I know it's seems Serenity's a bit young, but hopefully I justify the reason why in this chapter. Thanks for the reviews.
Hard Rock Café
8 pm
"I think I'll have the grilled chicken with the pasta and a glass of lemonade. Wow, they have desserts…I'll also have a hot fudge sundae" Serenity passed the waiter her menu.
"I'll just have the stripped steak," Jeff said, "And Coke"
The waiter scribbled their orders and left them.
"So, are you staying here in New York permanently?" Jeff asked, eyeing Serenity with interest.
She nodded, "I am, but my parents are coming here soon for afew days.They were supposed to go to France for a business trip but they're going to take a detour and check to see if I came here in one piece"
"Overprotective parents, huh?" Jeff smiled, "But at least you know they care for you"
Serenity smiled quietly, "Yeah I know. I guess I'm lucky in some ways for being an only child – but I must admit, I like the attention"
Jeff laughed, "Your parents must be lucky for having such a beautiful girl"
He smiled charmingly when he saw Serenity blush. She looked up at him, baby blues gazing at him with serene happiness – his breath caught up. She broke the connection when she turned to see the waiter come back with their orders.
"The food looks nice" She smiled as her plate was placed in front of her.
For a few minutes, they ate in comfortable silence before Jeff spoke, "You said you studied finance?"
"Yep, I'm a part time stock trader" Serenity took a sip of her lemonade, "Dad said I should apply for a job after he visited"
"A stock trader at eighteen?" he asked disbelievingly
Serenity frowned slightly, knowing she owed Jeff an explanation; he did give her a free ride after all, "My dad's name is Benjamin Beauclair"
Jeff's eyes widened, "Beauclair? The billionaire?"
Serenity nodded, "I kept my mum's maiden surname."
"Wow, no wonder. I'm sure that if you were kidnapped they would hold you for a king's ransom" Jeff pondered for a moment, "He taught you all about stock trading didn't he? Of course he would know all about it. He's a major stock holder in the Walker brothers company…"
"You sure know a lot about the business world" Serenity sighed as she resumed eating again.
"Nah, I get this from the papers, they mentioned your dad a few days back in an article about that media-magnet Darien Shield" Jeff said as he cut a piece of steak, "But I swear to God, if I hear another word about Shield from the press, I'm going to shoot the man myself"
"That bad, is he?"
"He's a nasty piece of work, that one" Jeff said darkly," I dunno why, but he attracts all sorts of media attention. They just can't get enough of him"
"That's odd; my dad has never said anything about the guy" Serenity frowned distantly. If Shield was that prominent in news, her father would have said something about him.
Jeff snorted, "That sounds about right. Actually your father and him are like rivals; both of them own major stock trading firms" He paused; "You see that tall building next to the Chrysler?" he nodded toward the window next to their table.
"The one with all the glass?" Serenity squinted slightly.
"Yep, that's the one" He said eyeing the building with bitter dislike, "That's Shield Corp, one of the biggest share trading companies in America. Shield's the CEO of it"
"I take it Shield's rich" Serenity said as she pulled the ice cream sundae toward her. She dug her spoon into the warm fudge, "I've heard of the company"
"He's probably one of the richest businessmen in the city" He sighed, "He leads the life of Riley. He has everything any average man could want. Money, looks, power…"
Serenity gave him an encouraging smile, "Hey, so what? Sometimes, luck favours the undeserving. One day his luck will run out"
Her words were cut short by a loud yapping sound coming from her tote bag. Jeff raised a sceptical eyebrow, "Did you smuggle in a dog?"
Serenity laughed, "Nah, it's my mobile" She flipped open her mobile, "Hello? Oh my god, hi mum!"
She paused, "You'll be here on Thursday! Of course I don't mind…yep…yep" Serenity gave an apologetic smile to Jeff, "Sure…didn't dad give you my apartment number...yeah I did! ... Ok…love you"
"Sorry about that, mum insisted on double checking my address" Serenity sighed
---
Shield Corporations
10:30 am
"Please don't tell me you slept with Johnson's fiancé" Andrew said with utter disbelief written across his face. He tossed the New York Times on top of Darien's desk.
Darien shrugged noncommittally, "Then I best not say anything" He walked over to his desk and picked up the papers. He scanned through newspaper and chuckled amusedly, his cobalt eyes gleaming mischievously.
Andrew shook his head dismally. His mossy green eyes swept across Darien's spacious office; Shield truly lived the life of a king. Darien Shield had expensive taste; this part was obvious by his office's furnishings and the different sport cars he would drive to work. But there were other things he had a distinctive taste for, not surprisingly, it was women.
"Darien," Andrew said carefully, "You do realize that you just broke up a happy couple" he took a seat on the leather armchair.
"Tell that to Kate, she didn't seem too happy the last time I saw her" Darien said as he sat opposite Andrew and took a sip of his coffee.
"Be that as it may, you just threw Johnson's dignity out the window - a man who isn't even able to keep his fiancé faithful…" Andrew sighed, "Everyone knows it was you who was the secret lover"
"It wasn't an affair" Darien said sharply, "More of a brief sexual encounter"
"You commited adultery!" Andrew lost his temper, "You did it to seal a deal with Johnson, didn't you? You used her to get to him, didn't you?"
"By hook or by crook," Darien smirked in an infuriating manner, "Whatever gets the job done"
Andrew shook his head, "Darien, you've been lucky so far" he warned, "Don't push it"
Darien's sensual lips curved into a cunning smile, "I won't"
Andrew frowned disbelievingly, "I'm sure. I didn't come here to rant about your love life, go to page three in the newspaper; there's something you might want to read"
A few minutes past as Darien read through the page, progressively, looking more and more intrigued. He put down the paper and looked at Andrew with a familiar playful smirk. He took a casual sip of coffee and leaned back on the comfortable leather chair, "Looks like my dear rival has a baby girl"
"Not much of a baby anymore, I can't believe he kept this under wraps for so long" Andrew said,"She's a peach though, isn't she? Lucky she didn't take on her father's looks" He chuckled lightly.
Darien looked briefly at the picture of the young blonde, she was indeed quite pretty but that wasn't new. It wasn't rare for Shield to find a woman more beautiful than the last.
---
Jackson's Landing Apartments
11:30 am
"Sweetheart! You look beautiful" Benjamin hugged Serenity and kissed her on the cheek
"You always say that" Serenity pouted.
"Darling, that doesn't mean it's not true!" Serenity's mum, Denise, said as she walked out of the kitchen carrying two cups of tea, "don't you have coffee?"
"Ick, I hate coffee" She said indignantly, "That stuff is so bitter. You can survive without it for a couple of days, can't you?"
Denise sighed disapprovingly and placed a cup of tea for Benjamin "You obviously don't know what happens to adults when they're deprived of their caffeine"
Serenity rolled her eyes, wondering if she would become a caffeine addict like her parents. She hoped not. Suddenly, the phone began to ring. Serenity took the phone off the cradle and answered, "Hello? Serenity speaking"
"Hi, this is Robert Johnson. May I speak to your dad for a moment?" A male voice said.
"Yup, wait a second" She covered the mouth piece and whispered, "It's Robert Johnson" Serenity passed the phone to her dad.
"Rob? It's been ages since we last spoke" Benjamin's surprised voice came through from the other end of the phone, "What's the emergency?"
Johnson laughed, "Benny; can't a friend call for a chat?"
"Of course," Benjamin laughed as well, "How'd you know I was back in New York?"
"It's hard not to know; nothing escapes media coverage these days. How's Denise and Serenity?" Johnson asked jovially, "Serenity's looking more beautiful as each day passes" he added, "There are pictures of her in the papers"
Benjamin scoffed, "I haven't even gone public about my daughter and the media already assumes who she is. Just as well that they guessed correctly" he paused, "How are you holding up? I heard about the split up with Kate"
"Yeah, I'm…coping" Johnson sighed heavily, "Let's not talk on the matter. Did you get an invite to the ball?"
"Yes I did, but we're probably not going to go; Denise would love to go, but Serenity… I don't think she likes those kinds of extravagant events" Benjamin said, "There's no point in going without Serenity. Denise and I are a bit too old for that."
"It's the Rose d'arouge masquerade!" Rob said incredulously, "Do you know how big this event is? Invitations are somewhat legendary"
"I dunno…I'm just not into masquerades; it seems a bit frivolous at my age"
"Pft, don't worry. The only people who actually wear masks at the event are the younger generation; like Serenity. Honestly, they dubbed this stupid affair a 'the event of the season'," Johnson chuckled dryly, "The old codgers, retire upstairs and leave the youthful crowd to their fun"
"I'm not really sure" Benjamin said uncertainly, "Serenity probably won't go, and there's not much point in going without her"
"Come now, think about it; if Serenity goes, doors will open for her" Rob wheedled, "Besides, she'll be the belle of the ball; all the right people will be attending, they'll definitely notice her"
"Alright alright, we'll go" Benjamin gave in, "But why are you so eager for us to go?"
"Benny" Johnson began, "You know what those pompous businessmen are like; I need some worthwhile company to keep me awake"
