Only Time
By: Zarabeth McGregor
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or Sailor Moon, they don't belong to me they belong to some other companies whose names I mentioned in past chapters. Thank you.
Now is when the action really starts, people! Yes, in this chapter, Ami will be going to work and she will meet Relena. In the next chapter, she will see who these 'mysterious' Gundam pilots are! I'm so psyched about this fic!
Questions and comments:
Kate: Yeah, I only found out what pumps were a few months ago…so you can see that I'm kinda obsessed with the word now J. Yeah, pumps are high-heeled shoes, closed-toe and sophisticated, the kind those professional businesswomen wear. J
Wicked Lady: Thank you so very much for reviewing this fic religiously, though Ami isn't your fave character. And even despite the fact that I torture you so much *wink*.
Jessica: Well, all I'll say is that she'll meet the pilots all at once. And thanks; I appreciate it. J
~*~
The next morning couldn't have come quicker for me. I could barely sleep the night before because I was so nervous about my new job. Was I going to be good at it, or would I stink? Was I going to mess up and say something wrong, revealing that I wasn't whom I say I was? How about this Relena woman? Was she going to be a real dragon-lady or nice? Would she straddle me with all the work? See, from my estimations, Relena was about my age. And not many people my age were mature. But then again, if she was able to keep her job for so long, she must've been mature. Or maybe someone did all the work for her…Urgh! I was over thinking things as usual. I finally fell asleep somewhere around two in the morning.
When my alarm rang at 7:30 AM, I shot up like a bullet. I got out of bed, and jumped into the shower. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair out. Then I went to the closet and picked out three suits. I had tried to decide which one to wear the night before, but I couldn't. One was sky blue, one was aquamarine and one was black.
"Okay," I breathed. I laid out the three suits on the bed and performed my oldest, most trusted secret ritual.
"Eenie, meenie, minee, mo. Catch a tiger by his toe…" I recited quietly, pointing on the three outfits alternately in the known fashion. In the end, it was the sky blue suit that won. I was happy because it was soft and silky and it had a risqué plunged neck that said sophisticated and sexy at the same time. I don't know how in Heaven Priscilla talked me into it. I dressed and pulled on a pair of blue heels. Then I looked at my hair. Now I was really missing my pixie cut. All I had to do before times was brush it and go. Now I had to spend something like five minutes just getting a decent style. I put my hair into a neat bun like I was showed yesterday, leaving a few tendrils down to frame my face. I ran some rose-colored lipstick I bought at a pharmacy down the road over my lips.
Now looking at my reflection, I was now ready to go. I picked up my new little black purse and was heading out the door when I suddenly remembered something.
"Damn!" I said softly. I had forgotten breakfast. I never forgot breakfast. I guess I'd have to settle for something along the way.
~*~
The Foreign Affairs building was a modern structure. It's exterior seemed to be constructed from thousands of little mirrors that reflected the sunlight beautifully. It was about fifteen to twenty stories tall and widely spread out across the beautifully manicured lawns. Several flower trees were planted and their lovely blooms gave the otherwise daunting-looking building a welcoming appearance.
I was finishing my cinni-bun when I stepped out of the cab, looking at this awe-inspiring building. This was where I was going to be working. Already, several people were making their way into the building. I paid the cab driver and walked into it myself.
The inside of the building was elegantly designed. It had a subtle Asian touch to it, which made me feel a bit more comfortable. In the middle of the huge reception area was a large-enough fountain that reminded me of the one at the back of Rei's temple. Several potted trees were placed intermediately throughout the hall. I looked around, transfixed by the architecture before spying the receptionist's desk. I approached it confidently. Well, as confidently as I could, anyway.
"Good morning," I said politely to the girl behind the desk. She was really pretty, blonde hair in curls rippling over her shoulders and wide green eyes framed by dark lashes. She smiled at me, revealing dimpled cheeks.
"Good morning," she responded graciously. "I'm Gretchen, how may I help you?"
"I'm looking for Ms Relena Darlian/Peacecraft's office…" I was cut off by her understanding chuckle.
"Oh, you're her new personal assistant," she said, nodding. "You're going to love it here, I can assure you." Then Gretchen picked up a phone and dialed a number. "Yes, Ms Mizuno's here. Okay." She hung up and smiled at me. "Alright, the elevators are right over there on your left. It's the sixteenth floor."
"Thank you very much," I responded, grateful for her warm welcome. She still smiled at me, though it was quite genuine.
"You're welcome. Have a good day," she said as I walked to
the elevators.
"You too," I called back and continued on. I stepped into on of the elevators, along with about five other people.
"Hey, Ami!" a woman next to me said, startling me. I hadn't been here for ten minutes and someone already knew me. I turned to the voice and saw a chubby girl with auburn hair plait in two. Her face was round and freckled and her eyes were kind. "I'm Stacey, remember me?" I smiled, feigning recognition. So this was the famous Stacey.
"Of course I do!" I replied, lying through my teeth. I shook her hand.
"Nice clothes," she said admiringly. "It really suits you."
"Thanks," I said, flushing slightly. The rest of the ride was silent. The doors opened and we were the only ones who stepped out. These were Relena's offices. They resembled the reception area; only that it was more Asian-inspired and sunny. Stacey led my gently by my hand to a pair of pocket doors.
"This is where the boss-lady works. I'll tell her you're here," she told me before going in and closing the doors behind her. A few seconds later, she came back out with a smile. "Go ahead." I took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. I opened the doors and walked in.
Relena's office was elegantly and tastefully designed. The back of her cushioned office chair was facing the row of uncovered windows that took up a whole wall. From these windows the early morning sunlight streamed in gently. The main color here cream; cream wall to wall carpeting, cream wallpaper with silver fleur-de-lis painted on. In one corner, there was a cream couch with a matching armchair and a round, glass-topped table between them. I was looking around; my eyes getting used to tastefully designed rooms.
"Ami?" a light voice caught my attention. I turned and came face to face with Ms Relena Darlian/Peacecraft. She was emerging from a side door that I figured housed the bathroom. She was drying her slender hands in a paper towel.
"Hello, Ms Darlian/Peacecraft," I replied. She smiled, revealing perfect, white teeth.
"Oh, please, call me Relena," she said kindly. Relena strode across the room to her desk. She was tall and slim, her long legs accentuated by a pair of black heels and a modestly short dusty pink colored skirt. She had on a white long-sleeved blouse that seemed to be made from silk or georgette or some like material. Relena seemed to be the picture of casual elegance. Her light blonde shoulder-length hair was cut into soft layers framing her heart-shaped face. She wore moderate amounts of jewelry; pearl stubs and a matching string of the white, round stones were around her neck. She pressed the intercom button.
"Stacey? Yes, please hold my calls for the time being. Thank you," she looked up and me and clasped her hands. "You look lovely." She complimented me. I felt my cheeks redden.
"Thank you," I said softly. She clapped her hands once and sighed.
"Well, here we are. The Foreign Affairs Division. The work around here gets quite dull at times, but there's always something to do," she was watching me. "Shall I give you a tour?" I realized the question was directed at me instead of being idle chatter.
"Sure," I answered. Relena strode across to another door.
"The room here is your office. Come on, don't be afraid," she added with a slight chuckle. I walked over to where she was and she opened the door.
My office was smaller than hers, as expected, but not by much. I also had a panoramic view of the city from behind my desk. It was modestly furnished with the standard desk and chair, also with an armchair in one corner and a little fridge in the corner. Everything in the room seemed new. The colors were a muted blue and white. It was beautiful.
"Your bathroom is in here," Relena said, pointing to a door on my right. "The fridge is stocked with soda, juice, water, as well as some food. We might be pulling some late nights," she added with a wink. My heart lifted slightly. She said we, not you, when she talked about overtime work. This might not be so bad after all.
"You have a door leading out to the main offices," Relena walked over to the said door and opened it. "Let's go."
We walked around a bit as she showed my the different offices: Stacey's, the Public Relations Officer's, the Permanent Secretary's and some others. She also gave me a brief rundown of her responsibilities. She dealt with all the major problems concerning the outer space colonies.
"There are more than two hundred space colonies at the moment," she explained while we walked down one of the corridors. "And not all of them get along with each other. There is also some tension between the Earth and her colonies, as the colonies tend to think we couldn't care less about them. This, of course, leads to the occasional revolts and wars. I have to be in constant contact with each of the colonial offices on a regular basis…" she trailed off and sighed. Then she glanced at me and smiled at my surprised expression. That was a lot of work if one thought about it. "Now you can see why I need the help. I won't straddle you with all the work; I do most of it myself. A lot of late nights."
It also seemed I was wrong to refer to the building as belonging to the Foreign Affairs Department. There are about twenty floors, and the first eight belonged to various businesses such as banks, law firms, insurance companies and stock firms.
"We just own most of the building seeing as we use the majority of the floors. It really belongs to an Italian firm, but we bought these floors from them. The other companies just rent them, as far as I know." We were now back in her office. My stomach was growling seeing as I only ate one lousy bun this morning. My watch told me it was ten minutes to noon. Relena saw my gesture and smiled.
"I'm going to lunch now," she said. "Would you like to come with me? My treat." Too hungry to protest, even if I wanted to, I agreed. It turns out that there was a restaurant on the second floor named Colombo's. It was nicely designed, and I'll just leave it at that. We took a table close to a window, where we had a clear view the busy street below us. Relena ordered a chicken salad with some iced tea, while I took a cheese croissant and some coffee.
"Are you sure you that will keep you for the afternoon?" she asked when she heard my order.
"Yes," I lied. I didn't want to put her through any extra expense. She seemed to know my motive because she called back the waitress.
"Giana, forget the croissant and bring her one of what I'm having," Relena shooed the waitress away before I could protest. Half an hour later, we were both halfway through our meal when Relena spoke again.
"You know," she started solemnly, "I didn't just hire you because of your qualifications." Her blue eyes were quite serious as they locked onto me. "I read about your past, with your family dying in the Eve Wars and everything and I figured that you would understand my duties more than any of the other girls. They were just giggling…children, really, whose eyes just lit up at the opportunity to work at such a prestigious job. You, on the other hand, I figured would be more sensitive to the requirements of our jobs." I was speechless.
"Well, Ms…Relena…" I stammered out, when she held up a hand.
"It's alright, you don't have to say anything," Relena said with a kind of sad smile. "I take it you know about my past?" when I nodded, she continued. "I also felt I could relate more to you, seeing as we have that little aspect in common." Her eyes strayed from me and to the window, but I felt she was doing more than admiring the scenery. "My brother, Miliardo, is my only living relative and I'm not even that close to him. I haven't talked to him since the Mariemaia Revolt. He's on Mars with his girlfriend Lucrezia Noin." Her eyes were full of emotion, and I could tell this was something that she didn't go around telling everyone she met.
"I'm sorry, Relena," was all I could say at the time being. But I don't think she heard me. She still kept her eyes averted.
"I hate war, really," she confessed, and I think I heard her voice tremble slightly. "It's senseless and ridiculous. So many lives lost needlessly, so many families ripped apart, friendships severed. Sisters fighting against their brothers and fathers fighting against their sons. So much unnecessary pain and suffering for what? Just so someone can prove a point? Just so a nation can show themselves to be stronger and better than the rest?" There was a tremor in her voice, but not from sadness. No, from anger and frustration. I've heard it so many times in my own. Suddenly, she looked back at me with a smile on her face. Her eyes were shiny and damp. "That's exactly why I preferred to be Vice Foreign Minister over Queen. Because in being Queen, I would be in the position many, many times to call a war. But as Vice Foreign Minister, I can help prevent it." Her speech touched me deeply. When I read about her past, I didn't stop and take the time to wonder what effect her sudden role-changes had on her. Well, I could see it now. She was a strong individual, really.
"Well, enough of boring with my musings," she said with a slight laugh as she went into her bag to pay for the lunch. She pulled out a checkbook and started to write on one of the checks. "So…is…life." She said softly as she signed her name at the bottom. Then she called Giana over.
Well, you won't have to wait long for the next chapter. It should be out this week. What did you think of Relena's little speech? Please let me know.