Disclaimer: Final Fantasy does not belong to me...however much I may like it to. I own no characters, places etc. etc. so please don't sue me! I'm a nice person :)

Author's Note: Forth chapter!...PLEASE review as I really enjoy reading your views and they inspire me to get better! It would make me very very happy! Anyway stop reading this and get on with reading the fic! Hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter Four: Apologies and Invitations

I can't believe I'm doing this...

The young brunette shook her head, lowing her gaze to the lift floor, while letting out a rather disbelieving sigh.

She narrowed her rusty eyes as her line of sight came into contact with her rather odd looking shoes. It wasn't so much that they looked strange in the typical sense, but they just looked and felt strange on her.

They were really very smart, their surface was fashioned from some kind of soft matt material that made her feet look incredibly dainty and feminine, while the heel lengthened her lower leg, making their defined form look even more shapely.

The rest of her clothes felt just as foreign to her, the white shirt was fitted and the pinstripes covering it elongated her frame, the black waistcoat she wore over it was tailored to perfection and brought out every curve her body possessed. It had surprised Reno that she actually even owned such clothing, but then again she had done a lot of undercover work in her time with AVALANCHE, so maybe it was to be expected that she might occasionally come through with some hidden surprises.

Tifawasn't really sure why she'd had to dress up in the first place, though according to the red headed Turk it was key, and if she remembered correctly he'd said Rufus was more likely to accept her apology if she made an effort with her appearance.

Her face contorted into a strange sort of grimace as the thought of what she was about to do crossed over her mind, and she let out a soft sort of growl that the familiar friend standing beside her picked up on immediately.

''Yo babe...you ok?'' A nervously hopeful smile crept across his thin lips as he gazed over stiff, rigid form.

''Uh huh.'' Her answer was too simple for his liking, and so knowingly fake.

Before he could question her, a high pitched 'ding' noise resonated around the small space, while the number sixty was displayed on the controls and the sliding doors opened swiftly, revealing a comfortingly familiar corridor to the young Turk.

''Well this is my stop...'' Reno gave a small half smile and ran a nimble hand through his flame red spikes, ''I'll see you tomorrow for lunch?'' She nodded in agreement as the nervous energy in her stomach seemed to be stopping her from uttering a single word.

He stepped out of the elevator and turned around to press the button for her, ''Remember his office is on the seventieth floor...'' Just as the doors closed in on each other, the red head flashed her a charming smirk and whispered, ''Good luck.''

As the lift slowly proceeded past every floor number before the dreaded seventieth, the young woman shifted her gaze around the plain, rather maddening pristine space.

How can Reno stand this place...day in...day out...how does it not drive him crazy...?...I'll have to ask him about that sometime...

Much to her relief it didn't take long for the lift to once again stop, this time at her desired floor. When the doors opened and she stepped out, she couldn't help but let her eyes widen in surprise. The corridor was much wider than she'd expected, and in fact it seemed a lot like an entrance hall, the atmosphere was bright and airy. It seemed to Tifa's eyes to be very much deceiving in its appearance, for such a place, to look so lovely, it was almost as if it was a mask that hid the bare and hollowness lying beneath.

The young woman continued to survey her surroundings as she approached the light wooden desk placed in the centre of the space, with who she assumed was Rufus's secretary sitting comfortably behind.

Tifa placed a hand against the smooth surface of the large desk and latched her gaze onto the young girl, waiting to catch eyes with her.

She wasn't as pretty as the brunette had expected, in fact she was quite mousy looking, her dull blonde hair done up tightly into a low bun, her face free from any make-up, and gold rimmed glasses pressed firmly upon the bridge of her nose. For some reason Tifa had expected the President's secretary to be some blonde bimbo, one that he hired because she was easy on the eye, rather than good at secretarial work.

The brunette suddenly snapped out of her observations when the timid looking girl finally shifted her gaze, meeting eyes with her,''Hello there, can I help you?''

''Yeah...I'm here to see the President, Rufus Shinra?'' Her voice came out quietly, almost in a whisper.

The secretary just smiled, ''Yes I know who the President is...and what is your name Miss?''

''Oh, Lockhart...Tifa Lockhart.''

''Thank you, I'll just let him know you're here.'' The young girl glided across the desk and around to the phone, where she stayed for no more than a few seconds.

When she returned , Tifa had half expected to be dismissed or turned away, after all she hadn't actually made an appointment with the young President, so she was relieved when the secretary shone her an approving smile, ''You can go through now.''

''That's great...thank you'' The brunette began walking towards the ominous looking door and was about to make contact with the handle when a thought struck her, and she swivelled on the spot, ''Hey sorry...I didn't catch your name...''

The secretary looked happily surprised and the joy of the woman's sudden interest in her shone through her voice, ''Oh, my name is Jane, Jane Taylor.''

Tifa mentally stored the name away in the back of her head, and lightly turned the door handle, the metal material sending a cold shiver across her palm.

As soon as the young woman entered the room, her whole body seemed to stiffen, in fear or surprise, she wasn't exactly sure, but she knew that the room made her feel incredibly uncomfortable and out of place. At least when she had the President in her bar, she felt some sort of authority, the place being her own, and he a stranger to it, but here everything had changed, and now she was the outsider, she had no power in this room, and she could feel it.

The office was very much like the space outside it, everything pristine and bright, with clean lines and piles of organised files and papers. A solitary plant stood in the corner of the room, bathing itself in the sunlight that shone through the open window, its emerald green leaves flourishing beautifully.

It took the brunette some time to realise that she'd been staring around the room for longer than she realised and the blonde at the desk was looking at her with a hint of confused curiosity, ''Well Good afternoon Miss. Lockhart.''

A few more moments of silence passed as the blonde observed the brunette, who in turn was attempting to collect her thoughts and survey the situation she'd placed herself in so willingly.

Rufus gestured to the black, leather coated chair in front of his desk, ''Take a seat...it won't bite you.''

The young woman raised an eyebrow as memories of the chairs in Reno's office flooded her mind, after many visits and many practical jokes on the red head's behalf she'd grown to distrust most seating equipment in the Shin-Ra Headquarters.

Eventually after much hesitation, she slowly made her way over to the desk and sat down gingerly, twiddling her fingers out of nervous habit.

''So how's business?'' Her insides burned slightly as she watched an arrogant smirk appear across his annoying attractive face, his enjoyment of her rather frustrating predicament displayed for her to see completely.

Tifa had to use all her will power to withhold her fist from colliding with the young man's skull, and instead spoke, albeit through gritted teeth, ''It's been better.''

His smirk quickly evaporated and was replaced with a much more serious expression, ''Yes well...you needed to be taught a lesson.''

She opened her mouth and was about to retort when she thought better of it, after all she wanted to get out of there quickly and another unfriendly confrontation would just extent her unpleasant job, ''I came here to apologise for my...behaviour.'' the last word was almost spat out as she tried so hard to stop her emotions from surfacing, ''You're right I shouldn't have spoken to you like that.''

There was a slight pause before the blonde leaned forward onto his desk, his hands clasped together, ''Correct...go on then...''

Tifa shifted her gaze up to meet his directly, her rusty eyes fixed on his pale blue icy orbs that seemed able to penetrate hers so easily, ''You're really enjoying this aren't you?''

Another smirk appeared across his thin lips, though this time it was smaller as if he was trying to conceal it, ''Every second.''

The brunette kept her gaze locked into his, and uttered the words with force, as if it was hard work for her to sound them out, ''I'm...sorry.''

An approving expression began to form on the President's defined features as he leaned back in his chair, causing the material to creak softly, ''Well now, that wasn't so-''

He was rather suddenly cut off when more sound emerged from the brunette who it seemed was no longer able to contain her emotions, and she erupted like some sort of human volcano, ''But...I still think you're an arrogant, conceited, power obsessed, egotistical, controlling bully...and you're actions over our...disagreement...well...it just went to prove it!''

The blonde laid his head on two open fingers and muttered mostly to himself, ''And it was going so well...'' He shifted slightly in his chair, allowing it once more to creak quietly under his weight, ''You really are pushing your luck with me Miss. Lockhart.''

His eyes shone with anger, and the brunette felt a prickle of fear creep over her body, making her skin tingle with an uncomfortable sort of pain. Her mind was still reeling from the words she'd just allowed to escape from her mouth and a sudden realisation of the damage she might have caused to herself and to her business became fully awake in her mind.

Tifa sighed and believing herself to have already ruined any chance of getting back what he had taken from her, she decided to let her curiosity take over, ''I notice you didn't disagree with my description of you...you just didn't like that I said it.''

When she received no other reaction from him than a narrowing of the eyes she raised from her seat, ''Do what you want to me, I refuse to let you bully me into submission.''

''Wait.'' Tifa was inches from the door when she heard his voice, the sudden sound making her flinch slightly with apprehension.

She turned around slowly and watched him survey her in silence, the atmosphere around her growing more tense by the second.

Eventually after what seemed like an eternity the young man raised from his chair and approached her, gracefully making his way across the room while keeping his gaze locked onto her form.

He was merely inches from her when he spoke, ''I'd like to take you to dinner.''

The young woman's eyes widened slightly and the shock of the sudden invitation, along with Rufus's close proximity seemed to render her unable to speak a word, so he continued to fill the silence.

''You don't have to worry, this isn't some sort of deal. You'll get your customers back whatever your decision. Just think of it as a sort of...peace offering.''

She furrowed her brow slightly and nodded her head, her mind too confused at his sudden change of heart and her mouth too surprised at her own agreement to let actual words be formed.

Rufus held out his hand, taking her own in his strong grasp and shook it firmly, savouring the touch of her soft feminine skin against his own.

When their hands finally broke contact, Tifa turned away swiftly and opened the door, her body desperate to leave the room in which the atmosphere had changed so suddenly from one of pure hatred to something completely different.

As the door swung to a close, Rufus smiled to himself, his gaze still on the door, seemingly piecing through the wood as he whispered, his voice velvety and soft, ''Until then Miss. Lockhart.''

A/N= Not an especially great chapter here, but I got like three hours sleep and then my grandma was taken to hospital so I've been a bit distracted!