front of all the guests. What he found was not only a ballroom full of early guests, as the gala began at 7, but a beautifully decorated room. He watched as waiters frantically removed roses from each place setting and rearranged chairs. In the entrance hall was a table of place cards, each one intricately designed to incorporate the Cancer Society's logo. He picked up the one with his name on it and proceeded to his designated table. After placing down his name card he scanned the room for Mr. Worthington.
Darien walked over to a group of flustered matriarchs and a very on edge Mr. Worthington. "No, no, no. I told you RED roses. It's Cancer, not bloody Texas. Make sure every yellow rose is gone and replaced with red ones. You have 20 more minutes I hope your waiters are quick." Darien smiled, a leader after his own heart.
"Mr. Worthington, how are you tonight? The ballroom looks magnificent."
"Thank you. And I'm very well my boy. Now who is this lovely creature? Darien, introduce us."
"Ah, yes. Mr. Worthington, Raye. Raye, Mr. Worthington."
"It is very nice to meet you my dear. I must say, Darien has excellent taste in women."
Raye smiled. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. It is I who chose to take him for the night. Do not be fooled by his arrogant male domineering manner. It is merely a show to compensate for his lack of creativity. Raye Shields," she extended a hand, "Mr. hot shot here is my brother." Mr. Worthington smiled. It was nice to meet such a confident young lady. "Well Darien, it's good to know that you have such a capable sister in your midst."
"That's a very nice way of putting it. Most people just call her a handful. Ow." Mr. Worthington smiled. Brother-sister rivalry was always never ending.
"Ahem, care to introduce me?" Mina stepped out from the shadows. Darien smiled innocently and pecked her on the cheek. "Mina Worthington meet my sister Raye, she's a sculptor who likes to hit me. Ow. See, abuse, it's been like this forever, ow. And it hurts too." He rubbed his arm, she was strong. "Introduce her you git."
"Raye, this is Mina Worthington. She is a fashion designer."
"It's very nice to meet you. I'm sorry you had to be near my brother. I'm sure you must have needed a long cleansing period afterwards. He can be a royal pain." Darien glared. How he "missed" his sister.
Quickly Raye and Mina fell into conversation about Darien, something he highly disapproved of, and their chatter pulled the two away to a table of drinks.
"So Darien, about the presentation of the check, I know it's just a novelty but I do hope you will comply."
"Absolutely, Mr. Worthington, it would be my pleasure."
" Darien!" Darien turned to look for the owner of the familiar voice.
"Andrew, glad you could make it early."
"Anything for you boss. But it looks like I'm not the only one who arrived early. Hello Mr. Worthington, nice to see you."
"Yes, yes. My boy but I don't see a lady on your arm. A handsome young man like you should have a beautiful girl on a night like this."
"Oh don't worry sir, she just went looking for a mirror so that she could adjust her hair. There was a little accident upon entering the limo. I'll go look for her and I'll introduce you all. You're all going to lover her. She's great."
"I'm sure I will. It's always nice to meet new faces."
"Yea Drew, go bring this date you are so happy to have. I want to see the girl who gets saved from your horrible dress sense."
"Ha, ha, don't worry she wants to meet you as well."
---
"So before after the food and before you open up the dance floor, you'll call me up to present the giant—"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you alr—" Serena looked into the eyes of the man she had just collided with. The color seems eerily familiar. "YOU!"
Darien recognized that irritating accent. "YOU! Miss, I'm in England but don't speak proper English. What are you doing here?!"
"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" She was positively livid. She was hoping to enjoy a nice calm evening out and here she was staring at her worst nightmare, in a very nice, very fitting hand tailored black suit. 'Don't think about his suit! Think about how annoying he is. Keep your mind out of the gutter girl! He's annoying, infuriating, keep it at that.'
"I belong here. What are you, a waitress here as well?"
"For you information Mr. I'm all high and mighty but can't even act like a gentleman, I was invited, by a real gentleman. Oh, and here he comes now."
Andrew stepped up to the two bickering children and threw an arm around Serena's shoulders. "Well, good it seems as if you two have met. Darien, I'd like you to meet Serena, my cousin. Serena, this is Darien, my boss and best bud. He's the one that helped pick this lovely dress out for you."
NEXT TIME:
The gala continues. A clash of epic proportions…at least for our loveable characters that is. Another interesting turn of events.
Don't miss the next installment of ENGLISH TO ENGLISH.
Review…meep…review…:-p
©2007 Jing2