Title: Dangerous Path
Chapter: 4
Rating: R/NC17
Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor/Action/Adventure
Author: Pure Euphoria
Summary: After a violent
night, 17-year-old Serena Le Blanche is left homeless with no money.
She has no choice but to go live with a LAPD officer until she can get
back on her feet. But burning passion elopes them. She wants
him. He wants her. But will her age stop whatever might've
been?
He sighed. The clock indicated 12. Darien didn't know what to expect from Dominic's tone. All he said was, 'Meet me at the Lapaz Cafe at lunch.' There was no way to decipher what he had in mind. But Darien knew that they were going to discuss the situation with Danielle. And no matter how he dreaded the conversation, there was no way to put it off for any longer.
As lunch officially began, Darien headed outside, his expression somber, got in his vehicle and sped off.
As the light turned green, the black car resumed its course on the busy LA street. Passing restaurants whose flashing signs were turned off 'til the night, Darien parked in front of the Lapaz Cafe; a small elegant restaurant with freshly groomed plants and a valet in a green uniform ready to park his car. Darien, having met Dominic, didn't expect anything lower as he knew the man had an exceptionally big reputation to attain.
Aiming his keys at the young man, he went through the double doors, instantly hit with the aromatic smells of exotic food. However, whatever appreciation he might've had for his surroundings was killed off by his nervous state.
Spotting Dominic in the hushed crowd of occupants, Darien went straight toward him. The elder man, apparently noticed Darien as well, as he pushed his chair softly from the table and stood up.
"Darien, it's good to see you again," he spoke, extending a wrinkled hand.
Not finding anything to say, Darien merely nodded, shaking Dominic's hand in a friendly manner.
"Well, sit," motioned the elder man. Darien instantly complied.
The waiter came and took their order; Darien taking as long as he could with his menu but not long enough as to rise suspicion in Dominic. With the waiter gone, Dominic turned to him, tilted his head and examined Darien.
"I'm sure you know why I asked you to come down for?"
Darien only nodded, fully aware that playing dumb would get him nowhere but possibly a grave.
Shaking his head, Dominic pressed his palms on the smooth, green cloth of the table and leaned toward Darien. "I apologize for not talking to you sooner, but being away on business, I was only recently informed of the matter at hand."
"Don't apologize, it's not necessary," replied Darien. And wasn't that the truth. He was more than glad Dominic didn't find out about his break-up with Danielle right after he told her. With time passing, she probably cooled down a bit.
"Yes, well, what made you establish your choice, Darien?"
The question seemed to pop out of nowhere, and Darien wasn't sure he had an answer that wouldn't offend Dominic. Shifting nervously in his seat, he looked around the small cafe. Noting the absence of men dressed in black suits, his nerves eased a bit more.
Turning back to Dominic, Darien looked him in the eye, and told him how he viewed the situation. "I just don't have the same feelings toward her as I did when we first met," he said, hoping against hope that Dominic wouldn't take it the wrong way. Even though he had taken the precaution of bringing along a gun, Darien seriously doubted he'd stand a chance if Dominic brought, which would be typical of him, a dozen of his friends with him.
"I can understand that," began the elder man, "however, are you aware that Danielle still has strong feelings toward you, and is not ready to give you up?"
The unexpected news froze him in his seat as his brain tried to register the words. "Pardon?"
"Oh, it's quite true. Danielle told me herself. You see, I love my daughter very much, but she trouble giving up something of hers before she tires of it," Dominic said, a frown marrying his wrinkled face.
Darien took in the information, still in shock. "So what do you think I should do?" The elder man only chuckled.
"Darien, don't you think I've tried everything I could?" he asked, face pained with sorrow. "Therapists? Psychiatrists? This is a deeper, psycological matter. My guess is this is tighted out down with losing her mother at such a young age."
Well, just what I need, thought Darien. Sure, he felt sorry for Danielle, but did she really have to bother him because of her problem. Although, knowing he had to show sympathy on Danielle's behalf, Darien dropped his lips into a mock frown, concern masking his eyes. "That's a terrible thing."
"Yes, it is quite unfortunate. I'm sure I gave you a scare, what with calling to speak with you in person. Understand this, Darien, I love my daughter, and I don't want her to be married to someone who does not return her feelings." He paused as the waiter brought them their order, and resumed talking once the blonde teenager was gone. "You have my respect for being honest about your feelings, but it will take a while longer for Danielle to accept that."
"I understand." No, he didn't. Why couldn't she accept that he didn't love her and move on? Why did she have to get him involved in something he wanted no part in?
"That is good to hear. Danielle says that you have a guest living with you for the time being? A teenage girl? Something about being involved in a murder, from what I heard. That's a good thing of you to do, Darien."
Yeah, he sure wanted to do Serena. "Wait--" he paused to think. "How does Danielle know that someone was living with me?"
Dominic took a fork and began devouring his mashed potatoes, stopping in mid-motion to look at Darien. "Maybe you had her visit you recently?"
"No, we haven't spoke after she came to Jordan's house, and I don't recall saying anything about Serena," he said, trying to pin-point a source through which Danielle found out that a certain blonde teen was living with him for the time being.
"Yes. Well, I am sure there is reasonable explaination to this," said Dominic, his voice holding an edge that told Darien the subject was dropped.
Darien needed no further invitation, as he stood up from his chair and stretched his arm to shake Dominic's hand. He wanted nothing more than for lunch to be over so he could go back to work, and forget this meeting ever happened.
He started to reach into his pocket to retreive a couple of bills when Dominic's voice stopped him. "Lunch is on me, Darien."
"It's not necessary," he said, taking out two bills.
"Darien, I insist." Dominic's eyes sparkled dangerously, telling Darien he's better take back his offer before something he didn't like happened.
"Hmm, very well," said Darien, shoving the money back inside his pocket and giving Dominic a forced smile. This was dragging on longer than he'd expected. "It was - nice talking to you, Dominic. Lunch is over so I'm afraid I have to go."
The elder man smiled as well, wrinkling his forehead in the process. "Please, don't let me keep you from doing your job, Darien. And, it was good talking to you, also. I look forward to our next meeting."
"All right," he said, and turned to the exit, happy their talk was over. Nothing happened during the course of their meeting and Darien finally could relax. Tension was not something he liked dealing with very often. He nodded at the receptionist on his way out, and trotted down the stairs to his car.
Opening the black door, he got in, buckled his seat belt and sped down the road. The day, for the most part, hasn't even prograssed yet, and he was feeling tired already. Sighing, he glued his eyes on the road ahead of him and maneuvered the car to the right.
Stopping brieftly for the light to turn green, Darien impatiently tapped the wheel with the pads of his fingers, hoping to arrive on time or have Scarrlett give him yet another lecture about punctuality. Grumbling under his breath in annoyance, he gave a satisfied huff as the green light flashed brightly against the clear sky and resumed his journey back to work.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, Darien ran out the car and up the stairs of the building. Checking the round clock on the wall, he sighed in relief of making it on time. Walking toward his desk, he arched a black eyebrow at Jordan, who was sitting on his desk.
"So, man, how'd it go? I see you're still in one piece. What did Big D say for dumping Danielle?" Focussing his brown eyes on Darien, Jordan waited for an answer.
"Surprisengly,
Dominic was cool about it. He said a bunch of shit about not wanting
his daughter with a man who didn't love her," he said, making sure to leave
out the part about Danielle's feelings. He'd tell Jordan about it
later. What he wanted to know was how Danielle knew about Serena.
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Whew! Well, review and tell
me what you think.