Chapter 3

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The guests finally left, one by one, and Sakura took Mokuba aside, letting him rest in the 'Super secret staff hideout', also known as the employee lounge. He fell asleep on the couch that so many employees had used as a bed during breaks that it already had a indent for a person to lay across. She brought out a clean blanket and an extra pillow for his comfort and left him in Jean's capable hands.

"I trust the evening went just as well as you had hoped." Mel said to Kaiba. He nodded, not really paying attention and clicked a button on his blackberry. "I do hope Ms. Miko wasn't bothering you too much throughout the night." Kaiba paused and looked at her.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about that." Mel's face changed from a smile to worry. "From now on, when I use this hotel, I want her to be my personal assistant. She'll handle all of my business with you." Mel's jaw dropped. "She went above and beyond. I trust she will be taken care of here." He finished, turning back to his blackberry. "Speaking of which, I should get Mokuba from her." He handed Mel a generous tip and marched past her, heading right for the employee's lounge.

As he opened the door, he saw Mokuba asleep on the couch and Sakura and Jean in the back.

"Hey, that seven layer cake..." Jean started, leaving the end of her sentence unfinished. Sakura jumped up and patted her legs where her pockets would be.

"Oh, right, here." She moved to the side and pulled a walled out of a pair of jeans. "How much was it again?"

"Fourteen" Sakura frowned, but pulled the bills out. She handed Jean a twenty and told her to keep the rest.

"It's so expensive here." She muttered and Jean laughed.

"Then go work for a two star hotel instead." Sakura stuck her tongue out at the chef and moved to Mokuba, smiling as she looked down at him. She brushed some fallen hairs out of his eyes and pulled the blanket tighter around him.

"He's so cute."

"His brother ain't to shabby either." Jean said, pocketing the money. Sakura looked up at her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

"You could be his mother." Jean shrugged and pulled out a cigaret. "Hey, not while he's in here." She chided.

"What are you, the cigaret police?" Jean said, but she put the thing back. Seto smirked. She really knew how to handle herself. He cleared his throat and Sakura stood and nodded respectfully.

"It's time for us to go." He said, bending and picking up Mokuba. He peeled the blanket off of him and the boy started to shuffle.

"Keep it. Complimentary." Sakura insisted, re wrapping the boy and returning him to a peaceful sleep. Kaiba shifted the boy so he was only holding him with one arm, and reached into his tux. He pulled out a few bills and held them out to her. "Sir, I couldn't-"

"Take it." He wasn't in a negotiating mood. She took the bills and watched him move through the door.

"Holy crap, is that a hundred dollar bill?" Sakura glanced up at Jean, then at the money in her hands. It wasn't a hundred dollar bill. It was two of them. She raced out into the hall, spotting him halfway down it.

"This is too much." She said, finally keeping up with him. He stopped, making her bump into him and glanced down at her.

"Shh. You'll wake him." He said quietly. Sakura stared at him incredulously, but her gaze wandered down to the sleeping boy and she smiled. He smirked down at her and continued walking. He had won this time.

The exchange took place in the study hall. Kids watched and whispered as the Seto Kaiba pulled out his checkbook, scribbled something down and handed her the small piece of paper, then as she pulled out her sketchpad, carefully tore out a page and handed it to him. He placed the thing carefully into his briefcase and turned to her.

"How is work going?" He asked. She looked at him as if he had just asked her to eat a cockroach, but answered, confused as to why he cared.

"Back to usual. Putting sheets on beds and cleaning up after strangers." He looked at her questioningly and she raised an eyebrow in return. "What?" He shook his head and returned to his computer. They should have promoted her. Or at least thanked her or said something. Why did she just go back to cleaning rooms as a lowly maid? It didn't make any sense.

"How much do you make there?" He asked, feeling out of character. She was above the work she was doing. She had already proved that. It drove him insane. Why did he have to deal with morons who didn't know their ass from their elbow taking high up positions while the hotel had her as a worker and treated her like a janitor?

"Isn't that a bit personal?" He glanced at her with a look that said 'really?'

"The only reason people don't like to talk about how much they make is because they don't like to learn how much more someone else makes over them. I'm pretty sure you can guess that it's a pretty big gap between us already, so you're learning nothing new."

"I thought it's because it's none of anyone else's business." She retorted. He looked at her expectantly and she finally sighed. Arguing with him was draining.

"Minimum wadge." She said quietly. She could have sworn his eye twitched.

"Minimum... That's bullshit." She looked up at him in shock.

"I've only been there for like, two months. That's starting pay. I don't qualify for a raise until one full year there." He stared at her for a moment, but shook it off.

"Quit." He said glancing down at his computer.

"What? I need money. I've got to save up fo-"

"Then work for me." This man confused her to the very core.

"What?"

"So far your design for my... project has proven promising. I've got plenty more... designs that need to be produced, and I'm figuring you're the best one for the job. Unless I'm mistaken?" He was damned good at getting what he wanted. Too good. This was a deal she couldn't pass up. Making money and doing something she loved, it was a dream. But this man who was too good at getting what he wanted, she had to be careful. The only problem was he knew he had her.

"... Fine..."

"It's by commission. Each piece you give me will be compensated. Can you do landscapes as well?" He pulled out his blackberry and began tapping it with it's stylist.

"Yeah, I prefer them. I just don't do animals." She said.

"That doesn't matter, it's based off of duel monsters. There are no animals, just the creatures in the cards." It seemed to be the perfect deal. "When are you free next, we'll need to discuss the pieces I'm going to need."

"Um... well, seeing as I'm going to be quitting, once I give my two weeks notice, I'll have a flexible schedule." He raised an eyebrow. Of course she was professional enough to give enough notice for them to train and hire someone to replace her. It didn't mean he had to like it in this instant.

"So two weeks from today?" She laughed, making the kids next to her that she had yelled at for the same reason not long ago, glare at her.

"You sure don't like to wait, do you." He knew it wasn't a question, and she knew the answer to that. He just stared at her until she was finished. " Two weeks from Friday." He frowned. He'd prefer it get started sooner, but he couldn't argue with her reasoning. She was a stand up worker and that was worth so much more than the time it would take to wait.

"Fine. Bring a resume."

"What do you mean, quitting?" Mel asked as Sakura handed her her resignation.

"I've gotten a better job offer." Sakura explained.

"What... if I give you a raise?" Mel asked, trying to negotiate. Sakura didn't think it was possible to match Kaiba's offer, but she waited and allowed Mel to try. "Another dollar an hour." Sakura shook her head, smiling.

"Sorry, but-"

"A promotion then. Server? Promotions give an automatic raise as well." Mel tried.

"I really appreciate the offer, but I really cant give up this opportunity."

"Who is it?" The manager asked, giving up.

"Kaiba. Seto Kaiba." Mel's eyes scanned the girl.

"Doing what?"

"I cant say. It's confidential." She looked over Sakura incredulously. "It's a secret project for Kaiba Corp. I really cant say." Mel sighed.

"Fine." She rose and already Sakura could tell she wasn't happy. She did put her all into everything she did and it made her a great worker. She just didn't realize how exactly Mel felt about the news. Over the next two weeks she found out. Mel gave her such an odd schedule that it completely interfered with how her life had run. Either she worked a really long shift starting a half hour after she got out of school, or she worked a short shift late in the night. It threw off her sleep schedule and made her exhausted at every hour of the day.

It was starting to show in school as well, at least to the observant few.

"You look like hell." She hadn't even sat and Kaiba was commenting on how she looked. She glanced at the window, trying to catch a glimpse of her reflection. Her golden brown hair was pulled into a tight high ponytail and her pale blue button down blouse fell gently on her, cut to fit and accentuating all the right places without being too revealing. Her dark gray pencil skirt fell to just the right length above her knees and her shiny black flats matched the slim belt at her waist. She looked like a department manager at his corporation.

"You're no flower yourself." She replied, curious as to what she missed.

"Have you been sleeping on a pile of rocks or something?"

"That would imply I sleep." She tiredly opened her notebook. She worked quietly on her assignments and he left her to do so.

Finally finished with the hotel, she was able to rest up appropriately before her big interview at Kaiba Corp. She filled a few of her art pieces in a small travel portfolio as a display along with her resume, which was... in her opinion, lacking. She knew she probably would get the position, as Kaiba pretty much handed it to her on a silver platter, but she couldn't help feeling nervous. Her last interview was with Mel, and put simply, she was just torn into.

"Today's the big day, huh?" A tall brunette moved slowly into her living room, gently letting himself down on the couch.

"What are you doing up? You're supposed to be on bed rest." She chided, trying to place her earring, but failing to find the hole.

"Pfft. I cant live my whole life in bed." He said, looking around the room. He finally spotted what he was looking for. Unfortunately the remote was out of reach. She sighed, putting down the earring and taking out the one that was already in on the other side and handed him the remote.

"Don't over do it while I'm out. If anything happens, give me a call." She placed the phone closer to him.

"Hey," He called, stopping her from exiting. "Break a leg." He smiled at her and she returned it.

"Thanks big brother." She waved goodbye and shut the door behind her.

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