High School Reunions
Prologue
Shades of Crimson
-7 Years Later-
With the plastic edge of her Lexus' keyless entry that had the chain of her house key, office key, car key, and the large blue rubber key chain with two Cs overlapping, hanging heavily from it wedged between her teeth, she rummaged through her purse; balancing a cup of Starbucks and her cell phone in one hand while she pulled out a business card from her purse with the other.
"Oh, please do call me, Mr. Megaton." She said after taking the keys from her mouth and jamming then into her purse, brushing a stray strand of blue hair away from her face and watching the short man nod and get into his car.
She continued her walk down the parking lot, cursing under her breath about stupid business deals and taking the occasional drink from her cup of strong coffee.
"Miss Briefs."
The heiress in question whipped her head in the direction of the sarcastic sound of her name and smiled when she met eyes with her personal assistant.
Bulma almost laughed at the title. Juu had been an acquaintance of hers back in high school. She had worked at the local Starbucks and they really got to know each other when Bulma was visiting home after college.
She had a talk with Juu while getting coffee one day and quickly learned that Juu wanted to quit her job but she needed the money so was forced to stay. Bulma Briefs was a graduate of Yale University with honors and ready to help her father run the multi-million dollar company he had built. And just like that, Bulma offered Juu the position of her assistant.
A job that paid excellent in which Juu would get to travel and serve as the beautiful genius's palm pilot scheduling press interviews, keeping track of when and where her business meeting would go, and doing all the necessary arrangements that Bulma hated. But Juu kept Bulma company and make her coffee during long trips, and the pair quickly became friends.
They were both short-tempered, beautiful woman. Juu with her shoulder length blonde hair and icy blue eyes and Bulma, with her long cerulean hair and sharp sapphire eyes. She could pull of the short-skirted business suit and always looked excellent at every board meeting, using her appearance to her advantage to sway some of the men of the corporation.
Not that Bulma needed this asset she was more than qualified for her position. She took pride in being the "hottest genius of her time" and knew that being beautiful, rich, and smart was what had made her one of People magazines' top ten most eligible bachelorets.
But being single was how Bulma planned to stay. She was now twenty-six years old, eight years out of high school, and raising a seven year old son on her own. Well, not completely on her own. She had Juu and her parents and ChiChi was always helping out but, she remained single.
She smiled as she and thought of her son. The purple headed little boy was deceiving and always plotting new ideas that would lead him into trouble but Bulma loved him dearly, and he loved her in return. And though he ran wild and fought and schemed, he was a sweet kid and his mothers most valued possession.
Bulma turned to Juu and unlocked her Lexus with her keyless entry remote and the blonde woman slid in the passenger seat of the sleek, silver car. She leaned back against the leather of the seat and laughed as Bulma got in, and sat her coffee in the cup holder having to throw an old, empty Starbucks cup in the backseat.
"You have a meeting in Denver in two weeks." Juu said, checking Bulma's calendar with a slight nod.
"And what about Trunks?" Bulma asked with a sigh, "I can't expect Chi to keep him for an additional two weeks."
Juu smiled at the thought of ChiChi home schooling both Bulma and her own wild little boy. They drove the dark-haired woman, who was determined to fill their little heads with all that she could teach, crazy.
ChiChi had gone to school a semester to become a teacher but her dream was replaced when she learnt that she was pregnant. She finished the semester and took off to have her baby while Goku studied to open his own Karate place with a business degree.
ChiChi was thrilled when she found out that Bulma was a few months pregnant herself and the two decided to raise their children together.
Bulma got her Masters at Yale in record time, and bought a mansion in Tulsa just less than a half hour away from the Son's.
Trunks and ChiChi's naive little Goku look-a-like, Goten, grew up together and became best friends schooled by ChiChi during the day and trained to fight by Goku at night.
Bulma felt more than guilty that her friends had done so much in raising her boy, but she was a good mother and looked after Goten when ChiChi and Goku took much needed vacations.
Juu smiled, "Well, you have two weeks at home until Denver so you might as well make the most of it."
Bulma nodded and smiled as she pulled out of the parking lot, "Did you ever call that guy back?"
Juu blinked, "Mr. Megaton?"
Bulma laughed and shook her head, "No, that guy that lives down the street from us," Juu lived in the guests house behind Bulma's mansion, "David or something, you know, the guy you went on that date with two nights ago?"
Juu rolled her eyes, "You mean the annoying man who wanted to know if both you and I would 'try stuff' with him?"
Bulma laughed again and shook her head, "Just kidding then... But seriously Juu, your a beautiful woman, young, and single don't you want to find someone? I mean, nobody wants to be alone."
Juu leaned back and turned the air conditioner, Oklahoma was too hot for her liking, "Do you want to find someone Bulma?"
Bulma shook her head as she switched lanes and sped down the highway at breakneck speed, Juu was used to her boss's reckless driving and was unfazed as a man in a pickup honked as Bulma cut him off.
"Juu, I'm not alone I have Trunks."
Juu nodded lightly, knowing Bulma didn't want to have this discussion. So she turned her head to look out of her window, watching the stretch of flat, Oklahoma land fly by her as Bulma sped along.
Her navy hair was pinned tightly to the back of her head as she smiled at the woman to her left, "And when this store opens, it will be number fifteen?"
The woman nodded and grinned at the corporation owner, Launch's shoe stores were growing into a successful business and the beautiful, navy haired woman was proud of her chain.
"Thank you Leah, I hope you don't mind the move to Orlando but I need a manager there and I don't know anyone in that area that I trust."
Leah, the skinny brunet nodded with a smile, "Oh, it's fine with me Launch. I mean you're going to be there and I'm already five-hundred miles away from my parents so I might as well add another... what is it?"
Launch laughed at her friend and shrugged, "Who knows a long way though."
Leah nodded and swept a lock of sandy brown hair behind her ear, "Wow, just think Orlando. Imagine a beach house where we can watch all the sexy shirtless men walk by!"
Launch smiled at the brunet and shook her head. Leah was one of the shyest people she knew and imagined that she would never get up the nerve to talk to a male. She barely had the courage to speak straight to some of the male clients, and the financial bosses at that. Launch guessed it would be nearly impossible for Leah to speak to "sexy shirtless" guys, but she had said watch and they would have no problem doing that.
Leah sighed as she shuffled through folders that held pictures of shoes that brands wanted them to carry, "Maybe in Florida we'll both find men, L."
Launch frowned as she pointed to a picture of a cute high heel shoe and Leah moved it from the folder to a stack of shoes to consider, "I sure hope we can Leah, because I am through with being lonely."
Leah laughed as she skimmed the folder, only knowing small details of her friend's past with Tien, but knew enough to know that Launch had been on only four dates since him and only two turned into anything that could be considered a 'relationship', one was Chip who she was dating off and on. "Well it's about time Launch."
Launch nodded thoughtfully, "You're right, it is."
He rubbed his tired eyes with the back of his hand with a yawn, and threw his tool belt onto his apartment floor and listened to it land on the hard floor with a thud.
He lived her here, alone, in this one bedroom, two bath, cramped kitchen and living room apartment working for a small plumbing company.
Yamcha had claimed to have bagged his share of women who were waiting for him to check their pipes.
He smiled as he rummaged through his nearly empty refrigerator as he thought of them their hair all wet and their bathrobes tied and clenched in their patient hands as they waited for his opinion.
He hadn't settles down, nor made an attempt to do so. His small apartment and steady job kept his time and the news of Marron's flings with older men angered him more than he cared it to.
He watched the palm trees sway in the warm breeze. He leaned his head back, setting his drink on a coaster as he leaned back in the wooden lawn chair.
He sighed, feeling the heat of the sun on his skin and he pulled off his baseball cap momentarily and rubbed the top of his bald head.
"How about shrimp tonight?" Tien heard the female voice call from the kitchen, and then footsteps as the voice grew closer, "It's so damn hot I'll brew some iced tea."
Tien relaxed as he felt a pair of hands massaged the tense muscles of his bareback.
"Do you want some tea, Tien?"
He nodded as the pretty red haired woman stopped massaging him and took a seat in the chair beside him, looking off her boyfriend's front porch onto his oceanfront property onto the beach and her green eyes studied the waves as they crashed gently onto the sand.
Tien closed his eyes as he listened to his girlfriend hum a country song as she watched the ocean with a blank face.
He smiled at the thought of her she was sweet and soft and had this way of controlling her temper by biting her tongue with the tip of her teeth and smiling sweetly with tight lips and wide, green eyes.
Her name was Julie. Julie Gilmore. They had met at a seafood restaurant fifteen minutes away from Tien's beach house.
When he first saw her she had her legs crossed on the seat of her booth and was typing away at the laptop on the table. She picked at her plate of scallops with a fork, her curly red hair was pinned back and she wore a pair of artsy reading glasses over her green eyes.
Tien took a seat across from her and quickly learned that she was a writer. He laughed, a romance book writer the kind of books with a beautiful damsel in distress on the cover with her head tilted back and Fabio's arms wrapped around her.
They had been dating for almost a month now, though their relationship was not really physical, they found comfort in one another since hey were both lonely Tien taking a job as a stockbroker in Orlando alone and Julie just getting out of a two year relationship to find out that her boyfriend was cheating on her.
Julie found Tien's past relationship with Launch intriguing and she wanted to use it in one of her upcoming books.
Tien turned to look at her through his sunglasses and smiled, "Tea sounds great."
Julie jumped up and brushed her red hair behind her shoulders, "Alright, I'll have it out to you in a few minutes."
Tien nodded as he leaned back in the chair and listened to the waves crash against the shore.
He crossed his arms as he heard the sound of his business partner's laugh, they were walking down the crowded streets of the busy city, on the way to their next commerce meeting when the short man came to a halt in front of a magazine stand, eyeing a rack of candy bars.
"Vegeta, I'm going to pick up a Snickers."
A growl escaped the flame haired man's throat as Krillin walked up to the cashier and handed him a dollar bill.
Vegeta's eyes roamed across the magazine racks, boredom overcoming his dark features, until he spotted a familiar face and blinked.
He picked up the magazine, "People" was spelled out across the front cover and a headline read 'Top Ten Most Eligible Bachelorettes.' His expression remained emotionless as he flipped through the magazine until he was looking at large picture of her.
He frowned, she hadn't changed much. There she stood her long, blue hair cascading down her back and over her shoulders, a smile on her face and her deep, blue eyes shinning with laughter. She wore a cream colored dress dotted with pink flowers, a slit up the side that revealed the calf of one of her slender, creamy legs and her strappy high heels.
Vegeta scanned the article that appointed her bachelorette number six. She was beautiful, rich, smart, and single the writer of the article said. Vegeta chuckled lightly to himself wanting to add that though this list was true she was also temperamental, conceited, and great in bed.
His eyes rested on her face for a few moments until Krillin was standing at his side with a Snickers bar in his mouth, "Vegeta, what are you looking out?"
Vegeta shut the magazine and shoved it back on the rack, shrugging lightly as he watched Krillin devour the candy bar.
Krillin sighed as they continued walking towards the building where their meeting was to be held, he side glanced his partner, hoping that Vegeta didn't know he was looking at him.
Krillin and Vegeta had been partners for nearly three years, but the short man felt that he didn't know the man.
Sure Vegeta was smug and cocky and ruthless. He dominated most of their meetings and was a power hungry, immoral man who worked hard to strengthen his enterprise and take no mercy on the other companies they took over.
Krillin respected Vegeta a great deal, but was never sure if Vegeta in return had the same respect for him. Though he wasn't sure if Vegeta had respect for anyone.
He only knew bits of Vegeta's last, and only, relationship that could be deemed serious, and this was through a friend of Vegeta's who Krillin had grown close to, Goku.
Goku had said her name was Bulma and they had dated in high school and part of college. Their breakup was unexplained Goku said it was because Bulma was moody because of something she was going through though Vegeta had never known what. But Vegeta hadn't had a relationship since and made no attempt to mend the one with Bulma.
Krillin and Vegeta shared an apartment in upscale New York, so Krillin knew first hand that Vegeta had entertained himself at night never the same woman twice.
Krillin had turned his head to look briefly at the profile of his partner, Vegeta had a scowl on his face and his dark eyes were piercing forward.
Krillin sighed and stuff the crumpled wrapper of his Snicker's bar into his suit pocket, "After this meeting we fly to Tulsa."
Vegeta nodded lightly, "Then we go to Michigan to have a run through of what we've been up to with my father."
Krillin smiled and fingered the wrapper in his pocket, "But we have a break."
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "You need a break already, weakling?"
Krillin laughed meekly and shrugged, "Well, at least in Tulsa we can hang out with Goku."
Vegeta laughed and nodded as they approached the door to the building where their meeting was to be held, "Don't fuck anything up, alright?"
Krillin nodded and deposited the candy wrapper into a trashcan nearby, "Alright Vegeta, I'll keep that in mind."
She studied her perfectly manicured nails with her eyes and let out a bored sigh.
"Marron!"
Her head turned to sound of her voice and a bubbly smile rose to her face, "Richard!"
Her eyes grazed over him. He was balding slightly and had dark hair with gray strands poking through. He had brown eyes and wore an expensive business suit with a loosened navy tie. She had been sharing a room with him for nearly three years now. They lived in a mansion on a vineyard in California.
She was twenty-five with shoulder length purple hair and long eyelashes, and was happy with her life of riches.
Richard was a wealthy owner a vineyard and was in the wine business.
Marron sighed as she watched him descend from the stairs and start out for the days work with a peck on her cheek.
She decided that she was better off secure with him much better off than living with Yamcha in some dumpy apartment in New York as he went his way fixing pluming problems in the city pretending that she was in love, she told herself.
And sighed as she heard the large front door shut and she took a sip from her coffee cup and turned on the TV.
And that's the prologue...
I know much didn't happen in this chapter, but I was more setting everything up and putting a better understanding for the plot.
Thank you all so, so much for all of the reviews for the final chapter of High School Royalty. It means so much to me! Thank you!
I guess I don't know what to say, but I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to have the next one posted soon...
Please, please review!
Thanks so much!
Crimson