Guardian Angel

Chapter 5

Standing in front of the mirror hanging on the bathroom wall inside her executive office, Scarlet carefully applied her make-up. Her bright red lipstick matched perfectly with her tight red dress, which showed off every single curve of her voluptuous body.

She did not care what other people thought of her, as long as he liked what he saw. The President, to be more precise. True, she was using her body as a tool to get what she wanted. But she did not see anything wrong with merely being greedily stared at by the President, if it would bring her closer to her goal. She always knew how to provide a good view for his pleasure. And she would only show off her assets when they were alone in either his or her office. Just like what she planned to do today.

She had succeeded her first plan – to move Rufus away from Midgar. This kid had grown up a lot lately. Spoiled and arrogant as he was, Rufus sure had brain, and started to have his own idea. He would have been a threat to her if she did not send him away from his father. It was not a secret that Rufus did not really like her. Sooner or later he would find a way to get rid of her if he continued to stay in Midgar. He could and would do that, Scarlet knew this kid too well. She could not afford to take this risk.

Appointing Rufus as Vice President might give him power. Yet, there might be a good chance that he could not handle his new position. Afterall, he was just a sixteen-year-old kid. It would be much easier to bring him down later on if he ever showed his incompetence in leadership.

To emphasize his future failure, she had publicized Rufus’ appointment so that everyone would know about his new responsibilities. She had convinced the President to hold a formal party. Of course, this would also be a good chance for the old Shinra to meet the girl his only son had been dreaming of. The President was obviously interested in that girl, but not in that way. It was that special power the girl possessed that had caught his attention. That kind of power even Scarlet could not make out of.

Scarlet deliberately pulled down the neckline of her low-cut dress to show more of her cleavage. Now she had to proceed her next step – to get rid of Heidegger, the man who was in charge of the Turk as well as the SOLDIERs. Like Rufus, he was not Scarlet’s ally either. The fact that the entire Shinra arm force was in his hand made him even more irritating in her eyes. Constantly standing in her way and taking a position opposite of hers, Scarlet could not wait to remove him from the executive board. Only if she could find a perfect replacement for his position…

And she had found her key to her second plan: Vincent Valentine.

A very noble man, loyal, excelled in not only marksmanship, but also leadership. Vincent was nowhere as greedy as Heidegger, and certainly not a potential threat to Scarlet. And of course, Scarlet would not mind seeing his handsome face in the boring board meetings. In fact, perhaps if she showed off herself a little, she might get his attention…

Satisfied with the image reflected from the mirror, Scarlet exited her office and began to proceed her second plan.

***********************

Rufus sat silently in a luxurious car, watching the view of Midgar at night zoomed by through the tinted window. His lips curled up in a sly smile. Scarlet had highly publicized this party. Every TV stations and newspapers would have their reporters standing outside the Shinra Building, waiting for his arrival. He did not know why she put in so much effort in this party. After all, it was a celebration for his appointment, not hers. But it did not matter what her motivation was. All he cared about right now was to arrive in his best look with Aeris.

In a few minutes, the world would know about his lovely date, Aeris. More importantly, he wanted someone to see the pictures of him and Aeris. His… rival, someone Aeris had grew up with. Sephiroth. He'd never really liked the silver haired teenager. He knew Aeris and Sephiroth were best friends, but did they feel anything more than just friendship? That did not matter to the young Vice President. As far as he concerned, the competition would not end until Aeris got married. He would not give up that easily. Even though it was his turn to go to Junon. He chuckled silently. Yes, indeed, Sephiroth would be back in Midgar, while he would go to Junon. It seemed like fate did not want them to be in the same city. Would Sephiroth and Aeris get closer when Sephiroth returned from Junon? His clear blue eyes narrowed at that thought.

That was when the reporters came in handy. No doubt the pictures of them arriving at the red carpeted entrance would be on every single newspapers and magazine, and probably on different TV channels too. Maybe when Sephiroth saw the pictures…

Although Rufus never liked the paparazzi, he knew how to use them to his best advantage. After all, he had lived under the spotlight for all his life, constantly being stalked by people with cameras. His mind drifted to the time when his mother passed away. He was no more than eight years old. As if losing the only person that had ever showed any love for him was not bad enough, the paparazzi had never left him alone since the moment his mother’s heart stopped beating. Not even during her funeral did they stop taking pictures. The thought of his late mother cause a single tear to flow down his ivory face. He wiped his face as he pretended to brush his blonde hair backward, and turned his attention back to his date.

"Aeris, don’t worry, you look very pretty tonight." He took her small hand in his and gave it a little squeeze.

"But I didn’t expect to have reporters taking pictures of me." She frowned a little at the idea. What if Sephiroth saw the picture of her as Rufus’ date? What would he think? Would he be jealous?

"You don’t need to do anything. Just lift up your chin and smile." Rufus gave her a reassuring smile. "Okay, we are here. Get ready to smile."

*************************

A voluptuous blonde watched a teenage couple on the dance floor as she seductively leaned over to the heavy-built man next to her.

"So, Mr. President, what do you think about that girl?"

"She looks like a normal kid to me, Scarlet." The President narrowed his eyes as he scanned his son’s date.

"True. But remember who her father is." Scarlet pressed her body closer to the President. "I’m sure Gast has the ability to give his daughter a little… shall we say, enhancement."

"If she does have some sort of special power, and my boy seems to like her… then maybe she is the key to make the future Shinras stronger than normal people." The heavy-built President chuckled at the thought.

"Congratulations, Mr. President. But now, Rufus has to focus on his work first. They are still young. If Rufus is around her, I am afraid he might not be able to concentrate on his work. It was a wise decision to have him manage the Junon area, sir."

"I still have doubt about his ability to handle the entire area though." The President frowned as he watched his teenage son walking away with his date.

"Sir, you are worrying too much. Rufus is very smart, I know that. After all, he is your son." The blonde favored the President a seductive smile. Very soon, one of her threat would be gone.

****************************