White Desire

Chapter 9

Tifa lowered her hands to the bottom of her blouse, straightening out the wrinkles. She'd spent a good couple of hours in her room getting ready. For the first time in her life, she was concerned about how she looked, and she didn't know why. For a brief moment, the thought passed that she wanted to look nice for Rufus, however, she quickly threw that out the window, not wanting to even think about that. She'd combed her hair and let it fall straight down before placing her wire frames on again. As she examined herself in the mirror, her eyebrows furrowed. "I wonder if this looks all right. It's a lot harder to tell how this looks without someone else's perspective." Then she turned to the side and allowed her hands to brush over her bust and rest at her ribs. "Hey...does this outfit make my boobs look bigger?" Like she needed them to be. They were already large enough as it was. If they got any bigger, she could trip, fall forward, and not have to worry about sustaining any injuries. She squinted, analysing her frame in the full-body mirror and then she took a couple steps away. "Yes, yes. I think it makes my bust stick out a bit much. I'll be needing padding soon."

"They look fine to me, Tifa. Nice and perky." A chuckle came from the door and her head turned to see Cloud. He'd been waiting a few days for her to finally be ready and when she announced it, he was having a difficult time controlling his enthusiasm. His arms were folded over his chest and the look of shock she gave him kept that grin upon his face. He'd been watching her examine herself and he personally thought she was worrying too much. She looked great, and she was incredibly brilliant. There was absolutely no way she could mess this up. "Stop looking at yourself. You'll become vain and fall in love with the image of you. I'd rather if you fell in love with someone else, like me, for instance." If that wasn't smooth, then he didn't know what was.

Her ruby-coloured eyes turned onto him and she tilted her head to the side before quickly straightening her composure. She was a little miffed that he had been eavesdropping, but she was glad she hadn't said anything about Rufus's plan. "You shouldn't really be spying on me, Cloud. Eventually, one day I'm going to get so angry that I refuse to talk to you until you beg me for forgiveness and kiss the toe of my pumps." She lifted a hand to rest upon her hipbone and then gestured at him with the other. "So tell me, how do I look, Cloud? Will the Shin-Ra company realise that they can't live without me?" The hand she had pointed to him with lifted into her hair and her lips curled into a smile.

Cloud was quiet for a moment and then he unfolded his arms, pulling himself from the doorway as he nodded. "You look fabulous. I'm sure they won't be disappointed." As he approached her, he reached out a hand to the first button upon her blouse and attached the visual/audio recording device they'd put on earlier. She was going to need that, and they were going to need the information she got. And it seemed that because he had invited himself in, so had the others of the party.

Tifa looked over the others as they entered and she ignored a couple of the wolf whistles she'd received and then shook her head slowly. Irritation was beginning to take over her. "I really don't understand why everyone has to come in here at the same time. This isn't some kind of party. I'm trying to get ready to go to Shin-Ra. You guys aren't really make it any easier for me." She was quiet for a couple of moments and then when Barret handed her the same notebook from earlier, she brought it to herself in a cradling fashion. "Anything else? Or is that it?"

Marlene pushed her way through the others and then stopped at Tifa's legs, tugging upon the maroon skirt. "Tifa, we wanted to say thank you for working so hard for AVALANCHE. When you come back, will you play with me?" The face looked so hopeful upon the pale girl and then a smile curled at the corners of her lips. Then she lifted a hand to tug Tifa down to fix her glasses. "You're so pretty! You'll get that job for sure! And when you do, you'll come back and we can play!" She sounded confident. Marlene was the type of girl who didn't really think bad things. Optimistic thinking was the way to go and she was so lucky to learn that at such an early age.

The brunette looked down at her companion and she smiled as she nodded. "You're right. Of course I'll make it." Children had this special power over her. Even when she couldn't believe something Cloud or someone else said, Marlene and the other children of the orphanage could always be counted upon. "And when I get back, you and I can play as much as you want, assuming I don't have a lot of work." Then she turned her attention to the others. "I want you guys to think about this. If I get hired by Shin-Ra, it means I'll be working for them. I'll be working for the company that we've continuously tried to stop. Is that going to be okay? I want you guys to consider this carefully. If there's a flaw in this plan, we shouldn't try to execute it." It wasn't so much that she was worried about them, but she was feeling a little selfish and didn't want to deal with the guilty feelings any more. It was bad enough that she was supposed to be a spy for Shin-Ra, now she had to be a spy for AVALANCHE...or what was left of it anyway. Any more thought and she would get terribly confused and then probably break down. Until everything was over, she wasn't going to think. She would merely act.

Silence seemed to fill her room. The others had heard her, but they were still thinking, and trying to respond. Tifa definitely had a point. What they wanted her to do nearly seemed hypocritical. The company they were continuously fighting against was the same company they were about to put their lead female into for employment purposes. It almost sounded wrong by talking to her, but it wasn't intentional. They weren't trying to detriment her and she probably knew that. It was moments like these when Cloud was the one to speak up. He was good in these type of situations. After looking to the others, it was apparent that they were leaving this in his hands. The blonde-haired young man turned to Tifa and gestured to the others. "We understand how you feel and your uncertainty, but this needs to be done. Whatever you're doing for Shin-Ra we know you'll inform us of. We trust you. There's no way this plan will backfire. You have my personal guarantee, Tifa. So just take things as they come to you and you'll be fine." He reached out a hand and ruffled her hair gently, causing her to fix it quickly, then he pointed to the open doorway. "After you, Tiger Fang."

Tifa lifted her right hand and pushed the door to the HQ open. She just wanted to get this done and over with. She was expecting some kind of scolding remark from Reno when she saw him again, and just to move that along, her first stop was by the counter. "Hey, Reno. I'm back." It was the first time she'd referred to him by name and that would probably catch him by surprise. Her tone implied that they had been friends for a while as opposed to enemies. She leaned her frame against the counter, planting her book down and then straightened the glasses upon her face.

The red-haired young man turned to her and then raised an eyebrow. There was a smile tugging at his lips, but he couldn't get it to come up. Perhaps he was just a little surprised at the way she had addressed him. He was quiet for a moment and then his eyes looked over her figure. If he thought she looked good those days ago, he must have been in Heaven. "Tifaaaa, you look good. You're lookin' very fine today. You still owe me a date. What say we go out tonight? After your business, of course." He was still trying and he would be until he got a positive answer from her.

She pulled away and tilted her head to the side, bringing her book back to her. "I didn't promise a date or anything. I merely told you that I was going to stop by and talk to you." Before he could interrupt her, she raised a hand. "And I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to do so before. I had some urgent business to take care of." Then she continued with her original track, "I'm actually here to speak with the president again. I just thought I'd come by and apologise for what had happened last time. And...we'll see about later. It'll depend on how I'm feeling and where things go from here." She gave him a small nod and almost the hint of a smile. Then she held up that card key and excused herself to the elevator, taking it up to Rufus's office, who she was mildly excited to see for some unknown reason.

Being the second time she'd gone through the security doors, she was actually getting the hang of it. The idea that Shin-Ra was so loyal to their security made some kind of nice impression on her. Before the second door creaked open for her, she took off the glasses, deactivating them, and then removed the recording device, leaving it at her first button. Then she took a couple steps in and stopped at the usually neat desk. "President Shin-Ra." She was getting used to that too. Somehow her anger was beginning to dissipate as she spoke with him. Of course, a lot of it had to do with the fact that she couldn't give any resistance without paying the price. That meant the fight was going out of her and she was going to be as submissive as she needed to be.

Rufus paused in his paper work and looked up at her. She was dressed up again, but he realised that he liked her more in her regular outfit than now. She still looked nice, though, he wouldn't deny that...but he wasn't going to say it either. "Miss Lockhart, a pleasure to see you." He rose out of his chair and approached her, reaching out a hand to take one of hers and shake it. "What brings you to Shin-Ra today? Good news, I am thinking." He was hoping this visit would be faintly different from their last. He usually didn't care, but for some reason having Tifa there with him, he wanted things to be better. Perhaps it was because she interested him.

The gesture was definitely an odd one, and she wasn't expecting it. She sat down in that same chair as before and lifted a leg, crossing one over the other. "Cloud overheard that Shin-Ra was hiring, and they told me to come here and apply. Obviously since then I broke them free in Wutai; I'm sure Scarlet informed you. Cloud plans on using me to inform him of Shin-Ra's activities. I believe his intent will be to stop you." She was feeling much more loose with her words, so perhaps the guilty feeling was beginning to lift from her. She wondered what he would say, how he would react, if he'd be angry or calm. She assumed it would be the last. Rufus wasn't the type of person to get angry easily...at least not from what she saw.

A blonde eyebrow raised at her and he started to speak and then he stopped himself. So Cloud had made other plans. He certainly was no fool. This had been a good idea on his rival's part. What a shame that the experiment was no longer a part of Shin-Ra. He would've made a good strategist for them. Rufus turned and looked over Tifa carefully before he spoke. "That certainly does make things interesting. Our hiring was for security guards, but I don't think I want you doing something of that sort." He began to pace back and forth thoughtfully. "You need a title here, though, a job, an obligation because Cloud expects it. I would not want to disappoint him." Then he had a nice idea that would make things quite entertaining all around the table. "You shall be my secretary, Miss Lockhart." Although she had already been doing work for him, it probably wouldn't detriment anyone to make it official. After all, there wasn't too much known in the company about her, so it wouldn't hurt his reputation any. His interest in her was pure curiosity. She was different from the other people he worked with and he felt she might be a good addition to the company, for now, anyway.

Had she exactly heard him correctly? Had he just said what she thought he said? She started to rise to her feet and when he stopped her, she merely looked up at him. "W-what? Your secretary...? Surely you've got someone already doing that job..." According to her, the Turks were the same thing as secretaries for the handsome young man. What could she possibly do? Although, somewhere in the back of her mind the business woman in her wanted to come out. It would be mildly nice to make a name for herself, and if she was going to, Shin-Ra was the way. She leaned back into the chair and was quiet for a few moments. Tifa knew he was waiting for some kind of response from her. It wasn't a bad idea...not really, anyway. He must have trusted her a lot to offer her a job so close to him, especially when she had attempted to assassinate him so long ago. "...What exactly would I do? Just out of curiosity."

Hook, line, and sinker! It sounded like Rufus had made the winning side. Even though she couldn't tell, he knew how she was feeling. The president was quite an empathetic person, not that he'd share that juicy tidbit with anyone, of course. He just happened to be much more in tune with her than she ever would have guessed. A hand rose to his chin thoughtfully, trying to think of what he could have her do for him. He hadn't had a secretary before and felt that it would probably give him some free time. What would he do with that...? Then he gestured to the paper work upon his desk. "I would actually rely on you to file my work for me, and write any letters that are necessary. Your job would be to lighten the burden on me." And as he looked at her, there was almost the hint of a smile upon his lips...perhaps. He was hoping she'd accept his proposal, not that she had too much of a choice.

He wanted her to do his work for him? That was what a secretary was supposed to do, after all. Tifa nodded slowly and then she ducked her head. "So what's the price for this?" Her intentions became the same. She just wanted to get things over and done with. She was prepared for what was coming; she just wanted him to inform her of the price. Her hands were holding her book rather tightly, but she didn't exactly notice it, although he probably did. Rufus had a tendency to read her actions and by doing so, he knew how she felt and what she was thinking at the time.

There was faint surprise, but he was well adept at concealing it. This young woman was no idiot. Not gullible at all. For some strange reason, he was disappointed to have figured this out. No matter. She fell into his hands and he had to play his cards accordingly. This was a game he'd win. And when the game was over, his need for her would be as well. Indeed, Rufus was not as pure-hearted as one would've liked to think with optimistic perspective. However, how other people viewed him was farthest from his mind. When he ruled the world...or at least Edge with fear, then nothing else mattered. His will and his plans were absolute, and he made it more than clear that he was dead serious. Rufus watched his companion with interest in the eyes, a common way for him to view her. "I see you are understanding the way things are required to go. That pleases me." He began to pace back and forth again. He was unsure of anything else he could milk from her that he didn't already have. Then he remembered. Reno had come to him the last time he'd called the Turks together and requested time with Tifa. That seemed fairly doable and Rufus had no qualms. That would be the way things happened. "Reno informed me that he was looking for some type of courtship with you. Typically I would not force his company onto anyone, seeing how not even I can withstand such idiocy. For this, however, this favour you have come and asked me for, you shall be his company for a night. That is all I am requiring from you."

No wonder he didn't ask anything more. He would understand if she told him how she disliked the red-haired Turk. She couldn't say that she was pleased by the results or the request, but she knew it needed to be done. Try as she did, there was a sigh that passed through her lips and then she rose quickly. "Very well. Don't think I'm going to enjoy my time, though. That...boy is no fitter to be a Turk, than you are to be the president of a company." And as soon as she said the words, she regretted them. Okay. So there was still some pent up rage inside of the female. She shook her head slowly and started to edge out the door. If she could make an escape before he responded, then she might be safe. And as she stopped in front of the door, she gave a polite bow. "I'm sorry. I'll fulfill that...request...once I'm informed of a time and place."

"Stop." His voice was fairly cold, but no different from normal. Perhaps he hadn't heard her. She didn't dare take another step, though. "I understand that you harbour tension with me due to actions in the past. I will later take the time...if necessary, to explain why certain actions needed to be taken." His gaze washed over her again and then his eyebrows knit together. He usually looked that way when he was giving something serious contemplation. "You are free to inform Cloud and the others of your rank in the company. I am most certain they will expect it. I will contact you on your phone to better explain the details with Reno and yourself. You are dismissed, Miss Lockhart." Before she could step out the door, however, he had to add one more thing. "Oh, and...when you come in for work, do not dress up. I would prefer it if you wore your normal clothing. This is a casual place. If you are...content in your current apparel, then please, wear that." Then he gave her a final wave to ensure that she was allowed to leave.

Although he had not received a response from her on the way out (which he didn't actually expect anyway), he kept a careful eye on her as she left the headquarters. He always did that, though. Perhaps he was worried for her safety...? Nah. That couldn't be it. There was something else there, something that made him think he needed to watch over her. He wondered if sending her out with Reno was a proper idea. Had it been him in her shoes (something that would never happen, of course), he would not have been too accepting. He understood that she was doing it to protect the others, but he still wondered just how far she would go. He'd never felt the need to do anything for anyone else except himself, and her thought process was something very interesting to him, something very different.

Reno had spoken about her so much recently, that he nearly grew weary of even hearing the name. Tifa Lockhart this, Tifa Lockhart that. Was she really so great? And if she was, what was he missing? He might have been bothered by Reno's 'charm', he might have been bothered by the intentions of the red-haired man, but Rufus suddenly felt quite uncomfortable with allowing Tifa to go with him. Something would need to be done. There had to be some plan, something that would prevent any type of involvement between the two. The blonde-haired president lifted his cellular phone from his desk and he dialed in a few numbers. "Rude, the night that Miss Lockhart and Reno go out, you are required to follow them and intervene should anything...arise. That is all." He didn't need to say anything more. The 'end' button was tapped and the phone clapped shut as he placed it back down. As he took his seat, and a pen into the hand to work, he found that he was unable to concentrate. What was this feeling of anxiety...? And what was it caused by...?