And we're onto the date-but-not-really-a-date ha ha. Also you might want to take the technology babble with a grain of salt. I know it makes zero sense but just go with it xD

She had spent a ridiculous amount of time to get ready for that evening. She wore a light blue, knee-length dress with a sweetheart neckline, a keyhole back and a full skirt. She had put her hair in a French braid and opted for a light pink lipstick and some mascara.

She was busy putting on her white pumps when her father came into the living-room. Her heart sank into her stomach at the sight of him; paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair. She felt so guilty being able to walk. It should've been her in the wheelchair, not him.

'You look beautiful, Scarlette. Kaiba's a lucky man', he slightly joked.

She shivered. 'It's just for work, dad. He's offering me a job', she corrected him.

'Either way, you look stunning', her father smiled at her.

She returned the smile, getting up when the doorbell of their small apartment rang. She hesitantly opened the door. Kaiba stood there, semi-formal with his deep blue blouse and black dress-pants. He easily forced himself into the apartment, halting when he saw her father.

She folded her arms across her chest, biting her bottom lip and discomfort swelling in her gut. She watched Kaiba extend his hand to her father.

'Be good to my girl, Mr. Kaiba. She's all I have left', Kaiba only replied with a nod and was quick to pull her along with him.

Once outside, he brought her to his limo, and surprisingly, held open the car door for her so she could get in. He followed soon after and the car started.

Scarlette sighed deeply, putting her hand to her forehead. 'You weren't supposed to see that', she mumbled.

His facial expression remained neutral, bordering on disinterested. She just rested her head back; she wasn't about to tell him all about the car accident. He had no right to know. He could probably care less anyways.

Their ride towards the restaurant was spent in silence. Scarlette felt no need to tell him how her father had gotten into the wheelchair and Kaiba obviously felt like he didn't need to ask. Good for him, she wouldn't have told him. She didn't want him to take pity on her. Not that she expected him to; Seto Kaiba was known to be void of any positive emotion.

'You look lovely.'

She raised her eyebrow at him. Had he just told her that? Well he was being awfully generous. It seemed so unlike him to compliment another human being.

'T-thanks', she responded.

He gave another curt nod and the car came to a halt. Just before she could reach for the door-handle, he grabbed her wrist, surprising her by how close he suddenly was. She stared up to him; he was very handsome, she'd give him that. He was tall, broadly built and had these stunning blue eyes. She could see why women fell at his feet.

'There's bound to be paparazzi lurking out there. So you'd do your best to cover your face if you don't want to be front page news', he warned her.

She nodded. 'Anything else?' she asked.

His eyes dropped towards the neckline of her dress for only a moment, then shook his head. He got out of the car and he had apparently walked around the car to open her door. She got out, gasping in surprise when his strong arm snuck around her waist to keep her close.

Luckily, there were no photographers around, so they could enter the restaurant without any fuss. Kaiba continued his gentleman-like behavior, pulling out her chair and picking out the wine for the evening. It was very unlike him, she thought. He had never displayed nice behavior, either in the college or when they went to high school together.

'So I guess I should ask what exactly the job you're offering me entails?' she wondered.

He set his elbows down on the table, folding his fingers together and leaning forward.

'Being my assistant is pretty straightforward. You'll be in charge of my agenda, putting through calls, sorting paperwork and so on', she sipped her wine, thoughtfully; 'though it states in your contract that as long as you accompany me to social events, you'll be prohibited from going out with other men.'

His words left a bad taste in her mouth. She set her glass down, crossing her arms. 'And why is that?' she asked.

She thought she saw a smirk tug at his lips. Smug bastard, she internally growled.

'It's simple; if you pose as my date, and you're seen with other men, it would reflect very badly on the both of us. And having a woman at my arm would be very beneficial for me as it would put a stop to the countless proposals I get sent', he went on.

She blew out some air. So basically he wanted her to pose as his girlfriend. Great. That meant she was going to have to look all lovey dovey with him in public. She detested the idea. Not to mention she was completely stripped of having a dating life.

'What if I fell in love with someone?' she posed.

He brought his wine-glass up to his lips, scoffing. 'I highly doubt that'll happen though. Given the fact you're known to be a rather picky woman.'

She bit on her tongue, refusing to lash out at his offensive comment. She wouldn't allow him to get under her skin like this. He didn't know her.

'Guess that makes two of us. You're never seen with a woman', she muttered.

'The reason being is that I have high standards', he paused and his eyes, once again, dropped to the neckline of her dress. She shuddered. She wasn't used to Kaiba looking at her like this, or any woman for that matter. She didn't know whether she liked it or not.

She silently thanked the waiter when their food arrived, breaking off the awkward silence.

'Then why did you pick me? As far as I know, you despise my friends, you think I work at a third-rate café and yet you go out of your way to get me to work for you?' she asked him.

He let out a chuckle, his gaze crossing hers. 'You're intelligent, you're higher class than most women who throw themselves at me and you speak your mind. Not a lot of people can do that without getting on my nerves', he answered her.

She sighed. She felt like he had given her half an answer but for now that was good enough. She just had to be grateful he even gave her a response at all.

'Anything else I should know?' she asked him.

'No. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it once you start this Monday -' 'hold up! Monday?!' she cut him off, much to his irritation; 'I haven't even filed out my resignation yet!'

'You don't have to. I already informed your boss that you were looking for a better job', she could only glare at him.

He seemed to have this planned out way before he had even asked her to work for him. She should've known he was a manipulative, sneaky bastard -

'How did your father end up in a wheelchair?'

His question immediately struck a sore spot. She shifted, keeping her eyes on her plate.

'It's none of your business', she muttered.

Her response didn't faze him. He stayed with the subject. 'I think I'll decide that. You're going to be my employee soon. I'll need to know a few things about you', was his sharp response.

She still didn't look at him. 'That doesn't include my personal life. You have nothing to gain from knowing how my dad got stuck in that damned wheelchair', she almost growled.

He chuckled. 'And that, my dear, is where you're wrong. You see, if you're going to be posing as my date, there will be occasions where your father would join us on dinner. So you can either spit it out now or leave it up to the press to find out.'

She was dumbfounded. Just when she thought she had some sort of control over the situation, he'd turn the tables on her. He simply refused to let her have any dominance in their conversation.

Whimpering under her breath, she hesitantly turned to look at him, fighting the rising swell in her throat.

'We were in a car accident. Some drunk driver rammed our car. My mom was dead on impact, my dad got paralyzed. I was lucky to get away with just a scar on my stomach', tears threatened to spill from her eyes but she kept them at bay; 'the doctors tried everything to get my dad his legs back, but they couldn't. That's why we're in dept. My dad couldn't hold a job anymore so he couldn't pay the hospital bills', she spat out.

It seemed she had made quite an impression on him; Kaiba was left silent, staring at her with semi-widened eyes. He took a large gulp from his wine, clearing his throat.

She followed his example, emptying her glass almost instantly. She wanted to reach for the bottle but he gripped her by her wrist before she could.

'Let go', she muttered.

'You want him to walk again?' he inquired.

She didn't answer; of course she did but that wasn't possible. And why did Kaiba care?

'A team of my robotics engineers have recently started on a project that revolves around nanobots to act as synthetic nerves', she frowned at him; 'they're testing it on paralyzed animals first. But if it turns out to be a success the same techniques could be applied to humans', he explained.

'I don't understand -' 'if the project is a success, I'll make sure that your father is our top priority', he interjected.

Her face fell. Was Kaiba being serious? Why was he so generous all of a sudden? Or was there a catch he was about to get to?

'I'm guessing you want something in return?' she asked.

He released her wrist. 'There's a charity ball I'm forced to attend in a few weeks. You're going to be there', he instructed; 'your clothing, jewelry and such will be taken care of.'

She nodded her head yes. 'Fair enough', she agreed.

After dinner, Kaiba had brought her home. She got out of the car, expecting to walk up the porch by herself but soon found out Kaiba had gotten out of the car too. She glowered at him.

'You don't need to walk me to the door', she huffed.

He did so regardless. Sighing, she pulled the keys out of her purse to open the door. All the while, she never got rid of the nerves swirling in her gut. Why was this feeling like a date all of a sudden? It wasn't a date. And even if it was, she wouldn't go out with someone like Kaiba.

She pulled open the door just a bit but Kaiba easily shut it, his hand now on the door close to her head. Startled, she turned around, finding him closer to her than she preferred. Even with her heels, she only reached up to his broad shoulders.

She gazed up to him, feeling her heartbeat fasten at his closeness. She didn't like the fact he was invading her personal space like this. She couldn't think clearly!

He obviously ignored that fact, for he moved even closer. She put her hands against his chest to push him, and cursed inwardly at allowing herself to feel the strong pectoral muscles beneath his shirt. Where the hell did he even find the time to work out while he ran a company?!

'Read the contract thoroughly. I'll have my driver pick you up this Monday', he murmured.

'A-anything else?' she barely managed to keep her voice from going into a timid squeak and he easily noticed. He smirked in response.

'From now on, this dress is for my eyes only', he told her.

She gulped, feeling her cheeks grow warm and not sure what to think of his comment. It sounded weird, almost creepy like possessive compliment but she didn't want to linger on it.

He pushed away, leaving her able to breathe again. 'Good night', he bid her a quiet goodbye before he got into his limo and drove off.

Trembling now, Scarlette turned around, heading inside as quickly as she could. She went to her parents' bedroom, finding her father asleep. She smiled, leaning over to softly kiss his forehead. It caused him to wake up, and he gazed at her tiredly.

'How was your date?' he asked with a suggestive wink.

She sat down at his bedside. 'It wasn't a date', she paused; 'dad…Kaiba offered to get your legs fixed', she began.

He sat up, frowning, but allowing her to speak. 'He's developing this technique that might be able to help you walk again', she went on.

'Well that was generous of him. He's putting a lot of money in you, sweetheart. First he offered to pay off your student loans and now this…I'd say he has his eye on you', her father commented.

She waved him off. 'Nonsense. Kaiba doesn't do romantic feelings, dad', she argued.

'Still…it's out of character for him. Don't allow him to pressure you into things you don't want to', he said firmly.

She offered a timid smile. Typical dad, always so worried, she thought. She'd be fine. She wouldn't let Kaiba take advantage of her. Because she somehow knew he wouldn't do that. Kaiba was many things: egotistic, self-absorbed, arrogant, conceited, but he wasn't a man to take advantage of a woman.

Still…her dad had a point. What motive did Kaiba have for helping her out? What did he get out of it? She guessed she just had to sleep on it.

So Scarlette is going to work for Kaiba? She just made a deal with the devil :o

Please rate and review and don't be afraid to be a little critical ;)

Lots of Love,

~TheOneWithTooManyInterests