The Business
(Chapter Nine)
Guilty Consciences
Lucrecia swallowed hard, forcing the dry wine down her throat. Hojo took an effortless swig and went on with his jabbering. Lucrecia glanced up at him a few times, laughed or nodded when necessary, but never thoroughly engaged in the conversation. Her mind was somewhere else. She glanced around at everyone dressed in their fanciest dresses. The Wutainese hostesses shuffled around in their tradition Wutainese clothing. "Another?" One of the ladies asked Hojo in her thick accent pointing to his nearly empty wine glass.
"Yes, please dear." Lucrecia watched as Hojo's eyes travelled up and down the girl's frame. Vincent would never do a thing like that. His eyes were always on her. She wondered why she was doing this?! Vincent was perfect! Handsome, hardworking, loyal, strong… he'd protect her from anything no matter what. But Hojo could give her what she always wanted… a child. Lucrecia looked down at her finger. Her wedding ring replaced with Hojo's promise ring. Hojo had no idea Lucrecia was already married. He, like Vincent, believed that the 'other man' was just an important business partner. Vincent never attended big events like this with Lucrecia and both refused to speak to the media about their relationship, so only the close employees of the actual company knew they were married.
Lucrecia stood up quickly and walked to the bathroom. She literally thought she was about to get sick, she felt so bad. She dug in her diamond encrusted clutch purse and pulled out her wedding ring. Staring at it, a single tear travelled down her cheek. A difficult decision was arising quickly, and Lucrecia wasn't too sure she'd be able to make it.
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Cloud sat on the bench outside of the MidgarFashions building. He had his rarely used cell phone in his hand staring at Tifa's number. His thumb hovered over the send button. It was like his thumb and the send button were magnets of the same charge, pushing away from each other. He had even lost track of the time that he'd been sitting there. Night fell, and the security guards came out yet Cloud still sat there staring at his phone. Footsteps broke him out of his trance and he looked up to see Mr. Valentine leaving the building. Vincent saw Cloud first and immediately got ready to defend himself against anything Cloud had to say. If he and Yuffie were as close as she said they were, she may have already told Cloud. Vincent wondered if he was out here to confront him on using his friend.
"What are you doing here?" Vincent asked standing by the end of the bench.
Cloud looked at the clock on his phone realizing it was a quarter after eleven. "Uh…I…" He sighed heavily and his shoulders slumped lower. Vincent didn't move, but only stared at him while waiting for a more informative answer.
Cloud stood. "I just lost track of time, I guess…" He looked away, feeling awkward under the president's glare.
"Well, you might want to leave before the security guards start questioning you." Vincent said stepping away from the bench. Cloud's bike and Vincent's car were parked no more than five feet from each other. Though it wasn't on purpose, the two began walking side by side.
"Have you ever…" Cloud stopped realizing who he was talking to. Vincent wasn't his friend and didn't seem interested in the thought of his friendship.
Vincent sighed his curiosity getting the best of him. "Have I ever what?"
"…done something you knew was wrong….something you knew you'd regret, but couldn't stop yourself from doing it?" Cloud looked up at the taller man next to him as they stopped by his car. Vincent looked everywhere but Cloud's eyes. He knows… Vincent thought. Though, Cloud truly had no clue of what had been going on between him and his friend.
"What are you getting at?" Vincent asked defensively, crossing his arms and glaring down at Cloud.
Cloud sighed. "Never mind…I…it's just… I'm not myself anymore…" Cloud turned away from Vincent walking towards his bike. Vincent's glare softened.
"Is it a woman?" Vincent asked Cloud. Cloud turned halfway and nodded. Vincent took a few steps towards him.
"It's an employee here actually. Tifa Lockhart."
Vincent let that name settle in his mind for a while, then a picture popped into his head. She was truly a beautiful woman, but tough. Vincent himself wouldn't even want to mess with her. He nodded acknowledging Cloud's comment.
"What Tifa and I had stems back to grade school. I never imagined my life without her in it…" Cloud said staring down at the pavement. Vincent looked down as well. "She's the perfect girl for me, I couldn't ask for anything more… Yet I still…"
"An affair?" Vincent cut in raising his eyes from the pavement to Cloud's face. Cloud nodded sadly.
"She'll never forgive me, and I don't blame her, but in the meantime… how am I supposed to cope without her?" Cloud asked looking Vincent in the eye. Vincent stared back at him blankly. Though he was looking at Cloud, his mind was so far away that he couldn't even see Cloud. After a few minutes of silence, Cloud hopped on his bike and drove off without another word. Vincent leaned up against his car. He would be Cloud soon if he didn't stop what he was doing. Lucrecia would never forgive him if she caught him having an affair, and he would never cope in this world without her. She would surely kick him out of their house, force him to quit his job, and he'd have to start from scratch. On the other hand, Vincent was a little relieved that Cloud didn't know about what he'd been doing to his friend.
For the first time in a while, Vincent didn't call Yuffie and he didn't respond to her text messages. He went straight home and hit the liquor cabinet instead. Not only would it comfort him, it would give him a few hours of peace of mind. He thought about giving Yuffie a call just to let her know he would not be continuing to do business with her, but that was a little too hard for him to say. Plus, despite her act, Yuffie was a smart girl. She'd figure out what was going on.
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Aerith sat down next to Yuffie on the couch. She'd been watching her friend the past two weeks and noticed she seemed a bit down.
"Did something happen, Yuffie? You haven't been going out as much…" Aerith said leaning forward so she could see Yuffie's face. Yuffie sighed softly and turned down the television.
"No…" Yuffie answered, sigh brought her legs up to her chest and leaned her chin on her knees.
"Yuffie." Aerith nudged her with a smile. "You used to tell me everything." She stared at Yuffie with her warm smile. Yuffie couldn't help but smile back. Aerith's smile had always been contagious.
"You won't want to hear this one." Yuffie laughed nervously, looking away from her friend. Aerith gently slapped Yuffie's shoulder.
"Now you have to tell me!" She giggled loudly, she quickly covered her mouth. Zack was already in bed. He'd been working so much overtime trying to get enough money to buy their new place. Yuffie had contributed a little to their savings, but having the money to go shopping and buy everything she wanted was making her a little bit greedy with her money.
Yuffie sighed and looked down at her hot pink socks. "I've been sleeping with the president of Midgar Fashions." She confessed. Aerith held back her gasp, though her silence disturbed Yuffie even more. She didn't want her old friends to see her like a slut like all of her current high school peers did. Yuffie slowly lifted her eyes to Aerith's. Aerith quickly put on a smile.
"Uh…Yuffie…you're kidding, right?" Aerith laughed softly stroking her long brown hair. Yuffie shook her head no.
"That's where I'd been all those nights…but now he doesn't call me anymore. He doesn't even answer any of my calls." Yuffie looked down sadly. She squeezed her eyes shut, damning herself for caring so much. She knew this would eventually happen. Though, she just assumed she would at least get an explanation first. Vincent just cutting her off like this; giving her no time to prepare herself for the rejection had hurt her.
"I'm so sorry, Yuffie. That was awfully harsh of him… Those men like that with power just think they can walk all over people, it's really disgusting." Aerith rested her hand on Yuffie's shoulder, slowly rubbing her back. Yuffie leaned into the much needed comfort.
"I just wish I never did it, you know… I should have known I wouldn't be able to do it and not get attached." Yuffie stared absentmindedly at the coffee table as flashbacks of the different times she and Vincent had had sex ran through her mind.
Aerith pulled Yuffie into a hug. "You'll find a good guy, Yuffie." She said as she pulled away from the hug. "He's out there, but you've got to be patient." Yuffie smiled, and for the first time in a while it was a genuine smile. At least I still have my good friends…
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Work was getting nearly agonizing for Yuffie. Everything was so tedious, and now that she had no business meetings to look forward to after work, there really wasn't any motivation for her to be here other than the money. It was hard for her hanging out with Marlene, knowing what Reno was doing to her. She knew as a good friend she should tell her the truth, but she couldn't bear to crush her friend's spirits.
Agonizing couldn't even describe how Vincent felt about work. He merely did his job only under the motivation that Lucrecia would be proud of him. But he despised this… He had no interest in fashion, absolutely no desire to deal with customers, and hated working with employees. Vincent never was a people person and this job took him way out of his element. Feeling especially down today, Vincent wrapped up his work at nine o'clock.
Nine o'clock couldn't come quick enough for Yuffie. In fact, she stood from her desk at 8:59 not able to wait that last minute. She gathered her stuff and waited by the elevators for Marlene.
Vincent didn't know why he did it. He told himself not to, but his finger had a mind of its own as it stopped the elevator on the fourth floor. He had already formulated a bullshit questions for one of the managers just so he could walk through the room. So that he could see her…
The elevator doors opened and Vincent's target was closer to him than he realized.
"Hey watch…!!" Yuffie was ready to scold whoever had so carelessly bumped into her, but then she looked up and saw him. Vincent brushed off his shirt and ran a hand down his ponytail.
"What are you doing loitering around here? Shouldn't you be working?" Vincent's stern tone completely hid his slight embarrassment.
"It's nine o'clock, wise guy. I'm off." Yuffie's sassy attitude was also a cover, but for how happy she was to see him again. She stole a few quick glances up at him. She loved him in that crimson red dress shirt and shiny black tie. She pretty much had his weekly dress code down pat and knew exactly what he wore every day.
"Then why are you still standing here?" He asked letting his eyes rest on hers. His glance quickly shifted to Marlene as she hurried down the hall towards them. She slowed down once she saw him looking at her. Knowing detail stories about the two, she didn't know whether it was safe to approach them or not so she slowed down to a pace that could barely even be called moving.
"None of your damn business. Why are you concerned about me anyways? I'm obviously nothing of importance to you." Yuffie pushed away from the wall and headed towards Marlene leaving Vincent to glare at the back of her.
"Let's take the stairs." Yuffie muttered to Marlene as she walked past her. Marlene quickly joined her. "What happened?" Marlene whispered a little too loudly. Vincent's eyes narrowed. Yuffie told her… He thought glaring at the corner she disappeared through. Vincent took the elevator down and waiting in the lobby standing behind one of the tall vases full of plants waiting for the two girls to come out from the staircase entrance. When he saw them exiting the building he followed. It wasn't a huge deal to him that Yuffie had told her friend, but it wasn't something he was ready to blow off. The more people that knew their secret, the better chance he had of being caught and should he get caught because of Yuffie's big mouth, she'd have hell to pay.
A smirk crept across his pale lips as he pulled out of the parking lot in his car, following Yuffie's green one.
