White Desire
Chapter 14
Like she could be any angrier. Although she had taken a calm leave of Rufus, Scarlet had stomped off once she was certain he'd left. All of the hard work she did for the company--no--all of the hard work she'd done for him! Absolutely worthless! While most other females would be depressed, she was stark-raving mad. Of course, this was Scarlet too. She hadn't often been one to remain collected. Although she appeared reasonably smart, the blonde had quite a temper and wasn't good at hiding it (unlike Tifa).
Where was she going to go? Where did she want to go? In all honesty, she wanted to follow after Rufus, slap him a few times, and then just take him there, in front of all of those people. She wasn't dumb though (unfortunately), and knew there was a time and place for things. And this definitely wasn't the time (place wasn't really too important to her). Instead she would have to settle for something different. Not worse, just different. Heidigger.
After entering her office, Scarlet summoned Heidigger to the room where they could talk, gab, gossip, and other things of the like. The two were quite known for the rumours they circulated and were often the ones to go to when one needed blackmailing information. Both had their ways of receiving the word throughout the company and as hard as they tried, they had yet to find something to use against the president. Neither one liked the president very much. Rufus's father was another story, but as soon as the little boy had taken over the company, things had changed drastically.
Heidigger was constantly annoyed by Rufus's nagging, while Scarlet merely found him to be just another knot in her bed post. One day, some how, some way, she was going to make sure he took her all the way. It was going to be a round-trip for her, even if it wasn't for him. Rufus was nothing more than a pawn and when they were through with him, they were going to do away with the young man. It was not doubted in the company that both had tried to kill him on a number of occasions, however, there was so little proof that neither could be held accountable, fortunately for them. Scarlet wasn't worried, though. Rufus wasn't smart enough to discover her plan yet, but when he did, it would be too late and she would have won. Shin-Ra would be hers, and so would the handsome young man.
She had only been waiting for a few moments when she'd heard the familiar infectious laughter outside of her door. Her blonde eyebrows narrowed and for just a moment she was annoyed. This was no laughing matter, or at least she thought not. "Just get in here now, damn it." There wasn't any time to be nice. Once he had shown himself in, he looked at her expectantly and she gestured for him to shut the door. After he had, he took a seat in a chair before her desk, and she sat in the other chair next to his, her hands resting upon her lap. "You're not going to believe this, Heidigger. It has me absolutely maddened! I don't even know what to do with myself now!"
This seemed a common starting point for all of their conversations. Scarlet was always the one to complain and Heidigger always the one to listen...or at least pretend he was listening. He was most likely imagining her with that dress around her ankles, or on the floor completely. Of course, he would never divulge his thoughts to her. He'd hate to make the blonde angry, no matter how adorable she seemed in that moment. He nodded to her slowly, leaning back into his chair to make himself comfortable. He rose a hand and gestured to her to continue with a consenting nod. "Go on. I'm all ears."
Even if he hadn't complied, she would have continued. It wasn't so much that she needed him to listen to her, she just needed to talk about it with anyone, to anyone. Unfortunately, the only person she thought worthy of the news was an absolute no one. Heidigger wasn't someone who was important. He was, however, good to share things with. He proved to be quite a valuable business partner and once their plan succeeded, that would prove things even more so. "All right. Surely you'll be as horrified as I am..." And then she began to speak in that terribly conceited tone. It seemed she would have a lot to say.
g g g
It seemed a fairly reasonable day. There wasn't anything outside of the ordinary going on in her life. The entire company was hyped up about the next get together, which seemed like it was coming up awfully fast. Just like all of the other times, Scarlet wanted to attend with Rufus, but he seemed so adamant and reluctant to go. She'd have to do some serious convincing. Earlier, she had seen Rufus and Tifa wandering down the hall together. It appeared that he had been spending a lot of time with her lately and the green-eyed monster was beginning to grow (of course, it was always there; she was just good at hiding it). It was so hard to talk to him by himself because it was so rare for that to happen. After Tifa had become his secretary, he acted almost as though he was afraid for her or he wanted to know where she was at all times. Scarlet wondered why that could have been and why he didn't treat anyone else like that. She could have sworn she had seen the brunette before, and the name was familiar, but she couldn't quite remember just yet.
After waiting in the corridor of where the main office was held, she had patiently folded her arms over her chest. Rather than stalking him around, she would wait for him to come to her, no matter how long it took. The main office was a rather large room, complete with a massive table in the centre surrounded by a great number of chairs. Rufus usually sat in the head chair and the others sat around him (Scarlet on the right, where she could be closest). The only time they met was when they needed to discuss the financial budget. Scarlet was the commander of the weapons department, Heidigger of the urban department, Palmer of the space department, and the late Professor Hojo of the science department. Each had their own plans they were given. Lately all they had spoken of was Midgar's rebuilding process, Neo-Midgar, and the money needed to keep Edge in good condition.
About the time that Scarlet felt she wanted to make herself comfortable, Rufus had entered. His eyes met hers and he paused for just a moment and then wandered past her. Most of the time he merely ignored her. He felt it was the best way to avoid her...vindictive attitude and sick sense of humour. When he had noticed that her sight hadn't left him, he gave a dejected sigh and turned to her, more than a little irritated. He wasn't comfortable with people and he most definitely wasn't comfortable with Scarlet. He hoped she had a good reason for stalking him at this ungodly hour (every hour she was around was 'ungodly'). "Yes?"
Scarlet rose a hand to her lips and she cackled with that annoying laugh of hers. She was never one to be shy or beat around the bush. When she liked something, she went for it, and she didn't take 'no' very well (even with Rufus). "Kya, ha, ha!" Her eyelashes fluttered at him innocently and then she brought her hands down to brush over her dress. "My darling President Shin-Ra, as you are aware, I'm sure, the company is having its annual celebration as a fund raiser for our financial budget. I think we would make a handsome couple." Rufus was the most handsome and wanted man in Midgar (no matter how many females denied that) and Scarlet was going to be the one to be on his arm. She would make sure of that.
It was faintly comical how Rufus had already spoken with Tifa about this a few days before. He was actually quite relieved that they'd already made plans to go together. It saved him from having to cook up some type of reason not to go with the blonde-haired female. Then again, he had no trouble telling her that he just didn't like her. She had the problem with hearing it and listening to it. That wasn't his fault. He shook his head at her, feeling that she was more than a little irritating. "I have already enlisted the aid of someone for this...soiree." He had nothing more to say to her and left her standing in shock as he wandered over to his chair and sat down, flipping through a pile of papers that had been laid out for him. He was wishing for Tifa's help about now. After all, this was her job, right?
The blonde female looked over to the president and blinked a couple of times. He 'enlisted the aid' of someone? What the hell does that mean! She wandered over to him and pulled out a chair as she sat beside him to watch. "Surely I heard you wrong, Mr. Shin-Ra. Repeat what you said, if you would." She was rude, but she didn't want to come off that way (although she did anyway). Remaining quiet, she looked at him patiently, expecting an answer that was completely different from the one he had given her before.
He turned his dark eyes onto her and then returned to his paper work. He'd ignore her for a few moments and then if she continued to stare, he would consider repeating himself. He was never fond of such events and really wanted to avoid it if at all possible. When he looked back to her and she hadn't averted her gaze, he gave an exasperated sigh. "I said exactly what I meant. I am already attending with someone." He'd seen the furrowing of her eyebrows and returned his attention to the work before him. "Miss Lockhart will be accompanying me." He felt there wasn't the need to go on and no matter how she responded, he would stick with his original decision. Of course...this only fueled Scarlet's anger.
g g g
"Can you believe him, Heidigger! He turned me down to go with that...that...harlot! What's wrong with him! Doesn't he see what beauty lies before him!" By this time, the blonde-haired female was constantly trying to throw things, only to be foiled by her companion who was catching the launched items. She didn't understand how or why Rufus had chosen Tifa over her. Then again, she didn't know how others saw her and she didn't really care...normally. At this current moment, she was quite curious as to what Rufus saw and thought since he'd made such a decision. She had always believed that they belonged together, but he was making that damn near impossible.
Heidigger took a moment to calm her down and as she seated he had begun to pace back and forth thoughtfully. It was a rhetorical question she had asked, but he still felt like answering. "Perhaps it is because he knows you are like a doorknob, Scarlet. Everyone in Shin-Ra has had a turn with you." The icy glare he received caused his cheeks to turn a light pink and he cleared his throat before giving shaky laughter, as though he was only kidding. The only part was they both knew that was true. Scarlet had great pride in the title of knowing the majority of Shin-Ra on a more personal level. At least, she had in one point of time. Now it seemed she wasn't so pleased. Then his face brightened and he gave a sinister chuckle. "Please think about this for a moment. President Shin-Ra has never wanted to do anything with anyone, much less be seen somewhere with someone in public. The only reason he can get away with wandering around with Miss Lockhart is because she's his personal secretary. Of course, what could possibly be the use of her attending this get together? We're not taking notes. It's just a fund raiser, nothing important that she needs to be there for. This must mean the president invited her for extra curricular reasons." When it seemed that Scarlet hadn't understood what he said, he leaned in to her. "It means that the president has other plans of actions." Judging by the clueless look she was giving him, he resisted the temptation to resort to violence and then pulled back, folding his arms over his chest. "It means that the president is interested in her. He's possibly infatuated with her. It's the perfect information to use to blackmail him!"
Hearing her companion say that almost made Scarlet feel as though she had just been slapped in the face. That was true! Rufus Shin-Ra was notorious for not wanting anything to do with anyone. The fact that he was spending time with Tifa was not going unnoticed and it probably meant there was something behind the scenes. Like Cloud, Scarlet believed that presidents and their secretaries were often more than just business associates. It seemed so unlikely though, because of the type of person Rufus was. Then again, men were prone to weakness and even the president had to have something of the sort. Perhaps she had found that. And if she hadn't...then...she'd just have to keep searching. A smug smile crawled over her face and she nodded slowly. "That's true, Heidigger. I believe you have just brought up an excellent point. Our dearest president seems to have taken a liking to his secretary. Perhaps...we should have an unfortunate 'accident' occur to determine if that's true or not." She liked 'accidents'. She especially liked them when they resulted in the death of someone (as long as it wasn't her or someone she could manipulate for a raise in her own social ladder).
What could she possibly be thinking? Scarlet was the queen of good schemes. She'd proven that over and over again, from the hunt of huge materia to the lock-down in Wutai. She'd proven herself quite worthy in that field. This was sure to be another fool-proof plan and if they were lucky, they could catch the president in a vulnerable state and then the company would be theirs (cue the maniacal laughter)! It was better not to jump ahead, though. "What do you propose that we do? We shouldn't make it too extravagant or else...the president will know we're onto him." He took his seat again and looked to her quite expectantly. Saying that he was eager was quite an understatement. He was completely ecstatic. The company was so close in his possession that he could taste it.
That caught her off guard just a bit. She hadn't yet come up with a plan and was actually sort of hoping that he had one. The idea that he didn't made things a little more difficult though. Not that she'd mind too much anyway. Scarlet remained quiet for a few moments as her eyelashes fell and she began to search through the mental cabinets of plans she had made. A few minutes passed before she spoke again and then she nodded quickly. "I think I've got something. When we go to the fund raiser, you'll go speak with the president and distract him while I take Miss Lockhart elsewhere, the terrace per say, and then leave the rest up to me." That probably meant she would fatally wound the brunette in some way and then it would be proven that blondes were meant to be with other blondes and they were better than everyone else. At least, that was the message she meant to get across. As to whether it worked or not would have to wait until the actual event.
Heidigger nodded happily. He didn't care what they were doing as long as he got to take part in it and cause some conflict. He liked problems...when they weren't his own and he could still influence them. He stood up quickly and just in the moment of silence, his right hand rose to salute to her. "Yes, ma'am!" She seemed to like that sort of title and after she rose, the two leaned their heads in together to discuss the full extent of their plans. If only Rufus and Tifa knew what was to come. One would wonder if it would have persuaded them not to attend the ceremony.
