Title: Planning a Revenge Chapter 2 Author: Ashley E-mail: Nuriko56@hotmail.com Standard Disclaimer Apply The house Darien Chiba had opted to view first was a beauty. Eightbedrooms, six bathrooms, three reception rooms, huge study, enormous sun lounge overlooking the covered swimming pool---the list of attributes wasendless. The price took a while to say too, with all the noughts itnecessitated… Serena met him outside the towering nine-foot wall surrounding the property on the outskirts of Windsor, making sure she was there andwaiting in plenty of time. He had offered her a lift when she had phoned earlierwith details of the meeting, but she has refused, insisting she would makeher own way, due to a previous appointment meeting she would be in the area. Itwas a lie, and the exorbitant taxi fare was just punishment. She saw the Mercedes the second it rounded the corner in the far distance, the shimmering heat turning the magnificent car to fluidbronze, but waited until it was almost level with her before she spoke into thelittle box on the gate, stating their names and the reasons for their visit to Greenacres. The gated opened immediately. "Hope in." Darien Chiba was in back of the vehicle, a host of papers scattered around him as he worked away on a small computer, and he leant acrossto open the far door for her, the chauffeur sitting impassively in his glass- partitioned isolation. "Thank you." It was a little breathless, but the authority of him was magnified rather than lessened by the sight of him working,shirtsleeves rolled up and his tie loose round his collar, in the confined space. "Where's your car?" he asked abruptly as she closed her door andsettled down in the luxurious depths. Her little old banger had failed its MOT the week before, and at thepresent was in a car hospital having major surgery-- something she could illafford-- but she wasn't going to tell him all that. "Flat tyre," she replied economically. It was true, in a way, but there were about a hundred andone other defects that were being attended to at the same time. "And you haven't got a back-up?" No, and she didn't have a Mercedes, a vintage Rolls, and a snazzylittle Ferrari either. Unlike him. Perhaps three cars per multimillionairewasn't too excessive, but it had still grated when she'd first discovered it, andit rankled even more right now. "No, I haven't," she replied shortly, her chin rising a notch. "Fewworking girls have, I should imagine." There was silence for a moment and then, "I'm sorry, Serena, I put that incredibly badly." His voice was soft and genuine, and as she glanced at him she saw hewas truly embarrassed."What I meant was, I would have thought the firm you work for would have provided a vehicle for just such an emergency," he said quietly. "A car must be pretty essential for your day to day business?" "It helps." She was flustered, and hot and sticky--she had been waiting fifteen minutes for his car to arrive, so nervous had she been of beinglate, and there had been no shade from the fierce afternoon sun--but it wasthe overall look on his face and the softness of his voice rather than theheat which was making her uncomfortable. She inclined her head slightly now, her voice mellowing as she said,"It just happened that everyone needed their own car today, and there isn'ta pool vehicle---not yet as any rate," she added hastily. The last thing shewanted to do was give Darien Chiba the impression that Furuhata and Furuhatawas just a little tinpot kind of business. "But Andrew and Rita are working onit," she said positively. "And they are?" he asked expressionlessly. "Furuhata and Furuhata." "Right." Oh, damn, what was he thinking now? She risked a sidelong glance from under her eyelashes as the beautiful car nosed its way along thewinding tree- lined drive towards the palatial house some hundred yards away. Did hethink Furuhata and Furuhata weren't big enough to handle this kind ofproperty, that they were cowboys, or--? "So, most of the ground is at the front of the house, with just the swimming pool and tennis court at the back?" Darien asked quietly,raising his head from his work and leaning back in the seat as he spoke. "Yes." Oh, she should have been giving him the sales pitch rather than daydreaming, Serena cautioned herself irritably, and she went on tolist the rare trees and flowers garden boasted. She continued to point out each advantageous features of theproperty--- the genuine solid oak beams in the reception rooms, the wonderfulstained glass windows in the entrance hall and on the first and second floorlandings, and so on--- and by the time they had finished the inspection she hadspoken herself almost hoarse. It hasn’t that the owner---an aristocratic and helplessly dotty old colonel—type, who had more money than sense—had completed the tour withthem, helpfully pointing out the rising damp in the study, the crumblingbrickwork in the west wing, and the failing filtering system in the pool. She had sensed more than once that Darien Chiba was being vastly entertained. There was nothing about the studiously straight face andfaintly strangled note to his voice that suggested smotheredamusement-especially when she found herself arguing with the owner on the merits of asouth-facing garden—and when they stepped out of the front door again, after therequisite sherry and dry biscuits, Serena really didn’t know whether she wantedto laugh or cry. She did neither, inclining her head towards Darien as they walkedacross the scrunchy drive towards the Mercedes and saying, without anypreamble, "Well, did you like it?" her voice flat. "Very much." The blue eyes were positively wicked as he added, "And Molly Osaka proved to be a very honest and upright individual, don’tyou think?" She glanced at him sharply, but the handsome face was bland and innocent---too bland and innocent. "Yes, she’s very nice," Serena said primly. Why, oh, why, has she started this? She was way out of her league here. How on earth couldshe ever get a man like Darien Chiba to fancy her anyway? She must have beenmad. But she would tell him what she thought of him; she could still do that atleast. "Okay, set the ball rolling," Darien said easily. "What?" Serena stopped stock-stilled in the middle of the horse-shoeforecourt, so that Darien had actually walked on a few paces before he realisedshe wasn’t with him. He turned to face her, taking in the wide dark blueeyes and partly open mouth with more secret amusement. "What did you said?" she asked again. "I said, set the ball rolling---start the negotiations," he replied patiently. "However you want to describe it." "But…but what about the damp, and the brickwork and…everything?" she stuttered disbelievingly. "Serena, are you trying to sell me this house or do a hatchet job?" Darien drawled drily. "If you insist, I’ll sacrifice some more of myvaluable time to traipse around a few properties, but the end result would bethe same. I like this house. I want it---at the right price of course---and Ishan’t change my mind about that. I’ve always prided myself on being a man whoknows what he wants when he sees it, and then acquiring it. I’ve seen it." "You have?" She suddenly realised how hopelessly unprofessional shemust sound, and forced a bright, positive note into her voice as she added,"Of course you have. This is a wonderful house. The oak beams—" "Were pointed out masterfully, along with the stained glass windows,the new fitted kitchen, and, of course, the south-facing garden. He was laughing at her, she knew it, but she was too surprised at the easy sale---and what a sale---to be angry. The commission she wouldmake on this one deal was more than she normally earned in months. "Now, shall we sit in the comfort of the car while we discuss a few terms and conditions? It must be all of eighty in the shade out here,"he pointed out matter-of-factly. "Oh, yes, of course." She found herself almost gambolling along at his side before she checked herself sharply. This was Darien Chiba. DarienChiba. The sale was great, of course it was---"tasty" wasn’t the word---butthere was more at stake here than filthy lucre. And in one way this had all beentoo easy. There would be no reason, once the sale was going through, forher ever to darken Darien Chiba’s door again, and that wasn’t at all what shehad planned. Once in the car, he turned to her, after tapping the glass for the chauffeur to drive off, and smiled. She wished he hasn’t. It had beenbad enough earlier in the office, but here, in this confined space, withthe faint smell of expensive aftershave teasing her nostrils and the dark, latentpower of the man seeming to strain against a precarious leash, it waspositively devastating. "Now…" he leant back casually in the seat, one warm stretched along the back of the leather upholstery and the blue eyes narrow against thewhite sunlight. "That brickwork…" He detailed several matters needing expert attention---most of whichhad been pointed out by the good Molly Osaka, bless her, Serena thouhtbalefully-- -before finishing with, "They can eitherr be rectified by the presentingowner before I take possession, or by me, with estimates reducing the askingprice by an agreed amount. I’m not fussy. And of course all this is subjectto survey and the normal formalities, he said crisply. "Of course," Serena agreed carefully. "And I want this completed fast---no hiccups, no delays. If Mollycan’t get the work done in the next two weeks, I can." She didn’t doubt that Darien Chiba could do anything he set his mindto, but two weeks? "But the survey and everything?" Serena stared at him in disbelief. "These things take time, Mr. Chiba. Once you’ve reached an agreement with the owner--- He interrupted her faintly dazed voice coolly. "The girl already hasthe little seaside place she’s moving to—" Serena wouldn’t have describedMiss Molly Osaka’s iday home that way, buy no matter "---so she could moveout tomorrow if she wants. She said so. There are no mortgage complicationson her side or mine, and I can get my people in to do the survey tomorrowmorning if necessary." How the other half live. How the other half live, Serena thought bemusedly. "I want to get a place near London quickly---there are…family complications that make it important---okay? So, let’s all pull ourfingers out and get cracking." "Yes, right." She was still shell-shocked---that was the only excuseshe could think of afterwards for her next words, which were a big, biggaffe. "But I thought you had an apartment in Kensington anyway?" she saiddopily. "Did you…?" The metallic gaze had turned to bright steel and was at variance with the almost lazy tone of voice, but Serena was looking straight into hiseyes, and they woke her up like nothing else could have done. "Have you been doing some homework on me, Miss Serena Tsukino?" heasked thoughtfully. "No, no, not really." She had always been hopeless at lying, her tendency to metamorphose into a beetroot was a dead give-away, and now,as she felt herself burn with colour, she knew she had to retrieve thesituation fast. "Well…" She allowed the merest embarrassed pause before she loweredher eyes and said hesitantly, "The sort of property you're interested indoes cost a great deal of money, Mr. Chiba. The firm prefers alittle…investigation in those circumstances, to make sure the client is not disappointed at thelast moment by a buyer who simply can't meet the required asking price." "How thorough." It was cool and even, and as Serena raised her eyesshe couldn't gauge a thing from the expressionless face in front of her."And this is normal practice?" he asked softly. "In deals of this calibre, yes," she said quietly. "We like to feelthat if at any time in the future you decided to move again, the sort ofservice we provide would prompt you to contact us before any other firm." "And what else is included in the…service you provided?" It could have meant exactly what it said at face value, but there was the merest inflexion in the tone that told Serena he was flirting withher. Carefully, obliquely, even, but there was something there, and she hadto be very very circumspect now. She couldn't afford to make another mistakelike the one she had just made. She smiled gently, listening all the pros of dealing with Furuhata and Furuhata one by one, at the same time allowing her eyes to give himjust the faintest of come-ons. The Mercedes pulled up outside Furuhata and Furuhata--where Darien had offered to take her--at just gone four, and she prayed he wouldn'tsuggest coming in and meeting Andrew and Rita. The shop premises didn't looktoo bad on the outside, but if he came in and saw just how small the set-upwas, he might suspect they didn't normally deal in seven-figure negotiations.But he didn't. Why would he? She asked herself once she was out of the car andraising her hand to him as the dark gold Mercedes glided away into mainstreamtraffic. Men of his wealth and importance weren't exactly desperate to meet theminions below them. "Oh, wow!" Rita met her at the door and it was obvious she had been watching out of the window. "That was him, I take it? Darien Chiba? Andlook at that car! I bet you didn't even know you were on the road." "It's a bit different to my little jalopy," Serena agreed, with arueful grin at Rita's avaricious face. She loved Andrew and Rita--she had beenat university with them both, and they had helped her through a roughpatch in her life then and continued to be steadfast friends--but sometimes thefierce ambition and ruthless intent to succeed that the couple shared left hercold. They would make a name for themselves in the field they had chosen;she didn't doubt that for a minute, in spite of estate agents being ten apenny in the London area. And that was good, just fine, Serena told herself asshe entered the office and turned to answer the hundred and one questionsRita was throwing at her. But there was more to life than work. Andrew and Rita genuinely enjoyed working from dawn to dusk, six, sometimes seven daysa week, and, as neither of them wanted children, they decided to sink all theirtime and money, along with there hearts and souls, into their joint career. But she wasn't like that. She wanted a home of her own one day whenthe time was right, with a partner who loved her, and a family, dogs,cats…maybe a chicken or two pecking in the backyard and a pony in a field close byfor the kids to ride on? It was a pipe dream, or most of it was, at any rate,but if you didn't dream, what was there? Of course, to form a relationshipwith a man you had to be prepared to date now and again, and she wasn't there yet,but she was getting better… "Well?" She came back to the real world to see Rita positively hopping with eager impatience. "How did it go? Did he display any interest?Talk to me, Serena." "He want it, Serena said off-handedly, enjoying the moment. "He…? He doesn't! He doesn't, does he? Really? For definite?" Rita gabbed enthusiastically, for once not at all like her normal cool, sophisticated self. "Absolutely." Serena nodded, before laughing out loud. "And I'mlooking forward to a nice long holiday somewhere hot with all that commission." "Oh, you've earnt it--you've definitely earnt it," Rita agreedhappily. "If we can get a few more clients like him, we're laughing. And tothink all this came about you had lunch with Ann at Webster and Hartman! That'llteach her to boast about how well their firm are doing compared to ours." "I feel a little bit mean about that actually-- "Nonsense." Rita interrupted Serena's subdued voice in her normal forceful manner. "All's fair in love and war, girl, and don't youforget it. You went out and got those three properties you showed him on ourbooks, didn't you? It was your enterprise and push that did that. You deserveto make a killing. It's the first time I've seen you so determined aboutanything for ages." "Ages" translated into five years, Serena thought wryly, as she gazedat this bright, attractive friend of hers, who was known for her plainspeaking. "And anyway, Ann shouldn't mentioned that Darien Chiba if she didn't expect us to go for a bite of the same cheery," Rita finished with adecisive nod of her head. "I wouldn't expect you or Melvin--" Melvin being theother employee of the firm "--to sound off about who we've got on our booksand who we haven't. And you told Ann you were going to try for Darien Chiba.That's more than she would have done if the position had been reversed. No,you did very well. You've obviously got the rich touch with the millionaires." "Obviously." But he hadn't asked for her telephone number, orsuggested a date, and she had so wanted to get under his skin a bit before shetold him exactly what she thought of him. He had treated Raye like dirt underhis shoe, publicly humiliated her to the point where she had tried to take herown life. At the very least she wanted him to remember for a while when she didthe same to him. She didn't doubt for a minute that anything she said would be almost instantly dismissed from his mind, but if she could say something that rankled, it might stop him treating anyone else so ruthlessly. Therumours and counter-rumours flying round the little Scottish community after thescene at the hotel had made getting over Chad so much harder for Raye. Serena spent the rest of the afternoon pulling things together with regard to Greenacres, and then catching up with her mountain ofpaperwork, which had got sadly neglected over the last few weeks as she had racedabout like a mad thing chasing the three properties of which Rita had spoken.But it had been worth it. Oh, yes, it had certainly been worth it. She stayed at the office long after all the others had gone, home, until, at just gone nine, she felt her desk was clearer and she was incontrol again. The night was a warm one, and the walk from Furuhata andFuruhata in Fulham to her tiny flat in Chelsea was just what she needed to unwindfrom the turmoil of the day. She strolled along in the heavy London air, pickingup a hot dog--liberally doused with fried onions--on the way, and reflectingthat it was only in the big cities where a woman dressed up to the nines ina designer suit and high heels could wander along eating her dinner outof a paper bag without attracting a second glance. And she love it; she really did. After that nightmare time at university, to be inconspicuous was all she asked for. Perhaps that waswhy she felt Raye's humiliation and pain so fiercely? She thought now.Having been through a terribly public chastening herself, she knew how it felt. Notthat her circumstances had been so awful as poor Raye's--at least she hasn'tgot pregnant--but how did you compared being raped to being fooled intosleeping with someone and then losing a baby when you were openly disgraced?Perhaps they were both as bad as each other, really… Allan Ginga. She could picture one of the lecturers at university nowin her mind. Tall, good-looking, married with the requisite 2.4 childrenand career-minded wife, he had really thought he was the bee's knees. Andwhen he'd offered her extra tuition on her English essays she had reallythought he meant just that. The assault had been painful--she'd been a virgin--and degrading, but over mercifully quickly, and when she had decided to go public andreport him, despite his threats, she had discovered she hasn't been the first.Three other girls had come forward, and they'd just the ones still at theuniversity. No one knew how many other girls he had attacked in the past. Of course the resulting police action and publicity had been tough,and she had certainly learnt who her friends were, if nothing else, but shehad been determined not to creep away like a little whipped dog from themoment she had picked herself up off the floor of his room and limped away toget help. He had been so sure she wouldn't report him, so confident in his ruthlessness. Allan Ginga. Never had a name been more inapt… She'd found it difficult to be alone with a man for a long time after that, but friends like Rita and Andrew had been great, and eventuallyshe had gone on a couple of dates--more to prove to herself she could thananything else. But they had been purely platonic, with nothing more than a brief goodnight kiss. She'd often felt her heart has gone into cold storage on the man front, and it was that, even more than the rape itself, that she couldn't forgive Allan Ginga for. He had taken away so much warmth, fun, excitement and just plain ordinary living from her in a few shorts, but terrifying brutal minutes. Even now she would freeze, or experience the odd moment of blind panic, if a man looked at her in a certain way, or touched her when she wasn'taware of them. He had received a prison sentence, and she understood his wife hadleft him in the process, but how could he pay for what he had done to herand others? He couldn't, not really… It's in the past, it's in the past. You're not letting him win. It was what she had told herself every day for the last five years, but ithelped, and she had determined she would carry on telling herself the samething until it no longer became necessary. She took a deep breath now, finishing the last of the hot dog and throwing the paper away in the convenient red bin that was positionedjust outside the entrance to the terraced house in which her flat wassituated, before opening the communal front door with her key. Once inside, she ran up two flights of stairs to her little idyll atthe top of the house, glad to be home. And the quiet oasis she had requitedfor herself in the midst of the battle of the big metropolis was home, in away her aunt and uncle's house had never been. She paused after opening the door to her flat, taking a moment to appreciate the light, pretty surroundings and the fact that it was allhers. Her father's foresight in making a clear, concise will after she wasborn had meant that on reaching the age of twenty-one she had come into a nice,tidy little nest-egg which had been held in trust for her until that date.It wasn't a fortune, but it had meant she could afford to buy her ownlittle home when she left university, furnish it exactly how she wanted, and stillhave enough left over to purchase an elderly little runabout to get her fromA to B when necessary. She had barely taken a step or two over the threshold when the phone began to ring in the red and gold sitting room, and strangely, just asshe lifted the receiver and spoke her name, she knew who it was… "Serena?" Darien Chiba's husky voice caused an involuntary curling of her toes. "I hope you don't mind me calling you at home?" "How…how did you get the number?" she prevaricated bemusedly. Shedidn't knew if she minded or not, if she were being truthful, she admittedsilently to herself. "Telephone directory," he said blandly. "Oh." She wondered how many S. Tsukino there were in the London area. She'd have a look later. "How can I help you?" she asked carefully. "My people can get it to do a survey tomorrow morning," he saidwithout any preamble, "and I've already checked with Molly that that's okay." Have you indeed? And it's Molly now, is it? She was beginning to get mad. "We've discussed a rough price for getting the work done, and Molly's quite prepared to drop by the required amount. Now--" "Mr. Chiba--" how dare he, how dare he take over like this? "--you are aware negotiations of this sort should be done through the estateagents?" she asked icily. "Who say?" he shot back quickly. "It really isn't done--" "Serena, I couldn't give a pig's ear about what is done and whatisn't," he said, with a smooth arrogance that had her telling herselfdesperately that she had to remember he was the buyer, that this was a huge deal, thatshe couldn't afford to get on the wrong side of him and blow it. And thatwas besides her original plan to worm herself into his life and get himinterested before she let him know what was what. Which didn't seem quite such agood idea now, somehow. "I'm working within the limited time-scale, and I haven't time for pussy-footing about. Right? Now, if you have a problem with that, I'msorry, but there it is. Although surely the sooner Molly's happy, I'm happy,and you get your commission. Yes?" Below her commission, the arrogant, supercilious, overbearing-- "Right?" he repeated coldly. "Right," she agreed tightly, her tone saying something quitedifferent. And she had decided whether she minded him calling her at home! "Serena…" there was what sounded like a long, impatient sigh. "Please don't be difficult." "I'm not being difficult." Oh, this was getting ridiculous. What wasshe doing? She couldn't afford to argue with him like this, she cautionedherself sharply, forcing a sweeter note into her voice as she said, "I'm not,really, Mr. Chiba, but negotiations of this sort are what I get paid for, afterall." "And in the normal run of things I'm sure they are quite invaluable,"he said soothingly. "Yes." Patronising into the bargain, she thought exasperatedly. But at the moment all the cards were stacked well and truly on his side, andall she could do was grit her teeth and play ball. "Well, if Miss Molly Osakais happy with what you've discussed, I'm sure we will be," she said brightly."I'll have to ring him in the morning and confirm, of course." "of course," he agreed drily. "But I'm sure you'll find she's very understanding." Huh! She narrowed her eyes, frowning across the room. And what was all the mad rush about anyway? Why was it so imperative for him to have ahouse so quickly? He had a marvellous bachelor pad--a sump--tuous penthouse fromall accounts--in Kensington. It wasn't as though he didn't have anywhere ofhis own to live. He was just being awkward--flexing his wealthy muscles and demanding that everything be done yesterday, because that was how he wanted it.Ruthless to the last, she thought bitterly. "Yes…Well,thank you for letting me know what you've done, and I'll bein touch--" "Are you free for dinner tomorrow night?" Darien interrupted evenly. "Dinner?" eager delight was quite absent from her voice, and his own reflected his recognition of the fact when he said, his tone smooth but did distinctly cool, "It's something most people do in between lunch one day and breakfastthe next." Dinner. Serena was eternally grateful Darien Chiba couldn't see her as she leant back against the wall and shut her eyes for the moment,before taking a deep steadying breath and saying, the breathless note not atall feigned, "I'm sorry, but I do have a previous engagement tomorrow…" inthe sort of voice which made it clear she would like him to suggest another evening when she could make it. He did. "Wednesday evening?" he asked expressionlessly. Wednesday. That would give her Tuesday lunchtime and evening, and Wednesday lunchtime I she needed it, to buy a new outfit, have her hairdone, give herself beauty treatment… "That would be lovely," she saidquietly, hopping she was hitting the right note of cool interest now. "Good. I'll pick you up about eight," he said smoothly. "I wasthinking we might go to Harvey's, unless you have any objection?" Serena just stopped herself saying, Harvey's? in the same blank, gormless way she had said, Dinner?, and instead managed to sound quiteblasé when she answered, "No, Harvey's will be fine." Harvey's will be fine. After she had said goodbye and put down thephone she ha a sudden desire to laugh hysterically. Harvey's was the onenightclub in London that even the rich and famous would kill to get membershipfor, and their wasn't one single person of her acquaintance who had got so muchas a nose in the door. And he was taking her there! Her, Serena Tsukino! The urged to laugh vanished instantly as the thought of what she was going to wear surfaced with frightening intent. You couldn't go toHarvey's in an off-the-peg dress and shoes, she thought with blind panic. This wasgoing to be an exclusive designer job at the very least. Well, she would haveto use the money in her building society account that she had been saving allyear for a holiday, and maybe the cash she had put by for her car too. Needsmust. She went straight into her tiny but extremely well fitted kitchen and made herself a very strong cup of black coffee, which she drank downscalding hot in an effort to combat her churning stomach. It helped, and aftershe had drunk a second cup her natural optimism and determination came to thefore. Darien Chiba was just a man, when all was said and one. All right, he might be wealthier and better-looking than most, and have enoughcharisma and male magnetism to send the average woman bandy, but she wasn't theaverage woman. She made a deep obeisance with her head to the thought. And hewas going to remember her--and Raye by the time she had finished--for along, long time. Stay tune for chapter 3…. I hope you're enjoying my story. E-mail me!