"Junk... junk... junk... bill... junk... Seto... bill..." The chair creaked in protest as Ren lounged back, balanced precariously on two antique legs. Letters slapped flat against the table, sorted into several different piles. Gossip-worthy, and not gossip-worthy. This was one of Ren's favorite parts of working at the Kaiba estate: going through Seto's mail. The CEO got quite a bit of each day and, being the lazy millionaire he was, would rather throw money at someone that sort it himself. But Ren didn't mind. It was a great way to waste time and nose into Seto's personal life.
"Car payment... love letter... love letter... junk... school... me?" Ren paused, leaning forward and setting the chair back on all four legs. It was rare, very rare for her to get mail that wasn't a bill for her moped or a bank statement. Who even knew that she lived here? She had told next to nobody that she had moved into the Kaiba estate. Whoever this letter was from had likely taken her address from the bank, or something equally illegal...
She glanced up at the return address, brushing a strand of flyaway brunette out of her eyes, and her face fell into an annoyed scowl. Stamped in the upper left corner of the envelope was simply KC, the KaibaCorp logo.
"Kaiba!" She hollered, rising to her feet to search out the CEO. "Kaiba, take me off your damn mailing list, I don't want your junk!"
She found him lounging in the living room, feet kicked up lazily on the coffee table, a laptop resting on his legs.
"Hey." She began, crossing her arms as she glared down at him, "If you want to tell me something, just tell it to me. Stop sending me mail and getting me excited over nothing."
Kaiba spared her a glance, smirking as he laid eyes on the enveloped tucked beneath her arm. "Did you even read it before you came to rage at me?"
"No, I'm trying to prove a point, rich boy." Ren snapped back, "I live with you; tell me any news yourself."
Seto's smirk broadened. "Read the letter, Kuroki.
Ren scoffed, tearing the envelope open at one end, a thick folded document sliding out into her hand. She flicked it open with a flourish and began to read. "KaibaCorp employee, -oh, that's warm and fuzzy, did you write that yourself?- KaibaCorp employee, blah blah, bullshit, we value your efforts, blah, fluff, bullshit, we will be elated to
see you at this year's first annual KaibaCorp re-- no."
Her gaze shot right back up to Kaiba's face. She had never seen him looking so smug. He was as close to a grin as she had ever seen, and there was a mischevious glint in his eye.
"Oh, you're a funny man, Kaiba. You're dreaming if you think I'm going on this stupid company retreat."
"You have to, or you're fired." He replied, just barely containing the glee in his voice. Ren laughed aloud, sitting on the table before him and slapping his laptop shut.
"I'm not going." She spoke, staring into his glinting icy eyes, "You won't fire me. Mokuba loves me."
"It isn't up to me." Kaiba said, lazily folding his arms over his chest. "If you don't check in at the hotel, HR will process your pink slip and send you your final paycheck bu the end of the first night."
"But...!" Ren spluttered, panic touching her voice, "Kaiba!"
"I won't intervene."
"Ooh!"
Ren shot to her feet and stomped off, pausing only to glare at Seto's head from behind the couch. That dick! That complete and utter ass! She didn't think that she could hate anyone more than him in that moment.
"My VP and PR reps," Seto began again, flipping his laptop open and taking up his idle typing, "Are making me participate. They say it's good for my public image. So if I'm going to suffer, you are going to suffer with me."
Ren moaned in agony, head lolling back in defeat. She glanced down at the stack of papers, before slapping them down against her thigh. "Well, I'd better get packing since someone was too lazy to tell me on his own. And I'm not riding in no bus to this thing. I'm going in the limo with you and Mokuba, so you won't 'suffer alone'."
"Oh, I'm sure I won't." Seto mumbled, as Ren stomped off up the stairs. His screen-saver blurred into vision, Mokuba and Ren grinning up at him from the poolside. It was rare for those angry amber eyes to express the sort of glee that they were in the photo. It was a fantastic picture of his brother, that had been why he had chosen it. But his gaze was continually drawn back to those soft honey eyes. He smacked the spacebar on the keyboard several times, the image vanishing and the KaibaCorp logo taking its place.
"I'm sure I won't."
------------------------------
Ren Kuroki is BEYOND PISSED. KaibaCorp company retreat all weekend. FUCK MY LIFE.
Ren hit the enter key so hard that it popped off the keyboard and smacked against the monitor. She rolled her chair away from the computer and began to toss clothes haphazardly into an open bag on her bed.
"You haven't packed yet?" Mokuba quipped from the doorway of the rich violet room. The light from the bay window perfectly illuminated the heap of clothes on Ren's bed, and cast a frightening shadow on her furious face. "I'll take that look as a 'no'."
"Your brother..." She grunted, stuffing her things deep into the traveling bag, "His VP," She yanked at the mouth of the bag, "And his PR reps..." She shut it with a furious zip, "Can all go fuck themselves. Fuck KaibaCorp, and fuck everyone responsible for forcing me into going on this damned trip!"
"Mokuba gave a hearty laugh, watching the canvas strain against the zipper. "Well, yeah, it's partially my fault. Ren, did you even look at the list of things to pack?"
"Ugh, there's a list?" She groaned, snatching up the packet once again. She flipped through the pages for a moment before glancing back up at the teen. "Wait..."
"I'm the Vice President, yeah." He shrugged his shoulders and plopped down onto her bed, "It's just keeping everything in the family, just in case something happens to Seto. I don't do much. He just doesn't want me to get screwed over again, like when our parents..."
Ren's shoulders slumped before the silent youth. She couldn't say that she envied him. "Mokuba..."
"Yeah, let's not talk about it."
"Right." She agreed, nodding her head once in understanding. "In any event, I still hate all of you." She shot him a playful smirk, hoping to lighten the mood once again as she unzipped her bag and dumped its contents onto the bed, "Okay, read it off, Mo. Why do I need for this stupid trip?"
And so Mokuba began, and Ren re-packed, having to switch suitcases due to the sheer amount of clothes she would need over the four day trip.
"Come on, Ren." Mokuba began, watching the babysitter stuff clothes into a proper suitcase. "It won't be so bad. There's even a cocktail party on the last night. You like to dance, don't you?"
"Yes, but why would there be a dance?" She raised an eyebrow as she stuffed her toiletries to the bottom of the bag. "Kaiba doesn't dance."
"My brother didn't expect to be going." He explained, shrugging his shoulders, "Seto gave HR a budget and told them to go to town."
"Ah." She quirked her eyebrows in understanding, staring into her open closet. "Which dress am I bringing to this thing?"
"One that will turn heads." Mokuba smirked, a much warmer version of his brother's.
"But I don't care, Mokuba." She sighed, rolling her eyes. She placed her hands on her hips and stuck out her bottom lip in a pensive pout. Decisions, decisions...
Several loud pops emanated from her computer, and she strolled over to check where they had come from, a deep blue jumper in her hand. Her FaceBook page had suddenly exploded with chat boxes, each and every one of them asking about her retreat. She clicked faster and faster, but the boxes just kept opening, each with at least five queries about when she had started working for Kaiba, if she knew him personally, if she could get an autograph. Her web browser froze, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of incoming activity. "Oh, what the Hell!?"
"Ren..." Mokuba murmured, pointing to the corner of her bed. Her cell phone was buzzing out of control, dancing across the lavender quilt as text after text poured in. Ren cursed loudly, snatching up the phone and flipping it open, completely unable to read anything, the new messages appearing too quickly for her to read the previous ones.
"Ugh, why did I tell the internet that I worked for Seto...?" She groaned, clutching her hands to her temples in frustration. The phone chirped to life, this time an actual phone call. "What!?" Ren snapped, flipping the phone open and slamming it to her ear.
"Gosh, Renny, still all grumpy?" Ren's jaw clenched, lips set in a tight line. She had not spoken to Emi Takumo since the girl had walked out on their apartment lease eight months ago, and Ren would have been perfectly happy to never speak to her again. Yet, here she was, on the phone with the catty, giggling idiot yet again. Ren was fully convinced that the gods were having a good laugh at her expense today.
"What do you want that's Seto Kaiba related, Emi?" She quipped, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in Mokuba's direction. If she was anything like the others exploding her phone with texts and crashing her computer, she was interested in her working life.
"Oh, so it is true!" Emi squealed, Ren squinting one eye as she recoiled from the noise, "You do work for him! What's he like, Renny, is he even better looking in person?"
"It's none of your business who I work for, Emi." Ren spoke, the beginning of a headache pulsing in her left temple. "And just so you know, he's a douchebag. Not that you would care, anyway, you'd fuck anything with a fat wallet and a pulse."
"Ooo, you're so mean, Ren. I just wanted to check up and see how my bestest friend is doing. It's been so long since we've talked, after all. Oh, is he single?"
"I'm hanging up, Emi."
"Oh, wait!" Ren could almost hear Emi grinning on the other end of the line. "You're fucking him!"
Her mouth fell open in utter disgust, her brain scrambling to find the proper words to express her revulsion. "What in the hell led you to that conclusion!?"
"Oh, I get it, Renny. Why you want me to think he's this giant jerk and all that. You're fucking him, plain and simple! That's fine, I know plenty of interns who have been in his bed, just don't be surprised when he--"
"Emi!" Ren snapped, eyes ablaze with an anger she hadn't felt in years, "I. Am not. Fucking. Seto Kaiba! Not that it would matter if I was or not, you'd swoop in and seduce him regardless! You know what, I don't even give a damn. Fuck his brains out, Emi. Be another notch in his bedpost, that's all you were ever good for, anyway!"
She shut her phone with a snap and slung it across the room and onto her bed in fury. She reeled on Mokuba, her finger raised, poised to attack. He stared back at her expectantly, pretty violet eyes wide and understanding. "I... am not fucking Seto Kaiba."
Mokuba raised his hands, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't think you were."
She exhaled a long breath, shoulders slumping as she glared at her suitcase, phone still buzzing next to it. "Mokuba, you had better make this trip worth all of this bull."