Hope all of you are enjoying this fic as much as I am writing it! ^_^

Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 3: Making the Bait

Darien smiled as he stirred the noodles in the pot. He was making a stir-fry dinner for the girl he had met at the health magazine office. Lenora glanced at him as she pushed around the vegetables in the adjacent wok. Darien pulled out one of the thin rice noodles and chomped on it, testing to see if it was done.

"So now that it's finished cooking," he explained, "we drain it, put in the wok, add some soy sauce, a bit of ginger, some garlic, and lime to the mix and viola! We have ourselves a really healthy, low calorie, low fat meal." He took the giant pot of noodles over to the sink and started to drain them as he continued, "Now if you really want to go the extra mile and get some protein in there, you can add some chicken or tofu. Preferably, I like adding tofu, but when my guy friends are around they ask for meat … usually fried, which I don't recommend."

She giggled and stepped back from the pan as he took over the rest of the process. Once he was finished with the meal, he served it up into two bowls and gestured for her to follow him to the table that was placed beside the balcony glass door. The view from the ceiling to floor windows was spectacular; one could see all of glittering LA. It was this image that reminded him of what a shit hole he lived in, yet how lucky he was to have risen above it.

With her tape recorder still on, she asked him, "So do you have any unhealthy vices?"

"Smoking and coffee. I've been photographed a many a time with a glowing cigarette in my hand so I'm not going to deny it," he replied as he started to fork up a bite of food. "However, I have been trying to adjust myself from drinking coffee to drinking green tea. The stuff is better for your system and you can get some energy out of it."

"What sort of an exercise regimen do you have?"

"Three to four times a week I meet with a trainer here at my own personal gym and I go running on a daily basis for cardio and personal thinking."

"Personal thinking, huh?" she said slyly.

"Oh yeah. I need some time to be by myself and what a better moment than when I'm jogging in the park at dusk?"

"Whose body of all the celebrities out there do you admire the most?"

"That's a tough one," he mumbled behind his mouth full of food. "I'd have to go with George Clooney in clothes and Brad Pitt out of them. George has the swagger. Brad has the physique."

"What is your signature style, would you say?"

"My dad's 1973 aviators and a pair of fucked up Keds that I've had for years."

"What woman do you wish you could swoon?"

"You mean besides you?" Lenora blushed at his comment and he continued on, "I suppose the ideal candidate would be a runway model … any runway model actually. They all walk the walk but none of them talk the talk toward me."

"Really? That's surprising."

"They have attitude," he winked. "Maybe I'm too much of a hotshot."

Lenora clicked the recorder off with a push of a pink painted finger and rested her chin on her palm, "Did you really mean what you said?"

"That models have a 'tude? Yes."

"No, no, I mean that you wish you could make me swoon?"

"Oh that …. Yes I did."

She stood up from her chair and walked around the table to position herself in front of him. Lenora started to slowly unbutton her floral print collared shirt in front of him as she kept her gaze glued onto Darien. He made her pause by clasping a hand on her own and he tilted his head in curiosity.

"Are you sure you want to take this to an intimate level?" he asked. His plan was going a little bit faster than he expected.

"I know what I'm doing," she replied stubbornly as she straddled his lap.

She dropped her face toward him and pressed her lips deeply against his as she grinded her hips into his groin. He moaned a little bit behind her mouth as he felt her tongue jab in and out. He gripped the back of her head tightly and pressed her body close to his, trying to mold their torsos into a fitting puzzle piece. He pulled away and dragged his kisses down her neck.

"I want to take things slow if we're going to be doing anything," he said while burying his mouth against her shoulder. He could feel her go limp with disappointment and he kept going, "I'm attracted to you, I really am."

Lenora lifted his face to hers and smiled, "I thought you were all about getting women into your bed."

"You've been reading too many tabloids."

"So you're a relationship kind of guy?"

"With the right woman, I am."

'And that woman will be Serena soon enough,' he thought to himself silently.

"Okay then," she mumbled as she got up from his lap and buttoned her shirt all the way back up. "So what does this mean?"

"We'll go on dates, we'll hang out together … etc, etc, etc," he explained as she sat down and started to finish eating the stir fry he had made. "Let's hang out tomorrow. We'll go shopping or something."

"Shopping?"

"My style lives on keeping up with the latest weekly fashions," he replied with a sly wink.

When they finished their meals and he walked her to the door, she said to him, "I'll call you in the morning and we'll do lunch and shopping."

"Sounds good."

He leaned over and kissed her quickly on the lips before waving goodbye. He shut the door behind her and rubbed his forehead. And so the trial run has begun…

Serena sat down at the kitchen table and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Once she was able to relax and munch on her Honey Nut Cheerios, she could take in the photos that were plastered all over the LA Times on her computer in front of her. She grimaced at the picture that was jumping out at her in the entertainment section; Darien was walking hand in hand with some new bimbo while shopping at expensive clothing boutiques.

"He's attractive," a voice said from behind.

She turned around and found her mother, Karen, standing above her. She was a tall, voluptuous woman who wasn't afraid to show off her curves and pinpoint herself in a crowd with her bright red hair. Women like her only came once every blue moon and especially in this day and age where the idea of beauty was to be cocaine-thin and hobo-chic with torn tights, heavy eyeliner, and ribcages popping out. She idolized her mother's boldness.

"You really think so?" Serena asked, looking back at the glowing screen. "I think he looks too smug all the time."

"Confidence?" her mother asked as she sat down next to her.

"Arrogance," she answered.

"A fine line he treks," she murmured.

"I feel like he's been following me," Serena said before shoving a spoonful of cereal in her mouth.

"He probably likes you."

"No, he probably wants to work on a project with you."

"So I've heard." Karen took the box of Cheerios into her hand and stuffed it inside, pulling out a handful of the sugared morning food. She popped a few of the sweetened o's in her mouth as she continued, "His agent called me again. He wants to be apart of the next movie we're looking into."

"Isn't he always asking for this?"

"Every time," she replied, shaking her head. "He won't let up. I've been wondering if maybe your father and I should finally just let him get into a project."

"Don't mom," she complained. "Unless he's suited for a role, then don't put him in."

"You're right sugar-lump," she smiled. She tossed the remaining pieces of food into her mouth and pinched her daughter's cheek, "I'm glad I have you around."

Karen sashayed out of the kitchen area and left Serena to stare at the screen in front of her. She quickly drank the remaining sweet milk that was left over from finishing her food and then shut her silver laptop closed. She put her dishes away and walked into her bedroom to get changed. In the middle of putting a t-shirt on over her head, she heard her phone ring on her dresser and struggled to get limbs all the way through the holes of the grey v-neck. She jogged across the room only in a shirt and boy-shorts and answered the phone quickly, not even noticing who it was on the other line.

"Heeeeey Serena," the husky voice said.

"Hi Haruka," she grinned. "What can I do for you?"

"My dear what are you doing this afternoon?"

"Meeting with my agent. Why?"

"Cancel the meeting. She was only going to tell you that I want you in an episode of the show," she said.

"Good lord, are you kidding me?" she groaned.

"M.O.D. Squad has run past Gossip Girl in the ratings! You have to come on! Just at least come in for a table reading. Please?" she begged.

"What scene are you offering me?"

"You'll see when you get here."

"I don't want to do a damn thing with Darien Shields."

"Well you'll never know what I'm offering until you get here."

Serena could hear the grin curve over Haruka's lips even through the phone. She knew that it would most likely be in her best interest to do a show like this and possibly get a reoccurring role, but she didn't know if she could stand being in the same vicinity as Darien. He just rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe it was the fact that she had been raised in this world all her life and to see someone abuse the system and abuse the fame was against her principles.

Biting her lip, she finally gave the reluctant answer, "Fine I'll be there. What time?"

"Yes!" Haruka hissed. "Come to the studio at eleven! I can't wait to see you there!"

"I'm coming in kicking and screaming," she informed her.

"Good to know."

The two hung up and Serena stared back at her reflection in the mirror that was attached to the dresser. She couldn't believe she was going to do this. Collecting herself, she got her things, put some pants on, and went into the master bedroom where she found her mother sitting on the bed with her laptop resting on her thighs.

"What's up honey-bear?" she asked, her eyes darting between the screen and her daughter.

"Haruka just called me," she announced.

"And?"

"She wants me to be on the show."

"With Darien Shields? Ha! What are you going to do?" she giggled.

"I dunno … I told her I would at least meet with them for a table reading," she shrugged as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside her mother.

"Have you talked to your dad about this?" Karen asked. "You know he wouldn't be too pleased that you're working with this spoiled brat."

"A spoiled brat working with a spoiled brat on a show that's all about spoiled brats who wield guns," she replied sarcastically.

The red head nodded, "I see your point." She sighed loudly and said, "Well, he'll be upset either way. I say you go ahead and do what you want and don't let that boy get the better of you. He'll try to get in your pants in order to get into one of our movies."

"Yes because the pathway to one of your films is through my pants," Serena winked as she stood up and started to exit from the bedroom.

"Call me when you're done to let me know how it goes," her mother called out after her.

"Okay!"

She left their Beverly Hills modest mansion, driving out in a hybrid vehicle that her parents got her for her sixteenth birthday. On the way to the studio, through back to back to traffic, she wondered what the table reading would entail. Maybe she was being too paranoid about it; maybe Darien was just doing his job…

Serena would find out soon enough.

Please review! ^_^ Up next: the table reading!