Chapter Twelve: Conditions

"I still cannot believe that Tifa Lockhart is sleeping in our apartment," Zack said as he held the cup of coffee in his hands. It was early, about six o'clock in the morning… the sun was just beginning to rise and the city was starting to wake up. Cloud finished frying the eggs and set them on a plate. "Yeah, can you believe my awesome luck?" the blonde told Zack. They chuckled and scarfed down the eggs.

"Good morning."

Cloud and Zack turned to see Tifa emerging from Cloud's room, her hair was still a mess and she still looked sleepy. "Oh, uh, good morning!" they said. She joined them at the table and Cloud made her coffee. "So… what's your plans for today?" he asked.

"I'm going to call my lawyer and have a meeting with my manager—then I'll fire him, if it's possible." Tifa said. "If I can fire him today, I'm going to start looking for a new manager."

They nodded and Zack told Tifa about Cloud's most embarrassing moments.

"I think you guys are going to be late," Tifa suddenly said as she glanced at the wall clock. It was almost eight in the moment.

Cloud laughed. "We're very late! Uh, Tifa…"

"Don't worry about me. I'll go back to my own place today, and I'll lock the door." Tifa laughed.

"Okay." Zack and Cloud said.

"Uh… Tifa?" the raven asked reluctantly.

"Yes?" she answered with a smile.

"Will we see you again?"

Tifa laughed. "Of course you'll see me! It's not like I'm going away… forever, I'm just going home. I'll visit every time I can." Zack nodded thoughtfully and said good bye. When she heard their motorcycles revving away, she walked back in Cloud's room and began packing. Her heart was heavy… it was as if she did not want to go back to her own home. She felt ridiculous.

What was up with that? She shook her head and zipped the last bag close. With one last look at Cloud's room, she smiled and locked the door behind her.

"Hello, Tifa." came a cold voice that she would know anywhere.

"Rufus!" she gasped. Standing in front of her was her old manager, dressed in his usual designer suit and signature blank expression… but his eyes told her that he was livid. He walked towards her slowly.

"Finally, you have come back." Rufus said, as he outstretched his hand. "Welcome back."

There was a feral gleam in his eyes, and he looked more dangerous to her than ever. She inched away from him. "How… how did you find me here?" Did Cloud and Zack rat her out? No, no that was impossible… aren't they friends?

"I had those two idiotic boys followed." Rufus said, "it was really bothersome. But now that you're here, we have lots of things to do." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her.

"No." Tifa said defiantly. "I have a lot to do, and one of those things is to fire you."

"What are you saying, Tifa?" Rufus asked disbelievingly. "You're firing me? Ha! Don't make me laugh."

"I'm serious, Rufus." She folded her arms across her chest.

He flipped her hair and shook his head. "I won't allow you."

"My contract with you is almost over, Shinra." Tifa reminded him. "I will just have to wait for it to expire and then I can sign another contract with somebody else."

His handsome face darkened and he swallowed. "If this was about the interview, Tifa, I only said those things because I was really upset with you."

"You showed me your true colors," she bit back. "You and Genesis…"

Rufus frowned and shook his head. "Did you really watch the interview… or did you just read those garbage tabloids that printed out the edited thing? I had to file ten libel cases because of that fiasco!"

Tifa looked at her feet, and blushed… felt embarrassed. She had only heard the news from Marlene… and now she was firing the very man responsible for her success? What was she thinking?

"If you want to watch the interview, come with me."

It took her a moment to consider. Somehow, she saw Rufus in a different light now. His features were all perfect, he was smart and ruthless when it came to business… and his eyes pleaded for her trust him. This sight was certainly different from the Rufus that told her that he wanted to make her the Cinderella of the entertainment business.

"Alright," she said finally.

The talk show host sat there, smiling serenely at the camera… for the viewer… and Rufus sat on the opposite seat, wearing his mysterious mask again. "It's been almost a month after the sudden disappearance of miss Tifa Lockhart, and today, her manager, Rufus Shinra, is here to talk to us about her disappearance."

He smiled graciously. "Hello, miss G… viewers."

"So, what do you think could have made Tifa go and run off like this?"

"She's been talking about it for quite a while now. I've told her that it was impossible because she had so much -projects lined up for this year and she could rest for the most part of the next year—but I guess she really got tired."

"Tifa got tired?"

Rufus cleared his throat methodically. "I am sure that as a talk show host, miss G, you can relate to my ward's feelings sometimes. Having photo shoots and commercial filmings all the time would obviously exhaust anybody. And may I add that she has just finished filming a movie that time, and the emotional stress of Genesis leaving for his world tour certainly would have added up to the toll."

"Speaking of Genesis, he was seen with another woman—what do you think? Is the Ultimate Rockstar cheating on your ward?"

"I have no right to comment on such a sensitive issue but I have this to say to him… if he really is cheating on Tifa: She loves you with all your heart, but if you can't repay the love she's given you, better fuck off." His eyes were narrowed.

"Did she tell you when she's coming back?"

"Tifa didn't say anything to me in her last phone call, but I—along with her thousands of fans—hope she comes back to us soon."

Miss G gingerly smiled and nodded. "Isn't possible for Tifa to get bored of the glitz and glamour of the business? I mean, there are a lot of young starlets who come in with a bang and fade away…"

"She's not a starlet. She's Tifa Lockhart." Rufus countered.

"Hmm, yes, that's right. She is Tifa Lockhart—the ultimate media queen. Do you have a message for her if ever she is watching?"

Rufus nodded… "Certainly. Tifa, come back safe and have a good rest."

The clip ended and Rufus was busying himself with his clipboard, all of a sudden. "I told you I never tried to ruin your image." he told her, "But after the interview aired, the other gossip talk shows showed the same interview but with edited parts. I got 600,000 gil from all the libel settlements."

Tifa's fist clenched and unclenched. This was so embarrassing.

He sat down beside her and said, "So… was I right? Did you really get tired?"

"Yes." Tifa said, "I got tired and fed up. You never listened to me."

"I never listened to you?" Rufus repeated in disbelief. "My dear… you're being foolish. Do you think that we would both be where we are now if I had not listened to your every whimsical request in the past?"

She bit her chapped lip. "Okay, you barely listened… but you still heard me. But I don't want that anymore."

"Is that the only issue?" he asked.

"No. You and Lazard, when you say that I have the afternoon off after lunch with you two, I always end up spending it discussing my next career move with you."

"But those meetings were very important, if we neglected those things… we would have not made it so far. Tell me Tifa, what will it take for you to stay under my management?"

She did not have to think long. "I want to lessen the bombshell image, I want my image to be more wholesome. I want to cancel my fashion line and restart it, because I have new ideas and I will never record a song."

"Is that all?"

"Not entirely. I have a list of demands."

Rufus sat back on his chair and laced his fingers together. "Then tell me all your demands… because I don't want to lose my number one client—my Cinderella."

There was a strain in his voice. Could it be possible that what he was telling her was true?

"I want to start over in my career… a total overhaul." Tifa said.

"And how do you want to execute that?"

"Uh…" she mumbled. "I want to be the one who decides on my projects, not you or Lazard. My opinions must always be heard. I'm giving you a trial period—a month, if my demands are not met, I'm looking for another manager, is that agreeable?"

Rufus nodded slowly. "A month?"

"Yes."

"Then I agree. If we cannot work together to meet your demands, then we will part ways."

"Then it's settled." Tifa said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm have a lot of other things to attend to now."

"Ah, wait Tifa—about you redoing your clothing line… we need to discuss this with the manufacturer."

"Not now."

Rufus looked taken aback.

"I told you… I have a lot of things to attend to. We'll take care of that tomorrow, or next week." She walked out of the room. The door closed with a soft click. Rufus chuckled softly and reclined in the leather chair and said, "She's changed…"

Tifa drove back to her home, feeling stronger. She had just bossed around her own boss! It was the first time she had ever done such a thing and it felt good. But... she still had her doubts. She couldn't find it in herself to trust her manager completely again. As she turned her key in the door knob, a warm feeling washed over her. It felt too familiar, and memories flooded back. Everywhere she looked, she saw her and Genesis canoodling. Tifa turned around... and the memory of Cloud fighting Cid came hurdling towards her. It made her smile as she took the bags inside.

Some things were not in place, like her phone. It wasn't where she left it, but everything else was intact, right where she had left them. Pissed, she grumbled about Rufus not being able to respect her privacy. That certainly needed to change.

How was she going to break up with Genesis if her phone was with her freaking manager?

"Hey Cloud... ya think Tifa's fired her manager already?" Zack asked Cloud randomly as they waited for a customer. The blonde shrugged, "Maybe. I hope she has."

"Yeah, he was really scary."

Author's Note: Hello dear reader! Thank you for reading. Erm~ I feel nervous. I know that this chapter would have been the obvious, Tifa firing Rufus and signing a new contract with some other manager and breaking up with Genesis... but WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME... WHYYYY. I couldn't bring myself to kick Rufus out. -hangs head and sighs- I also want to apologize for not updating earlier. I've really been busy, I hope you guys understand! ^^

Don't forget to review!

-Victoria