Chapter One: A Wild Offer Accepted (2,784 Words)

Alistair Christena stared her parents into the ground with a carefully guarded expression after they had told her the news. They had just disowned her from the family. "Why?" she asked softly, attempting to reign in her silent but brewing anger. "Why disown me from the family? I'm your own daughter! Is it because I'm aspiring to do greater things than you?" Her voice was unnaturally calm and held little tone, but her tensed muscles gave away her true feelings.

"Alistair, you are going to-" her Mother began, but she effectively cut her off with more than just a heated yet icy glare.

"Run the company into the ground? No, Mother, it is I who is going to bring the company up from the brink of destruction!" She swung her hand to the side as if the motion would help emphasize her point. Her anger was getting the best of her again. "You are sadly mistaken if you think that disowning me will stop me from taking Christena Corporation right from beneath your feet! It will be like stealing candy from a baby."

"You are too corrupt-" She cut her father off this time.

"You are the ones who are corrupt, and the world will hear of it!" With that final statement, Alistair turned towards the massive front doors she had been standing in front of, pushed them open with practiced ease, and stormed outside to her waiting vehicle. She pulled open the black SUV's driver door and shoved the keys into the ignition. Her anger was about to get out of hand. She knew that it was best to leave her parent's estate immediately, and she knew that this would be her last time leaving.

She took a deep breath before driving away, leaving nothing but a wave of dust from the spinning tires before they got traction and disappointed parents. Or at least used-to-be parents.

Alistair blinked slowly as her mind refocused on the desk in front of her. Her mind was foggy from the sleep-like state she had just been in. Her ocean blue eyes looked towards the glass office door as three, perfectly timed knocks rang about. Seeing as it was only Justine, she quickly waved the secretary in.

"So sorry to disturb you, Miss Dernier, but I've received news from the gaming corporation who we are about to join with." Justine's small, well-manicured hands held an enveloped letter. Her violet eyes watched her boss carefully.

"Bring it here," Alistair said softly with another motion of her hand. The secretary shuffled forward quietly. The dark grey carpet that clothed the floor from wall to wall made her usually loud footfalls nearly quiet, and the light gray walls made her long, raven black hair look darker than it truly was.

Once the letter was in her hand, Alistair wasted no time in opening it with a nearby knife. She preferred using the small weapon over the overly expensive letter openers that Justine was found of using. Her eyes quickly scanned over the contents.

When Alistair's face morphed into a scowl, Justine knew it was time to leave her boss to roast silently in hot rage. Justine's four years at Dernier Corporation gave her plenty of opportunities to experience Alistair's wrath. She had almost been fired numerous times over. Many of the staff members were so afraid of it, they didn't even come onto the top floor to meet with their boss anymore. Although, Justine had to give Alistair credit for learning patience, even if it were only a miniscule amount.

"I take my leave of you," Justine whispered with a slight bow before quickly moving towards the door. She gave God a quick thank-you in prayer before sliding back into her desk chair. She was glad that her boss held her temper in while she escaped into the waiting hall's safety.

Justine shook her head before straightening her dark purple, knee-length dress and returned to typing on her computer. She could tell that the day was going to be long, and it was only nine o'clock in the morning.

When the door clicked shut, Alistair let a low growl escape her throat. Her eyes blazed with fiery rage, and she gritted her teeth as she reread the letter. It didn't help that it was written the most awful penmanship ever in her opinion. Pegasus had always been a flirtatious man to put it lightly.

Alistair Dernier,

Illusionist Games is sad to say that we don't believe that our contract with Dernier Corp is going to be beneficial to either of us. I sincerely hope that we can still be friends.

Yours truly,

Pegasus Maximillion 3

Alistair angrily tore the paper in half and threw the pieces about the room. "Friends my ass!" she thought darkly. She fought to keep the vile things she could do with Pegasus' company and life out of her mind. Killing the man would not rectify the situation her company was currently in.

Enraged at the failure the Game Development Team had shown her, she fired them all on the spot. That was approximately two months ago. Her pride wouldn't allow her to hire them back, no matter how dire things became.

She rested her elbows on her elegant pine desk and placed her head in her hands. Her unkempt shoulder-length, blonde hair fell from its normal upright position as she did so. Gaming was big now-a-days. Dernier Corp specialized in anything and everything but not gaming. It would only be a matter of weeks, maybe days now with how her staff gossiped, before anyone found out how, and more importantly why, the once all-powerful corporation was slowly fading away like a burning out candle.

She was beginning to lose her grip on the entire situation. She thought back to the adults who she still, although ruefully, considered her parents. They said she was going to kill the company, and she would never admit that they were probably right.

"No," she thought as she closed her eyes. Tears threatened to fall at the thought of losing everything she had worked so hard for. "I finally have the thing I've strived for within my reach. There is no friggin' way that I'm going to let it slip away so easily. Alistair Dernier is many things but a quitter is not one of them!"

Another set of three knocks, more gentle and hesitant than the first time, brought her attention from within her own thoughts to the door once again. The glass wall allowed her to see Justine with a tall, quite imposing man standing behind her. He was wearing a very expensive looking suit from her viewpoint, and he looked annoying, high-strung, and impatient. Perfect, another aristocratic noble business man to deal with. This is exactly what the doctor ordered.

She waved them in without a second thought and took a breath to relax herself. Yelling at the man right away was not going to solve anything. Like all others before, she would listen to what he had to say before either shutting him down, agreeing with him, or completely cursing him out. It would probably be the last, especially in her current mood. She was practically bathing in rage, and she knew that it was coming off her body in heated waves.

As Justine held the door open for the man, Alistair saw that he held a brown leather briefcase. It caused a small smirk to appear on her lips. It was rare to see one of the older ways of paper transport being used by such a young, very attractive, looking man. Maybe she judged him too harshly? Eh, probably not.

She waved to one of the two grey upholstered chairs that sat in front of her desk, and he sat immediately, lowering his briefcase to his lap. "If that is all, Justine?" Alistair asked quietly when she saw the nervous, pleading look on the girl's face.

At her boss's words, Justine closed the door behind her as she exited. She retreated to her desk for the second time that day. No doubt a headache was forming in her head, if one wasn't there already.

Alistair turned her attention to the man who sat in front of her with her hands beneath her chin. She assessed him quietly, and by the way his muscles slightly tensed, he knew exactly what she was doing. He had next to perfect posture as he sat, almost regal, in the chair before her. She herself was quite lax despite being previously irritated about the entire endeavor, seeing as he had just waltzed into her office space without a warning notice. All the cards her in her hands so to speak, and she dared to say that the man somehow calmed her mind even though he had not moved his gaze away from her own since he had sat down.

Next to his suit and posture, she noticed his ear-length brown hair was neatly combed yet not gelled. It laid naturally. His eyes were a dark, stormy blue that seemed to be an endless pool of iced coldness. He was, in appearance, the perfect business man. Down to the very letter. She would take it to the grave, but she was impressed. Yet, something seemed off about him. Although, she hadn't a clue to what it might be.

"What can I do for you, Mr...?" she began slowly, making sure to keep her temper in check and the attitude from her voice. Pegasus' letter was still brewing fresh in her mind after all.

"Kaiba," the man answered smoothly in a gruff voice that almost sent a shiver down her spine. "Seto Kaiba."

Her ocean blue eyes flashed with interested amazement that Kaiba barely had time to register before it was hidden by a neutral façade. "Interesting," he thought. "It's as if she didn't know who I was." Being the leader in the gaming business, he was well known, or that's what he thought at least.

"You probably already know that I am Alistair Dernier since you came here without an invitation," she replied back calmly. It was plainly obvious by the hidden undertone in her voice that she didn't appreciate other CEOs meandering around her territory. In all honesty, he wouldn't want them to be either.

"I do apologize for the sudden appearance. But as fate would have it, I hear that Dernier Corp is having a slight setback in their Gaming Department."

Anger instantly boiled in her blood as the liquid of life rushed about her body. It must have ran through her eyes as well because Kaiba's own eyes narrowed slightly, assessing if it could be a threat. "Yes," she all but growled out. She leaned back into the comfort of her chair, eyes closed lest they release anymore of her emotions to the business man and to help reign in her anger at the topic. "But I can assure you that it's only a minor setback."

Her tone having caught him off-guard, he hid his surprise by leaning back into his chair as well. "I meant no offense to you or your company, Mrs. Dernier."

"Please, I'm not married." Her impatience and annoyance was beginning to show through. However, she could understand why he would think so. Her left hand's ring finger sported a ring. It was simply steel and cobalt twisted together. She pinned him down with a cold and calculated stare.

Moving on to a new topic, she said, "What is it that you've come here for exactly? My time is valuable, Mr. Kaiba." She needed this meeting over with if she wasn't going to bite the man's head off. He was grating on her nerves.

"As is mine," he replied again with a small understanding nod. As she was busy staring his down upon his first entrance to the room, he hadn't failed in noticing the torn sheets of paper that were haphazardly tossed about the room. It seemed like her plans for the Dernier Gaming Department weren't going as well as she would like them to be seen as. He decided on not pressing that particular topic any further. "To get to the point, I came here to ask if you would consider merging our companies together."

"What?" she asked, taken off guard by the question. It wasn't the bluntness or suddenness that had left her mind swirling but the mere idea itself.

"Kaiba and Dernier Corps would make fantastic allies if they were to merge into one company," he continued on. His own patience was growing thinner by the second. It took many hours for him to gather enough to get this far. Alistair Dernier's anger was something everyone feared after the rumors went about on how she got this company. He too was "hot-headed," as his little brother, Mokuba, would always say which was why he built up his patience for this one meeting.

Alistair stood and turned towards the large window that nearly expanded the length and width of the wall. Her mind churned through all the possibilities that would arise from such an action. Kaiba Corp was mainly based on gaming while Dernier Corp was everything but.

They would balance each other out nicely if they could come up with a solid contract that both of them agreed on. She wasn't as flexible as she would like to be with her company, and Kaiba Corp's reputation was astounding when it came down to hard deals. They got them all, and it was slightly intimidating.

Kaiba watched the woman's reflection in the window. She looked as if she were focused on the cityscape before her, but he knew she was going over all the pros and cons with his offer inside her head. His eyes drifted down from her facial features that were soft yet commanded certain authority. She held her shoulders square when she was standing despite being slouched when she sat.

Her hips were curved just right, and he knew that her legs were probably slim and muscular beneath the recently ironed, black dress pants that she wore. He couldn't see the front of her very clearly in the window's reflection, but he's put money on the fact that her chest was probably rounded nicely as well. The loose dark red shirt she wore left many things to the imagination. She folded her hands behind her back before she spoke.

"Yes." The tone in her voice made her response final. "Our companies shall merge into one."

He smirked, showing some of his teeth. "Looks like this trip was worth it after all," he thought with triumph. Never in the world did he think that meeting her would have gone this cleanly. He picked up his briefcase and was about to give his regards when she interrupted him. He hoped that wasn't going to become a habit, if it wasn't already.

"I'm not done," she continued calmly. It seemed that she had reigned in her temper while mulling things over. She was still facing the window. "This shall be beneficial to the both of us, and if I see that my company is harmed even the tiniest bit because of your influence, I will not hesitate to pull out of the deal. Is that clear?" For the first time in a while, Alistair felt like she was actually being a good business woman and doing her company proud.

"Crystal," Kaiba said without hesitation or remorse as he continued towards the door. Justine was there to open it for him. "I'll come by with a contract ready in a day or so. Be prepared to leave this building for my own." With those words, he left. The dinging of the elevator signaled its arrival and departure.

"It's for the best," she thought to herself. A couple minutes later, she watched as a black limousine drove out from the parking garage that was directly beneath the building. As Kaiba had been speaking, she had indeed been considering the pros and cons of a company merge. Each company held the aspects that the other lacked in. "It is for the best," she repeated aloud, if only to calm her thinking mind. Then, a thought hit her.

"What's wrong with my building?!"