NEVER BROKEN: A SailorMoon Fanfiction

Home Truths

A man in his late 20's came in and approached Raye's table.

"Am I late for my appointment?"

Raye stood up and bowed to the newcomer slightly, a beautiful but reserved smile pasted on her pretty face.

"No, Mr. Alexei. I believe you're twenty minutes early to be exact."

"Great."

"Would you like to wait in the conference room?"

This office was really impressive, Serena thought to herself. There must be at least three conference rooms, Darien's main office, where perhaps his bedroom is, Raye's office at the back of this reception, this waiting hall and the library, plus, of course, a pantry.

Alex Ferretti's eyes scanned the waiting area and spotted the cool beauty on one end of the sofa.

"What's wrong with here?" Without waiting for a reply, he sat a good measure away from Serena who was oblivious to the whole exchange.

"Hello," Alex greeted with a flirty smile. A handsome smile nevertheless. A Don Juan of the first degree.

Serena gave a close-lipped smile and nodded.

"Do you know me?"

She shook her head and a few tresses covered her cheek.

Alex looked at the magazines on the coffee table. On the topmost was this month's issue of a racing magazine. He was on the front cover.

"You're not joking?"

Always, women were the ones who sought his attention, never the opposite. Even if they didn't know him. Was this one playing hard to get?

Again, Serena shook her head. She honestly didn't know or remember him. Was he Darien's friend? Were they introduced in the past?

Behind her desk, Raye had resumed her seat and found herself unwillingly listening to the one-sided conversation. She really couldn't fathom the girl. Around her friends and other people, she was such a chatterbox. Serena tried to be like that with her once. Here was a playboy who was trying to get her attention for the last five minutes and all she would do was nod or shake her head.

Raye pretended to be focused on her desktop, but opened her spam mails instead, deliberately taking her time in clicking them one by one to delete later.

"Do you know any car racers?"

She gave a non-committal sound that hummed yes.

"Do you have a special battery or remote that I have to activate for you to speak?"

She bowed her head, her cheeks turning pink. "My... my husband used to race." She gave a wan smile.

"You're pulling my leg. You look too young to be married. What are you, twenty-one?"

Huh. A compliment saying I looked younger. Did she have any reason to believe it?

Alex seemed to be losing patience over the fact that this slip of a girl wasn't concentrating on him.

"Who is your husband? He can't be any good if he's retired already."

"On the contrary, he's a very good racer. Started very young, too," was the vague reply.

"Lady, you don't seem to know the good racers of our time."

"As long as he doesn't race, I don't really care."

"I don't see a wedding ring. Or any ring at all."

Serena raised her left hand. She put her thumb under her ring digit, looking at the combined rings instead of at the man. She remembered putting them on again after years of feeling her bare ring finger.