Darien had just returned from a mid-afternoon ride when he saw that he missed an onslaught of calls from Nathan Phelite, the VP of mergers and acquisitions at Brady & Shields. Knowing it wouldn't be good news, he returned the call as he walked back toward the mansion in long strides.

"Thank God I've found you Darien! It's getting bad on this end. You may need to cut your time short in paradise," Nathan said almost immediately after picking up.

"Give me the really shitty news first," Darien sighed.

"Damon Shields was caught in a very compromising position with a minor and the story was leaked to the press today. Our investors are calling for stability as stock has been fluctuating like a toilet today. Some want him out, especially Jack Martin of JM Inc whose daughter is the aforementioned minor. We really need your leadership, Darien."

Darien's teeth gritted. Things were moving faster than he anticipated. There was still so much to do here at the estate yet he couldn't abandon the company… the decision was instantaneous.

"How soon can you get me on a flight? I want to leave within 4 hours and make it in time for tomorrow's early edition."

"I'll get on it. I'll fax it to you within 15 minutes," Nathan breathed a sigh of relief. Now that there was a direction, he could take control. Things were going back to normal. Another question plagued his mind, and Nathan fought for the courage to voice it.

"Darien… Have you seen her?"

"Yes, I have," Darien's voice softened a bit as he heard the long sigh over the line.

"How is she, Darien?"

"She is well. She still taking care of herself," Darien replied. Nathan's heart sang for a moment as his meaning became clear. 'She's still single. Could she still be waiting for me?'

Clearing his throat, Darien continued.

"Get Public Relations ready by the time I arrive tonight and track Damon down for tomorrow. If I talk to him tonight I'd kill whatever ego he has left. See you soon, Nate," Darien's voice clicked out. Nathan began issuing orders with rapid ease. Most people had to learn how to lead, but Darien was born to be a leader. Unlike Nate who has been taking orders from others ever since he was a child. He didn't think it was possible to be any different until he met her. This wondrous creation of creamy skin and fiery independence had shown him that he could lead his own life. And then he had ruined it. 'How pathetic I have become without you…'

Pushing his private thoughts to the recesses of his mind, he suppressed a smile. Perhaps he could sleep better tonight with a wish that she was still in love with him.

Throwing together an overnight bag with essentials and his laptop, Darien charged his phone and waited for the faxed flight information. Silently, at the back of his mind, he wanted to find Rene and tell her that he had to leave for business immediately. 'Wouldn't want to piss her off before I even started getting down to business,' he told himself even though he was dying to see one of those her million watt smiles she seemed to give everyone except him. Would she think that he was running out on her? Perhaps he was…either way him leaving was inescapable. Damon had really screwed up this time.

He went to her door and knocked, receiving no response. 'Where was she?'

Pacing a bit, he turned back to his room at the sound of the fax machine going off. Playing on the safe side, he wrote her a short note.

Rene,

Business emergencies take precedence, but when I return we shall begin our arrangement… as long as you haven't changed your mind.

In anticipation,

Darien

He was in the process of stuffing it in an envelope when he heard sounds coming from her room. Walking stealthily to the adjoining door through the bathroom, he came up from behind her as she was slipping into jogging shorts, opting to surprise her rather than to knock. The glimpse of satin skin and lacy underwear made his breath shorten.

"Going out?" His brain reminded him that he needed to catch a flight within 30 minutes as he eyed the nearby bed thoughtfully.

"For a jog," she replied lightly, brushing off the warmth of his breath on her shoulder.

"I need to leave for Chicago, but I will be back. We have unfinished business between us," he ran a finger across her shoulder blades.

"Take your time," she said harshly still wrestling with the fact that she was supposed to hate him. 'Oh god, I had never hated anyone before. Not even when Patty Baum stole my boyfriend years ago, but I mean, compared to Darien, Jake was not even a man! Who knew actually hating someone was so hard? Especially when they kiss like Darien and have this dangerous allure surrounding him… Remember what mama told you? I'm an adult, and if I want to have a semi-affair with my step-brother than I can do so! God I am such a loser. Man, I wish I could go with him…SAY WHAT?' Shaking her head at another one of those internal battles, she added "We have no obligation to each other."

"Correct, but I do have a claim over you." He swung her around to face him.

"Which is?" Her elegant brow arched teasingly at him. "If I remember correctly, a term to the arrangement is that we are only together at night. Five in the afternoon hardly constitutes…"

His lips interrupted her with a kiss.

'Okay, so he does have complete control over me,' her brain murmured as neural signals flooded the sensory organs.

'If only I could make him react just as much…' her body whispered. A pleasant thought entered her mind. She has a claim over his body too. The tightening of his body right now was absolute proof of it.

'Haha, revenge is sweet,' she gloated as she stretched herself to match his entire length. The feeling of him from her head to her toes brought a smile to the kiss. The deep guttural groan from Darien didn't dampen things either.

Pulling away, he glanced at his wristwatch.

"Smile for me, Rene," he asked gently and with a blush, she did rather shyly.

"Damn, I got to go," he said apologetically. He gave her one last smoldering kiss before disappearing to his room. Rene was so busy catching her breath that she didn't notice the cream envelope resting against her pillow until she sat limply on her bed and turned on the radio. So many things had transpired this afternoon…

Ilene had been despondent and even secretive when Rene asked her what Matthew had wanted. Her mother had only shown interest in the conversation when Rene spoke briefly about Darien…

Flashing back

Rene was frustrated with the lack of response from her mother when she muttered, "Matthew's probably just like Darien; they're both difficult as hell."

Ilene's head snapped up and her eyes narrowed.

"About Darien, how is he doing recently? I noticed that you haven't spoken to him for quite a few days now." Her eyes stared steadily at Rene with an unidentifiable gleam in them.

Rene blushed at her mother's statement. How true that would have been if she was having this conversation yesterday! "He's as horrible as ever, I imagine. He seems unable to say anything nice to me." That was at least half true.

"I know I had begged you earlier to be more accommodating, but it seems that you were more prudent than I was." Ilene sighed sadly. She wasn't sure if Darien really had his own father killed and was now after Rene, but she didn't want to take any chances. One thing was certain, Darien had the motive and the resources and that was enough incentive to keep a cautious eye on him.

"Are you suggesting that I should stay away from him?" Confusion as well as guilt flooded through her system. 'Could she have found out about last night?'

"I just realize that he hasn't proven himself to be trustful. He's out to get us, and I think we should just be careful," she replied stoically hoping her words had no truth behind them. As much as she wanted to dislike him, she could already see that Darien was very much his father's son, however, grief could drive one insane, just look at her, and she couldn't risk Rene's wellbeing based on her intuition. Ilene made a mental note to speak to Rene about Matthew in a non-suspicious manner seeing as she was great friends with Amy.

"You're right, mama, as always," Rene sighed. 'Things were getting pretty complicated,' she thought, agreeing with Darien's earlier words before settling back into a silence with her mother.

Return to reality

"My man he don't love me he treats me oh so mean
My man he don't love me he treats me oh so mean
He's the meanest man that I've ever see

My baby wears high peg pants stripes are really yellow
Baby wears high peg pants stripes area really yellow
When he starts into love me he's so fine and mellow"

And then he goes and kisses me and all the caution goes out the door! Furious with herself, she promised to be more in control with her feelings in the future. Although she felt guilty about withholding the new development between her and Darien from her mother, she did feel a thread of excitement from it.

She hated to admit it, but when she was in the shower last night, she had missed him. In the week since she had refused to speak to him since her mouth went dry even when she saw him, she missed the jerk. Whether it was just the shadow of his lashes on his cheeks when he blinked or just the teasing tone of his voice when they fought verbally, she missed him. That had severely bothered her, but no longer. The infuriating yet lovely man was right. She had one life to live, and this was one thing too delicious to give up. 'For my personal defense, of course,' she added belatedly.

"Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long
Love will make you drink and gamble make you stay out all night long
Love will make you do things that you know is wrong

Do right baby if you stay home every day
I'll do right baby if you stay home every day
You're so mean and evil I know you're gonna drive me away"

Despite the gloom of the day, she couldn't help but to smile and to wait for Darien to return hoping it would be soon. "In anticipation indeed," she whispered as she put his note beside her bedside table and sank into Billie Holiday's "Fine and Mellow."

"Why did he leave me why did he have to go
Why did he leave me why did he have to go
Went off and left me baby I loved him so

I'll be a good wife to you if it means anything to you
I'll stay home every night and I'll love you
And kiss you every night and one of these days
If you're good to me honey one of these day
If God is good to me I'll bring you a little burny

Come back to me baby try me one more time
Cos without your loving I swear I'm gonna lose my mind"

"Girl, get y'ass up! You promised to go the market with me!" Lita pounded relentlessly on Rene's door. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" When she resorted to making tractor/police siren noises, Rene finally jumped out of bed to open the door.

"The things I do for your food!" She groaned as she stumbled to the closet and yanked out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt.

Lita just smiled sheepishly at her friend. The thought warmed her considerably. Lita "long legs" Evans, as she was dubbed in the county high school, the aspiring chef who could barely control her ridiculously long limbs anywhere else except in the kitchen. Ah, the kitchen… the one element she was comfortable in. Well, that and at the market. The excitement boiled in her again. 'Shopping bud-dy! Shopping bud-dy!' She chanted happily.

"Yessh, cool it Lita. It's not like you just scored a hot date!" Rene teased the blushing chef who stuck out her tongue in response.

"What the hell were you thinking? A minor? And not just any minor either, you just had to get with the freaking daughter of one of our top clients!" Darien bit his bottom lip angrily.

Damon sat silently across from him taking the reprimand obediently.

"Seriously, what's your defense? Were you drunk? Lonely?" Silently Darien's thoughts ran a mile a minute. 'Please don't say that you knew exactly what you were doing… anything but that!'

"She seduced me. She doesn't even look 17 years old! Since when are men supposed to do a background check on everyone they sleep with?" A note of desperation crept into his hoarse voice.

"But you knew she was Jack Martin's daughter. You knew what a scandal could cost us! What do you want me to tell Martin? That his precious daughter is a little slut that enjoys seducing older men?" Darien's fingers massaged his throbbing temples. He knew berating Damon had limited benefits but venting out his frustration was making him clearer-headed.

"What do you suggest we do?" Damon asked meekly.

"You get with Martin one-on-one. Apologize, brown-nose, marry his slutty daughter, it doesn't matter as long as you get it done right. I want to find out where this leak came from. Worst case scenario, someone planted the girl to screw us over."

Damon's pallor was ashen white. "M-m-marry her?" He stuttered.

"This isn't the time for one of your stuttering episodes. How're you supposed to get on Martin's good graces by being idiot?" Darien kneaded his tense neck muscles.

"Darien, I know it means shit right now, but I am sorry. If it makes you feel any better, my sex life is going to suffer for the rest of my life."

"Are there charges pressed?"

"The DA is being pressured, but I talked with my attorney, and since we have proof that the girl seduced me, I have a high chance of winning."

"If you reveal that in court, we're still going to lose Martin. Let's show him the evidence first and settle it at that. If he doesn't care that his daughter's indiscretions are released to the media hounds, we'll take it to court," Darien mused.

"I'll make arrangements to meet with him. Will you be there Darien?"

"Of course I will. You've saved my ass a couple of times before," Darien chuckled at sudden memories despite the seriousness of the situation. Running half-naked in the backyard as Damon kept Senator Hunter from entering his home and finding his beautiful wife's clothes sprinkled across the foyer came to mind first.

"It's good to have you back. What the hell were you doing in the middle of nowhere anyway?" Damon joked glad to be back in Darien's good graces.

"It's good to be back for now," Darien replied mysteriously as Damon took the hint that it was time to move on to another subject.

"Lita! Strawberries!" Rene shouted over the bustle of the market. Although the town was usually sleepy, the regional marketplace about 3 miles outside the city was always bustling with commerce.

"Geez, Rene! And you're the one who told me I was too excited about this," Lita teased as they make their way through the throng.

"Strawberries are the stuff of gods," Rene sighed as Lita picked two ripe baskets.

"Yep, I hear ya. They redefine foreplay," Lita smiled wickedly as Rene's face reddened.

"You're just as bad as Darien," Rene grinned. The look Lita returned her suddenly reminded her of the day when Lita had first seen Darien in the kitchen and the odd looks shared between the two.

Lita paid for the strawberries, and Rene's mind raced with questions. 'Did they used to hook-up? Is that why Lita was so shaken by the sight of him so many years later? If so, did she still harbor feelings for Darien?'

When Lita finally grabbed the purchases and began making it to the next stall, Rene grabbed her.

"Lita, what happened between you and Darien?"

Her eyes widened considerably. "What d'ya mean?" She tried to move away again, but Rene kept a firm grip on her wrist.

"What was the look you gave him when you first saw him in the kitchen? What's the history between you two? Don't you dare deny it either," Rene said.

"Look, it's too loud here. Can't we talk about this later?" There was a plea in Lita's eyes that Rene didn't have the heart to persist. Whatever happened was obviously painful for her usually strong friend. Could she be one of the many whose heart was ruthlessly broken by Darien? Could Lita have made an arrangement with Darien as well?