A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I hope you guys enjoy it and please let me know if you have any suggestions! Also, I apologize for being a little late with this one, but it is long and I worked really hard on it, so I hope it's okay. Thanks! :)
Chapter VI
It was a fairly typical Wednesday afternoon. Seto had spent his morning pouring over his books, while the afternoon had be booked up with meetings about the upcoming mass expansion of Kaiba Land. One pathetic speaker after another had nervously vied for Seto's attention and, more importantly, approval. While he had no problem appearing attentive throughout, his judgement for each presentation had been made before most of the poor fools had even taken the floor. They didn't know it, of course, but he'd been briefed on all of the day's presentations when he'd entered his office that morning and had been well read on the subjects weeks before the meetings were even called. No one knew this business better than he did. He made sure of that. If it was up to him, Seto would have been happier to not even hold these conferences, but they were simply a part of the role he had to play. There was a man standing awkwardly in front of a large digital backdrop fumbling around for his notes when Seto's phone had gone off with two short buzzes, just enough to inform him of the call without drawing attention to himself and away from the meeting. There were only two people who's phone calls would have even been passed through to his cell during a meeting- Mokuba or his secretary, Miss Mori. Because of this, he seriously doubted that the call was placed about something trivial. As the current speaker awkwardly made his way through the remaining slides without his accompanying notes, apparently lost, Seto decided to cut him short. He respectfully declined the offer and then took the pause created as his response was processed to gracefully excused himself to the hallway outside the board room. He was met with a few looks of confusion, both about his refusal of the most recent pitch and his untimely exit. None of them concerned him. As the door closed behind him, Seto heard a few of his men attempting to pull the meeting back together as another man's shaky voice began yet another presentation.
Part of him was glad he'd been given an excuse to remove himself from the endless line of pitches. But another part, though small, always held a twinge of worry whenever he was interrupted like this. Thought threats against himself, Mokuba, and even his company seemed few and far between these days, he simply couldn't help the passing thought, though logical usually waved it away seconds later. When he looked down at his phone to see the identity of the caller, he was met with a rather disengaged-looking photograph of his secretary followed by her name in large, bold print. He hit redial and was met with her usual tone after barely making it through the first ring. They didn't exchange greetings. Instead, she proceeded directly to the purpose of her call.
"Mr. Kaiba, I just thought I should inform you that Mr. Mokuba just hired a new intern. He's assigning her to a vacant office on the 5th floor.
"He did what?"
"Would you like me to take care of it?"
"No."
"Yes, sir."
"I'll take care of it."
Neither he nor she waited for any further response. Such departures were the norm for them. Seto hung up the phone with a sigh.
Mokuba...
Before turning around to head back into the black hole on the other side of board room door, Seto took another moment to consider what he'd just heard. He knew exactly what had happened. Someone hadn't gotten the news that the design contest had been suspended. That, or someone hadn't taken it well. Either way, a disappointed potential intern would have been just another slight inconvenience. That is, it would have been until Mokuba had seen fit to involve himself. Seto had planned on talking with his brother about the suspension as soon as all of his meetings for the week were over. It seemed that such events always had impeccably bad timing. Several important guests had flown in for the first part of the week to discuss the expansion of Kaiba Land into the international market, which was turning out to be an undertaking that even Seto had slightly underestimated. When he had reviewed all the paperwork and numbers the week prior, he had made the decision that the design contest, the tournament that was to be the culmination of it, as well as the announcement that went along with the two, were all simply going to have to wait. Though frustrated with the postponement for reasons of his own, Seto was not disappointed at having to shoo away a restless group of blood thirsty interns. After things with Kaiba Land were settled, he could hire and distribute the work for the tournament wherever he saw fit instead of dispatching it to what he considered to be under-qualified, over-paid hobbyists.
The design contest had become an extremely unappealing annual affair. When Mokuba had presented the idea two years ago, Seto, being the bother that he was, had given the idea his full consideration. Mokuba claimed that such a contest would bring a sense of connection between a community and the corporation. It would garner good publicity and it would allow them to potentially tap into an untouched talent pool in their own backyard. While the idea made some sense, Seto had said no. But Mokuba had persisted. It was rare that Mokuba fought with his brother when it concerned their business, but the boy had kept at it until, reluctantly, Seto had assigned a small team to set up the contest. It would feature a short internship as the first prize with the winner being assigned to a team that best suited their skills. On the business end of things, the entire process had gone off without a hitch. Seto had expected no less. It had been the winner that had caused the problem. Announcements had been made. All the entires had been reviewed. Then, just a few weeks later, a winner had been chosen and offered a position on an advertising team that was set to promote Kaiba Land, which at the time, had just begun to grow its roots locally. A few weeks later, that intern quit, citing that the workload had been unbearable and that he had been treated unfairly. The story had made national news, though measures had been taken to keep it out of the international eye. While the matter was eventually settled with minimal loss, it had still wasted time and money. Seto hated that. The following year had ended much the same in his eyes. This time, the contest winner was assigned to work with a team on an array of new holographic technologies. While the intern had neither quit or made a public statement against her employer, her work had been subpar in comparison to the rest of the design team. While many would expect no less from an intern, Seto felt that she had been paid simply to occupy space and slow the rest of the team down. To him, the only thing worse that not getting something done was getting something done inefficiently.
A year later, when summer began to come to an end, the media and the public eye both looked expectantly for signs that the contest was to be renewed. It had become something of a local spectacle, a potential rags-to-riches story for any hopefully talent. That was when Mokuba had suggested that he manage the entire thing himself this time around. At the time, Seto had been dead set against wasting the resources on the affair again, especially with the contest's previous results; however, Mokuba had presented a good case. The boy claimed that the past years had lacked definitive leadership and direct supervisor involvement and he stated that as the reason details had slipped through the cracks. Mokuba wanted to be directly involved. He wanted to help choose the winner and actually work with them. He saw it as a chance to really prove that he could manage a project, a large and complex one at that, and have more people around the office view him as the manager he would surely become. Sure, Mokuba had helped with tournaments in the past, but he'd never gotten to manage his own team exclusively. It was true that Mokuba wasn't a child anymore, a fact that was being pulled to the forefront much more frequently these days. In the end, it had been his confidence in his brother that had allowed the 'Okay' to pass Seto's lips.
It has also been Mokuba that had been the reason Seto, even if only for a moment, had hesitated about canceling this year's contest when it had come to light that the company's vast resources were about to be stretched thinner than he was comfortable with. In the end, he had decided to suspend it, not cancel it, though, and surely that counted for something in his brother's eyes. Seto certainly did not want it to seem that he'd changed his mind about Mokuba's readiness. That wasn't the case. Regardless, Seto's decision on the matter had come to light earlier than he had planned and it was apparent now that it was going to take more than a few words to convince Mokuba to let the project sit still for a while. Of course, Seto knew that he would always have the final word, but somehow force seemed a less desirable option than usual.
After heading back to the meetings, another hour or so ticked by before the list of presenters evaporated for the day. While they were behind schedule, there was only so much he and his staff could take in one sitting and there were other matters that Seto needed to attend to. As soon as he was able, without seeming inattentive and rushed, Seto excused himself from the conversations and caught the elevator to head downstairs. When the elevator opened to the fifth floer, a small crowd of surprised looking employees parted the way to let him through the doors. Each greeted him with a bow or nod of the head, all of which he ignored. He could feel the crowd watching him move down the hallway as they waited on the elevator door to close. It wasn't often that the head of the company found his way out of his office, save for a meeting. While Seto did take great interest in what was going on in his company on all levels, it was impossible for him to be everywhere at once and no one expected him to be. It was usually that mindset that allowed work to be brought to him, not the other way around.
As he rounded one of the corners towards another row of offices, he heard the sharp pitch of his brother's voice, excitedly going on about something unintelligible at his current distance. The voice was coming from a door, half-open, on the left at the end of the hall. As he got closer, he occasionally heard a woman's voice chime in between the bursts of his brother's boisterous chatter.
When he reached the doorway, he found a woman sitting at an empty desk. Her attention was sharply focused on whatever was in front of her and his brother standing behind her, eagerly watching over her shoulder, leaning forward more with each second that passed.
"Wow! That one's even better than the last one!", Mokuba exclaimed, completely absorbed into whatever is was the woman was doing.
"It's alright, I guess. It would be a lot better if someone wasn't so impatient, you know." the woman replied with kind sarcasm and a laugh
As she finished her sentence, she turned her gaze to look at Mokuba, who was still smiling and laugher at her response. It was then that she noticed a tall, silent figure standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened and she fell silent, suddenly caught off guard. Mokuba noticed her eyes move past him towards the door and turned to investigate for himself. His eyes widened as well when they met those of his brother.
"Brother!", Mokuba shouted to him.
His voice sounded pleased and he was, at that moment. Mokuba had been aware that his brother was scheduled to be busy all day and he was always happy when Seto turned up earlier than expected. He rushed up to the door to greet him, but as he approached, Mokuba's excitement shifted back into the mixture of frustration and confusion that had plagued him earlier that afternoon. He lowered his voice, but he kept he gaze on his older brother firm.
"Seto, you canceled the contest? And you didn't even tell me?", Mokuba asked, his voice more hushed now, but still loud enough for Kisara to overhear.
Her eyes had instantly turned to the stack of papers she held her in hands as soon as she'd made eye contact with the figure in the doorway. A second was all it took for the realization to sink in. She, and probably half the world as well, would have recognized that face anywhere.
Seto Kaiba.
Kisara was a little surprised to find that most all of the television interviews and newspaper headlines the CEO had graced with his presence weren't far off from the real thing. He looked much the same in person. He was a bit taller than she'd expected, though everyone seemed tall to her, and his severe eyes gave away his fatigue, though his demeanor attempted to conceal it. A nervousness had begun to settle in the pit of her stomach even after his attention had turned to his brother. When she'd seen him standing in that door, she could only think of one reason he would be there: he was about to fire her. She'd been so swept up in Mokuba's entertaining that she'd forgotten that there was another Kaiba, more importantly the one who had the final word. She took a deep breath and began to try and think things through.
Okay, Kisara, let's not be so self-centered. He wouldn't have come here for you. He would have just sent someone to fire you. He came here for Mokuba.
Kisara convinced herself that that was a fair point. She seriously doubted that the man the media portrayed Seto Kaiba to be would spend the free moments of his day firing interns. He had more important things to worry about, she was sure of that much. But, even so, he'd known exactly where Mokuba would be, which meant that he'd undoubtedly been told of Mokuba's scene at the front desk. Moreover, since he'd made time to come discuss the situation with him, Kisara doubted that he'd agreed with his brother's decision. On the other hand, Kisara had also seen how passionate and upset Mokuba had been when he'd heard that his brother had postponed the contest. She doubted the boy would just let everything go. He seemed as though he genuinely liked her and h'd even gone to all the trouble of helping her get settled.
When the two of them had left the lobby, Mokuba had shown her her new office and had then decided to take her on a whirlwind tour of each of his favorite departments. Each visit had been filled with grandiose stories about who and what went on there. The tour had been nice and, when they found their way back to the fifth floor, she'd been greeted by a stack of paperwork for new hires, which Mokuba had requested be waiting for them upon their return. He had attempted to walk her through each section, though, in reality, he'd been more of a distraction than a help. She'd appreciated his company and conversation all the same. When her name had been affixed to every possible blank space, Kisara had been asked for a favor in return for the so-called VIP tour of Kaiba Corp earlier that afternoon. Thus, Kisara had been coerced into drawing several of Mokuba's favorite duel monsters in the margins of her paperwork. She'd been hesitant about it at first, but Mokuba had convinced her that no one really even looked over all the pages anyway. They would be set in a file folder somewhere and forgotten forever. No one would be the wiser. Despite his reassurance, as she held the pack of papers in her hand now, to say she felt embarrassed would have been an understatement. Not only had she spent all that time filling out paperwork for a job she hadn't really been approved for yet, she'd covered them in doodles.
And so, there was Kisara, sitting silent and awkward, about to witness a personal family argument with no way out and nothing to do but stare at a stack of graffitied papers and pretend she couldn't hear them discuss her fate just three feet away.
This is just great.
"Mokuba-", the older Kaiba began.
"You could have at least told me, you know? At home or at dinner or anywhere. I would have understood.", said Mokuba, cutting him short.
"Mokuba.", Seto replied, his voice more stern this time. His eyes narrowed and never left his brother's.
At that, Mokuba's expressions softened. The two brother's stared at each other for a moment longer. Then, it was Mokuba who caved and averted his eyes, allowing his gaze to travel to his feet. Seto continued to watch him, as expressionless as before. After a moment longer, it was Mokuba who broke the silence.
"I'm sorry." He paused, sighing. "I just…I don't get it. What did I do wrong?"
"The contest was suspended, not canceled."
In truth, Seto had been rather taken aback by how his brother had handled the situation. He had expected a fight, not an apology. The statement spoke volumes. Mokuba just stared up at his brother, who seemed to be waiting on some sort of response. When all he received was a confused look, he continued.
"Two of the teams that were assigned to your contest are going to be needed for our work on Kaiba Land. I had my secretary file away the contestant paperwork to renew it after that was done."
"But I thought…"
"You thought wrong.", Seto replied. His tone hadn't changed at all, but Kisara noticed that his expression had softened some what. It was a change that Mokuba noticed, too.
"I'm sorry, Seto."
"It's fine."
His response was short as his focus had already shifted to the third person in the room, the young woman a few feet away who had been pouring over the same document since he'd stepped through the doorway. Kisara felt his eyes fall on her, but she didn't look up, instead choosing to pretend she hadn't noticed the half-interested glare she knew he was giving her. It took a moment, but as soon as Mokuba noticed that his brother's attention had turned, the boy raced over to Kisara in order to bring her forward. The boy pulled the paperwork out of her hand and tossed the stack onto the desk behind him. He then grabbed her hand and pulled her up out of her chair, much to her dismay, and drug her over to where the older Kaiba stood, looking as uninterested as ever.
"Seto, this is who I hired as the contest winner!", Mokuba announced jovially. "She's an artist, a really good one, too. I know I was going to have to go through all five interviews, anyway, but I'd already decided that her entry was it." He turned to Kisara to smile and then turned back to his brother, who had raised his eyebrows at the two as they approached. It was Seto's faint smirk that made Mokuba realize that he was still holding onto Kisara's hand. He quickly let go, awkwardly, and then proceeded to fall behind Kisara, pushing her forward to meet Seto, finally allowing the two to greet each other.
"This is Kisara.", he announced.
"Mr. Kaiba."
Kisara greeted him kindly, her voice breathy from a combination of nerves and embarrassment. She bowed low and long. When she received no response from him, she felt compelled to explain herself. Still bowing her head, she spoke.
"I'm terribly sorry for putting your brother in this position. Please don't let today serve as a precedent for my time here. I really want this opportunity and I'd be more than happy to make amends however I can for the confusion I've caused."
It was only after she got her apology off her chest that she felt comfortable meeting his gaze. When she did, the two simply stood there, silent, for what seemed like an eternity. Kisara looked expectantly for a reply, a confirmation that she hadn't offended her potential boss, a nod of approval…anything really. Meanwhile, Seto's expression had remained, for the most part, unchanged. He said nothing, but Kisara did notice that the man across from her looked slightly… uncomfortable. She debated on what to say, but in the end, it was Mokuba who decided to step in next to Kisara and break the silence.
"So, can she stay? We went by the digital design studio and everyone seemed really excited to have an actual artist on board. Oh, and she's got all her paperwork filled out, too! I can get Miss Mori to send up a copy of her entry if you want to see if for yourself."
It took Seto a moment to shift his gaze back to his younger brother. When he did, he spoke.
"Where's her paperwork?"
"Right here."
Oh, no. No, no, no!
Kisara was silent, her gaze shifting from her feet to Mokuba and then back to the ground as she watched the boy step over to the desk behind him and Kisara and grab her paperwork he'd tossed aside earlier. He handed the large stack to his brother, who grabbed them and began to flip through as soon as he received them. Kisara saw his face flash from its usual neutral expression to faint surprise to a frown as he examined the collection of duel monster doodles splattered across the pages. He looked first to Mokuba, who simply smiled back at him unknowingly, and then to the young woman, Kisara, who's face seemed to have gone pale. He couldn't imagine why...
"Hmpf."
He stopped flipping halfway through and sighed heavily. Kisara waited for him to hand them back to her, but instead, he kept the papers with him as he turned and headed out the door.
"Come on, Mokuba."
Mokuba paused for a moment to turn to Kisara, both of them wearing matching expressions of pleasant confusion. He hadn't handed back her paperwork. But, did that mean she was safe? A smile slowly made its way across Mokuba's face. The boy followed his brother out the door and looked back to make sure Kisara was following. He motioned her forward and the three of them made their way towards the elevator with Seto out front and Kisara quietly trailing behind. As they walked, Seto got out his phone and proceeded to place a call.
"I'm sending Mokuba and the intern he hired down to the lobby… No, I have what I need…Three weeks should be enough…"
He continued listening into his phone as the group found their way to the elevator. A swipe of a keycard and a few seconds later, the large metal doors opened to let them in. Seto stepped to the side, his eyes motioning for his brother and his intern to enter. The two did, but Seto did not seem intent on joining them. Just before the doors closed, Mokuba's eyes met his brother's once more. Seto nodded in reply as he stood waiting for the next elevator and then went back to his phone call.
"Monday."
With that, the doors shut. It took no time at all for the elevator to move from the fifth floor to the lobby. When the doors opened, a rather happy Mokuba flew out of the doors, followed by Kisara, who was unsure whether to feel utterly humiliated or completely ecstatic. The tall, intimidating figure that was Miss Mori came out from behind the front desk to meet the pair as soon as she saw them coming. She approached carrying a rather impressive set of manilla folders, her eyes fixated on Kisara in much the same way that Seto had looked at her earlier. It was a gaze that was both frightening and captivating. When the three came together, Miss Mori promptly handed over the set of manilla folders to Kisara and began speaking.
"Alright, Miss Kisara. As per Mr. Kaiba's request, here is the rest of your new hire packet. It's mostly some basic information and some legal documentation you'll need to review. Be sure you do. You'll be here on a provisionary basis for the first three weeks. Do not take that lightly."
The information came as both a shock and an immense relief. Somehow, she'd done it. She'd actually been hired at Kaiba Corp. Mokuba stood next to her, smiling widely, clearly pleased with the outcome of the meeting with his brother. Frankly, it amazed Kisara that so much had been shared between the two of them in so few words. Regardless of how they got there, the resolution was the same. She was to be an official Kaiba Corp employee, the winner of the third annual design contest, suspended or not.
"You'll be reviewed at the end of that period and, if all goes well, you'll be permitted to fulfill the remainder to the promoted internship on a full-time basis. You'll start Monday at eight o'clock. Be here at half-past seven at the latest that first day, as you'll need to be badged and briefed. Do you have any questions?"
"I… Uh, no. Thank you."
"Then, congratulations. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have four contestants to inform of the contest's cancelation. We'll see you back here on Monday morning."
