AN

Sometimes things just don't work out as they plan and you have to figure your way out of things. I have no idea how I ended up writing what I did on that other chapter, I felt so disgusted with myself when I finished, because I never ever post anything that I don't fully approve of. I hope I didn't get too many flames, because it wasn't the best of my work and I feel bad for even posting it. Oh well, all good things must come to an end sometime right? So here is mine, don't know how long it might be, but this story is wrapping itself up pretty soon. Enjoy.

Chapter XX: Face Off

So there I was standing with Jason holding me as I wept into his shirt not caring who was watching when suddenly I realized that I had forgotten all about Keith and Andrew who had been waiting for me in my office.

"Sorry Jason, I need to go talk to Andy real fast," I spouted off quickly as I pulled away and made a run for my office quickly. Jason looked a bit stunned when I backed off so suddenly that he almost stumbled over. I can't believe I had been so caught up in my emotions that I had completely forgotten about the two boys waiting for me. "Sorry that took so long guys," I explained hurrying into my office and putting everything away before turning to look at them. What I saw took my breath away, there lying on the couch fast asleep were the two men in my life, snoring there little mouths off. It was so cute that I couldn't bear the thought of waking them, so I just sat there in my chair and watched them. 'This is how it should've been all these years for Keith, he deserves so much more than I can ever give him,' I thought to myself sadly.

"Sere, we need to start rounding the crew up to head over to Tokyo as soon as possible," Alex said loudly as he entered my room without knocking. I quickly looked up to glare at him before glancing over at the boys to see if it had woken them.

"God Alex, knock next time!" I yelled at him, shaking my head as he shrugged and mouthed a quiet apology to me. "Lets go outside and talk, I don't want to wake them, they look too cute," I told him as I headed outside first.

"Sorry, didn't know they were sleeping in there," Alex apologized once more hoping I wasn't too angry with him. "Anyway, like I was saying before, we need to give everyone a call and get them to meet us in Tokyo so we can get this press conference over with quickly," he stated in a serious tone.

"I know Alex. See if you can find Galen and have him notified of the recent events and the meeting location. And make sure someone finds Luna and Artemis for me, they need to be there too," I replied tiredly. Ever since Luna and Artemis had gone on vacation it seemed like my life had gone into chaos mode.

"Why do they need to be there?" Alex asked with a confused look.

"Apparently I might have to make a public appearance as the C.E.O. and I want somebody to stay back and take care of business while I'm gone," I answered already dreading the fateful meeting that would let the entire world know who was actually running Moonlight Fashions Inc. I always thought it would be better for Galen to make all the public appearances because he looked a lot more professional than I did, plus he handled the media so much better. But I guess nothing lasts forever, so my decoy from the media wouldn't work anymore.

"I hope you're ready for this Sere, because it's going to be one heck of a roller coaster ride once everyone finds out what we've been hiding," Alex stated quietly before turning to leave me with my thoughts.

"What's going on?" asked Andrew rubbing his eyes after I came back into the office and shut the door. I guess the conversation between Alex and myself woke him up.

"Nothing much, we're going back to Tokyo sooner than I thought," I answered in as few words as I could. Didn't feel like going into detail about what was going to happen, plus Andrew had no idea of anything and I didn't think it was a good idea to burden him with my secret, even if it was just for a little while. "Anyway, did we wake you boys up?" I asked, glancing over to check up on Keith who was still sound asleep. I smiled and brushed some hair away from his face before kissing his forehead.

"Really?!" asked my son, springing up from the couch suddenly, making me fall backwards onto the floor. When I hit the floor I heard my son laugh before running over to help me up. I nodded and he jumped for joy before hugging both Andrew and I tightly. "This is great, nana is going to be so happy to see us!" he shouted.

"Baby, mama is going back for business, so grandma and grandpa won't know we're coming back until I finish the job okay?" I told him as he nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, but you'll still get to spend every moment with them while I'm working," I added quickly, hoping he wouldn't be too bummed out.

"Okay," Keith replied quietly as I kissed his cheek and went to grab some paperwork off my desk. "Is dad coming with us?" he asked suddenly catching me off guard. Did I just hear what I thought I heard?

"What sweetie?" I asked almost choked on my own words.

"Dad, is he coming too?" Keith asked slowly, pointing at Andrew.

"Yes, I'm going everywhere with the two of you from now on," answered Andrew smiling at Keith as my eyes began to tear up.

"Good, now we can be a family," my son said satisfyingly.

"Oh baby, I'm so proud of you," I cried running over and wrapping my arms around him tightly. I thought it would take a while for him to get used to the idea of Andrew being his father, but this just shocked me beyond words.

"I've always wanted a dad. I'm just it's someone like Andrew," Keith told us both with a smile. We grabbed our things and headed back to the chopper who flew us back home so that we could pack our belongings and rest.

Darien

"So, what are the plans with this merger?" asked Michael who was sitting across the table from Darien and a few other guys.

"Looks like there is going to be trouble from the sound of that video conference," Nathan chuckled, earning a slap across the backside of his head from Zack.

"I don't think it's going to be a problem," Darien said brushing it off like it was no big deal. "All I have to do now is talk to this Galen guy and I'll close the deal after a few figures are thrown across the table," he added cockily.

"Don't be so sure of yourself Darien, this guy seems pretty tough. I've been to a few of those conferences he's held publicly, and he doesn't look like he sways easily," spoke up Zack suddenly.

"What do you mean? Money can make any man sway," argued Darien.

"Are you ignorant or something? Moonlight Fashions Inc. is more than enough well off with or without your money Darien. Just because you inherited billions of dollars from your grandfather, that doesn't make you the richest man in the world," said Nathan in an annoyed tone. Sometimes he wondered why he managed to stay friends with the guy for so long.

"Nathan is right you know, the man who previously owned it was filthy rich. It's been said that he was once good friends with your parents," interrupted Michael.

"My parents? Why wasn't I informed of this?" asked Darien suddenly changing his tune after hearing the new information.

"Guess your grandfather didn't think much of it," answered Nathan nonchalantly.

"I wonder what happened between the two families that led them to fall apart," spoke up Zack as he skimmed through the latest press magazine.

"I heard that it had something to do with an arranged marriage between the two families, but it backfired because it was supposed to be with the man's first born son, but since your folks never had a daughter the deal was off," interrupted Michael.

"So why didn't they just make Darien marry the guy's daughter?" asked Nathan thinking that it was an absurd thing to break off a friendship.

"I think Darien wasn't even born yet, and nody knew about the guys' daughter til recently. My guess is that she's a year or two younger than Darien," answered Zack not really caring what the guys were talking about.

"Okay guys, enough of this stupid talk. I need to get a move on if I want to make it to that meeting with this Galen fellow," Darien said getting up from his seat.

"So we'll see you at the press conference?" asked Michael suddenly.

"Yeah, call me and let me know the time and place when you get the information on the meeting," instructed Darien as he shut the door behind him.

"Well, this sounds like it's going to be one heck of a face off. I think the media are going to have a thrill with this considering that we're dealing with two of the biggest companies in the world," laughed Nathan, he too getting up from his seat and heading towards the door to leave.

"Lets hope they don't get in the way of us sealing the deal. From what I heard, this Serena chick was a real fiery one," replied Michael before Nathan disappeared behind the door. "All right guys, lets get out of here, I'm tired," he finished.

Sere

"Hello, Serena Moon speaking," I answered quickly.

"Hey Sere, it's me," replied the voice on the other end.

"Where the hell have you been Galen?" I almost yelled but fought back the urge because my son was sitting right beside me.

"On the plane, I just got off. Listen, I'm in Japan right now," answered Galen quietly. I could hear a lot of ruffling in the background and heard his shoes echoing off the halls of wherever he was at.

"Are you meeting with that bastard already?" I asked angrily.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't let you know. It was sort of a spur of the moment thing," Galen explained, his breathing now starting to pick up. "Anyway, I need to get a move on. Just wanted to call and let you know the plans. Don't worry okay, I'll try to work things out as much as I can," he started saying, trying to wrap up the conversation as quickly as he could.

"Galen, the entire group will be there within a few days so don't do anything that might get you in trouble with us. We're having a press conference right when we get there so don't worry about arguing with the evil man because that's going to be my pleasure," I instructed sounding almost as if I were commanding him not to do a thing without my consent. It was kind of exhilarating too I might add.

"Okay Sere, see you soon then. Bye," was Galen only response as he chuckled and hung up on the other end of the phone.

"Who is Galen?" asked Andrew after I had hung up and put my phone away.

"The guy who everyone thinks is running mom's company," answered Keith quickly before I could even take a breather before answering.

"What?" asked a very confused Andrew.

"I run Moonlight Fashions Inc. silently. Galen is the guy who runs around and pretends to be the president of the company so I can remain behind the scenes only as a fashion designer," I explained rubbing my forehead slightly. I hated having to tell people about the situation in my life, it always sounded so unreal and unbelievable.

"Oh, okay," replied Andrew quickly not wanting to hear about all the details that involved the company. "So who are Luna and Artemis?" he asked suddenly remembering that I had asked Alex to find them back at the office.

"Aunt Luna and Uncle Artemis are mom's best friends almost," spoke up Keith, earning another quick glare from me.

"I met them after I moved here and started working for daddy. They are my confidants," I added knowing Andrew would have more questions.

"So where are they?" Andrew wondered.

"They just got married so they're on their honeymoon," I answered quickly sending a glare over to Keith as a warning not to interrupt me again.

"How'd you meet them? I never heard about any of your friends over here, except for Jason that is," asked Andrew curiously.

"About that, well I never told anyone about them because nobody is supposed to know that we have these ties to one another, otherwise the media would go crazy with our personal lives," I explained quietly.

"I see, one more question?" Andrew asked almost timidly.

"Shoot, I've told you everything else, one more can't hurt," I told him.

"How'd you become the president of this company?" was Andrew's question. Now how do I explain to him the situation behind this? Even my own son couldn't answer this one for me because it was so complicated.

"Well, after I started working for Moonlight Fashions when I first moved here, Jason set me up with a meeting with the president who ended up sponsoring me throughout college. I guess I sort of grew close to him and he introduced me into his family, which is how I know Alex and Michelle, his children. Michelle is Alex's wife by the way. Anyway, some two years after I had Keith, Richard decided to adopt me into his family, hence the reason why my last name is Moon now. After I started to move up in the fashion industry, Richard started training me to take over the company since he was retiring. I know you're probably wondering why he didn't let his own son take over, but he does share a key role in running this company with me. After Alex declined the position as C.E.O. of the company, Richard asked me, which I had no other choice but to accept because he had done so much for me. Anyway, to make a long story short, I've been running this company silently behind Galen for at least three years now," I finished my long and complex story with a sigh.

"So where is this Richard guy now?" inquired Andrew after I had told him everything which only made me laugh because he was always so curious about my life.

"He's living at the family estate in California with mom. You'll get to meet them at the family reunion later this year during Christmas," I answered with a smile knowing that Andrew would be scared out of his mind to meet my 'adopted' parents. Like my real parents weren't bad enough already.

"Family reunion?" questioned Andrew with a confused look on his face.

"Yeah, mom and daddy always throw a big ball every Christmas and the whole family gets together to catch up and celebrate the holidays," I explained.

"So you call them mom and dad?" Andrew asked with this weird expression on his face like he was trying to figure something out.

"Of course, grandma and grandpa Moon wouldn't have it any other way," spoke up Keith, after sitting quietly throughout my story he finally decided he couldn't stay silent any longer.

"What?" Andrew said, taking a step back and sitting down to process all the information we had just told him. I guess it was a little too much for a person to take all in one day. I mean, it sounded so unreal that even I didn't believe it at times.

"I know it's a lot to grasp but you asked us, so I told you everything," I replied, laughing slightly at the look on Andrew's face.

"I wasn't expecting this sort of answer," Andrew admitted quietly.

"Yeah, that's why I don't tell anybody about my family," laughed Keith.

"You can't anyway," I teased, poking my son in the stomach lightly. So with the story of my life set aside, we decided to rest up for the remainder of the evening.

Galen & Darien

"Hello, I'm meeting a Mr. Darien Shields here for dinner," Galen notified the host as he entered the restaurant and handed his coat to the front desk.

"Last name please?" asked the host courteously.

"Whittington," answered Galen quietly as he adjusted his necktie and smooth out the few wrinkles in his suit.

"Right this way please Mr. Whittington, Mr. Shields just arrive a short time ago," replied the host, gesturing in the direction of the dinging hall.

"Thank you," Galen said as he followed the host a few paces behind.

"Mr. Shields, your guest has arrived," announced the host courteously.

"Hello, Galen Whittington," spoke up Galen, extending an arm out to Darien.

"Nice to meet you, Darien Shields," replied Darien stoically.

"Likewise. Shall we get started?" Galen suggested, taking the offered seat across from Darien at the table.

"What is the asking price?" Darien asked getting right to the point.

"If you haven't noticed by now, Moonlight Fashions Inc. isn't as poor as you keep assuming it to be. We are one of the top companies in the fashion industry, not to mention the family behind us is one of the most wealthiest around," stated Galen.

"So what are you trying to say? You don't want the offer I've place on the table?" asked Darien almost not believing his ears. "Are you kidding me? Who wouldn't want to take up this offer, it's golden!" he scoffed cockily.

"Sorry, but the reasoning behind that cannot be discussed right now," Galen explained. "I'm afraid if you have any more questions, they'll have to wait until the conference later this week," he added quickly, not wanting any more trouble.

"Why did we even meet if you weren't going to accept or even consider my offer?!" fired Darien furiously.

"To let you know that we are adamant about refusing your proposal. You took it upon yourself to assume that we would ever agree to such preposterous ideas," admitted Galen tiredly. The jet lag was just not hitting him and he needed to leave before he knocked out on the table.

"Fine, if you want to get the press involve, so be it. But be warned, I am not an easy go to fend off," argued Darien getting up and leaving Galen abruptly.

"Oh god, no wonder she hates him," mumbled Galen, he too getting up and heading out to the limo that had been waiting for him outside.

Luna & Artemis

"Hey Luna, where'd you put my briefcase at?" asked Artemis from the office. They were in Paris for their honeymoon and he wanted to make sure he could squeeze some work in during his free time.

"It should be in the room by my laptop honey!" called out Luna from the bathroom closet while trying to find a nice outfit to wear to dinner. "Why do you need it anyway? We have reservations in half an hour," she added curiously.

"Just want to double check some files I worked on during the flight over," answered Artemis coming into the closet to grab a tie. "Anyway, has Rena or Jason called yet?" he asked while adjusting his tie.

"Here, let me," said Luna, fixing his tie and straightening it for him as well. "And no they haven't called yet, but I think I heard my PDA go off a little while ago," she added before turning around and gesturing for him to zip her gown up.

"I'll go check and see what it is," replied Artemis after sliding the zipper to the top of his wife's dress. He grabbed his blazer and slid into it while walking out to their bedroom to find the PDA. 'Wonder why they haven't called?' he thought while pulling the small palm pilot out and flipping through the screens with the pen. A small envelope was flashing in the corner of a screen so he tapped it with the pen.

To: Luna & Artemis

Sorry to interrupt your honeymoon, but you're needed back at headquarters as soon as possible. A lot of problems have come up and the president along with committee board are all flying to Japan for a conference so they've asked for you two to return and watch over the company while they are away.

From: Rachel

"Luna, forget the reservations! We need to fly back to New York tonight!" Artemis called out as he started to look for their belongings.

"What's going on?" asked Luna in confusion. Artemis threw her the palm pilot so she could take a look while he packed their things. "How come the secretaries never include thorough details on such matters of importance?" she asked annoyingly, inwardly worrying over what was really going on back at the company.

"Just pack your stuff, I'll let the hotel know that we're leaving and ask them to page the jet for us," replied Artemis while zipping up his suitcase. He reached over and picked up the telephone and dialed for the front desk. "Hello, yes this is Mr. Whitfield in room 304, can you please have my private jet paged and notify your manager that I am checking out tonight? Thank you," he told the clerk and hung up shortly after she had acknowledged everything.

"Okay, I'm all set. When is the jet going to be ready?" asked Luna anxiously.

"Don't know, they just paged the pilot. We'll head out to the airport now and by the time we arrive, he should have the engine warmed up and ready to go," answered Artemis, grabbing hold of the two suitcases and walking over to the door where a bellboy was already waiting for them.

"Your car is waiting sir," he announced while grabbing the suitcases and placing them on the cart along with the briefcases Luna were holding onto. When everything was loaded on the cart they headed down to the elevator and straight to the black Mercedes that was waiting for them outside.

"Thank you," said Artemis, tipping the bellhop fifty dollars before getting into the car after Luna had slipped in. They quickly departed for the airstrip and when they arrived, the pilot had just started the jet up so they got to unload their belongings from the car and have it transferred to the jet's cargo bay.

"We should be leaving soon Mr. & Mrs. Whitfield," announced the pilot over the intercom as Artemis and Luna took their seats inside and jet and buckled up. The flight home took a total of twenty-four hours and once they arrived at the JFK airport, a driver was outside waiting for them to transport them directly to the main offices.

Sere

"Okay everyone, we all set?" I asked nervously, mentally going over my checklist once more. I paced back and forth checking the time to make sure we wouldn't be late for our flight. 'I hope Luna and Artemis makes it here in time,' I prayed.

"Where are the newlyweds at?" asked Alex trying to liven the mood.

"Shut up Alex, I still have a name you know," interrupted Luna from the door tiredly. She quickly walked in and hugged me before taking a seat at the table.

"Sorry Luna, sheesh! You'd think that after a wedding you'd be somewhat nicer, but why am I not surprised," said Alex as he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"Okay guys, that's enough already," I interrupted the little dispute before it could go any further and turn into an all out tongue war. "Luna, Artemis, have you two been filled in on the current situation?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't have to go into a long explanation on what was going on as I saw Artemis enter the conference room.

"Yeah, Rachel was kind enough to two-way me all the information before I arrived at the office," answered Artemis, setting his brief case down and hugging me. 'How are you?' he mouthed as he pulled back to get a good look at my tired face.

"Amazingly still alive," I muttered quietly between the two of us. With a smile, we parted ways as I headed over to slip into my blazer. "Okay, since you two are back, I can leave without any worries. We'll call you as soon as business starts to inform you of how things are coming along," I instructed the pair as they stood in front of everyone. "Let's get this show on the road people!" I ordered before heading out.

"Bye everyone, don't work too hard and watch out for Sere!" I heard Luna yell to everyone as we all filed out of the rather large conference room. I laughed inwardly to myself as I heard all the girls mumble a quick 'yeah yeah' before they left.

"So moon-face, you have any idea of how to fight these dirty bastards, strategy wise?" asked Alex curiously as we all waited for the cars to pull up.

"Don't know yet," I answered honestly as I saw three black cars pull up in front of us and my drivers get out to grab our luggage. "It's always best to see what they are throwing at us before we plan any strategies anyway," I added getting into the back seat of the limo as my personal driver, Henry, opened the door for us. Andrew helped Keith into his cars eat before taking a seat beside me.

Along with me was my most trusted secretary, Rachel, and my personal assistant, Lily. Jason sat up front with the driver, he only brought along his personal assistant since he handled all his files personally. In the stretch Navigator directly behind us was Alex along with his team of security guards and Michelle with her staff. And last but not least, Trista and Heather in the Expedition, who opted not to bring anyone along so I instructed an MFI record keeper to tag along with the two of them. We arrived at the landing strip on time and prepped for our departure quickly. The flight was rather short seeing as how everyone was dead tired so we slept throughout most of the flight. Our plane landed in Tokyo during some time in the night because we were all disheveled when we arrived at the front desk of the Hilton. I reserved an entire floor for my staff so they could have sufficient working space that was apart from their bedrooms.

"Everyone just grab a room and get some sleep, we'll meet up at six o'clock, which isn't very far away, to discuss our plans of action," I told everyone with a loud yawn. Glancing at my wrist, I noticed that it was already 1 a.m. so hurried into my room and Andrew followed suit carrying a sleeping Keith in his arms. After I disappeared into the suit, everyone slowly broke up and headed in to get some sleep.

Morning

I woke up slightly dazed as I turned off the alarm clock and slid into my slippers and trudged over to the restroom and washed up. When I came back, I saw Andrew sound asleep on the bed, so I decided to let him rest while I went ahead and got to work with the rest of the team. I opened the door and there sprung all over my living room were my staff working diligently and quietly at the too! "Morning everyone," I greeted them, laughing as I saw them all stare at me in shock.

"Did we wake you?" asked Alex sheepishly.

"No, not at all!" I answered quickly. I clipped my hair up into a bun and was about to head over to the kitchen when a mug was shoved in my direction.

"Here," said Michelle tiredly as she sipped on her own coffee.

"Thanks," I replied, still a bit tired. I looked down at my watch and noticed that it was fifteen minutes until six. "Have you all been here long?" I asked, shocked that no one had slept very long.

"Yeah, Alex got everyone up at five this morning, we've been trying to work quietly ever since," answered Rachel in a quiet tone as she came up behind us.

"Oh my god," I gasped, shocked at Alex's behavior. I trudged over to him and tapped him on the shoulder lightly. "May I have a work with you?" I asked sweetly.

"Sure," said Alex merrily.

"How on earth could you wake my team of workers up so damned early you inconsiderate ass?!" I yelled at him loudly. Everyone stopped dead in the mist of their work and looked up at me with worried faces.

"Well, I wanted to get a head start on everything," Alex answered me quietly.

"I don't care what you wanted Alex, you should've let them sleep, look at them!" I yelled, pointed frantically at my staff who were all still in their pajamas.

"Uh, sorry?" said Alex, backing away from me slowly.

"I can't believe you sometimes!" I muttered, walking away from him. "Everyone, go ahead and take five, no make that fifteen!" I instructed. "Go and wash up, change your clothes for God's sake!" I added, shoving them all out of the front door and into the hallway. The all nodded and thanked me silently as I slammed the door loudly.

"Mama, why are you up so early?" I heard my son ask me quietly as I turned around and found him behind me rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry baby!" I apologized quickly and scooped him into my arms and rushed back into my room to tuck him back in. "Go back to sleep, mommy won't be loud anymore okay?" I told him in a soothing voice as I combed his hair with my hand. When he fell asleep, I got up and turned to leave but felt a pair of arms around my waist.

"How come I don't get that kind of treatment when I can't sleep?" asked Andrew feigning a look of jealousy. I laughed and spun around to kiss him lightly.

"You don't get to be pampered because I'm not your mother, nor do I want to be," I chided him lightly, laughing as his facial expression changed from amused to disgusted. "See, I thought so too!" I added, slapping him on the arm lightly.

"Are you guys all working already?" asked Andrew quietly.

"Yeah, Alex woke everyone up at five!" I almost yelled, still not believing my adopted brother's antics. "Anyway, you go brush up, there's coffee outside waiting for you," I instructed, nudging Andrew in the direction of the restroom before going back outside and once again finding everyone piled in my living room. "I thought I told everyone fifteen?" I asked in a motherly tone.

"We all finished early and decided to get back to work," answered Lily timidly.

"Yeah, so don't yell at Alex again," muttered Alex, crossing his arms defensively.

"Okay, I won't then," I laughed and ran over to hug him. "You should've known better though," I added, hoping he wasn't' really angry with me.

"I know, I guess I just wanted to get everything done with quickly so we could all go home and get as far away from that asshole as possible," answered Alex tiredly.

"We all know how you feel Sere, I guess that's why we're all a bit jumpy," added Michelle, placing an arm on my shoulder and smiling at me.

"I know, sorry I had to drag the whole company into my dispute," I apologized.

"It's not your fault your ex-boyfriend is an egotistical arrogant jackass boss!" I heard one of my security guards speak up, causing the whole room to burst into laughter. "What?" he asked, not knowing why we all laughed.

"Nothing Josh, that's the first time we've all heard you curse, so I guess it's just shocking that's all," I told him. He shrugged it off and we all went back to work until it was time for breakfast, then we all trudged down to the hotel restaurant where I made sure my entire staff was well fed. Luna and Artemis faxed us some paperwork that we needed and then Galen called to inform us that he'd come by around lunchtime with news on how his meeting with Darien faired.

AN

I guess that's all really, hope it was long enough. I know it's been almost forever since I last updated, but school has taken so much of my time. I hope I can wrap this story up soon. But until then, enjoy what I've got so far! Happy Independence Day everyone!!