I don't own any of the original Yu-Gi-Oh characters
Business Proposition
"Uh, Ms. Rose?" Molly asks as she peeks through the door. I glance up at my secretary before going back to signing documents.
"Yeah, Molly?"
"Uh, there's a Mr. Kaiba on the phone for you," she says hesitantly, waiting for my reaction. I look back up at her in confusion and surprise and put my pen down.
"Mr. Kaiba? The Seto Kaiba?"
She nods and I lean back in my chair.
"What does he want?"
She shrugs, "I don't know. He only said that he wanted to speak to the CEO of Pure Technology. He says that it's very important."
I gaze down at the blinking phone, debating whether or not I should answer it. Seto Kaiba wants to talk to me, does he? That's surprising. I normally don't get calls from famous guys like him. He may be the legendary CEO of KaibaCorps who created Battle City and is one of the greatest duelist in the world, but he's also known to be a prick. He's an arrogant man who cares about nothing but his place at the top of society and himself. So why is he calling me specifically?
"Should I tell him you're busy?" Molly asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I shift my eyes back to her and sigh. I guess, as a responsible business owner, I should see what he wants.
"Thanks Molly, but I think I'll take it," I say as I lean forward to pick up the phone. She nods and closes the door right as I lift the phone to my ear and push the blinking button.
"This is Karen Rose, CEO of Pure Technology, how may I help you?" I ask in a pleasant voice, hoping to dear god he does the same courtesy.
"This is Seto Kaiba calling from KaibaCorps. I have a business proposition for you," a deep, blunt voice states. My eyes widen in surprise. Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that!
"A business proposition huh? Do tell." I ask in a neutral tone, wondering what in the world he could possibly want from me.
"Your company is known for restoring machines and electronics, is it not?"
I lean back in my chair and answer, "Yes, that is correct."
"It turns out that my dueling disks are not functioning right."
"Really?" I ask incredulously. "And why are you calling me when there's other technological companies in Japan? You know, since I'm in America right now?"
"Don't talk to me like I'm an idiot, Ms. Rose. I know exactly what continent you're on. I've already tried the other companies, and they failed to find anything. Now, enough with the 20 questions. Will you accept the job or not?" he huffs in annoyance, as if he hates wasting his breath for this. Ha! Like I don't have anything better to do with my time?!
I then eye my rather-empty desk. Well, maybe I don't have anything to do with my time now…
"Alright, I'll take it. I'll send one of my best employees down to-"
"Did I say I was looking to employ one of your people?" Kaiba interrupts me.
I scrunch up my face in confusion. "I'm sorry?"
"I said I had a proposition for you, not some amateur of yours."
I scoff, "Please, Mr. Kaiba, I'm no idiot either, thus I also don't hire idiots. Plus, I can't go to Japan; I have a business to run. "
"That's not my problem. There's a flight out to Japan tomorrow morning. After you land, Roland will be there at the airport to pick you up. Don't keep me waiting."
"Mr. Kaiba, I told you, I can't go to Japan. I have-" The phone suddenly flatlines. "Hello? Hello?!" That son of a bitch hung up on me! Great, now I have to go to Japan!
"Japan?! Well, what are you going down there for?!" mom yells over the phone, making me wince.
I sigh and lay on my bed. "Well, a certain man called me earlier this afternoon, and he wants me to come to Domino City and fix his dueling disk."
Mom's silent for a minute.
Then, "This man you speak of, isn't he that CEO of Battle City or something?"
"Yeah. Seto Kaiba."
"Oh my. I heard that he's not a very nice young man." she says disapprovingly.
I chuckle softly. "You heard right."
"So. Who's going to take over the business while you're gone?" she asks, moving onto the next issue.
"Molly is," I answer. "She knows just as much about this company as I do. Hell, that's why I hired her to be my secretary, so she can back me up on things that I forget about."
"Well...can you trust her to keep everything in place? I mean what if something happens?" Mom asks in a worried tone.
With a roll of my eyes, I smile, "Ah, typical mom. You worry too much, you know that?"
"Well I have the right to worry about you. You're 17 and I'm your mother! Mothers have the right to worry about their own children!"
"I know, I know," I then sit up and say reassuringly, "and you're doing a great job. Dad would've been really proud to see you still standing on your feet." I smile sadly, still not used to that pang in my heart.
"No, no sweetheart. Your father would've been proud of you. You've taken the knowledge that he's given you and kept his business going! I could never be able to do that. I never even understood his passion for mechanics! No one does except you, our little baby girl." she says, sniffling.
I roll my eyes and fall back on my bed.
"Ohh mom. You're not gonna go down memory lane and talk about me being your tiny, cute angel, are you?" I groan.
She sniffles again, "Oh no, honey. I don't wanna waste your time while you're getting ready to go to Japan in the morning. I'm not that cruel."
Phew! I appreciate her loving me like crazy, but it's way too much motherly love for me to handle right now!
"Well..." I sigh, patting my bed with my free hand. "I better get going now. I gotta get up at three in the morning to catch my flight. This guy is going to kill me. I just know it." I groan.
She chuckles, "Well, just don't let him push you around, okay?"
"Don't worry, Mom. If I didn't have your bravery and dad's strength, I'd be like an abandoned ragdoll in the streets."
We both chuckle.
"Ah, well, good night honey. Call me when you can. Sleep well," she says warmly, making it easy for me to picture that comforting smile of hers.
"G'night, Mom. I'll call you as soon as I get there."
"I love you very much sweetheart."
"I love you too, Mom. Bye."
"Bye-bye."
I hang up and sprawl out on the bed, laying there for a few minutes. I exhale a big breath, blowing my side bangs out of my face. Well, I better start packing. Lord knows how long I'll be there! I sit up and get off the bed. I dig under my bed and get out my large suitcase. It takes me about an hour to pack everything I need for this business trip, taking what energy I had left for the day.
I crawl under my covers and set my alarm clock to three o'clock in the morning, shutting off my lamp afterwards. In the dark's embrace, I lay myself on my right side and sigh. 'It's gonna be a long day tomorrow,' I think to myself before my eyelids drop shut.
My alarm clock beeps repeatedly. I groan and slam my hand on the snooze button. 3:00am. 3 in the goddamned morning. Why the hell am I doing this again? Right: money and opportunity. With a sigh, I jerk the covers off. I walk to my closet and grab my outfit for today: a dark blue business jacket, skirt, and flats, along with a white button-up blouse. It takes me forty minutes to get ready and get out the door.
After navigating through the harried crowd in the airport, I manage to find my flight and board the plane. With a weary sigh, I plop down in my seat in first-class.
"Good morning passengers, this is your captain speaking. Right now we have clear skies, perfect for flying. So just sit back and enjoy the flight to Japan" a male voice says over the speakers.
I push my seat back and close my eyes. I'm soo tired. I think I'll sleep for a few hours.
I wake up a few hours later, needing to go to the bathroom. Groggily rubbing my eyes and standing, I walk through regular class to get to the bathrooms.
On my way back, I hear a crying baby. I look up a few seats ahead of me and see a mother rocking her baby gently, trying to soothe the infant.
"Shh. Shh." the mother shushes her baby softly.
She rocks her baby again, and a moment unburies itself from my memory.
~(Flashback)~
My mom is panting harshly, having just given birth to a baby.
"It's a girl!" A male nurse calls.
"A girl? A girl, oh thank you! Let me see her please." Mom requests breathlessly.
The male nurse looks down at the infant and looks back up with concern.
(End of flashback)
I abruptly pull myself from the memory and rebury it. I refuse to live that again.
I go back to my seat. Feeling now restless, I dig through my brief case and take out some documents. I look over them, making sure I know everything about my new living arrangement: the hotel I'll be staying at, the route to KaibaCorps, and my new high school.
People always give me astounded looks when they learn I'm running a business and am still in high school. I could have easily tested out of it and graduated long ago, but I wanted to take my time growing up. Well, my mom was forcing me to take my time at first, but after seeing all the responsibilities awaiting me once I'm free to completely dedicate myself to my company, I quickly agreed with growing up slowly. After all, you only live once!
It's another 10 hours before we finally arrive in Japan. Good thing too, because I'm tired of sitting. I pack up my things and get off of the plane. I walk through the crowd of people, aiming for the doors that lead to the entrance of the airport. Once outside, I gape at all the crowded buildings, people, and vehicles. Eventually, my gaze lands on a black limo. Standing beside it is a man in a black suit with blue green hair, a thin mustache, and black sunglasses. His hands are behind his back, like he's waiting for someone. Is this Roland? Only one way to find out.
I walk up to him and ask, "Mr. Roland?"
"Madam Rose, I presume?"
I nod once and he steps aside as he opens the car door for me. I get in the limo and he shuts the door. He puts my luggage in the trunk and walks around the limo. He then slides in through the other door on the vehichle, and when he shuts his door, the limo starts to drive off.
"Are we going to meet with Mr. Kaiba?" I ask, trying to break the silence.
"Yes."
A cell phone suddenly rings, and Roland takes out a black flip phone with an antenna on it from his coat. He opens it up and puts it to his ear.
"Yes sir. We're on our way right now." he says.
'I'm guessing that's Kaiba,' I think to myself as Roland nods.
"Yes sir. I'll make note of that."
He then hangs up and puts his phone in his jacket. The limo suddenly slows down and stops. We're now at this very tall – surely it must be near 100 stories! – building with a large KC logo on its wall. Mr. Roland and I get out of the limo and enter the building. We walk past several, bustling employees and go into an elevator. Mr. Roland pushes the top floor button – 105th floor! - and the door closes.
"Now before you meet Mr. Kaiba, you are to be civilized and prudent. There will be no sarcasm, no back talk, and there will certainly be no threats towards him. Otherwise, he will have you thrown out of this building in a second. Is that clear to you, Ms. Rose?" he asks. Sheesh, Mr. Kaiba is apparently quite the guy.
"Is that clear Ms. Rose?" Mr. Roland repeats more firmly. I put on a smile and nod lightly.
"Yes sir. Clear as day."
He nods once. "Good."
The elevator door opens and we walk out to see a blond woman sitting behind a desk.
"Inform Mr. Kaiba about Ms. Rose's arrival." he orders her.
With a nod, she picks up her phone. "Mr. Kaiba, she's here." Another nod. "Yes sir." She then hangs up and smiles pleasantly at me. "You may go in."
I nod hesitantly to her and take a deep breath. I walk to the doors and grab the right knob. Here we go. I turn it and open the right door. I'm greeted with the sight of a very large, rather plain-looking office. The whole left wall is covered by giant shelves filled with books, the back wall is one giant pane of glass, and sitting before the glass wall is a big, dark mahogany desk with a computer and stacks of paper on it.
Standing there, behind the desk with his back to me, is Seto Kaiba. I couldn't help but observe him carefully. He has brown chestnut hair, white skin, and what appears to be a well-built body. He's wearing a tan suit and from what I can see from his blurry reflection in the glass, has a white shirt on with a light blue tie. His hands are behind his back as he stares through his glass wall.
"Mr. Kaiba?" I ask.
He slowly turns around, and the first thought that hits me is, 'damn.' Of course the bastard had to be drop-dead gorgeous! And his eyes! I'll be damned if they aren't the most genuine sapphire blue that I've ever seen! Even if said eyes are trying to puncture a hole through me.
Luckily, I'm good at hiding admiration for the other gender, and I open my mouth to formally introduce myself when suddenly… he changes. His pale skin darkens to a bronze, and his clothes changes drastically. He now sports a blue, white, and gold colored outfit, it almost looking like a dress were it not for the fact of how completely unfeminine he looks in it, especially with his billowing white cape. Gold bangles decorate his dark arms and a tall blue hat sits atop of his head.
Stunned, I blink and slightly shake my head. When I refocus on him, he's back to normal. What the hell was that about?! Maybe the flight took a bigger toll on me than I thought…
"You're not at all what I expected." he says suddenly, snapping me out of paranoid thoughts.
"I'm sorry?"
"I expected you to be older, perhaps in your late twenties or thirties."
"Oh pfft! Please, I'm only a couple of months away from becoming 18, so don't be fooled by my young features." I pat my soft cheek.
His arches an unimpressed eyebrow, his lips forming a narrow, straight line. I awkwardly clear my throat.
"I understand that I'm here to repair your disk?"
"Is that all you understand?" he sneers.
I bristle, about to reprimand his attitude, when he bends down and retrieves a silver brief case from under his desk. He sets it down facing me and opens it, revealing a dueling disk. I walk up towards the desk and take a closer look at the contraption. Kaiba takes it out and attaches it on his left forearm. He walks around his desk towards me, and he extends his arm. A small card tray pops out in front of him with a deck of cards already inside it. It honestly made my nerves jump when it ejected from the main disk.
"It opens up just fine but when a card is activated, its short circuits and the disk ends up malfunctioning." he says.
It closes back up and he sets it on the desk. I pick it up and observe it.
"I don't know what's happening to it and I don't have the time to find out why. All I want you to do is find what's causing it to break down and fix it before the tournaments start. Once you have it figured out, I'll have my employees repair the rest." he says, taking a seat behind his desk.
I look at him then back at the disk.
"How many of these disks are acting like this?"
"Thousands. The new supplies I got a couple of months ago are the ones that malfunction." he answers.
I put the dueling disk back in its case and close it. "Don't worry, Mr. Kaiba. I'll try to figure out the problem as soon as I can." I say.
He starts shuffling through some of the papers on his desk. "Whatever. You have five weeks."
Sounds suitable. Let's just hope that Molly can handle the company that long. I take the case off the table and grab my other case.
"Yes sir." I say.
"Roland will escort you out of the building."
"No need. I'll escort myself out." I reply.
"This is a huge building, Ms. Rose. You could easily get lost. Roland will escort you out." he once again arches a brow at me.
I put my cases down and cross my arms.
"Mr. Kaiba, I can assure you that I can find my own way out. I've found my way through giant malls and buildings since I was six years old. I'm not saying this to impress you, I just think I can find my way out from here by myself."
He observes me for a few moments before turning back to his papers.
"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you get lost."
I scowl. "I won't. Thank you very much."
I walk away towards the door. What an ass.
"Oh, and you might want to watch your tongue with me before I cut it off and feed it to some dogs." he says nonchalantly, the scribbling of his pen still to be heard. I stop and take a deep breath, clenching my teeth. I then hurry out of his office before I can say or do anything violent to him. I walk past Roland. He follows.
"How did it go?" he asks.
"Your boss is a swell guy. He and I will get along just fine." I answer through gritted teeth, not pausing my march to the elevator.
"Shall I escort you out?" he asks.
I stop at the elevator and push the down button. The doors open and I walk in.
"No need. Mr. Kaiba has allowed me to find my own way out. But thanks anyway. I'll call you guys if I find anything." I say.
The doors fully close between us and the elevator starts to go down. I lean against the wall and sigh. Well, that was rather unpleasant and unusual. Not only am I going crazy, but I now have to deal with Seto Kaiba, the biggest asshole in the world! Life hates me big time.
