Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters so don't sue me:D
Minor note: To answer your question Guardian Airtos, Constantina is supposed to be in her forties. Also everyone else's ages are as follows(in this story): Tea, Yugi, Tristan, Joey, Kaiba and Varon: 18, Amelda: 21, Raphael:26, Mokuba: 14, and Serenity: 16. :). Oh and Raphael's last name in this story was made up by me.
Promises
"I had to pull quite a few strings, but I got something that might interest you sir" said the senior corporate lawyer in very tired tone of voice while speaking to Raphael on the phone "I'm e-mailing you something about Obsidian's CEO right this moment"
Ever since Obsidian Inc nearly wiped out Azure Inc, the senior corporate lawyer had a new obsession. He had been with the company for many years, and it hurt him to see it take such a huge hit. When he remembered how much love and dedication Raphael's father had put into the company, he felt even more anger. His anger at first had been directed towards Obsidian Inc, but now it was directed towards the person behind it. He just couldn't fathom how no one could know who ran the multimillion dollar company, so he made it his mission to find out. He would sometimes spend entire nights up trying to gather the information. Many times he'd get false leads which led him nowhere. Now after several years, it seemed that he had found the answer.
"Something about their CEO?" said Raphael who was still half asleep as he pulled himself out of bed and walked out into his living room "What about them?"
Raphael lived in a modestly furnished one-bedroom apartment even though he was now the CEO of a well known corporation. He could never really bring himself to buy things he didn't need when he remembered just how many truly needy people were out there. Amelda and Varon felt the same way too, although they didn't really have as much cash to toss around as Raphael did. Raphael slowly took a seat on his couch and opened up the laptop which was sitting on the clear glass coffee table. He slowly began to type and was completely unaware that he was being watched closely. Suddenly a pair gleaming golden eyes narrowed, white fur stood on end, a pair of claws extended, and the mighty predator ran towards it's target. Before Raphael could even open his e-mail he suddenly felt the mighty predator pounce on the back of his neck with full force and he heard it's mighty roar.
Meow!
"Eatos.." said Raphael with a slight chuckle as he gently pulled the "predator" off of his neck and pulled into his lap"I guess you're mad at me for waking you up at this time right?"
"Meow!" responded the tiny white kitten, who looked more like a furry snowball, as she gazed up at her master with her big golden eyes
Raphael had always been very fond of cats and Eatos was no exception. The feisty little white feline meant alot to Raphael, especially when he remembered how he found her. One night several days after Raphael officially took over as CEO of Azure Inc, he was awoken abruptly. There was a bright flash of light from outside which fully illuminated his apartment and it sparked Raphael's curiosity. He quickly got out of bed and headed towards the front door, but when he opened it he was in for a surprise. There stood Guardian Eatos surrounded by bright light which illuminated her feathery white wings and she gazed at him sweetly with her beautiful golden eyes. Raphael had always respected and cared for all of his guardians, but Eatos was his favorite. Suddenly Guardian Eatos vanished without a trace and the light disappeared. Raphael suddenly heard something so he looked down and was in for another surprise. A tiny white kitten with beautiful golden eyes now stood in the same spot that Guardian Eatos had been standing in. It mewed innocently at him like any other kitten, but he knew that this cat was special. So from that day on Eatos became a part of Raphael's life and he hoped it would be that way for a long time.
Meanwhile Eatos had made herself comfortable by curling up into a little ball on Raphael's lap while he finally read the e-mail.
"So their CEO is a woman named V. Cervantes?" said Raphael as his eyes scanned all of the information before him in disbelief "Are you sure?"
"More than enough of my sources have confirmed it sir..." said the senior corporate lawyer as he yawned and struggled to stay awake since he had stayed up almost all night "Oh...I'm sorry sir it's just that I'm tired and-"
"Don't worry about it" said Raphael reassuringly since he knew the man had worked very had to get all of the information "Just make sure to get plenty of rest and I'll see you tomorrow"
"Thank you sir...I'm going to go rest right away" said the man who was barely even awake at that point before he hung up the phone.
"How right you are Ulysses" hissed a raspy female voice from a dark corner of the room "You're going to take a nice long rest"
"Who are you?" suddenly cried out Ulysses who didn't understand how this woman had gotten into his house in the first place "What do you want?"
At that moment the woman stepped out of the shadows and he got to see her. She long dark brown hair was was clad in a black form fitting outfit and black high heeled boots. She appeared to be very beautiful, but the moment she actually made eye contact he felt a shiver go down his spine . Her cold grey eyes were devoid of any life and it was like staring at a mannequin's lifeless eyes. He then looked down at her hands and realized that they seemed to be covered in some sort of armored gloves. They were black, shiny, had razor sharp fingertips, and went all the way up to her elbows. They also had several jagged edges which almost resembled the scales on a snake.
"When you play with fire" hissed the woman as her eyes narrowed and she looked straight at the confused man "Then you get burned.."
Suddenly the woman ran forward and attacked. It all happened so quickly that the poor man didn't even have time to react. There was a flash of black steel accompanied by the sound of flesh tearing open and a sudden spray of crimson. Ulysses then fell to the floor gurgling from the pain as blood gushed out of the cut this woman had inflicted right where his jugular artery was. The woman just stood there looking at the fallen man as if nothing had happened. Even now that he was mortally wounded and dying before her very eyes, she still showed no signs of human emotion. He then felt himself succumbing to the darkness...but he did manage to hear one final thing.
"And when you anger a viper" said the woman as her lips suddenly and unexpectedly curled into a malicious grin "Then you get bitten!"
"Big brother wake up!" cried an innocent child's voice "Come on wake up already!". Amelda opened his eyes and and was once again greeted by unending darkness as well as Miruko's sweet innocent face. "Miruko?" said Amelda as he quickly sat up and once again found that he was a preteen instead of an adult "What are you doing here?". Suddenly the little boy leapt into his big brother's arms and gave him a hug. "I'm here because I miss you Amelda" said Miruko as he clung to his big brother as tightly as he could "I miss you so much...". "I miss you too Miruko" said Amelda as he wrapped his arms around the little boy and hugged him tightly "I miss you more than anything"."I want to be with you big brother" said Miruko as he looked up at his brother with a bit of sadness in his innocent grey eyes and said "Will we be together again soon?". "I don't know..." said Amelda with a look of pain in his own grey eyes since he knew this just wasn't possible "But I know we'll be together again someday". "Really?" said Miruko as his eyes lit up and a smile lit up his face "Do you promise?". The look of happiness on Miruko's face at that moment was something Amelda never thought he'd see again. For a few fleeting moments he felt the same happiness he'd felt when he, Miruko, and their mother were all still together."I promise" said Amelda as he nodded his head reassuringly as he looked down at his little brother "I promise that we'll be together again". "Then I have to make you a promise for the day that happens!" cried Miruko as happily as possible "Wanna hear it?". Amelda just smiled at the little boy and nodded his head since he wanted to know what the promise was. "I promise that once we're togather again I'll never leave you" said Miruko as he gazed into his older brother's eyes "I'll never leave you Amelda". No sooner had Miruko uttered these words, the air around them suddenly grew cold, dense, and foggy.
"The first step has been taken.." suddenly said a soft female voice from somewhere in the darkness
As soon as the fog subsided Amelda looked down and realized that he was once again an adult and Miruko was no longer in his arms. Now he was standing directly behind the mysterious lady in black as she stood near the lone street lamp and ornate black metal bench. She was still clad in her long black dress, black gloves, and her back was still turned to him. "Who are you?" said Amelda who absolutely had no clue what was going once again "Why are you here?". The woman just stood there completely motionless like some sort of statue. He cautiously stretched his arm out and was about to tap her on the shoulder to see if she'd respond. Suddenly everything was once again surrounded by total darkness.
"The second step has been taken..." said the same soft female voice from the darkness "The darkness shall soon-"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"C'mon mate we gotta leave already!" shouted Varon as he practically broke down the door to Amelda's bedroom "Are ya sleepin' or somethin'?"
"What the..." groaned Amelda as he was abruptly woken up by the sound of Varon pounding on his door "What time is it?"
Usually Amelda had no trouble getting up in the morning, but today that wasn't the case. He quickly glanced over at the clock on his nightstand and he realized that it was almost time for him and Varon to leave for work. Suddenly he jumped out of bed but in his frantic rush he ended up stumbling and dragging all the sheets and pillows down with him. It was not going to be a very good day from the look of things. Varon could only snicker as he heard the sounds coming from Amelda's room since it was obvious the redhead had indeed overslept. Usually it was the other way around, but Varon now realized that he had a chance to do something he'd wanted to do for awhile
"Dammit..." muttered Amelda as he struggled to untangle himself from the pile of sheets and pillows "Can this day possibly get any worse?"
Suddenly Varon opened up the bedroom door and laughed at the sight in front of him. There lay Amelda on the ground with his hair looking like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket while the lower half of his body was wrapped in the sheets like a mummy. It was a shame Varon didn't have a camera with him since this would make excellent blackmail material. Amelda shouted at him and told him to get the Hell out of his room but Varon completely ignored him. He immediately walked over to the dresser, picked up the car keys, and jingled them while he looked down at Amelda with a huge grin on his face.
"Don't worry mate!" said Varon happily as he put the keys in his pocket and quickly headed towards the door since Amelda was unable to do anything at the moment "I'll go warm up the car and pick ya up by the curb!".
Amelda wildly clawed at the sheets in an attempt to free himself, but it was no use since Varon was out the door before he could. He then cursed under his breath and continued in his desperate attempt to free himself.
"Why am I having these dreams every night?" thought Tea as she quickly walked down the street on her way to the university "I haven't been able to dream about anything else..."
At that point Tea had shared the mysterious dreams she'd been having with Yugi, Tristan, and Joey. Joey said that her dream sounded an awful lot like one of the soap operas that he and Serenity liked to watch. That comment earned him a slap to the back of the head. Tristan believed that maybe the dreams were probably nothing more than nonsense. He was fortunate since he didn't get a slap to the head. Yugi on the other hand believed that perhaps the dreams were trying to tell her something, especially since she kept having them. Perhaps the events she kept seeing had actually happened or were about to happen. Yugi was surprisingly the only one who not only avoided a slap to the head, but he was also the only one to get a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Even though the Pharoah was no longer with Yugi, it was obvious that he had left much of his wisdom behind. Now Tea thought about what Yugi had said and wondered whether the people in her dreams actually existed. She continued walking til she got close to the end of her street. She continued thinking about her dreams so she completely failed to notice an approaching black SUV until...
HONK!
"Huh? Ahhhhhhhh!" shrieked Tea when she saw that she nearly got run over once again by a black SUV "What the Hell?"
"Hey you're that crazy sheila from the other day!" shouted Varon as he stuck his head out of the window "Are ya trying to get hit?"
Tea at this point was so shocked that she just stood there for a few moments staring at Varon like a deer caught in the headlights. Varon looked at the shocked girl and realized that she indeed looked very familiar. He knew that he had definitely seen this girl before but where? He began to think back to where he could have possibly seen this girl.
"Wait a sec...you're one of the Pharoah's chums aren't you?" said Varon as he looked straight at the brown haired blue eyed girl in front of him "You're...Tea right?"
"And you're Varon" said Tea as she suddenly snapped out of it and recognized Varon's wild spiky brown hair and sky blue eyes "It's been a long time"
"It hasn't been that long sheila!" said Varon with his sudden grin as he looked straight at Tea "Last time I saw you was when you nearly got run over by my chum a few weeks back"
Tea's cheeks turned a bright red shade from the embarassment now that she realized that it was indeed the same black SUV as last time. How could she be foolish enough to nearly get run over twice by the same car? Varon looked as the poor girl turned several shades of red, but he began to think of another thing. Since the time he had moved to Domino, he hadn't really run into anyone he knew: friend or foe. Tea was the first person he'd run into who actually knew who he was...but luckily she wasn't really an enemy.
"I'm so sorry about that time" said Tea as the red slowly began to disappear from her cheeks "It's just that it was the first day of class and I was really in a hurry"
"Actually I should thank you for that time" said Varon as he suddenly began to laugh as he remembered the day "You helped me prove that Amelda's not such a perfect driver after all"
"Amelda?" said Tea since she honestly didn't recognize the name although it did sound vaguely familiar for some reason "Who's that?"
"He's my chum and he's also my roommate" said Varon as he suddenly began to stifle another laugh as he remembered what he'd seen awhile back "And-Well speaking of the drama queen here he comes"
Amelda was walking down the pathway that led from the apartment building down to the curb and he did not look happy. It took him about ten minutes to finally free himself, it took him only a few minutes to get dressed and washed up, but then he realized his styling gel was missing. It took him another ten minutes to locate his styling gel which somehow found it's way into Varon's room. Now they were very very late and as he got to the curb he saw Varon wasting even more time talking to some girl. Varon always had girls come up and flirt with him and he'd do likewise. Amelda could care less when he did this, but now he was wasting both of their time. And to make matters even worse, he'd actually have to let Varon drive since he was already in the driver's seat. This day keeps getting worse and worse...
"About time ya got out here mate!" said Varon with a grin as Amelda angrily stared at him from the curb "Weren't ya able to find your makeup?"
"It's him!" thought Tea when she looked over and realized that she knew exactly who Amelda was "It's that jerk from the other day!"
"Hey Amelda ya remember that girl ya nearly ran over right mate?" said Varon as he suddenly glanced over at Tea "This is her!"
"Why did he have to tell him that it was me?" thought Tea as her face went beet red and she stared straight at Varon with a mixture of shock, embarassment, and annoyance "And to make things worse they live on this street too"
Amelda silently gazed over at Tea with his steel grey eyes and realized that she was that same girl who'd run into him that other time. She was wearing a white t-shirt, a dark blue miniskirt, and the most ridiculous platform boots he had ever seen. They were white leather, were at least six inches high, and it wouldn't surprise him if Constantina had designed them. Right now she was currently blushing like crazy for some reason as she looked over at Varon. Just like a little dust bunny. She was precisely the type of girl that he truly despised. He quickly got in the car and shut the door since he just wanted to get the day over with already.
"Well..I've gotta run" said Tea who was still embarassed beyond belief as she quickly looked both ways before running off to the other side of the street "Take care Varon!"
"You too!" shouted Varon as he looked at Tea as she ran off before turning around and looking over at Amelda "You know...ya could have at least said hi to her"
"Look you can waste your own time talking to her if you want" snapped Amelda as he looked straight at Varon with an annoyed look on his face "But you're definitely not wasting my time so move it!"
"What's your problem mate?" shouted Varon who didn't really like the attitude Amelda was giving him at the moment "You're the one that overslept!"
Amelda had never been an easy person to understand, but recently he was becoming more difficult than ever. What Varon didn't know was that the reason for Amelda's recent change in behavior was because of the dreams he'd been having. Now he was having the same dream every night and it was driving him crazy. The dreams were at times upsetting and always confusing. The mysterous voice from the darkness also served to make things even more confusing. At times he wished could could tell Raphael and Varon, but he felt they'd probably dismiss it as random nonsense. At other times he wished he could just forget what he dreamt about...well except for Miruko of course.
"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to shout at you" suddenly said Amelda and he brought his hand up to his forehead when he realized that he was once taking his frustration out on Varon "It's just that this day started off so bad is all..."
"Don't worry about it mate...we all have bad days" said Varon with a slight smile as he looked over at Amelda before pulling back out onto the street "You just happen to have more bad days than most people"
"Hey Seto guess who I got partnered with for a presentation in health class?" said Mokuba as he and Seto walked outside to get into their limos "Come on take a guess!"
"Someone I've probably never heard of?" said Seto since he knew Mokuba was the sort of person who tended to make friends very easily so he had far more friends that Seto could count "You'd better tell me since I don't have much time to guess right now"
"Well do you remember Serenity?" said Mokuba as they continued walking over towards the limo "You know Serenity Wheeler?"
"Serenity Wheeler?" said Seto who vaguely began to remember hearing that name but then suddenly he got a mental image of a young auburn haired girl "Isn't she the mutt's little sister or something?"
"Yeah! She's in Mr. Foster's class too" said Mokuba as the chauffeurs who would drive them each to their destination opened the limo doors "She said she moved back here to Domino and now she's living with Joey!"
Seto looked straight at Mokuba for a moment and he realized something unusual. Mokuba's eyes seemed to brighten up at the moment when he mentioned Serenity. It could just be that Mokuba was happy to have found another friend...or could it be something else? Mokuba was no longer a child obviously and he had already had several crushes at that point. Seto didn't like the thought that Mokuba might have a crush on this girl, especially since she was a Wheeler. There was no way he would ever allow his little brother to fall in love with a Wheeler...it would be a disgrace.
"Don't get too friendly with her Mokuba" said Seto in a stern tone of voice before they both stepped into their respective limos "She's not the sort of person you should usually associate yourself with"
"You're only saying that because she's a Wheeler am I right?" said Mokuba with a sudden darkness in his voice as he looked over at Seto "You know Seto...it's times like these that I'm actually glad I don't think like you"
Mokuba then quickly got in the limo and shut the door before the chauffeur even had a chance to do so for him. He just sat back and sighed since he felt very disappointed at that moment. He honestly didn't like the way Seto always tended to judge a person right away by their social standing. To Mokuba it seemed shallow, stupid, and like something their deceased stepfather would do. Serenity was a nice girl and it wasn't fair for Seto to judge her just because Joey happened to be her big brother...it just wasn't.
"Mokuba..." thought Seto with a deep frown on his face as he sat in the back of his limo as it pulled out the front gate of the Kaiba Mansion "I'm only doing this because I don't want you to do something that you'll later regret"
"Hello Earth to Joey!" said Tristan as he suddenly threw a paper airplane at Joey "Come in Joey, over!"
"Huh?" said Joey as he suddenly snapped out of it and felt the paper airplane hit him on the side of the head "Hey why'd ya do dat?"
Joey and Tristan were currently sitting in their anthropology class waiting for the teacher to arrive. They were both currently in almost the same classes since they figured it would be more fun to take them together. Unfortunately this didn't prove to be right since the classes required them to pay alot of attention and there was no time to goof off. Now for the first time in years they were actually doing pretty well though which was a pleasant surprise to them both. It proved that they were actually much smarter than they thought...although they were still big goofoffs at heart.
"You've been spacing out alot all day long...even for you" said Tristan as he casually put his feet up on the desk in front of him "What's with you today man?"
"It's just dat I'm worried about Serenity" said Joey as he sighed and unfolded the paper airplane "She's doin some kind of health project with Mokuba"
"Serenity..." said Tristan as he dreamily sighed at the sound of Serenity's sweet name "Why are you so worried? Mokuba's a good kid"
"I know dat Mokuba's a good kid.." said Joey as he suddenly began to crumple the paper in his hands "But she's gotta go to his mansion dis afternoon to work on it...and I'm afraid she'll run into Moneybags"
Joey sighed since he knew just how Kaiba was. All throughout high school he would taunt and try to humilate Joey at every opportunity he got. One of the main reasons he did this was just to see Joey blow his fuse since he had a very short temper at times. Every single time that Kaiba insulted him, Joey would go ballistic and Tristan often had to hold him back to keep him from trying to beat up Kaiba. The other real reason Kaiba took pleasure in humiliating Joey was because he was obviously very poor. Now Joey was worried about what would happen if Kaiba found Serenity at the mansion. Serenity's feelings were very easily hurt and he knew that if Kaiba made any of his biting comments, it would definitely reduce her to tears. He knew Kaiba would probably get great pleasure from doing so, especially since no one would be around to stop him. Just thinking about it made Joey want to pound Kaiba to a bloody pulp.
"Why are you so worried about her running into Kaiba?" said Tristan as he began to fold another piece of paper into a paper airplane "I remember from what Mokuba once told us, he never gets home til at least 7pm "
"I hope you're right" said Joey as he began to roll the crumpled piece of paper around in the palm of his hand "Cause if dat dirty creep says or does anythin to her, den I promise I'll kick his ass!"
"That'd make two of us then" said Tristan as he tossed the second paper airplane towards Joey "There's no way I'd let anyone hurt Serenity's feelings! In fact why don't I go with-HEY!"
Before Tristan had even been able to finish his sentence, he ended up having a paperball hurled straight at his face. Joey looked pretty pissed off since he never liked it when Tristan or Duke Devlin tried to get close to Serenity.
"You'd better stay away from my sister too!" shouted Joey as he rolled up his sleeve and shook his fist at Tristan's "Or else you'll end up like Kaiba too!"
Joey knew just how perverted Tristan was and he honestly didn't like Duke since the time he forced him to wear a dog suit. There was no way he'd ever let her end up with either one of them. No way in Hell...
"Hey Tea why do you keep staring at me?" said Alex with a smirk when he noticed that Tea kept staring at him while they waited for their philosophy teacher to arrive "Do I have something in my teeth?"
Tea kept thinking about her earlier run in with Varon and Amelda. Varon was really cute she had to admit since his eyes were such a beautiful sky blue shade. His hair was also kinda cute since it reminded her of Yugi's. He was also surprisingly friendly and obviously had a good heart despite his dark past. Amelda was a different story though. He quite odd looking in her opinion since he was quite feminine looking yet handsome at the same time. His good looks were of no use though since he was obviously not a social person at all. She honestly wondered how Varon could put up with him...
"I just realized something" said Tea as she continued looking at the grey eyed redhead sitting beside her "You remind me of someone..."
"Really?" said Alex who hadn't expected her to say this and now his curiosity had been sparked "Who do I remind you of?"
After this run in Tea looked at Alex and realized something: He looked a bit like Amelda. They were both tall, had the same eye color, and a similar body and facial structure. Their hair was vastly different though since it wasn't really the same shade of red. Another difference was that Alex's hair was always quite messy looking while Amelda's was neatly styled. More importantly though, Alex was a cheerful and friendly person and Amelda was not.
"Some guy..." said Tea who honestly didn't feel that she should be comparing sweet Alex to such a jerk "He's a total jerk..."
"WHAT?"
"Sorry that came out wrong!" said Tea as her face turned red when she realized that she had unwillingly ended up insulting him "It's just that he also has red hair and grey eyes...but you're nothing like him!"
"Thanks...I think" said Alex who once again closed his eyes as he tended to do when he was grinning out of amusement(which was quite often) "Hey I wanted to ask you something...are you doing anything after class?"
"No not really" said Tea who was glad that Alex hadn't really been offended by what she had said earlier "Why do you ask?"
"Well my big sister called me earlier and asked me to drop something off at her job" said Alex as his cheeks turned a little red since he felt silly admitting such a thing "But her boss is really crazy and she scares me...so can you come with me?"
"Sure I can go with you" said Tea as she tried her hardest not to giggle since she couldn't believe what Alex was telling her "But your sister's boss can't really be that bad can she?"
Several Hours Later
"Your sister works at Azure Inc?" said Tea as she and Alex entered the huge sky blue building "Is she a fashion designer or something?"
"Well right now she's working for a designer but she is hoping to become one" said Alex as he carried a paperbag in his hand as they began to head down a long hallway "She made the dress that's in this bag and she wants her boss' opinion on it"
Tea was just in awe though since she'd seen the Azure Inc building for years but she never thought she'd go in. She also couldn't believe that Raphael was in charge of this company. When she first met Raphael he didn't really seem much like the CEO type at first glance. He , like Varon and Amelda, had been one of the three "Swordsmen Of Doom". He had been confused and corrupted by the power of the Orichalcos, and by Dartz's insane ideals. The Pharoah helped him see the light...but his soul was eventually taken by the seal of Orichalcos. Once The Great Leviathan was destroyed and all of the souls Dartz captured were freed, it was obvious he was a vastly different person. He was quite noble, very intellectual, and obviously a very kind hearted person despite his tough guy exterior. She knew that he was definitely a great CEO who highly valued and respected all of his employees and was currently pulling his company back up.
"Here we are..." said Alex as he stopped and took a deep breath when they finally reached a frosted glass door "Please don't let that woman be here..."
"Now I'm actually hoping that she is here" secretly thought Tea since she was curious to see just how bad this woman actually was since Alex really seemed scared of her "I want to see what makes her so scary and crazy"
Alex cautiously opened the door and both he and Tea stepped inside. The place turned out to be some sort of fashion studio and it was unlike anything Tea had ever seen before. There were several mannequins wearing some of the most exotic and colorful outfits Tea had ever seen. Most of them were actually quite nice, although this didn't seem to be the case for the rest. The most bizarre dress had to be an odd shiny black dress covered in copper wire...it almost looked like a trash bag. Alex and Tea continued walking and they passed several people who were busy working on the dresses. After a few minutes it seemed like the coast was clear so Alex visibly relaxed and was about to ask where his sister was...but then it happened.
"Oh Alex dahling!" cried out Constantina as she suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pinched Alex's cheek like crazy "You've gotten so big and you're cuter than ever!"
"Constantina...is Alexandria here?" asked Alex as he tried to pull away from her but was unable to since she had a pretty tight grip on his cheek I brought something for her"
"Okay...I guess I owe him an apology" thought Tea to herself as she saw this woman pinching Alex's cheek as if though he were a child "I can see he wasn't really exaggerating at all"
"Oh Alexandria stepped out for a few minutes but she should be back soon!" said Constantina as she finally let go of Alex whose cheek was bright red at that point but then she noticed Tea "Oh and who is this pretty young lady? Your girlfriend?"
"What?" cried both of them at the same point since they couldn't believe what she'd just said "No we're just friends!"
"But you two look so cute together!" said Constantina with a sudden twinkle in her brown eyes "Maybe you should be more than friends"
Tea honestly couldn't believe all of the things that Constantina had just said. There was no doubt that Constantina was a brilliant designer, but her sanity seemed questionable. Meanwhile Alex was so busy rubbing his sore cheek that he failed to notice a girl with long red hair walk up next to him and take the paper bag from his hand.
"I knew I could count on you to bring me this" said the redhead girl as she scanned the bag with her brown eyes before smiling and giving Alex a hug "You're the best little brother a girl could have!"
"Ah is this what you wanted me to see Alexandria dahling?" said Constantina as she suddenly took the bag from Alexandria's hands "Oh I've just been dying to see this!"
When Constantina reached into the bag she pulled out a beautiful full length strapless black dress. She cautiously examined every aspect of it while Alexandria nervously chewed on her lower lip. Tea was amazed that Alexandria had actually made the dress herself since it looked absolutely flawless. Alex silently watched but he knew that Alexandria had nothing to worry about since it was a good dress. Constantina finally finished her inspection and looked at them.
"Oh this dress is marvelous dahling!" said Constantina as she suddenly ran over to a black haired man wearing a black suit standing nearby "Rico dahling don't you think this is marvelous?"
"Marvelous!" said Rico who happened to be Constantina's personal assistant/best friend as he examined the dress "Just marvelous!"
"I see many good things in your future!" said Constantina as she handed the dress back to Alexandria "Now I have a fun idea...lets have a party this Saturday!"
"T-Thank you Constantina" said Alexandria who couldn't believe what she was hearing "But why do you want to have a party? It's not time to reveal your latest works."
"Oh I just want to throw one since they're so much fun!" said Constantina as she quickly went over and stood between Tea and Alex "And I know you two will be attending right?"
"Uh...right!" said Tea and Alex in unison as Alexandria quickly made nodding gestures indicating that something unpleasant(possibly more pinching) would occur if they said anything else.
"Good I'll start calling and e-mailing people to let them know!" said Constantina as she suddenly went over and grabbed Rico by the arm "Come Rico dahling...we have lots to do!"
For many years Tea had always thought that her mother was a crazy woman. She did unusual things and took one too many spur of the moment trips, like the one she was currently on. Now Tea couldn't believe that she had found someone that actually made her mother look completely sane. Well almost...
"Hey Raphael you just got a new e-mail" said Amelda as he looked at a laptop that sat on a second desk that Raphael had in the corner of his office "It's from someone called C. Von Furstenburg"
Now that Azure Inc was finally starting to pick up again, there was alot more work for Raphael to handle. Luckily for him Amelda was able to help him with a great deal of the more difficult tasks. Amelda was very responsible, very intelligent, and very hardworking so it worked out quite well. Varon was also quite intelligent, but not quite as responsible though. He tended to help out almost all of the lighter tasks instead. Secretly he was thankful that he did get the easier tasks.
"C. Von Furstenburg?" said Varon as he suddenly put down some papers he had been sorting through and then looked over at Raphael "Is it anyone ya know mate?"
"We all know C. Von Furstenburg" said Raphael as he debated whether or not to actually read the e-mail or just delete it "Or should I say Constantina Von Furstenburg?"
Amelda and Varon also visibly cringed at the very mention of her name as if though it were the worst thing in the world. After a few seconds, Raphael finally decided to just read the e-mail and see just what sort of insane thing Constantina had come up with now. His eyes widened for a moment and he just shuddered since it obviously wasn't something good. Varon was really curious so he ran over and decided to see what was so bad about it.
"Raphael dahling! I'm throwing a fabulous party this Saturday at 7:30pm and it's going to be right here down where we always have the fashion shows. Oh I just invited several people(just about 200) already dahling and I know I'll see you(and those cute friends of yours) there right? I also wanted to let you know that several of them are dying to meet you as well! Oh and it's formal wear(who doesn't love formal wear?) so see you then! Constantina"
"Please tell me we don't have to go Raph!" cried Varon as he finished reading the e-mail and looked at Raphael pleadingly "I don't wanna go to that crazy woman's party!"
Raphael wasn't happy at all since he honestly didn't want to waste his Saturday night at some party thrown by Constantina. It was obvious that Varon didn't want to either, and he already knew what Amelda's answer was going to be. Raphael was about to say something to the younger man, but at that moment the phone on his desk rang.
"Hello?" said Raphael as he picked up the phone and listened for a few seconds to the person on the other line "Yes this is Raphael Girard"
"Mr. Girard, my name is Dr. Gabriel DeWinters" said the man on the other end of the phone who now that he was certain he had the right person "You have a lawyer named Mr. Ulysses Anderson am I correct?"
"Yes...but what about him?" said Raphael who already had a bad feeling as he continued listening but then his eyes suddenly snapped open in shock "WHAT? I'll be right there!".
Raphael quickly hung up the phone and immediately began to look around for his car keys since he didn't have a second to lose. Unfortunately he was so distraught at that moment that he couldn't seem to remember where they were.
"What happened?" asked Amelda with a worried look as he looked up from his laptop and noticed Raphael frantically rummaging through all of his pockets "Is it something serious?"
"It is...but I'll explain it on the way" said Raphael as he finally managed to find the keys to his car in the pockets of his dark grey slacks "Right now we have to hurry!"
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Thanks for all of the reviews guys! As usual your reviews help me alot and motivate me :). Oh and sorry if I put a bit too much of Constantina in this chapter(she scares everyone). Oh and the ages for the characters introduced in this chapter are as follows: Alexandria: 23 and Rico: 40. Oh and as I said earlier(and now I can confirm) there's going to be alot more OOCness for some characters later on in the story. Well anyways thanks once again to everyone who reviewed! So hugs and kisses! ;)