Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! it rightfully belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I only claim ownership of Kiara Katsuhiko and Lily Katsuhiko. The idea of this fanfiction was inspired from the manga Midnight Secretary.

Chapter 2 - Underneath the Smiling Surface

It appeared to be a typical restaurant from the exterior, but the CEO of Kaiba Corps knew better, he had done his research, and this place was a maid cafe. The place where Kiara's mother was employed and he simply wanted to get a better idea of what she was like however he was reticent about entering such an establishment and he knew that he would be the gossip of Domino if any journalists were around to see him enter such a place. He sighed and rubbed the back of his head before the familiar voice of Roland intruded upon his thoughts, "I could go in your stead sir." He ran a hand through his brown hair and nodded, Roland parked the limo, and left.

"What am I doing here?" he asked himself. Kaiba could feel exhaustion take over as his eyes slid closed and sleep took him to a memory that he had wished he never saw. He watched as a pale woman's body was held in his arms in front of the stone tablet that held the Blue Eyes White Dragon. He mourned the loss of the pale skinned beauty, he couldn't hear what was said, but he had never wished to see this again. Cobalt eyes snapped open as he realized that the limo was moving. He looked up to see Roland in the driver's seat, "Was I out long?" The man shook his head as he put up the partition and the CEO leaned back against the leather seat. He sighed as he looked outside the window, "Somehow I wish I never saw that all those years ago." It occurred to him that Roland had left the cafe so he put down the partition and asked, "How was it?"

Roland continued to drive as he replied, "Interesting. They are all waitresses but take on the role of your private maid, going as far as blowing on your food, stirring your coffee, and feeding you. Of course those are all extra services. I had her mother wait on me." Kaiba moved his gaze from outside the window to Roland. "She was very adept at what she does. Almost as if she's been a true English maid before. Miss Katsuhiko looks just like her mother." He proceeded to tell him of what he had eavesdropped on about Kiara's mother. "Ah, might I add that her mother's name is Lily." Kaiba nodded to Roland's information.

"I see. Well I'll keep this to myself then. Thanks, Roland." The man only nodded as the partition was put back into place and the limo was driven towards the mansion.

-::::::-

Months had passed since Kiara's trial run, she was sitting at her desk typing up documents for her employer, and her mind strayed to her mother. She had been working extra shifts because of some strange virus that was going around. I hope that mother will be alright. Maybe I should call her on my break and see if she's alright. The thought was persistent and when she had finished the documents, she put them in their proper place just as Kaiba exited his office. Her sapphire eyes looked up into his cobalt ones.

Her eyes are as dazzling as ever. "Katsuhiko let's go." She nodded, instinctively she had grabbed her things, and he watched as she shut her computer down for the time being and made some last arrangements. Once completed they went on their way, Kiara had gotten used to the scowl he wore on his face as well as the way people avoided him or kept their eyes down. She chuckled, "Something funny Katsuhiko?"

"Just how everyone seems to act so menial in front of you, sir."

"That's because I'm their boss and I don't tolerate anything other than perfection."

"I understand."

"So that's why you laughed? Because I like to keep my company professional?"

They entered the elevator, she was the one that pushed the lobby button, and she looked up at him over the rims of her glasses. "I find it funny that even the most hardworking perfect people here, whether in the research department or security, still act like they are peasants compared to you."

"They are peasants compared to me."

At this she laughed again, Kaiba quirked an eyebrow at her, "Well I don't think I'm a peasant in your presence."

"Oh?" This is getting interesting. She's been here for many months and this is the most that she's spoken to me but that could be because we're alone. "Why is that? What do you think of yourself?"

At this she gave a furtive smile and winked at him, "It's a secret." Kaiba would have gawked at her if he allowed himself some semblance of emotion in front of his employees but instead allowed her to have her fun. The woman turned to face the elevator doors once more, there was silence between the two with her calm aura and his agitated one. She could tell that he was getting more agitated by the minute, when she went to ask him if he was alright, he pushed her against the wall of the elevator. "Mister Kaiba?"

"What gives you the right to toy with me?" came his hoarse whisper.

Her voice came out velvety smooth, "I am simply doing my job as a secretary and that implies caring for the health of my employer as well. Bottling up emotions will only be a detriment to your health."

"Are you still not going to tell me?" She gave an innocent smile which made him back off, he watched out of the corner of his eye as she pushed up her glasses, and stepped out of the elevator the moment that it opened its doors. So she didn't get flustered at all? It was then that he noticed she was waiting for him, he followed after her but it soon turned into her following him as they walked out of Kaiba Corps, and down the sidewalk. "We're going to a cafe for lunch."

Once they arrived, she took her seat across from him and asked, "Are we to be expecting any one?"

"No." She tilted her head to the side in curiosity, much the same way an animal would. "I didn't want you to be with those other secretaries." Once more that head tilt, "They've been bullying you."

The sound that came out of her was laughter, genuine laughter, and Kaiba looked at her with his emotionless eyes. "I wouldn't call it bullying. I can handle myself. It's more like they were insulting you and I defended you that's all. Nothing's gotten physical, I believe they're all too afraid of getting their faces discolored." Kaiba quirked an eyebrow at her, "This works out perfectly well anyway. I didn't get a chance to pack a lunch today." He nodded as menus were placed in front of them but he watched as she pulled out a bottle from her bag.

"What is that?"

"A vitamin supplement." He nodded as he looked at the menu while he glanced up at her as she opened her bottle and drank a little bit at a time from it. Once she found what she wanted, she closed the menu, and pushed it aside. Kaiba did the same as they looked at one another, "I'm anemic." He nodded his head as if that answered all of his unasked questions about her. They both had ordered, she put the empty bottle back in her purse while looking at him, "Can I make a phone call?" Her employer nodded as she pulled out a slim cellular phone from her bag. She dialed a number quickly before she placed the handset to her ear. Her eyes drifted to the table and a defeated sigh came from her mouth because the other person had not picked up. "Call me back as soon as you can okay mother," she hung up and put it away. Her sapphire eyes looked at the cobalt ones of her employer.

"What's wrong?"

"She's been picking up extra shifts because there's some kind of virus going around. I don't want her to catch it." Kaiba simply nodded as their food arrived, both of them ate in silence, having nothing to talk about, and nothing to share. Inside, Seto Kaiba was glad that he had kept her around because she made eating lunch less lonely but still peaceful. He watched as the worry for her mother was completely hidden while she ate her food. Once they were finished, Kaiba paid the bill, left an extravagant tip, and the pair headed back to the office; once more in silence.

They had only gotten a few blocks when he noticed that Kiara had stopped, she looked around, and visibly sniffed the air. When he looked at her she scrunched her nose in disgust, the way a rabbit would do, and looked around more carefully. "I smell strong, horrid perfume permeating from somewhere." Kaiba watched as her nose returned to normal. There was a high pitched yell from behind Kiara and before the CEO could act on it, his secretary had already spread her legs, bent forward, and he only watched as the girl went sailing over her intended target. Kiara straightened back up, smoothed out her clothing, and stared with her sapphire eyes at the girl in the bushes. Her heels clacked on the ground as she approached the woman, there was squeal of surprise when Kiara's hand touched her back. Once the girl had been helped out of the bushes, she immediately tried to dart to Kaiba but Kiara moved swiftly to block her path.

"Out of my way! That's Seto Kaiba!"

Even though the CEO couldn't see her face, he could tell that his secretary was glaring at the young girl just by the way she began to back away. Her voice was stern, "I suggest that you leave and return to whence you came." The authoritative tone in the gentle secretary's voice had surprised Kaiba but he held that emotion from his visage. The girl began to back away slowly so Kiara moved forward quickly which startled the girl so much that she began to run away. Yet when she faced her employer there was nothing but a kind smile, "Shall we?" He nodded and they resumed their walk back to the office in silence with Kiara smiling to herself and Kaiba taking furtive glances at the strange woman who had told him to try her out for a day.

She is definitely a strange one. There is something going on under that smiling surface of hers that she's hiding or she doesn't want others to know about. Is it really that disturbing or is she just that good at hiding her emotions like me? The thoughts turned into a never ending circle as they sauntered back to the building. How does she act at home? Does she act like the smiling secretary, the intimidating woman, or someone else altogether? How does she act in front of her mother? Once more they circled around his mind and without any answers they continued their relentless loop. He knew he had to break the thought process so he asked, "When is Industrial Illusions' charity ball?"

"It is slated for next Friday at seven in the evening. Shall I inform them that you will be attending?"

"Yeah when we get back to the office."

"Very well."

"But tell them I'll be bringing a guest."

"Understood. Who is the guest that I shall tell them?"

"Kiara Katsuhiko."

"Under-" she balked on her words but not her feet. Her face looked up at him over the rims of her glasses as if to judge him to see if he were telling a joke. "Surely you jest sir." Kaiba shook his head, at this point she had stopped walking, still staring into his cobalt eyes with her dazzling sapphire ones. "Hmm. I will do some adjustment to my schedule so that I am free for that evening to accompany you. Shall I prepare any documenting supplies?" He shook his head once more, this time she seemed to stare straight into his soul, "Very well." At this Kaiba let a half smirk slide onto his face briefly before it disappeared. They resumed their walk, "So Mister Kaiba can smirk as well as scowl."

This time it was his turn to balk as he looked down at her. She only gave him that innocent smile while continuing forward, he caught up to her with his longer stride. "You would do well to voice certain items of interest and when not to voice said items." He received a chuckle from her, "I trust that you have some formal attire." She nodded, "Good. I'll pick you up at six so don't be late."

"I won't be." He put up his hand to hide the smirk on his face, to others it seemed that he was thinking about something but his secretary seemed to know better as she glanced at him and smiled.

-::::::-

The evening of the party had finally arrived and Kiara was already pulling some of her hair into a half bun, held it with a blue lily clip while the rest cascaded down her back, and some parts fell over her shoulders in waves. "Always so curly, must be from the other side." There wasn't much for her to do at the moment except put on her make up, which she completed since it was nearing the pick up time. Once finished she left a note for her mother on the table, dinner was already in the refrigerator, and she had but to heat it up. So she scuttled around the apartment even though the dress just covered the tops of her feet, she wanted to make sure that she didn't trip on her gown. Once her hair had been fixed, she grabbed her small evening purse, it had a white strap attached to a dark blue satin purse. Kiara slipped her feet into her two inch white toe covered heels. At that very moment, there was a knock on her door, she opened it up to see Seto Kaiba standing there. "Just a moment," she said while disappearing to grab a satin white shawl. The secretary wrapped it around her shoulders, draped the excess over her arms, and stepped outside. She shut off the lights and closed the door. Once it was locked, she put the key away, and nodded to him.

It was then that he noticed she didn't have her glasses, "No frames today?"

"I wear contacts when I must," followed by that innocent smile of hers. He simply grumbled something unintelligible as she followed after him. However she noticed that he was wearing a white suit with a blue under shirt and a dark blue tie. She, on the other hand, was actually wearing a strapless deep blue evening gown, embellished with white french lace, which carried down to just below her bustline. We sort of match tonight. How peculiar. Roland was holding the door open for Kaiba but he made a motion for her to get in first, she nodded, scooted in, and was soon followed by her employer. The ride started in silence but she looked over at him, their eyes met, "We match this evening, in a way."

It was then that he took notice of her gown, her hair, the makeup, how her lips were of a coral pink color that tried to lure him into their embrace. Everything about her is exotic tonight, even her curly hair...wait a minute...did she curl her hair? "Did you curl your hair for the event?"

"No sir. It's naturally wavy like this."

"Stay close to my side tonight." Sapphire eyes continued to stare at him until she nodded and looked away, he gave an imperceptible sigh of relief, sometimes those eyes were dazzling with the glasses, and tonight they were just gorgeous to Kaiba. They stood out against her pale skin but the fact was that those eyes seemed to belong to someone else as well, not to mention that her name was familiar. He put a hand on his chin as he stared out at the city lights, Kiara, Kisara, Kiara, Kisara. Both had light blue hair and both have those deep blue eyes. Except Kiara has wavy hair while Kisara had straight hair but that doesn't really mean anything. There's no way that it can be the same person, they're completely different but in a way..they resemble one another. The thought circled around until he pushed it out of his mind, he took a furtive glance at his secretary, and she was entranced with the city lights. "You have never been down this way."

It was a statement but Kiara still responded, "No, never. It's quite breath taking."

"Yeah, it is." He quickly turned away before she could look at him, he could feel those sapphire eyes on him for a brief moment before she turned to look out at the lights once more. It seemed a longer ride than usual but Kiara knew they had arrived the moment that she saw all the flashing lights from the paparazzi.

"Does this mean they will spread rumors?" Her gaze turned to look at her employer, he nodded.

"But I doubt they'll be able to find you outside of this event."

Kiara chuckled, "I suppose they won't find me. So does this mean I get to be Seto Kaiba's companion instead of Seto Kaiba's secretary?" She quirked an eyebrow at him while he gruffly got out of the limo once the door was opened by Roland. Kiara chuckled at his demeanor, when Roland put his hand out for her, she took it firmly, and he smiled at her. "Thank you, Roland. I'll try to make sure he has some fun." Roland nodded before getting in the limo once more. It was then that she noticed Kaiba had been waiting for her, he didn't link his arm in hers nor did he hold her hand. It truly did seem that she was there simply as an escort. Kiara didn't even bother with it, the flashes seemed to have stopped momentarily, and the CEO took notice. They had stopped because Kiara had walked into a spotlight, he knew that it would have blinded her but she simply smiled at everyone present, and continued to walk with the grace that she exuberated. To the onlookers, it appeared as if a pale skinned blue haired angel had set foot onto the red carpet. She reached the top of the stairs, her gaze looked over her shoulder at Kaiba, he hurriedly caught up to her, and with that the flashes started once more as another guest arrived.

"Too much publicity at these events but you did seem to stop them. Can you see?" It was then that he noticed her hand had snaked its way onto his upper arm. There were no words needed between the two as he guided her around until her sight could return. "How did you see the stairs?"

She chuckled, "I used the toe of my shoe to tap it gently." Kaiba pulled up a hand to hide the smirk on his face. It took the pair a few minutes to reach the buffet line, by then her sight had returned to normal. "Of course my sight returns once I'm in front of food." Kaiba pulled up a hand once more before the pair each took a plate. Kaiba watched as her eyes glanced at certain dishes, apparently there was some vegetarian food.

Once they each had their plate full, the pair took a seat at a table that was on the far side of the room. She looked at him, "As far away from the idiots and vampires as possible."

"Correct." He was about to eat his food until what she said registered in his mind. Cobalt eyes looked at the woman next to him and he could see that she shared his sentiment. "I thought this evening would be a disaster but it doesn't seem to be turning out that way."

"I wouldn't say that just yet. I think Mister Devlin spotted us from all the way across the other side of the room. Mister Kaiba you stand out far too much." It was clear that she had made a joke and, what was worse, Seto Kaiba actually wanted to laugh at it. Instead he decided to start eating his food. He watched her as she began to munch on some sort of mysterious grain. She looked, had some on her fork, and offered it to him. "Try some. It's quinoa." He decided that it would be worth and took the bite from the fork.

"Not bad." She smiled at him while continuing to eat her food. It was then that the waiter came by to offer them something to drink. "I'll take...hmm..merlot is for Pegasus and I don't want what he drinks."

Kiara smiled at the waiter which caused the young man to blush, "Please give us two glasses of pinot grigio." The male nodded and left to get their glasses. She looked at Kaiba, "Red wine is good for your heart but for this evening pinot grigio will do. There are other red wines like cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and shiraz."

"How do you know about wine?"

"During high school and college years I worked in restaurants in order to pay for the classes."

"What kind of restaurants?"

"Oh, all kinds. Curry restaurants, Italian, French, Indian, and maid cafes."

Kaiba balked on his food, "Maid cafes?"

She nodded, "Despite what you may think, those are very lucrative for maids." He was silent and he noticed a devious gleam in her eye, "Would you like me to show you my skills?" The CEO would have said yes but decided against it and this made her chuckle. She leaned in to whisper, "Before Dungeon Diceman gets here, the offer stays on the table." Kiara winked at him just as Duke arrived along with their glasses of wine. She took a sip of the wine and nodded to the waiter, he was pleased, and left them while Duke took a seat next to Kiara who immediately moved closer to Kaiba.

"Miss Katsuhiko what a lovely surprise. I must say it is lovely to have you here," he said smoothly. For some reason or other, Kaiba had to refrain from biting down on his fork. "I see that you are here to work for Kaiba."

"On the contrary, I was invited here as Mister Kaiba's guest so if you would please refrain from any flirtatious movements, I would greatly appreciate it." Kaiba wanted to smirk but hid it from those present with the exception of Kiara, she seemed to be a very observant person.

"I won't stop unless you allow me one dance."

Kiara was about to protest until the voice of Pegasus intervened, "I'm so sorry Dukey-boy but when she was making the reservation we had discussed that she and I would have the first dance together." She looked over at him and nodded with a smile. All too willing to play along right now and Kaiba could see that she truly detested being around Duke Devlin. "Come my dear, I'm sure you know how to waltz." Kiara excused herself from the table, she made sure to give her purse to Kaiba for safe keeping, and headed off with Pegasus to the dance floor.

The strings began and she immediately fell into step with the creator of Duel Monsters, she smiled up at him, "Thank you. I owe you one Mister Pegasus."

"Don't mention it. I'm glad to have helped because you seemed on the verge of saying something that may ruin Kaiba-boy."

"Oh I would never do such a thing!" She winked at Pegasus and this caused him to laugh as they danced around with the others. "This is such a lovely charity ball. Can you tell me which charity?"

"It's for orphans."

Her face softened, "How sweet."

"Mmhm. I thought it was time that the orphans received some press."

She chuckled, "You have a good heart Mister Pegasus."

"So do you Katsuhiko-dear. Can I call you that?" She nodded while he continued, "I must say that you look very exquisite this evening."

"Why thank you kind sir so do you but you always look good in red."

The two of them laughed as they danced around the floor, while Kaiba sat there with Duke and watched. He was fuming on the inside even if his outward visage was stoic. Pegasus is dancing with my secretary while I'm stuck here with Duke! This is uncalled for! Why didn't I ask her? Oh because that would raise some suspicion. At this point in time, Kaiba was berating himself mentally for letting Pegasus have the first dance but there was really nothing for him to do about it now. Cobalt irises watched as green orbs were directed his way and he sighed. "What do you want Duke?"

"I was just wondering where you found such a beautiful trophy."

"The outside staffing agency..." His voice trailed off as he stared at Duke. "Excuse me, did you just say trophy?" He nodded with a smirk and Kaiba growled, "She's not something you put on display, she's a very capable secretary."

He made a motion with his hand, "Hence a trophy. An executive secretary is the face of a company, that's why I only have beautiful women around me."

"Are they competent?"

"Hmm, not really but they get the job done."

"I prefer intelligence to beauty."

"Ah but this one seems to have both so I think you've found a perfect trophy to display for Kaiba Corps." Once more he ground his teeth together as the waltz ended, he watched as Kiara curtsied to Pegasus in thanks while he bowed to her. The pair began to make their way back to the table where Kaiba stood up with her purse. He intercepted her and glanced at Pegasus momentarily before whispering something in her ear. She nodded to him and excused herself from the company of the creator of Duel Monsters. The silver haired man sat down and looked at Duke. "What? I didn't do anything."

"You said something that upset him didn't you?"

"I guess."

"What was it?"

"I called his secretary a trophy."

Pegasus sighed, "You shouldn't have done that. If you want your game to be holographically produced you need to be careful with Kaiba-boy. You could ruin everything so far if you're not careful."

"I'm fine. He'll still do it because it's new and will bring more revenue to Kaiba Corps."

"That may be true but don't think that he won't cut you loose because he will." Duke simply nodded while he watched the pair disappear to the other side of the room where the desert table was being held. "Why is he so protective of her? Is she really that valuable to him? Is that all he sees her as?" His green eyes looked over at Pegasus who held a knowing smile. "You know something, why don't you tell me?"

"I cannot Dukey-boy. So sorry but that's a need to know basis and you don't need to know." Duke gave an exasperated sigh as Pegasus laughed and was handed a glass of red wine. He sipped at it and grinned to himself. How lovely. Everything is as it should be...well...maybe not everything but so far everything is perfect.

In the meantime she watched as Kaiba had lead her around by her wrist, he didn't particularly hold her wrist roughly but she could tell that he was angry. Once they found a table on the far side of the room, hidden behind the veil of dancers, he flopped into the seat, and rubbed his temples. "Something bothering you?" came her question. He simply shook his head and she stood up from her chair, she moved behind him, and placed her hands on his shoulder muscles. He looked at her, "Relax. You're so tense." Kiara moved her hands in gentle but firm circles to ease the tension on his upper back. He let out a sigh, "See? Now you're feeling better. You're so tense all the time Mister Kaiba, you can't take everything that people say to heart especially someone like Mister Devlin."

"I have a company to run and he made remarks about it that I didn't approve of."

"I see."

He sighed, "You're really good at this."

"Thank you. I've had some formal training only to help my mother out when she needed it. It's rough being your feet for eight plus hours in a row. Sometimes all you need is a good massage to ease all those tense muscles." Kaiba sighed again and allowed himself to feel relaxed for the time being, her fingers worked gently on his shoulders, careful of his expensive suit, and she only did it for a few minutes before taking a seat next to him. "Feel better?"

Cobalt irises looked into sapphire orbs, "You're an excellent secretary."

"That's all I've ever wanted to be." Kaiba stared at her, once more that was a joke, and she could clearly see that he wanted to laugh at it but instead he put up a hand to hide the smile that was on his face. "You can always laugh in your office, the limo, or some place else that you're alone. Or you can laugh here. It won't be a detriment to your company but I suppose that if the CEO of Kaiba Corps suddenly burst out laughing in a party like this then that would be cause for some concern, especially the tabloids." Underneath that hand he bit his lip as she continued, "The headline would read: CEO OF KAIBA CORPS LETS OUT LAUGHTER FOR UNKNOWN REASON AT CHARITY BALL! Well maybe it would be a lot shorter to fit on the small pages and maybe accompanied by a picture." She grinned at him as he held in that laughter, "See, you're feeling better already."

A waiter came by to offer them something to drink and this time Kaiba answered him, "Two glasses of champagne." He nodded and left to retrieve the wanted glasses, he reappeared quickly, placed them on the table, and left. Kaiba handed one to her, "Just drink it and be quiet." Kiara only smiled at him, she sipped her bubbly alcohol and kept silent as she had been told but that didn't keep her mind from wandering to other people in the room. There were a lot of corporate people present and she recognized some from the meetings she had arranged with Kaiba Corps. Seto was about to say something but decided against it, it was just nice to even sit with her. For once someone who doesn't talk incessantly about needless things and she's capable so that makes her indispensible. But what about other matters outside of work?