The final chapter.

Chapter 6

The weeks that followed Vivi's infiltration of Baroque Works were a haze of relentless activity. The heads of Alabasta Waters had been kept busy. Firstly there was the thankless task of rooting out spies in their beloved company. Then they had to file a report with the local military about Crocodile's activities, which were most definitely illegal. It had taken two weeks for the military to reach a decision on how Crocodile's immoral business tactics would be punished. In the meantime Vivi and her father had been working day and night trying to control any public panic. Rumours had gotten out that Alabasta Waters was on the verge of being sold and the thought of losing such a benevolent and essential business was causing waves of hysteria to ripple through the city. When the military finally reached a decision the whole city breathed a sigh of relief. Baroque Works was slapped with a colossal fine. From now on, Crocodile wouldn't even be able to look at Alabasta Waters without cringing at the amount of money they had cost him. Vivi had a more personal reason to be relieved at the sentence. She'd been worried that Crocodile might be imprisoned for his actions against them. Even now, a month on, the young woman couldn't escape her thoughts of him. She spent all day working hard to weather the storm he had created, but underneath her busy exterior Vivi missed the villain. At night she couldn't help but dream of his warm hands on her body and his burning kisses. Often she would wake at night, aching with longing for him. But Vivi knew that her feelings for Crocodile were silly, and impractical, and would only bring her pain. She wasn't a child who dreamt of true love any more, so she buried her complicated emotions deep under her work. She was determined to forget about him.

Just as the buzz about the attempted takeover was starting to die down, there was a big announcement. There was to be a big party. All the businesses in the Grandline, from the struggling Drum Pharmaceuticals to the booming Kuja Fashion Line, were going to be there. It was an opportunity to mingle, make powerful friends, and secure alliances that would help your business weather tough times. Vivi and the rest of Alabasta Waters were delighted. It was the perfect chance to get some positive press on their precious company after the near disaster, and show the citizens of Grandline that Alabasta Waters was thriving. And it would give the young woman another opportunity to try and forget a seductive voice and a wicked sense of humour. However, when she found herself in her room the evening of the party, Nami there to give her advice, Vivi couldn't help but see parallels to an event she would rather forget. Even now the thought of his touch from that night was enough to send shivers of longing down her spine.
Come home with me. Please.
Vivi forced her attention back to the present. She was standing clutching a dress in shaking hands. For all that Vivi said she wanted to forget she had circled back to wear she had started. Nami was giving her a look so full of soft sympathy and understanding that Vivi wanted to weep. But she was done feeling sorry for herself. Pulling herself together she gave her friend a wobbly smile.
"I'll wear this one."
"Are you sure?" Nami's voice was quiet.
Vivi took a moment to look at the dress again and to think about everything that she had gone through to secure her company. She deserved something for herself.
"Yes."
More determined now, Vivi wiggled into the dress and gazed at herself in the mirror. She looked as good as she had nearly a month ago.
"One more night to remember, Nami. I promise. This is the last time."
Her friend tossed her long orange locks and smiled at her.
"I trust you Vivi. Now get over here. I'll do your hair and makeup, beautiful lady."

Vivi had fluttered through the party like the perfect social butterfly. Every business representative in the crowd had been met and smiled at and charmed, and Vivi felt a sense of triumph at how well she was doing. It couldn't be compared to the electric tingles of excitement she had felt at her last party, but the young woman was happy. It was unexpected, but Vivi felt hope that soon she would be well again. Her pleasure ebbed a little when she found herself trapped in a painfully dull conversation with two older men. They seemed to be of a bygone era and had clung tenaciously to their antiquated business ideals. They both seemed to view Vivi as a pleasant bit of eye-candy that should stand passively and agree with everything they said. Listening to them was a blot on her otherwise good evening, and Vivi found her attention wandering. However, the two men didn't seem to want any input from her other than vague noises of agreement and she was able to avoid causing offense. Then she saw him. Crocodile walked through the crowd like a shark through a shoal of fish. Vivi felt her heart stop as she drank in the sight of him. He presence was as commanding as she remembered, the crowd seemed to part for him like the sea before Moses. Before she could even think of running those molten eyes had found hers. Vivi found herself pinned in place, transfixed by his golden gaze. Her heart was in full swing now, after the initial shock of seeing him had passed, and thumped like a drum in her chest. Her ears pounded with the noise of her frantic heartbeat, drowning out the droning conversation around her. Her stomach flipped violently and Vivi felt sick with nerves. It was horrid. Her panic intensified as Crocodile started to prowl towards her. Vivi was barely breathing by the time he came to a stop in front of her.
"Miss Nefertari. How nice to meet you."
His voice was still the rich, deep tone that made heat pool in her stomach.
"A woman out the front asked me to fetch you."
He offered Vivi his arm. She stared at it like it was a venomous snake, before cautiously accepting. There was obviously no woman waiting for her, and Vivi's heart pounded with dread. As soon as they were alone Crocodile was going to literally murder her. But her two conversation partners were still watching, even if they were totally disinterested, and Vivi had no excuse to not go with him. Of course, everyone knew about Crocodile's attack on Alabasta Waters, but the Grandline business circles were not a friendly place. In this atmosphere it was eat or be eaten and illegal moves against your enemies was the norm. When necessary the military stepped in the mete out justice, but then it was expected that everyone would move on and forget about the argument. This wasn't a place were one could afford to nurse grudges.

Crocodile artfully steered the reluctant young woman through the sparkling crowd. The dresses and flowers of the party created a glorious riot of colour, but Vivi just hoped that a few people remembered seeing them leave together. She might be in love with the bastard, but if he killed her she wanted his ass in jail. His velvet voice interrupted her hysterical thoughts.
"You look good."
Vivi glanced up and was lost again in his golden gaze.
"That dress suits you."
Vivi felt a hot flush rise up her face at the unsubtle reminder of their last time together. Her mind flashed to the sensation of his warm hands on her supple body and his burning kisses. Crocodile took advantage of her distraction and ushered Vivi out of the glittering event room. The transition from brilliant social event of the year, to the drab lobby of the hotel was so sudden that Vivi was nearly dizzy with the change. But there were still people littering the area and Crocodile continued leading her down corridors that became more and more isolated. When the sounds of laughter and chatter had faded to nothing behind them, he finally stopped. Vivi reluctantly came to a halt beside his tall frame. Half of her was frozen with fear but the other half thrummed with anticipation. Even after a month apart this man still affected her like no other.

For a long time Crocodile just looked at her. Vivi found it hard to meet his intense gaze and instead studied the fur of his jacket. The powerful man never dropped her arm, but slowly his gentle grip slid down her arm and took one of her delicate hands in his strong fingers. He finally spoke.
"You snuck into my company. You made me fall in love with you. You broke into my office, stole confidential files, and utterly betrayed me in order to save your own company."
His rich voice revealed nothing about his emotions, but Vivi reeled at his confession and felt a little stab of shame at her actions. It was ridiculous! He had been trying to rob her.
"Oh, and you broke my heart and left me on the verge of bankruptcy thanks to getting the military involved."
There was a long silence.
"I respect that."
Vivi's eyes shot up to his face with a gasp of surprise. His molten eyes looked amused at her reaction, and a rueful smile tugged at the corners of his broad mouth.
"So, I want to propose a bargain. I will never touch Alabasta Waters again. I will never even look at the damn thing."
Vivi felt certain that he could convince her to do anything, with that alluring voice and hot gaze, but tried to look calm and in control of the situation.
"In exchange for…?"
There was a long silence. The moment dragged and as the seconds ticked past Vivi felt her pulse start to race as his golden eyes pinned her in place. He seemed to be assessing her. The young woman felt a spike of adrenaline that begged her to run. God, he really was going to murder her. Then that deep voice interrupted her panic.
"Dinner?"

And everything was perfect.

I can't believe it's over. I started this fic over two years ago, and after a long time of thinking it would never get done, here we are. I hope you guys enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing. Thank you for sticking with me.