Hello everyone! This is my sequel to 'Love Sucks'. I know I said it would be out sooner but I was very busy with my own love problems. Now I've got some time so I figured it's the perfect time to begin. Hope you enjoy this story as much as the other one. If you didn't read 'Love Sucks', you should but it's not entirely necessary to get this story if you didn't read the first. R&R.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or its characters.

Letter From A Stranger

Dear Joey Wheeler,

I am writing to you because I am interested in doing business with you. I know you work for a construction company and I have an offer for you. It's not necessary for you to reply right away, but if you could please reply as soon as possible, I would really appreciate it. If you are interested, then come to see me on May 24 at the Parc Fifty Five Hotel in San Francisco, California. Details on how to get there will be on their way after your reply. I look forward to meeting with you, and hope you accept my offer.

Sincerely,

C.A.P. & J.M.P.

Partners in Construction

Joey looked over this letter while munching on a sandwich at his table. He had never heard of 'Partners in Construction' before. Then he thought that maybe that was the title of the writers of his letter. He hadn't heard of many construction places outside of Domino. Then it occurred to him that businesses in San Francisco don't usually look for workers from Japan. He started to get suspicious.

"Hey Yugi! Have you ever heard of a company called 'Partners in Construction'?" Joey asked loudly.

"No!" Yugi shouted from his room. "Why do you ask?"

"I just got a letter from some people interested in me working for them. They're from San Francisco and they call themselves 'Partners in Construction'," Joey explained. "It sounds a little fishy to me."

"Maybe they really are interested in you," Yugi said, walking into the room. "I mean, you do have a good reputation around here. Maybe they want you to come work for them. I've heard of businesses from other countries asking people to work for them. And the name 'Partners in Construction' isn't suspicious at all. You said the letter was from some people. Maybe those people are actually partners in construction. It could be a separate business or something. You never know."

"Do you think I should do it?" Joey asked.

"Definitely. You'd be able to get some more work and go to another country. Think of all the places you could see!" Yugi exclaimed dreamily.

"I'm not really much of a sight-seer," Joey pointed out, scratching his nose. "But it would be nice to get outta here. And I think it might be fun to go work for someone in another country."

"When do they wanna meet you?" Yugi asked.

"May 24," Joey replied, looking down at the letter.

"That's only a few weeks away," Yugi said. "If you're gonna do it, you should reply immediately and start packing up. And you should probably let your boss know that you're leaving the country."

"Well, I don't absolutely know if I should do it," Joey said. "I think I'm gonna ask Serenity what she thinks first."

"You can do that too," Yugi said. He looked at the clock. "Look, I gotta get going. Yami is waiting for me at the store."

"Are ya'll still having problems?" Joey asked.

"Yeah," Yugi said. "I wish Grandpa had told us how hard it was to run a card shop before he retired. The workload gets bad when the tournaments start up."

"Is there a new one right now?" Joey asked curiously.

"Kaiba is starting one in a few days," Yugi replied, tying his shoes. "And it sounds like it's gonna be big. Of course, he's not going to be in it. He gave up dueling a long time ago. So I guess he's going to let beginners in the tournament too."

"To be honest, I'm not all that interested in any of Kaiba's affairs, even if it is a dueling tournament," Joey said with a scowl. "I can't stand him."

"Well, I'd love to hang around and chat, but Yami will skin me alive if I do," Yugi said. "See ya later."

"Yeah ok," Joey said. As soon as Yugi left, Joey grabbed the phone and dialed Serenity's number. "Hey Serenity, it's Joey. Can you come by soon? I need your opinion on something. You can? Great. See ya soon."

He hung up the phone and returned to his sandwich. While he ate, he continued to stare at the letter. It seemed almost too good to be true. It wasn't the fact that it was more work, or that it was people from another country, that seemed so impossible to him. It was the fact that this letter came from the same place that Mai had moved to last year. He didn't like to admit it, but he was still pining over her. He considered writing to her before, but squashed that idea immediately. He had half-hoped for a Christmas present from her, or even a birthday card, but nothing came his way. He sometimes wondered if she had forgotten about him, but every time he thought that, he had to get up and pace around the room. Yugi had given him some friendly advice and even hooked him up with some girls he met at the card shop, but he never felt any sparks from any of them. He wasn't sure if it was because the girls just weren't right for him, or because he still wanted Mai. All he knew was that ever since Mai left him, he hadn't been able to keep a relationship for more than a week.

Serenity arrived at the house a few minutes later. "Hey Joey," she said, hugging him.

"Hey," Joey said, kissing her cheek. "How are you?"

"Fine. How are you?" Serenity asked.

"The usual," Joey replied casually. "How's Tristan?"

Serenity sighed. "A pain, as always. I swear, there's always something bothering him, whether it's how the blankets feel or which direction the wind blows leaves. He always has to complain about something."

"When you live with someone for a while, they can start to get annoying," Joey said. "I knew it wouldn't be long before you got sick of him."

"I'm not sick of him," Serenity said. "I'm just annoyed. Anyway, why did you wanna see me?"

"Read this and tell me what you think about it," Joey said, handing her the letter.

Serenity took the letter and read it carefully. When she was finished, she handed it back to him. "Well," she said.

"Well what?" Joey asked. "What do you think?"

"It's a pretty good opportunity for you," Serenity replied. "I think you should do it."

"You don't think it sounds a little fishy?" Joey asked.

"Not at all," Serenity said. "It makes sense that people would want you to work for them. I'm sure they use their initials to make an impression or something."

"Are you sure I should accept?" Joey asked.

"Absolutely," Serenity replied. She paused for a minute. "You know, I think this offer gives you more than just one opportunity."

"What are you talking about?" Joey asked, confused.

Serenity rolled her eyes. "You know exactly what I mean. This job is in California. Mai moved to California."

"So?"

"So, it would be the perfect chance for you to go see her again. I mean, I think she's had plenty enough time to see if she wants you or not. This is your chance to go see what she's decided."

"But if she had decided something, I'm sure she would've called or something," Joey said.

"I doubt it," Serenity said. "I don't think doing it over the phone is Mai's style. And she might not have the time or money to come down here to see you herself."

Joey thought about this. Of course he knew that it was a good opportunity to go see Mai. But he didn't want her to think that she was the only reason he went there. And he had to disagree with his sister. If Mai really wanted to see him, she would've found a way. He did want to find out what she had to say about a relationship with him, but he wasn't going to push her for an answer. But maybe, if he went, he could just drop in to say hi…and try to see if he could get the answer without actually asking.

"Alright. I'm going to accept," Joey said.

"Awesome!" Serenity exclaimed. "You've only got a few weeks to prepare. Let me help you pick out an outfit when the time comes. Does Yugi know about the letter?"

"Yeah. I showed it to him this morning. He agrees with you," Joey said. "But he's been too busy to talk much lately."

"Why?" Serenity asked.

"He's always gotta go to work. Him and Yami are the only ones that work there and Yugi said there's been lots of customers lately," Joey said. "I think he really doesn't like the job."

"Then why does he do it?" Serenity asked.

"Because if he doesn't, he'll have to let someone non-family work there, and I don't think he wants that," Joey answered. "It's his grandpa's shop and I doubt he wants someone else there."

"Yami works there," Serenity pointed out.

"But Yami is practically family," Joey countered. "They've been together for over a year and they are very serious about each other. Yugi doesn't have a problem with something like that."

"Yugi is weird," Serenity said. She paused. "I can't believe you're going to go to California for a job. That is so awesome! And I hope things work out for you and Mai."

"Me too," Joey said. "You never know with these things though. But you know it's been a year since she left. I'm sure I'll have my answer when I go see her."

"Things will work out for you. They always do," Serenity said.

"Yeah, they do," Joey replied.

(End Chapter 1)

Review please! Sorry it was short and rushed. I didn't know how to begin the story, but I know how some of the later chapters will be. I was going to update this much sooner, but I was far too busy with school and I had a funeral this afternoon. So things are crazy. The next chapter will probably be up by the end of next week. I just wanted to get this story up in February. Don't forget to review! Chapter 2 coming soon!