Chapter Fourteen: Offer

The tiny pizza parlor's crews' jaw dropped the moment Tifa and Rufus walked in. As usual, the restaurant was empty, which made Rufus and his bodyguards relax. Tifa smiled and waved at Cloud. She crossed the room easily even though she was wearing the obligatory six-inch high heels for the meeting with XY fashion house. Cloud grinned at her and nodded at Rufus.

"Hey!" he greeted cheerily.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. After saying 'hi', she couldn't articulate anything else to say to him, and immediately felt awkward. She had never felt this way with Genesis.

"Uh—table for two?" Cloud asked, still smiling at her. His blue eyes glimmered like precious stones once again, she noticed, and they seemed to be asking her something.

"For three, actually." Tifa said, glancing at her manager. "Uh, can you get his bodyguards a separate table?"

"Alright," Cloud mumbled and ushered them towards a corner table. The tabletop was bare, except for the tissue dispenser and menu. Rufus sat down with a raised eyebrow and his narrowed eyes examined every spot of the restaurant. When Cloud stalked off to usher to bodyguards, Tifa giggled and whispered to Rufus, "This isn't a five-star restaurant, but the food's great."

"Tell me, Tifa, have you been eating pizzas a lot these days?"

"Um… yes. What made you ask?"

Rufus shook his head and grinned. "You never invite me to eat something with you unless you've been eating it for days in a row. I think the last one was lasagna."

Tifa grinned. "So… you noticed that, huh?"

"I must presage you; however, that pizza contains a lot of calories which may thicken your waist." Rufus cautioned. "Your 36-24-35 could disappear."

She looked up at him in shock. He knew her measurements? She had always thought that it was only Lazard who kept track of her bust-waist-hip measurements since he was the stylist. Speaking of Lazard, she hadn't heard from him since her return.

"Oh, don't worry about my measurements, Rufus." Tifa said, waving her manicured hand carelessly. Cloud walked back towards them, holding a notepad and pen. "Are you ready to order?" he asked.

"We'll have the usual, Cloud, thanks." Tifa answered him. Cloud nodded and stalked off to the kitchen.

"Your friend would look completely normal next to the professional models in your line's campaigns, you know, Tifa." Rufus said quietly, his eyes following Cloud's retreating figure. "I'll give it to him that he has the boy-next-door look, but other than that, I don't see anything else."

Tifa rolled her eyes at her manager and said, "There aren't going to be other models for my campaigns. It's just going to be me and him… if he agrees, that is."

"You've already gotten everything planned out for Heart Locker, huh?" Rufus mused. "That's good, that way, I don't have to think much for it. You never seemed to be into it the first time."

"Of course I wasn't. You were pushing right in my face the first time!"

Rufus chuckled. "I see. Before you left, we had already enlisted Aerith Gainsborough to model some of your designs."

"Aerith?" Tifa repeated. "The girl Sephiroth's been courting for months?"

"Yes."

"Has she answered him yet?"

Rufus chuckled quietly once again and shook his head. "She's still single, as far as I'm concerned. Unbelievable, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

The kitchen doors opened and Cloud emerged, followed by Zack. Both of them were balancing pizzas on a tray, and Tifa could tell that Zack was trying his best to ignore Rufus. "Here you go, enjoy the pizza." Cloud said with a small smile.

"Why don't you take a seat, Cloud?" Rufus suddenly said, freezing Cloud. The blonde stared at Tifa and Rufus then said, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm not allowed to—"

"Oh, come on, we have a little offer for you."

Cloud glanced at Zack, and sighed. "What is it?" He didn't sit down.

"You know what, Rufus? I'll tell him later," Tifa suddenly said. "Walls have ears, you know."

"Very well…" Rufus answered somberly and sliced a piece of pizza for himself. Cloud gave her a puzzled look which she answered with a coy smile. The phone rang and he excused himself.

—Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ—

"I can't possibly go on a dinner date tonight with this stain on my suit!" Rufus groaned as they made their way out of the restaurant. Tifa laughed quietly, which was rewarded with a glare.

"Who are you going out with?" she asked. Ever since he took her under his wing, Tifa never saw Rufus get intimate with another woman… not that he ever treated her that way at all. He was always so suave, so professional towards everybody. She began what he was like… as a lover. Rufus wasn't a monster-control freak around his special someone, right?

"Nobody you should worry your pretty little head about." Rufus answered as the driver opened the car door.

Tifa shrugged. "Huh."

—Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ—

It was six o'clock in the evening, and she was sitting alone in her room, staring at the picture frames lined up at the desk. All of them were encased in gold frames, to match Genesis' liking. The picture that she couldn't stop looking at was their very first picture—when they first met at the Entertainment Society Awards show, she was just a breakout artist then and Rufus had granted her the chance to meet him. She felt like she was going to melt right there, but Genesis smiled graciously and spoke kindly to her… then he got her number and everything was history.

Tifa sighed and played with a strand of her hair. Everyday had been magical with him, but now, the spell has been broken and she had to break free. She was sure that he already knew that, which is why he wasn't calling. This is starting to get pathetic, she thought.

Her phone rang, but it was Cloud, so she smiled.

"Hey!" Tifa said. "What's up?"

"Hey… uh, I was wondering whether you'd tell me what you were gonna offer me this afternoon." Cloud said through the other end. He sounded half-nervous.

"Oh that? I was going to ask you whether you'd like to be a model in my fashion line…"

"Uh… can you repeat that? I didn't quite catch it."

Tifa laughed, suddenly feeling nervous herself. "I'm asking you to be a model for Heart Locker."

"Heart Locker?"

"My fashion line."

"Oh, uh, um…"

"Please?"

"I'm a normal average looking guy who delivers pizza, Tifa, not a model."

"Trust me, you're not a normal, average looking guy. If you agree, you're going to be my exclusive model alongside Aerith and myself."

"Aerith?"

"Gainsborough."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Can I think about it?" Cloud said.

"Of course. Where are you?"

"Home."

"Ah, I'll come over tomorrow at the restaurant for your answer…"

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

—Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ—

"What do you intend to tell Tifa?" she asked him as they sat in the bar. Her red hair cascaded down her shoulders, creating a curtain between them. He could still see the glimmers of her diamond earrings. "She's bound to find out about our little night out."

"She won't ask because she trusts me that much." Genesis said quietly, watching the scotch dance in the light. "Now I sound like a villain. This is the end for us. It was fun while it lasted, but she's the one I love."

"I understand that." Cissnei said, she looked up at the ceiling then at him. "She's really lucky… I hope it's not too late. Your girlfriend's really sensitive, from what I've seen. If she ever breaks up with you, I'll be waiting for you."

Genesis stood up and glanced at her one last time. "See you."

"Yeah, sure." Cissnei replied somberly.

The girl did not clearly like to be the other woman, but took the role anyway. It was a very far cry from her sickly sweet act in front of the lenses. He pitied her.

Angeal was standing at the doorway, his arms were crossed and his face was set in a deep, thoughtful expression. "You know, you've got fidelity problems. She's the fifth girl since the tour kicked off."

Genesis shrugged. "I'm a man, Angeal, I can't deny my carnal desires. I'm sure that you can understand what I mean."

His friend scoffed. "I beg to differ. My wife's the only woman I want next to me in bed."

"It must really be boring to be you then, my friend."

"Not really."

Genesis rolled his eyes.

"What if your Tifa finds out about your mischiefs?"

"I bet she already knows about this scandal that's why she's not calling."

"And you're not going to do anything about it?"

"She can't let go of me," Genesis answered smugly. "I'm the ultimate man."

Angeal shook his head and said, "You and your ego, Genesis." The vocalist simply sauntered inside the hotel room to rest.

—Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ—

Be a model for her upcoming line, huh? Cloud thought as he looked up at the star studded night sky. That wouldn't be so hard, right? He was just going to pose and have an unreadable expression all day, right? But what if... he falls more in love with her if he agrees?

—Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ. Ꮱ—

Author's Note: Hey! Hey! Agh! You and your ego, Genesis. . You're not the ultimate man! :o Tell me how feel about this update in your Review, okay? Thank you to those who reviewed on the last chapter! You guys RAWKKKK! :D Happy Halloween? -screw timelines-

Trivia: If you have read my other fics, you'll notice that this is the second time that I've used Aerith. But she didn't have a major role in her first appearance. Hurray for Aerith! :D