Thank you all for the amazing reviews! Most of you commented on how bitchy Katya is, and I agree with you. Anyways, I have a little bad news for you guys…I'm having a little bit of problem here and I wouldn't be able to update as often as I used to. Sorry, but I'll do what I can to make it up to you. Okay, on with the story!
Chapter Three: Payback's A Bitch
Tai swept into Matt's office for their usual Monday morning conference, hoping his friend already got over the birthday disaster, only to be faced with incontrovertible evidence that Matt was still obsessed with it!
"What are those fairy wings doing on your desk?" he demanded in exasperation.
Matt lifted a determined face. "I'm going to fix them."
"And how may I ask will you do that? Katya punched so many holes through them with her stiletto heels, that thing is irreplaceable."
"I am aware of that, Tai." He glowered dangerously. "Which is why I need to get the fabric matched so I can replace it. I hope you don't mind me borrowing your secretary for a while this morning. She probably knows how to…"
"You can't use Rachelle for personal jobs."
"Oh, yeah?"
"This is bull!" Tai exploded. "I said I'd pay the bill for damages & I will, as soon as it comes in."
"I'm going to fix the wings," Matt repeated stubbornly.
"Why?"
"Because I want to… Because it will mean something when I give it back to her."
Tai gave a ling sigh. Matt was definitely out of his mind. He lifted his hands in plea for sanity. "It was just an act. An act I paid for, Matt. Nothing more to that. Just…"
"It turned into something more."
"Okay, she was beautiful. She was sexy & she turned you on. But you don't even know the woman, Matt. She might be…"
"I don't care who she is!" His hand slammed down on the desk as he stood up. "I want to feel that again. I have to know. And I WILL know." He paced around the office, clearly disturbed, his hands moving in agitated gestures. "When I kissed her…I've never experienced anything like it in my entire life before. She's different, Tai."
"Fairy princesses tend to be different, Matt. Kind of like a dream stuff."
That perfectly rational point earned a flash of impatience that said he didn't understand, didn't have the experience to understand. "I can't let it go," came Matt's cold response.
Completely out of his mind! Recognizing a brick wall when he saw it, Tai asked, "So, have you tracked her down yet, arranged to meet under normal circumstances?"
Matt's face twisted with frustration. "I called & called the Surprise! number yesterday & all I got was an answering machine. Then finally, this morning, I reached Sora Takenouchi on the phone, but she refused to tell me the name & address of her fairy princess. She said it's against company policy."
Dead right, Tai thought approvingly. Fantasy & reality didn't mix. Expectations could never be met & it was a stupid waste of time to go chasing them.
Matt grimaced & muttered, "But I'll get it somehow. Sora Takenouchi said something about Singing Sunflowers before I started asking questions. I'll ask my sister-in-law to book that act for her kids. My fairy princess is a singer…right? She might be a sunflower, too."
The desperate hope in Matt's voice told Tai his friend needed help fast or very little creative work was going to be done on the designs they'd been contracted to deliver. He instantly revised his opinion. "No need to go to that trouble, Matt," he soothed.
"I'll do everything," came the punchy reply, his eyes flashing with determination. "I have to find her."
"Sure you do. I understand," Tai quickly added. "All I meant was…leave it to me. I'll have her name & address at your desk before the day ends."
Matt frowned, suspicious of his friend's confidence. "How?" he demanded.
"I'll call Sora Takenouchi, ask her out for lunch as an apology for the mess on Saturday night. Restaurant of her choice, of course. Promise to write out a check for all the damages done. Buttering her up is a piece of cake. As you well know, I am the best salesman in the business."
"What about her company policy?"
"I'll find a loophole. Trust me, Ishida."
Matt gave out a deep sigh, then his eyes narrowed. "You sure about this?"
Tai laughed. "Positive. In fact, I'll enjoy having lunch with that feisty little redhead. I have the feeling Miss Takenouchi & I speak the same language."
"Okay, just don't mess this up, Tai. This is really important to me."
"No problem, Matt, I swear. Just put away those wings off your desk & get to work while I…"
"I'm still going to fix them. If you'd just send Rachelle in here…"
"Okay, fine, but don't take up too much office time on it. It's bad business getting secretaries to do personal jobs, Ishida, and you've got a full schedule, too."
"I just want to ask her advice," he insisted.
"Fine! Catch you later." Tai went off fuming.
Women! he got rid of Katya Wells for good, only to be loaded with another pestering problem. A fairy princess was supposed to take away the troubles, not make it. He should have hired a doll, not a real woman. Big mistake, Tai, he blamed himself. Though there was one bright spot.
A very feisty little redhead. And very cute, too! He wouldn't mind having lunch with Sora Takenouchi at all. Yes, that's definitely a bright spot.
Mimi was still trying to fix the broken wand when The Sweetest Revenge telephone rang. She frowned at it. Sora had gone off to lunch with Tai Kamiya, assured of getting the damage fee, while she was supposed to deal personally with any bookings that came in. Except Mimi didn't like answering the revenge phone. Why couldn't it have been the Surprise! phone?
"Business is business," she muttered, putting the wand down with a resigned sigh.
Feeling very, very ambivalent about revenge after the disastrous meeting with Yamato Ishida, she reluctantly lifted the receiver & pulled an order pad inside the table drawer. "The Sweetest Revenge," she stated flatly, unable to project Sora's enthusiasm. "How may I help you?"
"I want you to deliver a dozen dead roses to a guy named Yamato Ishida at Media Promotions."
Mimi's heart flipped. Was this the black-haired witch who attacked them with the wand & smashed her wings? "Your name please?"
"Katya Wells."
Katya! No mistake about that. Even the voice was putting her teeth on edge…like chalk screeching on a blackboard.
"And I want you to write just one word on the card - LOSER!"
"You don't want to add your name?"
"He'll know who it's from. And before we go any further, I want to know when you can deliver. It has to be today & the sooner the better."
The demanding tone raised Mimi's hackles. This was definitely a woman who wanted…and expected…to get everything her own way. Nevertheless, a paying customer was entitled to the service they paid for.
"Just a moment while I check," she said with great calmness.
Loser! Well, she bet Katya Wells probably believed Matt valued his relationship with her. If he did, he certainly was a fool to act the way he did at his birthday party. On the other hand, maybe all women had only one value for him, & he thought he found another candidate to fulfill that requirement better then Katya. Was that why he was so determined to get Mimi's name & address?
"Well? When can you get the dead roses to him?"
"Possibly by three o'clock."
"Can't you do it earlier?"
Not if Sora did the job. But what if she went herself? Dressed in a black suit with her hair tucked up under a hat, big & dark sunglasses on…the image she'd present would be far from the fairy princess she did at Matt's party last Saturday night. And if he did somehow recognize her, she would just reject him. Serve him right for playing fast & loose!
At least he didn't know her as Mimi Tachikawa, so she felt safe about that. No humiliating trip down memory lane would eventuate from this. And it would be…interesting…just to see him again, in his office. Temptation was a terrible, terrible thing.
"We could probably manage two o'clock if every goes well." It was almost twelve now. She needed time to get dressed…
"Perfect! That would screw up his precious work this afternoon."
Again Mimi frowned. Katya Wells was a malicious piece of ass & it didn't sit well, being an accomplice to her plans. Yet, how could she judge what had actually gone on between her & Matt? Maybe she knew he was just…a shallow jerk!
"May I have your credit card details, Miss Wells?"
Mimi completed the transaction, her mind turning like wheels over the wisdom of taking this job. Matt's calls to Surprise! proved he wanted to see her again, but he didn't know who she was & Mimi found herself totally charged up over what his response would be if he found out. A sexy fantasy was one thing, reality quite another.
She certainly found out what it was like to be kissed by him…with lustful desire. And she couldn't deny the lustful desire she felt herself. But undoubtedly it had been no more than a highly heated moment, generated by mixed emotions on both sides. His angry outbursts about not caring if Katya took a hike surely pointed to their rocky relationship before Mimi appeared on the scene as a fairy princess.
Revenge… For all she knew, Matt himself might have been taking revenge on Katya for something the black-haired witch had done!
Mimi stared at the order sheet she'd just written. Maybe she shouldn't go. Sora could do it when she came back from her lunch with Tai Kamiya. So what if the delivery was a bit late… No!
She wanted to see Matt for herself. Sora was right about finishing this…this hangover from the past. Saturday night was supposed to have achieved that purpose, but when he kissed her…somehow it just made everything worse, stirring up what she had wanted to put behind her. It would be different today.
Best to go & make sure there was nothing about Matt Ishida that was worth carrying in her memory.
AN: Sorry if it's a bit short. I'm having a hard time right now, and I hope you understand. I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Don't forget to review!
A Fire Inside - hey, so glad to hear from you! Yes, Mimi sang 'Happy Birthday' just like Marilyn Monroe did on JFK's birthday.
pink writer - it's been a while, gurl. Hope to hear from you more!
Mimato-4eva - wow! You sure are no lazy person. I really appreciate you giving me reviews on both this story & The Whole Package. Thank you so much! Keep reading & reviewing!
PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2 - hi, it's so nice to hear from you! It's been so long. Anyways, I'm glad you're back. YES, you're still my #1 fan! I hope you don't mind me using your name to be Tai's secretary. Hehehe!
Zionne - you've been a really great friend. Thank you for all the love & support. It feels good to be able to talk to someone & tell her everything. Love you, Kynna! Mwah!