"Miss Burns!" Kaiba said as he stepped out of the elevator. Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp and one of the world's greatest duelist, was dressed in his usual black today as he walked towards the secretary. Ari Burns looked up, her brown eyes ready as her fingers twirled a black ball point pen in her finger tips. She was ready for anything he threw at her to do. "Get Mr. Garrison up her in my office NOW!" Ari, an inspiring woman of 24 nodded and picked up the phone. She was young woman; small and slender at 5'6" with thick brown curls that were always back in a bun and sweet honey brown eyes. Ari relayed the message to a jittery older man in the technology department before hanging up and rubbing her temples. Mr. Kaiba was in a rotten mood, that made her day automatically hell. Ari reached over, taking the phone as it began to ring. "Seto Kaiba's office." she said, listening to the gruff voice of another CEO. "Yes... hold on one moment please." That was so mono toned for her. Every day, over a thousand times she said those words in the same tone. It really did get old quick, however when the occasional crazed girl called it made things a lot more interesting. Ari hung up before pressing another button and saying, "Mr Kaiba, Lloyd Silver is on line one for you." There was a sigh on the other side of the two-way intercom.

"Oh kill joy." his deep voice groaned. Ari laughed lightly, disconnecting before going back to work. Her job was simple. Answer calls, run errands, coordinate events, keep her boss happy and on schedule while trying to relax with what little free time she had. And having any free times is extremely rare. Her eyes flickered up from her laptop when the elevator gave its familiar little ding. Mr. Garrison walked out, patting his bald head with his handkerchief nervously. Ari shook her head, giving him a silent warning before he walked into the Dragon Man's office. She felt so sorry for him. Mr. Garrison was already an anxious and complete nervous wreck even when things were going good. She figured now he was about to have a heart attack as seeing Kaiba was not in the best of moods today. Ari took her leave, never wanting to be around to hear these kind of conversations through the door and heading to the break room. Mr. Kaiba was going to need a bracer after this. Everyone believed that Mr. Kaiba was this horrible boss and a "disgusting excuse for a person" as one of the ladies on cleaning staff called in reality he wasn't that bad. There were good days, bad days, and then there were days he turned into Satan boss. However, Ari could bare with him. That is why she has been around for so long. She grew up with a drug addictive mother and an abusive father. Compared to them, Mr. Kaiba was almost a saint.

"Morning afternoon Ari." a small voice said. The brunette glanced down a the little black haired boy she has grown so fond of. Mokuba Kaiba smiled up at her and took another swing of his Pepsi can. Ari smiled back, starting up the coffee pot. There was something about the youngest Kaiba brother. He was warm, and brought such a sweet innocent light into the room. And when he smiled, Ari couldn't help but smile back. It was contagious. "Getting Seto some coffee?" Ari nodded and let out a laugh before pouring the hot liquid into a mug. Kaiba liked his coffee only one way, straight black. Personally, Ari hated coffee and never could understand why her boss and so many others drank it. But hey, if it kept you awake go for it.

"Yea, Mr. Garrison is in there now." the woman chuckled. Mokie winced and nodded in understand before taking another sip of his drink. Mr. Garrison has been in deep water for a long time. The two stood there, talking about how school was going on for him, some new cards he had for his deck and a girl in his class he has a adorable crush on. Her name was Meg, a little blond girl with a sweet heart and an amazing gift for singing. Ari knew that this girl had some pipes. She took Mokie to one of the girls school concerts and heard for herself. Moke went on and on about her, saying he never met someone like her. However, he had this belief that she didn't know he existed. "You should ask her out to dinner, or the carnival that is coming up this weekend in the park." The duo was walking back towards her desk as she attempted to give him a pep talk.

"I don't know..." Mokie as cut off as an extremely pissed off Garrison walked by, spitting out cuss words like a cobra. "Good-bye Garrison." Mokie murmured as Ari nodded in agreement. The two walked down the hall in silence before entering the large office. Kaiba was sitting there, hands on his temples and the look of irritation across his face. More irritated than normal. Ari's clicking heels caught his attention as he looked up and spotted the coffee. Deep in his eyes were some thanks for the decaffeinated relief as he sat back and looked at her. Ari smiled, remembering her first year working for him. It was always girl this, girl that and he held the coldest look at her. Now, he still had cold eyes but there weren't ice cold anymore.

"You looked like you could use some." she admitted, handing him the cup. Kaiba nodded and took the mug before taking a big swing of the liquid. Ari stood back, straightening her red silk blouse. "The preparations for the tournament in February are well underway. I have some scouts out in the streets looking for good duelist and taping their duels so I can analyze them and see if they are Kaiba Corp material. Along with the invitations being made, and not to worry, I will deliver Mr. Moto's and his gangs personally." Kaiba nodded, leaning back in his chair and looking at her with a raised eyebrow. She kept her eyes locked onto his, trying not to get lost in a sea of blue as she also said, "And I also am making sure that the blimp announcing the tournament is going to be ready." Ari handed him the files as Kaiba nodded again. Not a word, that was really good. Ari had proved herself over and over again when it came to doing her job and completely kicking ass in it.

"Thank you Ms. Burns, you may go." He said, opening the folder and taking another long sip of his liquid drug. Ari turned, giving Mokie a quick wink before turning and making her way to the office's large stainless steel doors. At the doors she stopped and turned to look over her shoulder. Kaiba looked up at her, and raised his eyebrow when she stopped to look at him. What he staring? "How does Italian sound for lunch? Your favorite?" Over the time she worked here, Ari had found out her bosses favorite meals, including Chicken Parm from the world class Bell's restaurant. Kaiba smirked, which was almost a smile as he nodded. Her looked at her one more time, almost contemplating something before shaking his head and looked back to the folder. Mokie laughed, going over to where he sat and did his homework while Ari disappeared into the main foyer. She sat down, sighing as the phone rang almost on queue. "Mr. Kaiba's office… yes please hold." She said, putting her person on hold. She sighed, digging into her desk to find the menu for the restaurant. She figured she get something to. After dialing the number, she listened to the dial tone before a friendly voice came onto the line.

"Belle's Restaurant! The heart of Italy in your stomach. What can I do for ya?" a thick Italian accented greeted her from as far as 5 minutes away. She laughed at Tone, one of her newest and more dearest friends ever since she got this job. Tony was a hearty Italian man, around the age of 45 with a wife and four beautiful kids. His eldest was 18 and then youngest 6, little Angela was a surprise. Ari loved babysitting the kids, and the eldest daughter always saw her as an older sister and came to her for advice.

"Hello Tony, what are you doing answering the phone?" she laughed, leaning back into the chair. She ran her fingers over the knots in her neck, desperate to message them out but not having the leverage to. She hadn't really had a day to relax, and most her days off she is at the nursing home with her ailing grandmother. When she was about 12 or 13, her parentd left her with her aging grandmother. They were food genius', and had a string of restaurants all over the world so they weren't at home as much as they could have been. So, her parents figured that since all her brothers and sisters were considerably older than her and out of the house, that her grandmother could take Ari in so they could continue their lifestyle. Her grandmother is a good woman, and raised her grand-daughter well. When she was around 16 is when the moved to Japan after her grandmother had her mid-life crisis late and realized she wanted to live there. It was tough at first, but she found friends there. His booming laughter made her smile as she waved off another temp trying to get in and see her handsome boss.

"Ah, little Arianna! What a delight to hear from you! Let me guess, dragon man wants the usual?" Tony asked, getting his voice a bit softer as Ari burst into laughter. Arianna was her real name. Tong and her grandmother were the only one who actually called her that and got away with it. Ari confirmed and selected her order from Tony's specialties before hanging up. Her day went on. She spent the afternoon answering calls, running errands around the office, and helped Mokie with his homework. He was working on a section of World History, and the ancient civilizations were Ari's specialty. The food arrived around one and she smiled as she paid the delivery boy. With the bag in her hand she knocked on the larger door with the blue eyes while dragon etched into the stainless steel. There was a come in, and she entered the door to be greeted by a deeply concentrated Kaiba. He was looking at his laptop, frowning as he kept clicking on something specific.

"Lunch is here." she said, coming over and setting his usual on the desk. he looked at her, and there was exhaustion behind his cold blue eyes. It wasn't surprising. Kaiba would pull all nights, constantly working and never taking time to relax and get some rest. He thanked her, which was a rare praise that Arianna kept close to her. It reminded her that he wasn't just a heartless drone. She then ran her fingers across her shoulders and said, "And a reminder Mr. Kaiba about the Fire and Ice Ball tonight. You are expected to attend. Kaiba froze, and then seemed to let out a silent groan. It didn't surprise her that he had forgotten all about the ball. Ari nodded and turned to leave before his sharp voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Wait Ms. Burns." She stopped and slowly spun around and looked at him. Mentally she prepared herself for the long list of tasks or berating she would get from him. He stood and came towards her. Well... that was a first. He was a good five inches taller than her, with broad shoulders and a seemingly muscular torso beneath his black shirt. She couldn't really tell. Mr. Kaiba circled her, looking her up and down as she followed him with her eyes. This was extremely awkward and she felt herself getting a tad bit angry with him. She was not some form of steak that he could size up before engulfing. As she opened her mouth to protest, her frowned and asked, "What dress size are you?" Ari raised her eyebrow, giving him the oddest look. She thought there was some unspoken rule about never asking a woman her size or age. Apparently Kaiba didn't get that memoo.

"I wear a size 6. Why?" she asked. She was curious about what wheels were running through his mind. They stood there, basically staring at the other. Ari refused to let him get her guard to go down just because he was handsome and had a knee weakening smirk. But there was something in his eye as glared each other down. Dare she say it was... kind of soft as he looked at her. Ari would admit it, he was extremely handsome. But she did not allow that to sway or alter her. She was must stronger than that, and held her ground as the two stared at each other for what seemed like the longtime without speaking.

"Because Ms. Burns, you are going to accompany me to the Fire and Ice Ball tonight." He said, turning sharply and going back to his desk. Ari stood there completely confused. He just told her she was going to this damn ball. No asking, just ordering her. She crossed her arms, glaring at him. He looked up from a paper noticing her reaction and the fact she hasn't left yet. "You are going, and I will pay you a bonus of 2,000 dollars if you do this." Arianna chewed her lower lip, looking at him as he went back to his work. The idea of that much money in her pocket was a great thing. She needed some new dishes and grandma could always use new clothes and books. Kaiba smirked and looked at her. "Good. My driver will pick you up at 7:30 sharp. Ho not keep me waiting." He seemed to threatened. Arianna frowned, and spoke back.

"Fine, I will do it." Kaiba smirked and put her head down. But Ari wasn't done yet. He was going to ask her, properly. "But you have to ask me, properly." Kaiba's hand froze from what he was writing. It was almost like he couldn't believe what she was saying. Normally she took her orders and went on with her job, but this time she was going to get a proper asking. After all, this wasn't an errand or a project. This was something from her down time. "And if you don't, I won't go. Sure, you might fire me and I will get a job somewhere else. But think about it.." She said, crossing her arms and smirking at him. "All you have to do is ask nice, and you won't endure the Pearlman sisters fighting over you like that did at that charity ball last March." The mention of the two spoiled sisters made Kaiba shiver for a moment. That was basically a disaster. Kaiba sighed. knowing she was right as he put his forehead against the desk.

"Will you please attend the Fire and Ice Ball with me, Ms. Burns?" Ari smirked, and laughed lightly. Kaiba looked up at him, and seemed angry before she nodded to him. She was just glad he decided to swallow his self pride enough to politely ask her. She gave him a smirk before turning on her heels and walked out of the office.

Around 4:30, a man in a suit with a cap in his hands emerged from the elevator. Ari was so caught up in the wrk she didn't even notice him until he cleared his throat. "Ms. Burns?" h said, causing her to look up. The chauffer bowed slighty and said,"I am your driver for this evening. If you please gather your things and I will take you home to prepare for the ball this evening." The secretary nodded quickly sorting things out and shoving some things in her bag. She told Kaiba she was leaving before following the man to the elevator and down to the car that was waiting for them. "Mr. Kaiba took the libraty of buying youa new outfit, including jewelry and shows. He also requests that you wear your hair in an elegant updo." He spokethrough an opened window, and was a very friendly elderly gentleman. It made her a lot more confrotable in that kind of situation. The ride to her small two story home was about fifeteen minutes. She thanked the driver and took the bags with her new things before walking up the door and into her home.