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Be a Leader,

Expedite the situation,

AND FIND THE FIRE ESCAPES!

Herr Muu

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Chapter 2

Serena picked up the phone and got back on with the Rose Café. "Oh, Ms. Ross, I'm sorry but we've already finalized the agreement with Mr. Shields, he called a few minutes ago and said he was taking over for you." Serena's grip tightened on the receiver as she was told this and she sent a glare down the hall at the glass office holding Mr. Shields during odd hours off the day.

He seemed to know it was coming or felt her glare because he turned and offered her a smug wink and smirk before calmly brushing her away and going back to work.

"That's all right Ms. Kalligan, there was just a miscommunication in the office." Serena apologized business-like.

"You know…" The other woman's voice held a hint of amusement in it. "I told Mr. Shields I'd come in tomorrow to sign the papers, if you come between two and four I'd gladly sign them for you…"

"I'll pull up the papers, have you made any changes with Mr. Shields that I should know about?"

"We just rounded the price down to four hundred thousand." That was just slightly below the price that they had worked out earlier and Serena doubted that Darien had agreed to that exact price but the old owners as long as they got more than three hundred and fifty thousand were happy. "I'll bring it right over."

With a satisfied smile Serena hung up the phone and printed off the papers and returned to work and left at exactly a quarter to two to get them signed. The blessings of small, she sighed happily, Darien didn't get the project she'd been working on for the last few hours.

Pulling into the small café she really was hit by a feeling of being surrounded by roses. The Rose Café had several chain stores but this one was the original, started just out side of Bellevue. Roses littered the whole walkway and the entire building had every type of rose imaginable. They served tea and biscuits with roses or rose flavor in them, a little of the East Coast on the West was their motto. When she entered, Ms. Kalligan was sitting there nursing a cup and a smile bloomed on her face. "Ms. Ross!"

"Hello Ms. Kalligan." Serena greeted the taller woman who had no business wearing heels.

Ms. Kalligan's green eyes sparkled as she looked over the woman who had visited every so often and listened to her talk about opening up new branches and offering advice. "Please, call me Lita, I've known you for ages and we've never gotten past that silly thing and soon we'll be working officially working together."

Serena smiled. "Then please call me Serena." She sank into the chair opposite Lita at the little table and she had to move the vase of yellow tipped white roses out of her view. "I'm rather sorry but I can't stay to talk very long, I have a promotion to achieve so I need your signature on these."

Lita pulled out her own pen with dark green ink and signed all the paper work then sent them back to Serena. "Will I be seeing you soon?"

"I'll try to stop by on my way to work sometime this week, but until the season's end I'll be extremely busy working on foot as well at the office."

Lita rubbed her chin in thought. "I have a friend, his name is Ken Garrety and he's looking to open up a new arcade in Tacoma. I'll drop your name if you'd like."

"That would be amazing, thank you."

"If he accepts to meet you, you could come here." Lita suggested.

"I think that's a great idea, again, thank you."

"Could you tell me why this Mr. Shields said you handed him my account? I knew it was a little odd considering how close we are."

"He's a candidate for the same position I'm vying for." Serena pushed the blond hair out of her face, she needed to cut her bangs, she'd left it for far too long.

"I see." Lita smiled. "I hope you out do him then."

"I do too however it seems so far that he's been out doing me by a few cents here and there."

"Tell me if there's anything I can do."

"Only if you'd want to open up a million café's could you possibly help. Even then he'd find someway to undermine me and come out on top."

"He sounds terrible." Lita's green eyes twinkled in conviction.

"He's not so bad, he's just very competitive and will do anything short of selling his soul."

"You have that much trust in him?"

Serena laughed incredulously. "I have trust in that fact he's rotten."

"But you just said-" Lita cut off in understanding. "Never mind."

"I have to go." Both Serena and Lita stood up to part and on impulse Serena hugged Lita. "Thank you, you're a great person."

"Hey, only returning the favor of you listening to me all these years even though you were the customer and we hadn't been able to find a way to take the next step and become friends."

"No fear of that now." Serena straightened and smiled. "But I am working so until I leave we're professional." She held out her hand and with a grin Lita shook it.

"Go show that man who's good."

"Oh, don't worry, I have what I want to say all planned out."

"I wish I was there to see it."

"Ah, but then it would throw the whole thing out the window." Serena winked and finally left.

Serena drove back to the Seattle branch realtor building and walked inside before she reached their department she made it seem like she was blazingly angry as she stormed past the team members and into Darien's smaller office. "I can't believe you tried to steal one of my clients!"

"Hey, you shouldn't let out things like who you've got lined up, you never know when somebody's going to take her out of your hands!"

"Of all the low-life, slimly things you could have done. Why couldn't you just find your own buyer?"

Darien grinned. "You just aren't a good loser." He brushed her off and sank even lower into his desk. "Now, will you please leave?"

"I'm not quite through with you. You almost lost me a major deal!"

"What do you mean almost?" Darien's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Instead you allowed me to keep one client and gain a new one as well as a friend." She held up the document and pulled out one sheet with Lita's signature scrawled across the text. "I called her and she told me to come in so she wouldn't have to make the trip out here. Guess this time it's you who should be sorry."

Darien tore the paper out of her hand and scanned it quickly with a deep frown burrowing his forehead. Suddenly he looked up with a grin and handed the paper back to her. "Good job, for the good of the company and all that right?"

Serena tilted her head so her blond hair fell in waves before smiling cheekily. "Of course, for the good of many as well as one."

She knew Darien was boiling under that calm façade and she relaxed walked out the door and returned to her own glass office. She sat down in her own plush chair of her bigger office and watched Darien pick up the phone to try and return the gain on reality over her.

With a satisfied sigh she picked up the phone and called in her three assistants.