Maxine had seen it coming for a while, had seen the inevitable meeting that could mean the possible end of her programming careerand had accepted the consequences the day she had taken the deal, what she hadn't expected was a direct summons from none other than the great and so-called heartless C.E.O. himself, Seto Kaiba. It unnerved her to think that what she had done had reached the top level of Kaiba Corp.'s stepladder, had he told Kaiba? She didn't know and frankly, she didn't care, she only hoped that he could protect her from Kaiba's wrath.

"Would you like me to escort you to the top?" Mike, the security guard who had informed her of her summons, said quietly.

"No." She shook her head, her hands trembling over the split, ergonomic keyboard.

Mike nodded, his eyebrows raised in an expression of concern that contrasted sharply with his macho-man expression. Dark sunglasses shielded eyes she knew to be the color of mocha and masked his face in an uncharacteristic look of indifference, black pants clung to powerful thighs along with a black shirt covered by a vest that made his big body seem more forbidding. She knew none of the impressions he gave to be true though, in truth he was gentler that most people knew him to be, friendly when approached but dangerous when threatened. Max looked up, her turquoise eyes flashing with uncertainty and a wobbly smile.

"I'll be fine." She lied.

"I hope so."

"It may be nothing."

"Getting called up to the owner's office is not nothing."

"You never know." She tried to convince him, standing, a smile that appeared more like a grimace gracing her features.

"Just call me when you get out, okay?"

She nodded. "Alright."

Standing up she took hold of her purse and slowly walked towards the door where Mike was standing, his arms loosely hanging at his sides and his demeanor deceptively calm. Once at the door she offered him another weak smile that reflected the depth of her fear and straightened her peach colored blouse.

"I'm ready." She said, trying to force some confidence into her words.

Seto

"Sir?" Madison, Kaiba's long time secretary popped her head into his office.

"Yes, Madison?" he said irritably, not looking up from his work.

"Ms. Maxine Kent is here for you."

"Send her in directly."

Kaiba looked up from his laptop, field reports littering his massive dark colored mahogany desk in haphazard piles and prototypes of past dueling equipment in pieces everywhere around the large office. He frowned and made a scoffing sound low in his throat, reminding himself to reprimand the cleaning staff for their lack of concentration on his office. How was he to have a meeting with a spy if his office appeared like he was disorganized? And how was he to properly convey his distaste and disgust when he appeared the errant boss? With a disgusted sound he tried to reorganize his desk into a semblance of order and leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled in front of his face. Carefully rearranged his fingers and watched the door from the deeper shadows farther away from his desk. The door opened with a click and a tall woman wearing a black pencil skirt and a peach colored blouse with a sharp looking black blazer, he was momentarily taken aback for he had never suspected such an interesting looking woman. Her features were soft and covered by sweeping bangs the color of pitch with red highlights slashed through them, her eyes were a shade of gray he couldn't quite describe. Her cheekbones were defined against pale skin that would have been attractive had any color been in them, she was afraid.

Satisfied with her fear he allowed a hitch in his eyebrow and surveyed the woman.

"Sir?" she said softly, a resonant echo of husky alto.

"Sit." He ordered.

Instantly she obeyed, sitting in a black leather chair situated across from his desk, tapping his fingers he leaned up so his face was thrown into sharp relief from the light on his desk. Kaiba watched her carefully.

"Sir, may I ask what this is about?" she asked, a nervous trill in her voice.

"I think you know."

Kaiba watched as she bit her soft bottom lip, her tongue sliding out and catching the flesh between her teeth.

"I'm sure I don…"

"Don't waste my time, Ms. Kent." He growled. "Spying is illegal."

"Spying, sir?"

His eyes narrowed as he watched her. "You don't lie that well, Ms. Kent."

Sighing, her head dropped for a moment, her eyes falling to her lap where her hands were resting, twisting. "Sir…. I don't know what to say, it's…. complicated."

"Would you care to make it uncomplicated?"

She looked at him, her chin hitching up. "I can't."

Kaiba frowned. His brows bridging over his nose. "Why?"

"Will you just fire me already?" she burst out, instantly raising her hands to cover her mouth.

"Fire you? Oh no, Ms. Kent, I don't think you understand the gravity of what you've done. This is now an legality issue."

If it were possible her face seemed to pale even more, her hands trembling as she dropped them back into her lap and her shoulders seemed to slump. "Legality?"

"Yes, very much so. Hacking an account for information is a very grave offence."

He could tell that something was very odd about this situation, she wasn't putting up the innocent façade like before, but neither was she admitting what she'd done. Instead she seemed surprised about it all, as if, yes, she had known but hadn't known the consequences. Who had hired such an excellent actress?

"I might be persuaded to make a deal if you tell me who hired you."

"A deal?" she said in a daze. "Oh no, that wouldn't be possible."

"What do you mean?" he growled impatiently.

"I can't." she said. "This person… well he's…."

"He's?"

"He's….. let's just say it's a delicate matter that even you couldn't blame him for."

"What is so goddamned delicate about it? Do you even begin to realize what kind of trouble you're in?"

"Oh yes, I do. I completely understand, maybe not necessarily the consequences of what I've done but I understand that what I've done isn't exactly what you would call "good"."

Kaiba contemplated this for a moment, who could she possibly work for? He sighed and opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the doors to his office crashed open and the younger Kaiba rushed in, his cheeks flushed pink and his breathe coming out in gasps like he'd been running for a long period of time.

"Big brother!" he wheezed.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba said sternly, raising from his seat to tower over both Max and Mokuba. "There is a reason the door was closed! I did not wish to be interrupted."

"You… can't fire…. Max."

"You know this woman?"

"Yes… and you can't…. fire her." He gasped out, resting his palms on his knees.

"Why might I ask can't the boss of this establishment fire an employee?"

"Because…. The reason she's here is my fault!"

"How?"

"Just don't fire her, or call the cops or anything."

Kaiba sighed. "Mokuba…"

"Please? She's doing some work for me and I need her!"

Kaiba stared at Mokuba then at Max, his eyes traveling back and forth between them before he sat back down and stared at his laptop. "One week Mokuba, if you don't convince me of what you're doing in one week, she's gone. Out of my company, out of my sight and hopefully out of the country. I don't want to see her after all this."

Mokuba smiled. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Now get out. Everyone, I have work to do."

Mokuba raised a hand and saluted Kaiba. "Yes, sir!" he turned to Max. "Max?"

Max stood up, giving Kaiba once last look, a little of her paleness fading as she turned away and followed Mokuba from the room. Once the door was shut, Kaiba sighed frustratedly and began to type on his laptop, his mind on other matters, like of the young Ms. Kent who was now on thin ice.

To Be Continued.

Can you even guess where this is going? I bet not cuz things are about to get a whole lot more interesting ;)