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- Chimera of Life -
Story One: Mutual Conquest
~*~
“No!” Hilde pounded her fist
on the table to accentuate her point. “Mr. Maxwell, in case you haven’t
noticed, there is an economic slowdown. There’s going to be a recession soon.
Acquiring one company is enough. We do not need another!”
A murmur of agreement flowed
around the conference table with their other executives and representatives.
Duo had surprised them with this news! He wanted to go into the electronics
software industry by buying out a company. The idea was sound… but the fact
that irked her was he never even asked for her opinion!!!
Duo shook his head. He knew
that this was going to be her reaction. Was he picking a fight with her? Well…
if he was, damn stupid of him. She looked more beautiful when she’s mad! Then
again… maybe he was really just looking for the company’s future. “I don’t
think you people understand.”
Hilde’s eyebrow rose as he
stood up.
“Don’t you see? The best
time to acquire a company is when the economy is a little bit soft!
Technology will always be here. It’s time we diversify MS Industries or we
won’t be able to compete and come out intact. If you are worried about
information overload, that there are already too much out there and that the software
industry does not have its previous edge, then I tell you now that you are
wrong. We are still obtaining information. Humans have held on because we adapt
to these changes! We have a war chest of 10 billion credits, dammit! Are we
just going to let that money rot?!”
‘Damn! He’s good…’ Hilde’s lips pursed as another murmur of
agreement flowed around the table. She knew he was good but…
“All I’m asking from you
people,” Duo suavely announced, with his arms held widespread before them as if
to embrace the whole table, “… is to keep an open mind about this and just
think about it. We are only looking out for the best of MS Industries’.” He let
his arms drop to his sides then walked to his end of the table and sat down.
“That is all, gentlemen,” His eyes went to Hilde, still seething mad. “And
lady.”
She made it a point to
ignore his look and glanced around the table instead. “Is there anyone else who
wish to speak their opinion?” When no one answered, she took out her mini
organizer. “Fine. I’m sure we all have things to do. I move for the board to
discuss this on our next meeting.”
The response came from the
man she didn’t expect to agree with her anytime soon. “Second.”
Hilde glared at Duo. “We
have a second by Mr. Maxwell. All in
favor?”
The aye’s erupted.
“Opposed?”
There was none.
“Abstentions?”
One hand rose in the air.
Hilde nodded as she closed
her organizer. “Fine. Meeting’s adjourned.” She stood, ready to leave when she
remembered something. “Thomas. I need to talk to you.”
Duo watched as Hilde took
their employee representative aside and had a quick discussion with him. They
were probably talking about a particular project manager’s attitude. Complaints
had reached their ears. Thomas was the
last one to leave from their board and Duo stood up as Hilde breezed past him
in the direction of her office.
“Hilde-”
“Shut up! I don’t want to
talk to your right now. I’m not in the mood.”
She didn’t even turn around
to look at him! He followed her and- thankfully!- was able to stop her door
from being slammed in front of his face.
“Let go of the damn door!”
She was going off at him. Oh hell!
“You’re mad.”
“You think?!” With a sigh,
too near to a growl, Hilde let go of the door and walked to her desk instead.
Duo followed once again.
Wasn’t this his desired reaction from her? Didn’t he want to get her
mad? If so, then why was he trying so hard to make amends? “Why are you so mad
anyway?”
He asked the question before
she could reach her chair and the tumult of anger erupted in her as she turned
around, eyes blazing with fire, and stomped her foot. “I thought you were my
friend and partner! The least you could have done was to tell me about this
before the meeting! I looked like a dumb ass with my jaw on the table after you
announced that… that preposterous idea!”
That was his intention… but
he knew he did wrong.
“I mean, dammit Maxwell! You
went in there ready with your proposal and speech! Ready to go and lead! And
me, I, who was supposed to know things before the board met, to get ready for
things, had stood there with question marks popping around my head! That was
unfair!”
All right… it was… he
wouldn’t argue with that. She had looked cute though.
“We had an agreement a long
time ago that when you propose one thing, if you were con, I’d be the pro! It
was to create balance and you-” she couldn’t finish her sentence in fury and
gave a frustrated scream instead. That was the core of her anger
‘And I didn’t do my end of
the deal.’ Now he feels like shit.
“Just… Just get out of my
office, Maxwell.”
She had not said his name
since he proposed his idea to the board… that usually meant- trouble. Explain…
he needs to explain. “Hilde-”
“OUT! NOW!” Hilde pointed to
her door and stomped her foot once again.
“But-”
“If you don’t get out…
I’ll…” Hilde quickly skimmed her room, trying to generate any plan of action.
“You’ll what?” Duo shifted
his weight on one foot and crossed his arms over his chest. It was a cocky pose
and he knew he was asking for more trouble when he did it. But the thing was,
even though he was used to Hilde’s anger, he was still a man.
Hilde’s eyes stopped on her
vase with plastic orchids, walked to it, and then grabbed it. “I’m going to
throw this at you.”
“You wouldn’t dare.” Duo’s
eyes narrowed, not knowing that it only challenged her some more. He just added
fuel to the fire. She was never mad enough to throw things at him befo- Duo
quickly bent to his left side as the cream vase missed his head by mere inches!
The vase hit the wall and
shattered into pieces. Hilde smiled victoriously.
Duo’s wide eyes riveted back
to her in complete disbelief. “You threw that vase at me!”
“One last warning, Maxwell.”
Duo stared as she inched to
her bookshelf then grabbed an armful of deadly books. “You wouldn’t-”
Books started soaring in the
air and Duo quickly ran out of her door. He had it shut just as he felt their
impact against the wood.
“AND STAY OUT!”
Her scream couldn’t be more pronounced. He couldn’t believe she just did that! He knew she had a temper when aroused- Hell! He’s been living with her! How could he not know?! He should have just shut his mouth and not provoke her. His eyes were closed throughout his mental ordeal and when he finally opened it, he saw their whole floor staff on their feet, staring at him.
“Er… I think she’s mad.” He
gave an embarrassed grin to the thirty-ish people around him.
“Business or home trouble,
Duo?”
Duo made a face. “Ha-ha.
Very funny, Alex.” Why were they looking at him like that?
“No. Really, Duo… Is there
something you want to tell us?”
Duo frowned as he stared at the person who asked, then around the room. “No… Not that I know of, Therese…”
“Hey… Hilde never gets this
mad. Maybe she’s pregnant.”
“WHAT?! Who said that?!
Okay… what’s going on here?!” Duo glared at the giggling staff.
Their head Human Resource
dislodged herself from the group, and walked up to him with a newspaper in her
hand. “How about you read this, Duo.”
“Huh? What is it, Dana?”
Dana shrugged. “Oh… you’ll
find out.” She slapped the newspaper against his chest and Duo, eager to get to
the bottom of this thing, opened the folded paper. It was the entertainment
page… front page and… A sinking feeling rushed through him. ‘Hilde’s not gonna
be happy…’
Their picture was right in
the middle, blown up with a smaller picture of enlarged hands on either side just
to show their rings… the header? ‘Bad News, Girls!’ The picture was taken
yesterday, when he took Hilde out to get some ice cream and… he just wanted her
to try the cheese flavored one! After all, it was the first time he was trying
it. So, he offered his cone to her for a small lick, and that was when the
picture caught the moment… Not that it was a bad picture of them. Hilde looked
great in her new suit, and he looked all right… But…
“Oh shit…” This time, she’s
not going to be just mad at him, she’s going to be hell-bent furious with him
after she sees this!
“So…? When were you planning
to tell us?!” Dana asked as she tapped on the newspaper. The staff cried their
agreement.
“I knew they were good for
each other. Didn’t I tell you that?”
“See! I told you something
was up!”
“Okay, okay! Hold it!!!” Duo
held up his hands for silence. “How about-”
“Lorraine, I need that
analysis on plant #7.” Hilde’s door opened and bumped against Duo, nearly
making him fall flat on his face. Hilde felt the weight and looked around her
door. “You’re still here?! Get back into your hole!”
Duo looked from Hilde, then
to his staff, then back at her. Newspaper in hand, he made his decision as he
opened the door wider, walked inside while Hilde gasped, and then glanced over
his shoulder. “Lorraine, hold the report.” He closed the door.
“What the hell are you
doing!?”
“Trying to save you from the
jaws of death back there.” Duo pressed the article in front of her face.
At first, Hilde just
frowned, then the picture caught her attention… The headline and- “Oh… no…”
It wasn’t that he was
expecting her to jump up in joy. He was expecting her to get angry… but not
flustered and look utterly hopeless and… and… panicked… Was being married to
him so bad that she gave those reactions? The thought made Duo feel sick.
“Yeah… uh… ‘Oh no…’.”
“Oh… this is bad…” She was
in a dream… a nightmare…! This wasn’t what Duo had wanted… His reputation… It wasn’t that she didn’t like the chance to
finally say- ‘Oh yes! I’m married to Duo Maxwell!’, but… their marriage was
just an agreement! He doesn’t want to get tied down to her! She wasn’t even the
kind of girl he usually prefers, nor dates…!
Duo frowned as he watched
her walk to the other side of the office while her head shook in worry. So… he
just got the answer he was looking for… She couldn’t picture herself being
married to him… His stomach felt queasier.
“Well… uh…”
“Are you mad?” She was still
staring at the article. She’s going to be in so much trouble with her family…
They got a good picture of the rings, too.
Duo blinked. “Mad? No! No…
Me? No! Are you?”
“Me? No! No… Not really. You
know… This is salvageable.” She shouldn’t show him how much this affected her.
She’s going to put on a smile and get him out of this.
“What do you mean?” Duo frowned
as he leaned against the door. It was either that, or tumble to the floor and…
bawl.
“Well… sooner or later,
they’re going to find out that we’re not really married… We were, legally for a
month, but only for that time. So…” It was moments such as these that she hates
her under pressure ideas. “Since we started fighting, we could stage more
fights, and… once word gets out that we’re not married, you could say, ‘Oh…
that’s ‘coz we filed for a divorce.’.”
No! “Not a bad idea,
Schebecker.” I don’t like it! Dammit! I want to stay married!
“Good. Glad to hear you say
that.” She forced a fake smile. “Shall we start?”
“Sure.” No!
They stared at each other,
not knowing what to do.
“My… this is awkward… I
can’t seem to get mad at you…” Hilde bit her lower lip as she looked at the
floor.
“Same here.” Duo sighed.
Well… This was what she wanted… “Call me an asshole.”
His whisper reached her ears
and she frowned in confusion. “Asshole.”
“No… Louder. Like you mean
it!” He looked at the floor, saw the still scattered books, and started picking
it up.
The frown on her face
disappeared as she realized what he was trying to do. “Asshole!!!”
“Dumbhead.” He gave her the
books.
“Dumbhead!”
“No! Hilde! I can explain!”
Hilde covered her lips as
laughter threatened to leave her mouth. She finally understood what he was
trying to do! “You…”
Duo started to grin and make
faces while she tried to think of what to say.
“I saw you with that… that
brunette!!!”
“What brunette?!” Duo
motioned for the books and Hilde threw one.
“The one you went out with
last night, you twerp!!!”
The look on Duo’s face was
hilarious as he mouthed ‘twerp’ that Hilde’s hands went around her stomach.
“Aww… c’mon! You can do better than that!” Duo teased in a whisper.
Hilde shook her head. “Two
timing…” She gave him a panicked look.
“Son of a bitch.” Duo
mouthed. This was actually… fun.
Hilde shook her head. “Son
of a bitch!!!” She threw another book.
“Ow! Hilde! Really! I can
explain!” Duo pressed his hands over his chest and started to act as if he was
just shot.
“I can’t do this! I’m
laughing too much!” Hilde whispered as she grabbed her desk in an effort not to
fall on the ground and die of laughter. “Get out of my office!!!” She let go of
her last books for effect.
Duo scooted towards the door
linked to the conference room. “Fine!!! If you’re not ready to listen… then…
fine!” He opened the door and motioned for her to go inside the room. Hilde
quickly complied then he shut the door with a slam.
The blinds were shut, the
walls were thick enough so that sounds from outside wouldn’t penetrate, and
vice versa… and with that knowledge in mind, the two fell down on their
buttocks and laughed their hearts out.
“Twerp?! I haven’t heard
that in years!!!”
“Well… what did you expect?”
Hilde gasped, her stomach hurts from laughing too much. “You know I don’t use
too much expletives.”
“You really are an
angel.” Duo shook his head, a small
smile on his lips. He was gasping for air like she was. “I need to teach you
some stuff.”
“Well, you’re the ‘God of
Death’. Devil’s advocate.”
“And God’s.” Duo added as he
stood up, walked to her, and helped her up. “They’re probably gonna go inside
to check up on us. Don’t forget to growl.”
“Sure.”
“Bitch.”
Hilde blinked in confusion,
surprised at what he said, then when she noticed the twinkle in his eyes, she
got it. “Er… Shit head…?”
Duo gave a slight shrug.
“Well… close enough… needs work.”
“I know…”
They reached their own doors
when Duo called her name. “Hilde.”
She turned and saw his
concerned face.
“Are you still mad at me… I
mean… about earlier? I really didn’t mean it…”
She tilted her head and
searched for her answer… She had never lied to him. If she but felt a grain of
anger, she would tell him yes… but at that moment… “No…”
“I won’t do it again.”
The sincerity in his eyes was
enough to make her believe. “I know.”
“I promise.” He wanted her
to know that he would try his best not to disappoint her again.
She nodded. “I believe you.”
Those three simple words
lifted his heart. “So… see you at home?”
Hilde smiled. “See you at home.”
They looked at each other
for a few more minutes, turned and finally entered their respective offices
with a slightly peaceful heart…