AN
I have a flame to bite back at; according to a certain person, this is what's wrong with my story. Shade: "what is it with sere falling unconcious in almost every chapter she is not that much of a whimp! and i know of no one that6 faints thaty much without being pregnant!"
First off, I suggest you to either go back to grammar school or check your spelling you impudent imbecile. And secondly, where the hell are all these times that she has fainted? Can someone please find them because I cannot seem to find them. Oh yeah and about that stupid comment about people not fainting this many times in their life, just to let you know, people do faint more than once in their lifetime. It's called blacking-out or tunnel vision, I know because I'm majoring in Biology. So if you have any more complaints, shove them up your you ingrate, because I certainly don't write for people like you. Anyway, here is the next chapter!
Chapter XIX: The Conflict
"Sere," Andrew called out, slapping her cheeks lightly to get her to wake up. He picked her up and placed her gently on the couch before deciding to do anything else. He recalled back in college that if you move a person who fainted, they'd wake up really sore, so he hoped she wouldn't be in pain later on.
"Is mama going to be okay?" Keith asked looking at his mother worriedly. He walked over to the couch and took her hand into his and squeezed it tightly.
"She just fainted, she'll be okay though," reassured Andrew patting Keith's back to calm him down. "Can you get me a cold towel?" he asked brushing a few stray strands of hair from Serena's face. Keith ran off and came back with a cold pack from the fridge before taking a seat beside his mom and watching Andrew carefully.
"Ugh," Sere half groaned in pain and half flinched from the cold pack coming in contact with her warm skin. She tried to get up but Andrew gently pushed her back down and held the cold pack to her forehead.
"Don't move, just try to catch your breath and rest," Andrew ordered her sternly.
"Please tell me I was hallucinating earlier," I pleaded with Andrew, gripping his hand tightly. 'God, what am I going to do if this isn't a hoax and he really does plan on taking over Moonlight Fashions?' I thought nervously to myself.
"I'm sorry Sere, but you heard everything correctly," Andrew said quietly.
"Mama, why does that man scare you?" asked Keith curiously. "I don't like him," he added bitterly. Andrew and I were both taken back at our son's blatant disrespect for someone who was older than him even if we didn't like him ourselves.
"Baby don't say such mean things, didn't I teach you better than this?" I lectured my son calmly. I didn't know what to say so I tried to make the best of things and give him a lesson in life, even if I disliked Darien, I wouldn't allow my son to grow up holding a grudge against him because he didn't know the moronic guy.
"But mama, he does mean things to you and makes you cry!" Keith argued back.
"No buts about it Keith, you are to respect your elders no matter what son," Andrew interrupted our arguing in a strict tone of voice.
"Son?" Keith suddenly stopped dead in the mist of our bickering.
"Since I'm your father, I too have to teach you right from wrong when you make bad judgments in life," replied Andrew quietly not sure of what to say to the little boy.
"So does that mean I have to call you dad?" my baby asked him with a confused face. After that, there was a long moment of silence and awkwardness between the three of us. Andrew and I just looked at one another not knowing how to handle the situation.
"Yeah baby, you have to call him daddy," I said finally after thinking about it for a while. "I know it may be a little weird, but you'll get used to it, I promise," I added, hoping he wouldn't ask any more questions that I might not be able to answer.
"How come he never lived with us then mama?" Keith asked, suddenly wondering why he has a father in his life now after all these years. Now that was what took us both by surprised because I never thought he'd ask such a question.
"Well baby, that's because mama never told him, but now he knows and he wants to make up for all the lost time," I explained to my son, hoping he wouldn't be mad at me and especially Andrew because he never did anything to him. "Besides, Andrew has always been in our lives, so it's not any different right?" I added praying that he would accept this.
"Yeah," Keith said quietly, looking down at his feet sadly.
"Listen, I know it's hard for you to accept Keith, but I promise to try and make it up to you," said Andrew nervously. He had never had to deal with this situation before so he had no idea of how to handle it. Sure he was a top-notch lawyer, but they never taught him how to deal with something like this in law school.
"I don't blame you Andrew... I mean dad," Keith started off but quickly corrected himself. All his life he had wished he had a father to look up to and now he finally did, so why wasn't he happy since Andrew turned out to be his father? I felt so horrible knowing my son was confused beyond belief and I was to blame for his state of mind. "May I be excused?" he turned and asked me quietly. I felt so bad that I could only nod my head and watch him run upstairs to his room and shut the door quietly.
"Oh Andrew," I cried, burying my face in his shirt and sobbing quietly to myself.
"It's okay Sere," Andrew tried to comfort me.
"I feel so bad," I told him quietly. "Why did this have to happen to me?" I asked him sadly. I had tried so hard to be a good mother to him, to give him everything he wanted and needed in life, but to no avail. I knew all his life he had looked at his friends and watched them grow up with such wonderful fathers and wish he had one too. Now he finally gets that chance yet he doesn't know what to think of it anymore.
"We'll work on it together, I'm here now," whispered Andrew reassuringly.
"I'm a horrible mother," I admitted while walking away from him towards the glass doors that led out to the backyard. Just as I was about to head out to my private garden to think, the phone rings loudly. "I'll get it," I told Andrew when he reached for the receiver. "Hello, Moon residence," I answered quietly after clicking the speakerphone on.
"Serena?" responded the person on the other end.
"Alex?" I replied wondering why he had called. "What's up?" I asked after snapping back to reality. "Something wrong at the company?" I questioned worriedly.
"No, just called to see if you saw the news or not," answered Alex in a calm voice. "You didn't did you?" he asked nervously.
"I saw Alex, how could I not? You know I watch the news everyday," I replied hysterically. I started to pace back and forth thinking about what this phone call was about. Maybe the proposal wasn't a hoax and I'd have to deal with Darien once again.
"Sere, we've called an emergency meeting, you need to fly out within the hour," Alex told me with his business voice. My world almost fell apart when I heard his words over the speakers, I can't believe this is actually happening.
"I'll be there in half an hour if you send the chopper out for me," I replied.
"It's already on its way there, you should be hearing from the pilot in about five minutes. What are we going to do with Keith though?" asked Alex while rummaging through paperwork. It sounded like he too was organizing his papers for the meeting.
"Don't worry about him, he's been taken care of," I responded quickly. "Anyway, get your stuff together and I'll see you soon okay?" I told him while heading upstairs to change and get my briefcase. "Bye Alex!" I yelled from the staircase.
"See you soon Moon," replied Alex before hanging up. The phone hung up by itself and I came back down in a suit with my briefcase after a few minutes.
"Andrew, can you go get Keith for me? We need to leave soon," I asked Andrew hurriedly. I slipped into a pair of beige pumps and clipped my hair up quickly the headed into the kitchen and cleaned up while searching for my papers and glasses.
"Mama, where are we going?" Keith asked coming into the kitchen with Andrew and his backpack. Andrew had his blazer back on and we were all set to go, but when I turned around he took a step back in shock.
"What?" I asked, confused at the look on his face.
"Nothing," Andrew snapped out of his daze. "You just look, so... So business like," he answered quickly. I took off my glasses and looked at him funny.
"I always look like this when I go to meetings, you've seen many pictures before silly," I replied with a confused look on my face. "What's so different this time?" I asked him as he came up to me and got a closer look.
"You look sexy," Andrew whispered into my ears, making me shutter. My stomach felt like there were a million butterflies inside of it and I felt tingly all over. Suddenly there were huge gusts of wind blowing over the house loudly.
"That must be the helicopter," I finally said after a moment of silence passed by. "We need to go," I told the two boys as I grabbed my things and walked out to the front door. I waited for them to step out the door and locked up then waved towards the pilot and ran toward the chopper and got into the back. "Thanks Henry," I called out before securing the buckle to my seat belt.
"Happy to be here Ms. Moon," replied the pilot, getting out and helping Keith into the chair beside me. Andrew quickly climbed in and took a seat beside me, earning a questioning glance from the pilot to me. I mouthed a quick 'I'll explain later' and we took off.
Moonlight Fashion Inc.
"Okay guys, Sere should be here any minute, lets get this show moving," boomed Jason loudly as the entire room quieted down. Everyone from the vice president to all the secretaries were present in the huge conference room talking amongst themselves quietly.
"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late," I called out to everyone as I came running into the huge room and rook a seat at the center of the table. "Where's the big guy?" I asked after taking a quick glance around.
"Couldn't make it, had to meet with Shields Corp to tell them off," explained Jason. "Why is Andrew and Keith both here?" he asked me awkwardly after noticing them standing by the door quietly.
"Long story, they won't disturb us. Lets talk business people," I yelled to the whole room to get their attention. "Andrew, can you take Keith down the hall to my office and watch him for me? I'll come get you guys when we're through here," I asked in my normal tone.
"Sure, lets go Keith," Andrew called out to Keith as he took my son's free hand and led him out of the conference room. Keith waved to everyone before the door shut behind him and everyone quickly waved back and laughed.
"Okay guys, enough with the delays," I called out to everyone in a more serious tone. "What do we have on that stupid news interruption earlier? Is it real or fake?" I asked forcing myself to talk calmly about everything.
"It's real all right, I got memo early this morning," answered my personal secretary. Perhaps I should introduce the members of the MFI team so you can understand what role they share in this company and my life. I never told you this, but the 'boss' we always refer to is just my advisor who handles all the company's business in person. I am the silent president and chief executive officer to the entire company. It had been handed down to me when the previous president, whom I considered a second father, decided to retire. He also had a son, ALex, who is also on the board with me.
Alex: head of security and internal affairs.
Michelle: MFI executive and international/domestic affairs.
Jason: marketing manager and silent vice president.
Trista: MFI fashion designer and head of finance.
Heather: MFI hair/make-up stylist and MFI promoter.
"So what's the word on Galen's whereabouts?" I asked after looking through all the papers in my briefcase. I could tell already that it was going to be a long day ahead for the entire group. "And could somebody please get that video conference call working?!" I shouted tiredly. I wanted to get this call over with because I knew Mr. Shields was probably happy that he was making me go through hell.
"Sere, it's not that easy. We can't get through to Darien's office so we can't arrange a public meeting to dispute this crap," replied Jason calmly. I sighed and slammed my briefcase shut and walked over to a nearby window to look away from the group.
"What am I going to do? I can't let him come after this company, daddy didn't leave this company to me so that I could let it fall apart in the hands of the worst man on earth!" I yelled, tears brimming my eyes.
"Sere, we know dad wouldn't be angry with you because he knows you will get through this in one piece and make him proud," Alex said coming up behind me and wrapping a reassuring arm around my shoulders gently.
"Yeah, dad believed in you, that's why he handed over his company to you," spoke up Michelle suddenly. "Don't be so hard on you Sere, we're all here for you," she added soothingly.
"I don't know, I can't face him," I whispered, turning back to see the smiling faces of my wonderful friends which were like a second family to me.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of al the media conferences for you," Jason interrupted us.
"Thanks guys, I don't know what I would do without you all here to help me. You don't know how much I appreciate all of you being there for me all these years," I told everyone wiping away the tears that had managed to escape my eyes and rolled down my face.
"Ms. Moon?" one of my secretaries interrupted our conversation from the door.
"Yes Kayla?" I responded wondering why she poked her head through the door so abruptly. I went back to the table and took a seat amongst everyone.
"We have Mr. Shields on conference call, line one," informed Kayla in a quiet voice.
"Thanks, give me a few minutes," I told her before she nodded and slipped back out the door quietly. I cleared my voice and gestured for someone to turn the video screen on before turning around to face the damn screen and stare into the eyes of the royal ass.
"Serena, so good to hear from you. I've been waiting for your call all day, what took you so long?" smirked Darien as the screen focused in on the video feed.
"Shut up and listen for once," I spit back angrily. I could hear every laugh at my harsh response before quieting to listen to the conversation. "Let's get right to business, I don't like you and you most definitely don't want to get on my bad side when it comes to business," I told him straight out with a serious face on.
"Aw, I'm hurt Serena. And here I thought this would be a great way for us to celebrate our reunion," replied Darien, his face not changing at all in between his words. I swear, the guy was as stoic as can be, he's heartless I tell you. "Either way, you will have to deal with me, because I will push for this merger whether you like it or not," he stated plain and simple.
"What makes you think you can get what you want, because this isn't a company that is run by people who have been bribed by your filthy money," I fired back angrily.
"Please, who wouldn't want to be a part of my multi-million dollar corporation?" Darien asked me with that conceited look on his face.
"I'm afraid it won't be as easy as you make it out to be Mr. Shields," Jason interrupted our argument quickly before I could say anything else that might damage my status and image.
"Why do you keep saying that? It's really up to your boss and the committee whether or not they want Moonlight Fashions to merge with Shields Corporation," Darien stated pulling out one of his cigars and lighting it. "I think your boss would gladly accept my offer," he added taking a puff of the cigar and blowing it at the screen, grinning cockily.
"You know what, forget it. I thought we could talk this out as civilized people, but it's clear that you want a public dispute to get this through to your head," I yelled out suddenly. "We'll be seeing you at the conference in Tokyo to let everyone know about the outcome of this so called situation," I told him before switching the screen off. "God I hate that man!" I screamed before throwing my pen at the wall.
"I can still hear you Serena," Darien said after clearing his voice, causing me to jump back in alarm.
"Holy mother of Christ," I almost yelled as one of the assistants quickly ran to shut off the audio feed.
"Calm down Sere, don't let this get you so worked up," said Alex after an awkward silence passed by briefly.
"Sorry everyone, I just can't deal with everything," I explained to the group before grabbing my stuff and leaving everyone to talk while I headed over to my office.
"Okay guys, why don't we prepare ourselves for this press conference," instructed Jason after I shut the door. "Trista, can you handle things while I talk to Sere?" he asked quickly before getting up and chase after me.
"Jason, don't bother, I just need a little quiet time to think right now," I pleaded with him quietly. I was physically exhausted, first Andrew pops up out of nowhere, now Darien comes out saying he's going to take over my company. It's just a little too much for a girl to handle on her own all at once.
"I know, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything," Jason said, wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me gently.
"I'm sorry, I just feel so stressed out right now. I didn't mean to take anything out on any of you guys," I apologized quietly.
"We know," was Jason's only reply as he held and comforted me.
"Thank you so much for everything," I turned around and told him, placing a light kiss on his cheeks and wrapping my arms around him tightly. "I'd probably go crazy without you here to guide me," I told him honestly.
"I'll always be here for you Sere, no matter what happens," Jason told me once again like he always did when something went wrong in my life. He's such a wonderful guy and any girls would be lucky to have him as their husband.
AN
Okay, I'm going to leave the story right here because I want to get this posted as soon as possible. I'll pick up where I left off in the next chapter; hope you liked it, even if I didn't feel that great about the chapter.