Talyak: Thank you!

Shin: Thanks. I try to pace my stories to find a balance.

CHAPTER FOUR

THUD.

Kaiba jerked his head over his shoulder.

"Quit it, Mutt," he hissed.

He glared at the top of the blonde's head before turning his attention back forward. Out of the corner of his eye, Joey saw Kaiba's body turn around so he knew the brunette had said something to him. He glared at the back of Kaiba's head. He knew whatever the older male had said probably hadn't been nice.

Probably called me a mutt again, Joey thought.

The morning was passing slowly. He wanted time to speed up and get to the end of the day. He didn't have work tonight. However, tomorrow he was working an all day shift. Joey was looking forward to it. The other work days this week had gone over smoothly and he hadn't had any run-ins with Kaiba.

It baffled Joey. Surely, the male knew the names of all his employees. Or at least, was aware when new hires were made. Joey was curious, but he wasn't curious enough to question the CEO himself, lest he gave himself away.

R-R-R-Ri-ing.

The students scrambled out of their seats. Joey was slow to pack up. When he stood up, he almost banged right into Kaiba. Unlike before, Kaiba was now facing him and glaring down at him. Joey raised his head and eyes, raising his eyebrows in question.

"Quit kicking my desk, Wheeler," Kaiba warned.

Joey rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you should ask yerself why I'm kicking your desk before you ask me to stop," Joey told him before shoving past him.

He missed the calculating gaze aimed at his back. The rest of the day dragged. Joey fidgeted more than usual, earning him more than a couple of warnings from his teacher. He was excited when lunch time came. He was disappointed when he found only Yugi and Yami at their group's lunch table.

"Where da Hell is everyone?" Joey asked.

Yugi smiled. "Téa is finishing up an Art project. Tristan has lunch detention. Ryou checked out early to go to a doctor's appointment, but he'll be back later."

"What about Dice Boy?" Joey asked.

Yugi shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I saw him on his phone when we were on our way to the cafeteria," Yugi answered.

Joey shook his head. Like Kaiba, Duke had his own company he was busy running while attending school.

"How is the new job working out?" Yami questioned him.

Joey smiled as he chewed on a piece of macaroni and cheese.

"It's good. People are real nice at the office and they got a daycare downstairs. Kids there really like me. Boss lets me take a break to read them a book," Joey replied.

Yami nodded.

"Not surprising," Yami commented.

Yugi nodded in agreement.

"You have always been good with the children at the shop, Joey. I wish you could come tomorrow. Grandpa's having that big sale," Yugi reminded him.

Joey shook his head.

"Sorry, Yug. I'm scheduled all day from sun up to sun down. I'll get a couple of breaks and stuff and lunch and dinner, but not enough time to come 'cross town," Joey explained.

"That's okay, Joey. I'll set aside a couple of booster packs for you. You can come by Sunday and get them," Yugi told him.

Joey clapped him on the shoulder.

"You're a pal, Yug. I appreciate it."

Yami watched the two of them closely as he ate his lunch. Joey had been questioned, but tight lipped about where he was working. Joey had just given him a clue. Most of the work buildings were close by the Game Shop, but Joey's was across town. A few of the bigger buildings were near that area, including Kaiba Corp and the newly expanded Black Crown.

Joey doesn't get along with Duke or Kaiba, but would he be willing to work for them? They would be paying well and Joey mentioned the pay was too good to pass up, Yami thought.

Yami knew if Joey grew comfortable enough, he would share with them where he worked. Until that time, they would trust he wasn't working somewhere dangerous.

/…/

Joey had a good yet light breakfast before departing for work. Nakamura put him right to work with assisting a co-worker on setting up all the conference rooms for luncheons. They finished in no time at all and were able to take an early lunch.

"How's your first week been, Wheeler?" the co-worker, an older female by the name of Yuki Morimoto, asked.

Joey chuckled as they sat down in a quiet corner.

"It's been really good. Everyone's been nice," Joey answered.

Yuki nodded.

"Probably because you haven't run into the Big Boss, huh?" she teased.

Joey's cheeks turned red. Yuki was one of the few that knew about him and Kaiba's volatile relationship. Moving on from that topic, they talked about Joey's schoolwork. He had an essay to write for school. She made suggestions for his paper as they ate through their lunch.

After lunch, they wandered to their floors to restock items. Joey was finishing up restocking an office hallway hand sanitizer station when Nakamura came by.

"Wheeler! I need to pull you off the floor," Nakamura said.

Joey frowned as he pulled a rag off the cart to wipe off some dirt from his hands.

"What's up?" Joey asked.

"Teacher downstairs just got sick. It'll be at least an hour before our other teacher can get here. And the kids are asking for The Storyman."

Joey's face broke out in a huge grin. He had been afraid he had done something wrong or worse. His name was hard for the kids to pronounce so the teacher referred to him as The Storyman. He got downstairs quickly but carefully. The exhausted aide looked relieved to see him.

He could see why when he counted the number of heads in the room. There were twelve little angels running all about. So he quickly devised a plan to break them up. He took six for Story Time and drawing pictures from the book afterwards. The aide took the other six aside for afternoon snack and bathroom breaks. Then they switched groups.

When the replacement teacher arrived, they were doing song and dance time with the children. The children were sad to see Joey go.

"I'll be back next week. I promise, kids," Joey said, heading for the door.

He got twelve big hugs before he was finally allowed to escape. He returned to his janitorial work. He made a face when he had to clean up a mess in a bathroom. Someone hadn't quite made it to the toilet in time. He cleaned it up properly according to proper procedures. Then he put a fresh can in the spritzer Febreeze sitting high in the bathroom.

After that, it was time for dinner. Joey returned his cart downstairs, so he could wash up properly. He had a small dinner in the cafeteria on the lower floor. He was lucky to be sitting off in a dark corner. He had a mini panic attack when he spotted Kaiba coming through. He slid down in his seat, trying to prevent himself from being seen.

Luckily, the taller male was distracted by the co-worker walking with him. They were looking over a contract as they passed through. Joey watched as Kaiba accepted a to-go box from one of the cafeteria workers. His body tensed as they turned around and began walking out. If Kaiba turned his head even a fraction to the right, he would spot Joey for sure.

Luck was still on his side as Kaiba left the area without spotting him. Joey let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

"That was close," Joey murmured.

When he left that night, he took a hot dinner in a to go box for his father. When he arrived home, his father was awake on the couch. He was watching the television with only half interest. The man smiled gratefully at his son when he handed him the food. He brought a hand up to touch his cheek softly.

"My good son," he murmured.

Joey smiled.

"It's been a good day, huh, Dad?" Joey asked, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder.

His father nodded as he chewed quietly on his dinner. He pointed to the side table where a small circular object sat. Joey smiled as he picked it up.

"Got your purple chip tonight? Good job, Dad. Three more months and that'll be a year you've been sober," Joey murmured.

His father showed him a small smile in response.

" 'm tryin'," he mumbled.

Joey leaned down to kiss his father softly on top of the head.

"I know, Dad. I know you're trying. Maybe I can come to one of your meetings some time," Joey promised.

He wished his dad a good night with a quiet reminder of his plans for tomorrow. Joey crawled into bed that night, falling asleep easily. He dreamed of flying with his Red Eyes Black Dragon.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR