Extrapolation
of Fate
Chapter
4
By: Neo-Queen
Serenity
E-mail:
serenausako@hotmail.com
Webpage: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/6436
Seated on her Queen Anne
chair, Serena watched Gregory Laurence standing over by the windows, facing
her. “I am.” She answered
truthfully.
Greg had inquired about her case with Sintrade, wishing to find tints of her relationship with Darien Fielding.
“How did everything turn out?”
“I don’t know, Greg.” She shook her head, “I really don’t know.”
He nodded curtly as if accepting her words as an answer.
“The good thing is, the FBI didn’t and couldn’t find traces of illegal trading of drugs from Darien’s ships. Until things have cooled down, Sintrade is still not safe.”
“I heard.” Greg rubbed his chin. “The Sintrade stocks are doing much better. At least, Darien is kept from bankruptcy.”
“His public conference must have helped.”
“Has Carlton brought him to court yet? I mean, the newspaper headline was huge with it yesterday.”
Serena shook her head. “They are bidding their time. We are on the defense side.”
“Just how does Carlton think he will be able to win the case?” Greg smirked with amusement. “No judge alive will believe Sintrade has bribed me.”
“They won’t.” Serena smiled too. “I have complete confident in that.”
“Sintrade is just as large and well handled as Global. Darien and I had been looking forward for an alliance to open up convenient and cheap trading routes to Asia and Australia. It’s simple partnership.”
“Unfortunately, Malachite Carlton obviously believed that you’d form an alliance with him, if Sintrade had not interfered with his plan.”
“Non sense!”
“Try telling him that.” Serena smiled even more.
Suddenly Greg focused his gaze on her eyes, inquiring something Serena instantly recognized as a demand for explanation.
“Oh no,” She tried to fend it off as a joke. “Since when did we change our conversation topic?”
Greg walked in front of her, towering over her seated form. “Tell me, Sere. Why?”
Serena instantly looked away. After what seemed like hours, she slowly stood up and paced to where Greg had been standing. This time, with her back to him.
“The engagement was off.”
“He broke it off?”
“I did.” Serena breathed deeply. “It was not until the day before
yesterday that I saw him again.”
He remained silent, quietly encouraging her to go on.
“That ill-fated afternoon,” She
thought for a moment, “I went to Darien’s apartment because that was our one
year engagement anniversary. I
should’ve called him saying that I am coming over, but I didn’t. I used the spare key he gave to me and
the house was so quiet that it seemed no one is home. So I decided that wait for him, and then
I heard a noise coming from the patio.”
“And?”
“And I went to see what could that
be. Then I saw Beryl
Merlin.”
Greg’s brown eyes widened with
shocked surprise.
“She’s beautiful and
enchanting. I had always thought
that she’s someone you watch on magazine covers or host shows. But she was right there, in Darien’s
arms.” Looking like a fallen
angel, she stared at him with helpless appeal.
Greg walked up to her, took her
into his arms and laid his chin against her hair. Running a hand down her back in a
soothing motion, he kissed her temple to bring her his
comfort.
Serena clung to him, taking what he
was offering.
“Under the sunlight,” She whispered
in choked speech, “they seemed so perfect for each other. Afterwards, I realized that there will
never be a place for me in between them, because Darien loves
her.”
“Then he broke the
engagement?”
“I did.”
He held her at arm length, looking
into her tear-swarming blue eyes.
“Why?”
“Pride. Wounded pride was all that I have
left. Besides, I always knew that
Darien didn’t love me.”
“But he purposed to
you.”
“He did.” Serena’s voice became
shattered. “But you see, it was never his intention to have me as a wife. His father adored me as a daughter and
my parents wanted him as a son-in-law.
And I,” She broke off, “loved him since I was
sixteen.”
“That young?” Greg laughed
softly.
She smiled weakly. “Darien Fielding is a man that women
fall in love with very easily. He’s
a bundle of contradictions, social polish, elegant male charms, and iron
determination altogether. Those are
more than enough to melt any woman’s heart.”
“Including
yours.”
She nodded. “After I left, I locked
myself up and thought about him all over again. You see, Darien had never regarded me as
a woman. When we were younger, I
was a silly girl who would never grow up.
Then later, I shamelessly took the hint from our parents that an alliance
between the families is beneficial.
So I went after him like wolf looking for a lamb.”
Greg chuckled at her quip,
imagining Darien Fielding like a softly vulnerable lamb with Serena Lamperd
looking on.
“Finally I saw things with clarity:
I’d been too starry eyed, too willing to love him that Darien only played along
to comfort his father. He would
have never picked me as his wife, because deep in his heart, he’d always admired
someone like Beryl Merlin.”
“You’re captivating.” He protested
loyally.
“I realized too that it’s so wrong
of me to envision him falling in love with me, because Darien could always
regard things with precision. As a
result, I decided to leave him.”
“But you don’t hate him.” Greg
observed.
“No. I truly don’t hate him. And if I harbored any detestation for
him, I would never have risked accepting Sintrade’s case.”
“Not even due to
betrayal?”
“Darien didn’t betray me.” She closed her
eyes, then opened them again. “He didn’t want the engagement as much as I
yearned for it. He never loved me
or told me that he held any affection for me neither, thus there is really no
point of accusing him of betrayal.
In a way, he’s justified to seek after his love. I simply wished that he could tell me
what he truly felt a little sooner.”
“We won the first round.” Serena
looked around at five pair of respectful eyes. “The FBI found no evident of what
Malachite Carlton accused us. And
the media is beginning to portray Carlton as both traitor and
liar.”
“What about the law suit?” Ken
spoke up suddenly.
“I am getting there in a second.”
Serena smiled. “We don’t want them to suit Sintrade in any way possible. Because
in the end, even if the law sides with us, public scandal will affect Sintrade’s
trading business and stock shares.”
“But we will never be able to
prevent Malachite Carlton from filing a case against us. Even if the judges are convinced that
Sintrade is innocent, it is still legal to sue.
“Right. We can’t stop them from openly suing
us. But there must be a way to
inhibit them from filing the charge at all.”
“How?” Lita
frowned.
“That’s the tricky part.” Serena
looked at Lita, then at Darien. “Firstly, we have to make Carlton understand
that he doesn’t stand a chance in this game. If he knows that suing will not get him
anywhere, he will stop and reconsider. When he can’t prevail, he will look for
ways to benefit himself by taking something from Sintrade. And that something I assume is the
partnership with Global.”
“You’re suggesting that in order
for his word for not filing a charge against us, Sintrade must exchange the
alliance with Global in return.” Darien narrowed his eyes.
“No.” Serena smiled in a soothing
manner. “That’s what he wanted. But
we are not foolish enough to offer it on his doorstep. We will issue a
threat.”
“A threat?” Andrew Johnson looked
incredulous. “If we can threaten
Carlton then what is we sitting here for?”
“To my understanding,” Serena
tapped her ballpoint pen on the desk. “Someone has convinced Carlton to secretly
collecting public shares belong to Sintrade. And if I guessed correctly, that
‘someone’ is none other but Beryl Merlin.”
“Merlin?!”
The blond nodded. “Right. I sent a team of investigators to
inspect on Carlton’s recent investment and moves. According to the private reports I am
receiving, he’s busily purchasing shares under private company names and
personal accounts. Especially when
the Sintrade stock had been at its lowest point last week, because they are
costing him a lot less.”
“It’s none other than a well
planned take over.” Ami made her first statement in hours.
“Correct.” Serena cupped her chin, smiling. “The Gunter Trust has already collected huge amounts of shares. Ervin Inc. is also involved as well.” She pushed the report toward the center of the conference table. “Malachite Carlton is wise enough to collect them privately so when things turn out bad, his name won’t be dragged across the screen. But since the accounts are either directly or indirectly connected with his name, he is still involved.”
“Go on please.” Darien looked
up.
“Carlton wanted these shares so
that when they build up, he can easily manipulate Sintrade’s board of directors,
or worse, “She paused. “He can buy a seat for himself
too.”
“Effective.” Ken Glover commented,
his lips lifted in an amused curve.
“Very effective.” Serena
nodded in agreement. “Consequently, he made it easily for Sintrade to bring him
in front of the Stock Exchange Commissions for illegal gathering of stocks and
miss use of internal information.”
“Internal information?” Andrew
frowned.
“Don’t forget about Beryl Merlin.”
Serena’s heart tinged, bracing for what’s next. “She was romantically involved
with Sintrade’s president. Obviously, she has some access to high security
document.”
She looked straight at Darien, but
he looked away quickly to avoid any eye contact.
“This is what I am suggesting,”
Serena picked up where she left off. “We make it clear to Carlton that he can’t
win the game by suing us, because it will only prove us innocent when the case
is finished. Then we apply the threat as a pressure, warning him not to attempt
the trial because he will lose both the legal case and his reputation. If he really decided that suing is the
best of his interest; it would be one stone two birds for Sintrade, because
Malachite Carlton will become a public laugh stock and a liar. If he is smart
and decided to let everything drop, everything becomes simplified.” Serena
looked at everyone in the conference room, “In the end, the final alliance
between Global and Sintrade will fend off any rumor that still
remains.”
Smiling admiringly, Andrew Johnson
clapped slowly and deliberately.
Darien nodded his head too; still
unable to block the guilt that surrounded him when she’d mentioned his romantic
involvement with Beryl. He looked
up instantly when Serena’s softly cultured voice called his
name.
“Can
you please instruct your secretary so that she can put me through the line to
Malachite Carlton’s office?”
To be continued…
Neo-Queen Serenity's Crystal Tokyo was originally established on August 18th, 1998.
It is owned and operated by Neo-Queen Serenity
