Hey, everyone! I hope you guys are all looking forward to the next installment of The Clash! Just a note that I got a little carried away while writing, and this chapter will actually have 9 separate parts. But I promise that it's worth it! Happy reading :)
Alena took a deep breath in front of the doors of Belfry Towers. Per usual, she would need all of the strength she had to deal with whatever Ivy and Victoria threw at her today.
When she walked in, she noticed the receptionist wasn't quite her usual jovial self.
Alena furrowed her brows and thought about asking if everything was alright. She decided against it when she realized the receptionist was very deep in thought.
And so, Alena simply walked toward the elevator and pressed the button to go up.
When she arrived on the floor, she furrowed her brows at the empty chair at Ivy's desk. For a moment, she wondered where her co-worker could be when she realized it truthfully didn't matter.
The blonde then walked into Belfry's office, stopping abruptly when she saw Ivy sitting at the desk.
The brunette glanced up before she grabbed a file off the desk. She then walked over to Alena and offered it to her before stating, "I have your assignment right here."
Alena raised an eyebrow as she matter-of-factly pointed out, "You may be Belfry's daughter, but you don't have any authority here."
Ivy only smirked as she responded, "Perhaps. But in my mother's absence, it's my job to make sure this company isn't run into the ground."
Alena furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she asked, "Absence? Where did she go?"
With a tilt of her head, Ivy then questioned, "You mean you haven't heard?"
"Heard what?" Alena questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.
Instead of answering, Ivy saw an opportunity to be smug: "You know, I'm quite sure that my mother wouldn't approve of you being so ill-informed."
Alena resisted the urge to roll her eyes before she spoke, "Not that I owe you an explanation, but I have two three-year-olds at home that take most of my attention."
"That's your problem, not mine," Ivy told her, a fair amount of condescension in her tone.
Alena balled up her fists at her sides - she knew she should just let it go, but no one talked about her girls like that.
"They are anything but a problem. Call them that again, and you'll regret it," she seethed.
Ivy rolled her eyes before she said, "Geez, you have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?"
Alena only huffed in response while Ivy offered another smirk. The brunette then continued, "Since you clearly don't know, I'll tell you."
She paused before she stated, "Mother was arrested last night."
"Arrested? For what?" Alena interjected. Victoria Belfry was far from innocent, but she always covered her tracks well.
"For keeping poor Eloise Gardener prisoner. I had no idea my mother could be capable of something like that," Ivy explained, with what appeared to be genuine sorrow in both her eyes and voice.
Alena had to admit that Ivy was pretty convincing, but the blonde knew better. Even if Tilly hadn't filled her in with both Victoria and Weaver's involvement with this Eloise, Alena knew there was much more than meets the eye.
She lowered her voice before she spoke, "Listen, Drizella, I know you had something to do with this - and that you're working with this so-called Eloise."
"Well, aren't you clever?" Ivy praised with fake sincerity. She then offered a mischievous smile and told her, "Regardless of what you may know or find out, I'll always be one step ahead."
"Not always," Alena determinedly pointed out, a challenge in her voice.
With a dismissive shrug, Ivy then replied, "The fact is that my mother was arrested, Eloise is free, and you now work for me."
Alena took some calming breaths before she responded, "For now. But know that I will never stop fighting for the people I love."
"I'm sure you will," Ivy drily commented. Alena raised an eyebrow at her tone, so the brunette elaborated, "I seem to remember you making the same empty threat when you tried to convince me not to cast this curse."
Alena's blue eyes widened before she blinked several times. She then asked, "You had it, too? That, uh, memory of us back in the New Enchanted Forest?"
"Yes, I did. And you were as insufferable and self-righteous back then as you are now," Ivy quipped, annoyance written across her features.
Alena did roll her eyes that time before she pointed out, "Don't you think it's weird that we'd suddenly have the exact same memory?"
"Considering that we both lived it, not really," Ivy began. She paused before she continued, "It was probably just the universe's way of reminding us what we're up against," her brown eyes narrowing.
Alena narrowed her eyes as well as she spoke, "Not that I need a reminder, but talking sense into you about this curse is clearly a lost cause."
"I could say the same about you in trying to break it," Ivy began. She became even more smug as she continued, "Let's see, if you try anything, Henry will be hurt, he and Jacinda can't be together for the same reason, which means that you have to watch helplessly, and your own true love has no idea who you really are. That about cover it?"
Alena could practically feel her fuse shortening, but she knew that she had to remain calm lest she wanted another bulb-breaking incident.
And so, she took a deep breath before she responded, "You will answer for what you've done, Drizella."
"We'll see about that," she threw back. Ivy's smirk returned as she spoke, "But, as of this moment, you answer to me - and you have reports to do."
As much as Alena wanted to argue, she knew she couldn't. Unfortunately, Ivy had a point - Alena did have a job to do.
Alena then took the file from Ivy's hand - more forcefully than she intended - before she stated, "I will have this completed soon."
"See that you do - you have another assignment to complete today," Ivy spoke, clearly enjoying this new-found authority.
Alena simply nodded before she asked what she felt as though was inevitable: "And how long will you be taking over for Mrs. Belfry?"
"As long as necessary," came Ivy's clipped reply before she sat down behind her mother's desk.
"I suppose that's fair enough," Alena surmised. Ivy didn't respond, so the blonde turned on her heel and began walking away.
Her mind then wandered to how Jacinda must be handling the news. Considering the living hell that Victoria made Jacinda's life, she probably felt relief.
Just then, something occurred to Alena, and as much as she hated it, Ivy would likely have the answers for her.
She then turned back around and spoke, "I know that Victoria had custody of Lucy. Where is she now?"
Ivy sighed before she said, "If you want to know, you'll have to talk to Jacinda. We all have work to do."
Alena couldn't help but notice the satisfied look on Ivy's face.
The blonde then groaned internally. Ivy was insufferable enough as it was. She would be ten times worse now that she was in charge.
Alena then took a breath before she said, "Fine. I'll just go work on these reports."
Ivy only hummed in response before Alena turned back around and began heading toward her office.
This time, Ivy's voice stopped her, and it almost sounded like an afterthought. Alena turned around - again - and she couldn't hide the scowl she wore.
With crossed arms, Alena seethed, "I thought you wanted me to get to work."
"Oh, I do," Ivy began, smirking at Alena's reaction and tone. She then continued, "I just thought I'd give you something to think about while you're working."
"And what is that?"
"That Eloise Gardener prefers to go by Mother Gothel - and she's more powerful than you could ever hope to be."
The satisfaction - and smugness - was radiating off Drizella in waves, and it made Alena's blood boil.
But, Alena knew that she couldn't let the brunette see that. Drizella already knew where - and how - to hit Alena where it hurt. She couldn't give her anything else to use against her.
And so, she managed a snarky comment: "So, you're not powerful enough yourself that you had to go looking elsewhere for help?"
Alena saw the briefest moment of uncertainty flash across Ivy's face before she replied in kind: "It just means that I'll have a better chance of taking you down."
She then looked down and resumed working, as though Alena wasn't even there.
The blonde took a deep breath before she filed out of the room and continued toward her office.
As soon as she sat down at her desk, she turned on the computer. She then began flipping through the various papers in the file folder.
She settled on one before opening a new document on Microsoft Word. As agitated as she felt right now, she still needed this job - she'd just have to find a way to deal with the fact that Ivy was her boss for the time being.
On the list of problems currently happening in Alena's life, this new development ranked on the bottom.
She then began typing up a report on an office building. Her fingers stopped when she saw the address of the building.
She recognized the address as the same street where Riley's Records & CDs was located. This building was the same one that she saw for sale when she went to tell Riley about the purchase of the store.
Alena honestly wasn't surprised that Victoria had snatched up the property - aside from Belfry's obsession with owning Hyperion Heights, the building would be an amazing asset.
To help with ELJ Corp's inevitable expansion, Alena would need to add the same kind of assets to her name.
"I'm sure I'll manage to make my way," Alena thought, a small and brief smile making its way onto her face. At least this gave her something positive to focus on.
As she continued typing up this report, she saw that the deal didn't close until eleven today. This knowledge suddenly gave her an idea.
What if she could expand her business AND knock Ivy down a peg or two in the process?
She smiled as she got on the Internet. Knowing that she could easily get caught through a phone call, she opted to send an email to the owner of the building in order to make a better offer.
Once she had sent it - with explicit details about remaining anonymous - she minimized the window and placed the report for the office building aside. She then moved on to another report.
By the time she had finished, she had received an answer from the owner. As she read his account of his real estate business slowly going under in the face of unfair competition from Belfry Towers, Alena knew she had made the right decision.
He expressed concerns about going up against Belfry Towers, and Alena did her best to assure him that he wouldn't get caught in the crossfire. No one could fault him for accepting a better deal, and the building would no longer belong to him anyway. Furthermore, Victoria's - and now Ivy's - hands were tied when this mystery buyer was an expert at remaining anonymous.
The owner accepted the offer, and Alena wired the money to his account. This new deal would not go public until after eleven.
The two then signed off, with Alena telling him that she may have a job for him in the future. After all, she would need dedicated and hard-working employees if ELJ Corp. was ever going to make a name for itself.
As Alena shifted her focus back to her work at Belfry Towers, she couldn't help but smile satisfactorily at the turn of events. She then muttered, "You know what they say, Drizella. If you play with fire, you're bound to get burned."
Alena then found herself humming happily as her fingers continued flying across the keyboard.
A few hours later, Alena nearly jumped at the sound of her office door being yanked open.
"Here we go," she thought as she turned to face the incoming storm that was Drizella. She knew this wouldn't be pleasant.
Ivy marched in before she seethed, "Someone bought an office complex out from under us. The deal was closing today!"
Alena managed to pull off an expression of genuine surprise as she asked, "But how could someone do that? And who?"
"If I knew that, do you really think I'd be coming to you?" Ivy rhetorically asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Alena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She then genuinely asked, "So, you'd like my help in figuring out what happened?"
Ivy was clearly invested in getting to the bottom of this as she pointed out, "You were doing the same thing for Mother, weren't you?" with no trace of sarcasm or condescension in her voice.
Alena nodded before she elaborated, "You should know that I didn't have much luck in finding out anything from Jacinda or Riley, who owns the music store."
"Well, if the same person also bought this building, they can't stay anonymous forever," Ivy surmised, looking down at her nails.
When she looked back up, she instructed, "I need you to find out what you can about this deal - and how the hell they managed to even make it."
"Will do," Alena replied. She then added, "I finished up those reports, and I emailed them to you. What was the other assignment?"
"Checking in with our current projects," Ivy matter-of-factly stated before handing over a file. She then continued, "These projects are both of utmost importance. Got it?"
"Of course," Alena replied with as much sincerity as she could muster - which was difficult to say the least.
A satisfied smile made its way on Ivy's face as she spoke, "You have a lot to do. I sure hope you can handle it."
With an eye roll, Alena then responded, "Is it really too much to ask for you to be professional for longer than five minutes?"
"Please, like you're much better?" Ivy condescendingly pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest.
A response would only make things worse, so Alena simply turned her attention to the file in her hand. Without looking up, "I'll leave right away to go look at these sites."
"Fine," Ivy stated before she turned on her heel and walked out of the office.
Alena then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Once her nerves - and temper - were calm, she couldn't help but feel relief that Drizella bought her story.
It wasn't as though it was an entire lie - she really did need this job to provide for Emma and Lily. She just had some extra projects on the side - ones that she was actually passionate about.
She then gathered her things and made her way to the elevator. She quickly passed through the lobby and into the parking lot.
When she arrived at the bug, she opened the door and took a seat before cranking it up. She then opened the folder and read off the first address.
"Ah, yes. The repurposing of the warehouse lot into condos - let's see how that's going."
Alena then closed the folder and began exiting the parking lot. Before she pulled out on the street, she turned on the radio.
Her ears were immediately filled with the sounds of "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" from Cinderella.
"As much as I have gotten used to the girls' obsession with everything princess related, I think I need a break," Alena thought with a chuckle.
She then switched over the regular radio and flipped through until she found the variety music station.
"Hmm. Perfect," Alena spoke. She adjusted the volume before she pulled out onto the street.
She found herself singing along by the time she arrived at the site. When she stepped out of the car, she was immediately approached by the head contractor.
He was wearing a worried expression as he asked her, "You work for Victoria Belfry, don't you?"
"Yes, I do," Alena replied. She then asked him, "Is there something I can do for you?"
He took a breath before getting straight to the point: "Do my crew and I still have jobs since Belfry's been arrested?"
"Absolutely. Victoria's daughter, Ivy Belfry, is now at the helm, and we're all working hard to make sure that business will continue as usual," Alena immediately reassured him.
He breathed a sigh of relief before he spoke, "In that case, you probably want to see how the work is coming along."
Alena nodded before she followed him onto the site and into the halfway remodeled building.