Toska

by MiBo

In the corporate world every executive needs a secretary but the one that Seto Kaiba has been forced to have turns out to be someone far more interesting than he had originally thought. Kaiba has found himself wondering how devoted she truly is to her employer, when he decides to test that adoration, he's going to find out just how far she'll go to see him relax.

10. Chapter 10: The Dating Game

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

Chapter 10 - The Dating Game

As the weeks progressed, Kiara realized that she was getting strange requests from Kaiba, she began to take note on the second request when he asked her to reserve a party of two for him at an expensive French restaurant. She didn't say anything to him but when he began to ask her to get a gift for a woman, she was perplexed, and it was this same problem she now faced. Kiara sighed, she was paging through jewelry online, she found a necklace and a bracelet that seemed to suit the picture she was able to find of the woman that he was meeting with in a few days. She ordered it using his personal credit card, had it shipped next day to the office in her name, and finished the day's itinerary by e-mailing a copy to Kaiba. Kiara had refrained from printing anything of this sort and only kept to e-mails as it was safer and she didn't tell him anything that she knew; after all the press would love to know that Seto Kaiba was dating.

She was by the elevator waiting for it, she heard the door click down the hall, smiled, and stepped in the moment that the doors opened. That smile was wiped off her face as she turned around to hit the lobby button, Kaiba entered shortly after. Kiara kept her gaze on the steel doors, they were silent, more so than when they first met, and she knew it was because he was dating women, not just any women, but tall beautiful women from wealthy families. They don't seem like the type of people that he would go out with but then again, who am I to judge. Kiara refrained from shrugging her shoulders since she wasn't alone in the elevator, even then she could hear Kaiba's breathing; it didn't sound very strong.

Her sapphire eyes glanced up at him, "Are you alright sir?"

"Fine why?"

"You don't sound very good and that could be a sign of the flu."

"I'm fine." She nodded while returning her gaze to the doors once more, even though it was mild conversation, she knew that she had struck a nerve with him since he sounded angry. The doors slid open, he stepped out first then she, he hurriedly went to his limo, and she thanked the security guards for their hard work. They did the same to her, she smiled at them warmly, and exited the Kaiba Corps tower; the moment that she did, there were rain drops.

Her eyes looked up, those few rain drops turned into a down pour, she quickly entered the building once more; and shook. The guards laughed at her and she grinned, "Did you see that?! It just fell on top of me!" One of the men grabbed his coat, he wrapped it around her shoulders, "Ah, thank you so much..."

"Satsuki Nezami."

"Thank you Mister Nezami."

"First names are fine."

"Okay...Mister Satsuki."

He laughed, "You don't change do you? Always formal."

She smiled, "It's my job."

"But you're off duty now."

"I guess."

"Can I call you Kiara?" She nodded, "Good then you'll have to call me Satsuki."

She chuckled, "Alright Satsuki."

"Better!" She laughed while he returned to his post and she stood by the doors watching the rain fall. She quickly texted her mother that she was stuck in the building because of the rain, and the response only made her laugh. The moment it was put away, a cup of coffee was handed to her, "Here you go. It'll warm you up and we've got an extra chair for you. And don't worry there's soy creamer in there." She nodded, followed him to the chair, and took a seat while watching the rain fall.

"Thank you Satsuki and Mister Jiro."

"First names!" They cried in unison and she laughed.

"Alright! Thank you Satsuki and Jiro."

Jiro nodded, "I had a lot of fun playing games with you Kiara. We should do that more often." She nodded and sipped her coffee while watching the rain. "The meteorologists say that it may not stop for a long time."

Satsuki interjected, "If it doesn't stop by the end of my shift I'll take you home."

She glanced over her shoulder, "Thank you Satsuki, that's very kind of you."

"Nonsense, Mister Roland asked me to watch out for you." He winked at her while she chuckled, her gaze was returned to the falling rain once more, her hair was a mess, it was loose, falling in all sorts of places, and she sighed. "Something wrong?"

"This humidity does nothing for my hair." She placed the cup down, unwound her bun, and began to rebraid it, once it was nice and smooth again, she wrapped it up. "There, all done." They chuckled while she leaned back in the chair and sipped the coffee. "How do you know I'm allergic to milk?"

"We heard that you were vegetarian," replied Satsuki. "So we decided to stock everything with soy creamer, soy milk, and tofu for emergencies in case of moments like this."

Jiro chimed in, "Actually there was no 'we' in the equation. I came to work to see that Satsuki had put all sorts of soy stuff in the fridge and he added a note to the front that said no lactose!" His partner turned away with a mild blush on his face at the attention that Jiro was giving him.

"You're sweet Satsuki."

"No, I just take precautions. I don't want you to end up in the hospital because then Mister Kaiba will have all of our hides for not keeping a good watch on his perfect secretary." Satsuki grinned at her while she chuckled, "We're always careful because we don't want to lose you either. You're very good for the company, a lot of other employees look forward to seeing you because you're so friendly and professional."

"I do as I was taught."

He chuckled, "Don't we all?" This made the three of them laugh together, it was then that the limo pulled up, the tall man entered, "Good evening Mister Kaiba. Do you need any assistance?"

"No." He had bypassed the fact that Kiara was sitting there, he went straight to the elevator, and disappeared.

"Should you go after him?" asked Jiro.

"Nope." They both looked at her, "If he doesn't call me, I don't go."

"Didn't you used to?"

"No, I can tell when he needs my help and when he doesn't, right now he wants nothing to do with me."

Jiro and Satsuki looked at one another before Jiro whispered, "Does it have to do with the fact that he's dating?"

Kiara chuckled and replied just as quietly, "No. I'm glad that he is because that means he took my advice on sharing his life with someone else that isn't made of concrete and steel beams but I don't approve of the women he's chosen." They both laughed and she only shrugged while sipping her coffee once more, once it was finished, she put the cup down, and removed the coat. Kaiba exited and noticed that she handed the coat over to Satsuki, "Thank you again. The rain has let up so I can make it to the bus stop without getting soaked again. Have a good evening you two." They said the same to her, "Thank you for the coffee." They nodded and both security guards noticed that she stalled until Kaiba could leave. She winked at them both while she left, the moment that she set foot outside, she hurried to the overhang for the bus stop, and took a seat. She quickly texted her mother that she was waiting for the bus and her mother said that it was fine.

It wasn't long before the bus arrived, she got on, and it took her straight to her home, she got off, waved to the driver, and started to head inside until the rain fell on her once more. "Oh sure. Now you're just toying with me aren't you?" Her eyes looked up at the sky as the lightning crackled across, "Yep. You're just laughing and having a good time up there you silly goose." It crackled once more and she shook her head, she entered the pedestrian gate, and started on her way towards her home. But she stopped, between the thunder cracks, she heard mewing, her eyes glanced around the nearby bushes, and after a few minutes she spotted the cream colored ball of fur. "Oh dear!" Kiara got on her hands and knees in order to grab the small creature, it was so tiny, just the size of her hand, and her gaze moved around to find the mother. There was none so she huddled the creature to her chest, "You poor little furball." Kiara was about to leave but noticed another cream colored furball, she knelt down once more, and pulled out another kitten; it was only at this time she saw the box. "Oh no..." Kiara pulled out the box and saw two more kittens inside, all mewing for their mother. "Poor things. I'll take you home."

Immediately she placed the two other kittens in the box, then picked it up, and hurried towards her home. She stepped through it, her hair was a mess, her clothes soaked, but she put the box down, stripped out of her wet clothes, carried the clothes to the dryer, and returned for the box. Kiara took it to the bathroom, used the sink for a bath, and bathed all the cold and wet kittens. The warm water calmed them down, they were sitting there with those big blue eyes, and she kissed the tops of each of their heads. She removed each one gently, towel dried each one, and then used the hair dryer on low; they laid there on their backs, enjoying the warm air. She laughed, the more they dried, the fluffier they became, and she took them to the kitchen but only after she had a shower herself. She padded around in her pajamas, she opened up the refrigerator and realized that she didn't have any cat food but she did notice they had teeth so she pulled out some raw lamb. Kiara cut it up into tiny cubes, she gave them each a small handful, they gobbled it down, and she placed a bowl of water on the floor for them; each one drank from it. "Now to find something for a littler box." Quickly she looked around for anything, so she grabbed a rectangular casserole dish, it was ceramic and easy to clean, she lined it with a bag then put down shredded newspaper. The kittens jumped right in, at first playing in it but then they began to do their business in it.

"That's a relief." The secretary grabbed a spare blanket, pushed the center of it until it was concave, and placed the kittens in the center. They huddled together, she smiled, stroked their fur, and moved their litter box, water dish, and their little bed into her room. She closed the door gently and began her research on kittens while they slept. Her eyes glowed at their little presence, "It's amazing what such small critters can do to a quiet home." The night progressed on, she became tired, and was going to sleep on the bed but decided to lay down on the floor with the kittens, she used their makeshift bed as a pillow, brought down her own goose comforter to lay on, and covered up with a thin sheet. She wrapped her hand around the little masses, "There, there. You guys can stay here."

-::::::-

The following day her mother was ecstatic about the small balls she had discovered, Kiara only grinned when she met them, immediately she had picked out the two females and nuzzled them. "You're lucky today is my day off! I'll go out and buy everything we need for them okay?"

Kiara nodded, "Sure but don't get any of that bagged cat food." She handed her mother a list, "We'll feed them raw because it's better for them and cheaper for us since they won't need to go to a vet later on in life."

"Good thinking!"

"Yep. Well just stick to that list and we'll be alright. Other than the food, you can buy them whatever you want." Her mother chuckled while Kiara gave her some money, "This should cover the food, two beds, two litter boxes, and litter; make sure to get clumping litter and two scoopers. Everything else you can spend money on okay? I'll get the larger bills."

"You're such a good daughter."

She smiled, "You raised me well, besides I found them and brought them home so I should take care of the majority of the expenses for them."

"You're a doll!" They both laughed as Kiara said her farewells but the two males were staring at her, she picked them up and nuzzled them. She told them that she would be back soon, she took her pajama pants, placed them on it, and they curled up together while watching her leave. "I think they like you!" Kiara laughed, waved good bye to them, and exited her home.

She had entered the building, waved her good mornings to Jiro and Satsuki, they said she had a package, Kiara nodded, signed the form, and took the box. She thanked them, they both chuckled at her while she left to go to her designated floor. Once there, she immediately prepared the morning cup of coffee for Kaiba, the box was placed underneath the cup as it sat on her desk, she started up her computer, and began to page through the day's list of things to do. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the restaurant name, "I've never heard of this place...House of Rice." Kiara took to doing research on it, it was a very expensive restaurant, she was shocked at their prices, and then looked at the woman that had requested the restaurant. "This is absurd!" Her brow darted down in concentration while she began to go about making a reservation for the following day. Kaiba walked onto the floor just as she picked up her landline phone, she pointed to the cup and box, "There are two pieces of jewelry in there, one necklace, and one bracelet. I suggest the bracelet go to the French restaurant while the necklace goes to House of Rice once I'm able to get a reservation for you." He nodded to her, took the coffee and the box, entered his office, and closed the door behind him.

A sigh escaped her, she began to page through the online list of people that worked at House of Rice, she didn't recognize any names but she knew of someone who could help. Kiara dialed a number, and waited for the male to pick up. "Hello Rodion it's Kiara." He was ecstatic to hear from her, she chuckled, "Yes I'm doing very well and yourself?" Another response, "Oh I'm so glad! So you've started your own restaurant. How wonderful! What is it?" She nodded and smiled, "A Russian restaurant is new here, I'm sure it will be very lucrative. If you want I can give you some names of people that can help out with marketing." He responded that it would be great, "Of course. But I have a favor to ask of you." Kiara waited until he asked her what it was, "I know that I've already asked your father for one so I wanted to ask you, is there any way that I can get a reservation made for a party of two, the name Kaiba at House of Rice tomorrow evening at seven?" Rodion was silent, she could hear him flipping through papers, and a few minutes later he gave her an affirmative. "That's so wonderful! Thank you so much Rodion!" Then he said that there was a catch, "What is it?" Kiara's mind went blank as he asked her out to a restaurant tomorrow night for a date. He also said that she could bring those contacts, "Um..well...alright. I'll be ready at six for you." Rodion was ecstatic, she smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow, Rodion." They said their farewells, she typed up the personal itinerary for tomorrow with a note that included to remind him to give her the necklace. She e-mailed it and became frustrated with the fact that she had to go on a date with Rodion. "He's just a good friend...I hope this doesn't ruin it for us."

The day progressed smoothly after that, she even had lunch with some of the other secretaries, they admired her food, she let them try some of it, and explained to them what it was. Kiara drank her supplements, placed her lunch back into her messenger bag, and pulled it onto her shoulder. The day had finally run its course, she immediately checked her phone to ask about the little kittens. Kiara was waiting for the elevator, she smirked at the text, and the pictures, "They're so adorable!" The secretary entered, oblivious to the fact that Kaiba had entered with her, she replied that she would be home soon, and looked forward to meeting the little ones.

"Who's adorable?"

She looked up with shock but regained her composure, "These guys!" She showed him a photograph of the kittens. He only stared, "I found them in a box under a bush in my complex, they were abandoned so I took them home, washed them, fed them, and kept them. My mother loves the two little girls but the two boys seem to have taken to me. They haven't left their spot since this morning except to eat and use their litter box. Aww..."

"Where are you going tomorrow at six?"

Sapphire irises stared at him through her glasses, "Personal business."

His cobalt eyes were angry, "Where are you going?"

"On a date." He showed mild shock, "That's right." This time her voice became angry, "Since you have decided to date expensive women, I'm forced to make reservations on a whim at expensive restaurants where they are booked for months in advance, and that forces me to call in all of my contacts and favors to get those reservations made for those despicable women. Because of that I am going on a date with Rodion Romanov tomorrow evening."

"Why him?"

"He was the only one who knows the owner of House of Rice and he was able to get the reservation made for tomorrow night for your dashing lady friend. In return for that he asked me on a date." Kaiba couldn't understand why she was angry with him, when the doors opened she stated flatly, "Have a good evening sir." She left him there, she looked at Satsuki and Jiro, "Thank you for your hard work!" They said the same to her, even they could see she was angry, they looked at Kaiba, and he watched her go. Normally she waited at the bus stop outside the building but this time she walked further, as if she didn't want to be near him at the moment.

"Are you alright Mister Kaiba?" asked Satsuki.

"I'm fine Nezami." He left with that while Satsuki looked at Jiro, and the two of them watched as Kaiba left in a gruff manner.

When she got home, she sighed, but noticed two little balls of cream running towards her, she grinned, knelt down, and they leapt into her arms. "Oh my gosh!" Her mother laughed, "They missed me." She nuzzled them and heard their little purrs while her mother exclaimed that they waited all day for her. Kiara grinned, cut up some food for them, fed them, cleaned their little faces, and watched as they used their designated litter box, then ran around playing with all the toys her mother had bought for them. "I'm going to shower then make dinner."

"Sure. I'll keep an eye on the babies." Kiara chuckled, showered, returned in her pajamas and robe, and started making soup in her rice pot. "You know that is probably the only thing we use so much in this house." Her daughter laughed while her single braid was laying against her back, "What did you call them? As yes, one pot meals!" Once more she chuckled while her mother rubbed her back, "What happened?" Kiara told her about the reservation that needed to be made and how Rodion asked her out, "Oh dear. Be nice to him. If he's as good a friend as he was in the past then he'll understand that you're not interested in him." She nodded while setting everything for their one pot meal, Kiara turned to make oolong tea while her mother turned on the television to watch the daily events. "But why are you angry at your employer?"

"Because he's dating these despicable rich women that are forcing me to call in a lot of favors that I'd rather use for something more important than petty reservations at fancy restaurants," she replied. Kiara had begun to make tea, it always soothed her, she let the bags steep in the pot while she prepared two bowls for the food that was cooking. Her mother watched her and asked if she was going to be alright, "I'll be fine once Mister Kaiba realizes that he doesn't need women from wealthy families to be his girlfriend."

"Why's that?"

"He's got a perfectly good secretary!"

"Yes and that's you."

"Of course it is!" Lily laughed even more as the pot beeped and Kiara dished out the food, "Mother, if this keeps up then I'm going to have a full schedule booked of weird things like dates and stuff that I don't want to do. Why do I have to call in my favors for those things?"

"Honey, you'll be alright. Maybe you should put your foot down."

"I think I will but after tomorrow." Once more her mother laughed and the kittens were waiting for their chosen humans to return to the couch where they were hanging out.

"Or perhaps tell him why you're so sweet to him."

Kiara stared at her mother and looked away, "I cannot."

"Why?"

"He's not ready."

"Did you ever think that he's dating these women to make you jealous?"

"But I'm not jealous, pissed off perhaps but not jealous. I know he doesn't do anything to them or with them and, besides, he's catching a cold."

"How do you know?"

"I can hear it. I'm a professional at detecting anomalies in those that are close to me."

Lily laughed, "That you are my dear!" Kiara smiled but her mother added, "You should tell him or at least give him a hint as to why you wanted to specifically work at Kaiba Corps." Kiara sighed once more and her mother nodded, "Alright but do you think he'll figure it out on his own? What he did when he was younger?"

She chuckled, "No. Without me to remind him of important matters, he forgets, and can't function. He told me once that the company can function without him for a few days but he can't function without me for a minute."

"That's so sweet and he has no idea about you."

"Not a clue."

Lily smiled and started to eat her food, "That's a shame."

"Sure is." They both laughed at her word usage and Kiara was more than happy to let the two males on her lap, "What did you name them?"

"The bigger one is Creampuff and the smaller one is Rollcake."

"That's so you to name them after food!" Lily laughed and asked her about her own, she smiled, "The bigger one is Griggi and the smaller one is Kuri."

"Griggle and Kuriboh?" She nodded and her mother laughed, "That's so you to name them after Duel Monster cards!" Kiara chuckled while they ate their food and their cream colored children sat on their laps.

-::::::-

Kiara wore a long evening gown that was made of dark green satin with matching shoes, it tied at the back of her neck, she kept a wallet clutch that held her phone, keys, identification cards, credit cards, and the contacts that she had promised her Russian friend. She wore her glasses, had her hair pulled back into a sleek bun while a few tresses framed her face. Kiara opted to wear light make up that evening, there was a beep on her phone letting her know that he had arrived, she ushered the little kittens into her room for now, and closed it. Telling them that they would be home soon, the four kittens were put in her room for the moment, she grabbed a white shawl, and opened the door; she locked it behind her and placed the key in her clutch. Kiara walked down the path, opened the gate, and turned around to see a strong male standing there with bright blue eyes and brown hair, he stared down at her while she looked up at him, "Hello Rodion."

"Hi..Kiara."

She followed him to the car, he opened the door for her, she got in, thanked him, and he shut it; Rodion quickly got into the driver's seat and headed towards his establishment. Yet the ride was taking longer than usual so she glanced at him, "Where are we going?"

"House of Rice." She stared at him perplexed, "I made a reservation for your boss and for us. I want to see what this place is all about too."

"It's far too much money."

"My family's wealthy."

She sighed, "That's not the point."

"Then what is?"

Kiara's blue eyes stared out the window, "Why do most women want to be taken to an expensive restaurant? It's all the same to me."

"That's because you make all of your own food."

"And that's because I'm allergic to a lot of common items found in restaurants." Rodion didn't look at her as he chuckled since there was humor in her voice; he pulled into the valet area, her door was opened, she stepped out of it, and waited for her date. He reached her side after handing over the keys, they proceeded inside, she looked around at the restaurant, it was definitely not her style. The outside looked like an ancient temple but the inside was more like a geisha house. There were women everywhere wearing revealing mockeries of kimonos, serving drinks, and a small group was singing on a stage, and she only shook her head. She mumbled, "This is ridiculous, the name is very deceiving." They were taken to a table, Kiara sat down, and Rodion told her to order whatever she wanted. "Right..."

He was looking over the menu, she glanced at the drinks, and decided on a safe bet and that was mineral water. They ordered their drinks, "So you don't like alcohol?"

"I drink on rare occasions but when I don't know what's in it, I take water."

"Why mineral water?"

"It's bottled therefore it's safe."

He laughed, "You've become far more interesting than the last time I met you." She smiled at him, "You're also far more beautiful." Kiara only shrugged, not seemingly bothered by the comment, Rodion chuckled, "You're still so humble!" Kiara chuckled while pulling out the contacts, she handed them over to him, and he took them.

"These are the contacts that I was telling you about. They'll be able to help you get your business out there and more traffic brought to your website."

"Thank you for this Kiara."

"You're my friend Rodion, I help my friends."

"As do I."

"Then why ask me out here?"

"Well...it's a bit complicated."

Kiara leaned forward, "Try me." He began to explain to her that this was all a ruse as the person he wanted to meet was someone that she had already seen. Kiara kept listening and she realized that the woman Rodion wanted to win back was the very same woman who was meeting Kaiba at that very restaurant. "All you could have said was 'I want to make my ex jealous so she'll take me back' and I would have worn something far better than this." Her Russian friend laughed while she smiled, "Well it's not going to take you very long because at seven they'll be here and probably two tables behind us." He had asked her why she thought that and she pointed to the reserved card, it held Kaiba's name on it. He laughed, "Yes, you're not very observant tonight are you?"

"No I'm not. No one is as observant as you are, thank you Kiara."

"Any time Rodion but you could have warned me about all this. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship with dating. I'm glad you don't like me that way!"

"Like you? I like you as much as a sister and that's it. You've been very kind to my father and I. We'll do anything to help out, no limit."

"That's sweet of you thank you." He nodded, the waiter came back to get their order but they replied that they hadn't even looked, so they began to page through the menu. "Note for you restaurant Rodion, not so many pages." He laughed once more while she glanced at the ingredients, "Too many things that I'm allergic too. Let's see if I can find something else." Rodion watched as she glanced through the pages, eventually she came upon the soups, there was one there that she could eat. "Ah ha! I knew they'd have one." He laughed once more while he asked her what she was getting, "This Dancing Squid bowl." She quirked an eyebrow at it, "I'm going to record it because it sounds interesting." He nodded when the waiter returned, he asked their orders, she told him hers, and Rodion had ordered the conch. "So fancy!" He laughed while she smiled at him, she heard some light coughing, and whispered, "They're here."

Rodion nodded, he made sure to sit so that he could watch his ex talk to Kaiba, Kiara could see it made him upset but she knew he had a plan, and it involved her. Kaiba and the woman had ordered mixed drinks and they were discussing sharing the seafood plate, Kiara glanced over her shoulder at him, his cobalt eyes connected with hers, and she shook her head before returning to Rodion. He asked her what it was about and she shushed him, indicating that he should listen. Kaiba decided to order the special of the night while she ordered the seafood plate. "He listened to you?"

"Of course, I'm his perfect secretary."

"Even though you're with me?"

"He trusts me."

"Ah. You're a good worker." She chuckled while they waited for their food to arrive, she sipped her water while Rodion was talking to her about his restaurant, making sure that the blond woman, two tables over, couldn't hear him. "Well? Do you think it has potential?"

"Of course it does! It would be unique among the higher end restaurants around here but be sure to have a good theme."

"What would you recommend?"

"Something dealing with Russia?" He laughed while she smiled, "I'm serious Rodion," she leaned in, "if you want her to get her jealous then you'll have to pretend to lean in and kiss me once in a while. I'm at the perfect angle at which she wouldn't know, nor would my employer, that you didn't kiss me." She winked at him while he whispered how devilish she was, "No, I simply learn from movies." He chuckled while leaning in, he kept an eye on her, and when the blond turned around, her eyes widened in shock. "Good move Rodion." They leaned back while Kiara sighed, "This is turning out to be a lovely evening, I'm so glad that you asked me out."

"Me too. I thought for sure that you wouldn't since you're my friend."

"You're handsome, why would I refuse you? Just because we're friends doesn't mean that we can't take it further right?"

"You're quite right." Their food arrived, she stared at the squid, she pulled out her phone, "You're going to record it?" She nodded, hit the record button, and poured the soy sauce on top of the tentacles. Immediately they began to move and she squeaked in surprise which made Kaiba smirk as he listened to his date babble about wanting to be a supermodel, she filmed it while Rodion only laughed. "You've never seen this before?" She shook her head, once the squid stopped moving, she sent the video to her mother, and then poured just a little bit more on the tentacles, the same reaction occurred but not as strong.

"That is rather unnerving." He nodded, "But I'm still going to eat it." He laughed while they began to eat their food. Rodion was asking Kiara about her life after they parted ways in high school and she was all too happy to tell him about her college years and working in various restaurants. Rodion nodded and said that he was proud of her, "I'm proud of you too. I'm glad that you took my advice to take over your father's business. The last time I spoke to him, he was very proud of you."

"I know, if not for you I don't think that he would even consider me an heir. I owe you everything."

She waved her hand, "Friends do things for one another."

He leaned in and patted her hand, "But what do more than friends do for one another?" He winked at her while she leaned in to pretend to be close to him while she only said that they do more for each other. The Russian laughed at her words, at this point the blond woman was merely pushing her food around on her plate, and Kaiba was slowly eating his. She was silent the entire time, the only thing that she was happy about was the expensive necklace that Kaiba had given her. His left eye twitched, he rubbed his face as he put the fork down. At this point the woman got up, marched to their table, and stared down at Rodion. "Can I help you Elise?"

She knelt down, "Please take me back! I'm so sorry that I left you."

"Umm..no."

"What?"

"No. All you want is the money that my family has. You think you can just leave when I refuse to buy you some obnoxiously expensive piece of jewelry. My father worked hard for his money, as do I, and I will not squander it on someone like you."

"Please!"

"No."

Kiara chimed in, "Haven't you figure it out yet?" Elise glared at her, "Rodion doesn't want a gold digger." She stood up flabbergasted at her words and Kiara only smirked at her, "Go on. Shoo gold digger. The only money you're going to see is if you can trick an elderly man into giving it to you." The woman was so angry that she stormed back to her table with Kaiba, he had been watching the entire ordeal, she grabbed her seafood platter, and dumped it on top of Kiara. "Did I say something wrong?" Rodion was trying to hold in his laughter while she turned to look up at Elise, "Wrong move." Kaiba watched as Kiara stood up, the woman was significantly taller than her because of her heels but his secretary glared up at her. "You owe me a new dress."

"I owe you nothing you whore."

"Whore?" She blinked a few times, her brow darted down in anger, she reached behind her, and grabbed the squid that she had yet to eat. Her hand flung it towards Elise's face, the bottom of the squid was smeared into her face, she was screaming about it, and Kiara shoved it inside. "Be quiet." Kaiba put up a hand to block the smirk that formed there, she huffed as the blond woman silenced herself with the squid hanging in her mouth. "Leave us alone. He doesn't want you." Immediately tears welled up in her eyes, she ran from the establishment, and Kiara looked down at Rodion, "I'm going to clean up."

"Sure thing." He watched her leave, he looked over at Kaiba, and motioned for him to join him at his table, he did so. The moment that the CEO sat down, Rodion leaned forward and said, "Just so you know, I only asked her here so that I could make Elise jealous. Turns out Kiara's gotten more brave than the last time I saw her but I think she just gets angry at people who take advantage of money." Kaiba nodded and began to ask him why he invited him over, "My treat. I sort of made your date run away and got Kiara smelling like seafood."

"No problem."

"I'll take care of your bill."

"You don't have too."

"I insist." Kaiba was going to argue but felt a little light headed so he only nodded while eating his food, Kiara was able to return, she smelled fresh, and was perfectly clean once more except the stains from the seafood on her dress. She took a seat, her eyes looked at Kaiba, she quirked an eyebrow, and Rodion explained it to her. "I invited him over since we made his date disappear like the wind." She chuckled, "You don't mind right?" She shook her head, "Good! Let's all be friends! And I'll buy you a new dress." Kiara chuckled while Kaiba only nodded, and Kiara had said that he didn't need to do that but he insisted so she gave in to his demand; the meal progressed nicely with Rodion telling the waiter that he was paying for his friend as well, he nodded, gathered both checks together, and asked them for dessert. Kaiba declined as did Kiara and Rodion shrugged, "We're done here." He grabbed the check, paid for it, left a tip that surprised the waiter, and the three of them headed out. Once in the night air, Kiara looked at Kaiba, he stumbled a little, she immediately went to his side, to help him. "Hey you alright?"

Kiara's eyes were worried for him, "I'm fine.."

"You're not fine sir!" She reached up, felt his forehead, and sighed, "You have a fever. You need to rest, I told you that you were catching a cold."

"I'll take the two of you home." Kaiba didn't even have the energy to speak to him so she nodded, the valet brought his car around, the back door was opened, she helped Kaiba in, and got in next to him. Rodion began the drive, Kiara gave him instructions to take Kaiba home first. Once they were at the mansion, Rodion said, "Kiara you stay with him alright. I don't think he looks very good to be on his own right now."

"I know. Thank you Rodion."

"No problem. Once the place opens up, I'm sending the two of you invitations!"

"Of course! Thank you for the evening Rodion. I'll call you more often alright?"

"You do that! I'd love to hear from you my adopted little sister!" She chuckled while she waved to him, once he drove off, Kiara helped Kaiba to the front door, she looked up at him but he shook his head, so she reached into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and opened the door. Once inside, she closed the door behind her with her foot, locked it, and helped Kaiba up the stairs to his room. He immediately flopped onto his bed, she put her clutch down on his desk, approached him, and nudged him to roll on his back. He did so, she unbuttoned his shirt, pulled it off, and told him to strip.

He stared at her, "I'm going to make a warm bath for you, so when you're done stripping, go in there." Kaiba only nodded once more, she entered his bathroom, started the water, and looked around for soap, she found some, poured it in, and let it froth up; once it got to the level that she wanted, she turned off the faucet, she stood up, and turned around to be faced with a naked employer. "Get in gently." He did as he was told, he also noticed that she kept her eyes looking up at the ceiling until he was submerged in the water, Kiara turned around, grabbed a sponge, and began to clean him gently.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You need help. I don't fully trust you to take care of yourself especially like this. I told you to be careful yesterday."

"I don't get sick."

"That's not true. Everyone gets sick, sir. When your immune system falls below optimal performance, you get ill. In this case, it's from your little dating game that you did."

"Dating game?"

"Yes. You thought you could balance work life with personal life but you did too much. These past weeks you dated nearly twenty-four different women while trying to get Kaiba World Two developed while dealing with the stress of running a corporation. Too much stress, you should have saved dating for the weekends and find some down to earth women. Those gold diggers are not for you...or anyone." Kaiba chuckled as she scrubbed his skin, when she asked him to raise a limb, he did so without complaint, if anything he was enjoying what she did for him. "Alright, all done. Drain the water, rinse, and dry then dress in a robe, nothing else while I go to the kitchen to make you some soup."

"I just ate."

"You'll understand in a little bit why I'm going to make soup." He only nodded, she left him in the bathroom, he rinsed off, dried, put on a robe, the moment that the knot was tied, he turned to his toilet, and wretched his entire day's worth of meals in that porcelain bucket. Kiara had heard it the moment she left his room, she shook her head, went to the kitchen, found a can of chicken broth, "Perfect." She heated it up until it was luke warm, she discovered some saltines, took them, put the bowl on a tray with the crackers, a bowl of ice water, a wash cloth, and took it up to his room. The tray was placed on the table next to his bed, he was laying on his back, she helped him to sit up, she gave him a cracker first. "Eat this very very slowly. Just nibble if you have to." Kaiba nodded, she dipped the cloth in cold water, rung it out, and dabbed it on his forehead while he nibbled the cracker.

He sighed, "That feels nice."

"I bet it does."

"How do you know all this?"

"Home remedies. I'm not fond of hospitals because of the expenses incurred when staying in one when I can do things myself in the comfort of my own home."

"How will you get home?"

"I can call Satsuki."

"Nezami?"

"Yes, Roland put him in charge of taking care of driving me around for emergencies."

"Why would you go home?"

"I have to work in the morning. You don't but I do. I'll come in whether you're there or not." He nodded while she handed him another cracker, she wiped down his face, arms, loosened up his robe, and wiped down his chest. She brought the bowl of broth over, she spoon fed him a little at a time until he shook his head. It was placed back on the tray, once more she wiped down all of his exposed skin, "You need to get under the covers. Stay there until you sweat everything out, once it's sweated out, you'll be fine in a few days even though you'll feel a lot better tomorrow. But remember to eat crackers, soup, and stay warm until your fever breaks and even then you'll need to keep to a simple diet for a few days after just to be sure. This rag is going to stay on your head, there's extra water here for you." Kiara was going to leave but he grabbed her wrist, she looked down at him, "Mister Kaiba?"

His eyes were fluttering shut, "Don't leave." She smiled at him, sat down on the edge of his bed and stated that she wasn't going anywhere if he didn't want her too. "Why are you so loyal? Why are you so devoted? Can you at least tell me that?" His cobalt eyes watched her with a gaze that she had never seen before, she was used to his cold stares, mild shock, glares, and smirks but this was genuine curiosity.

"You're not ready to hear it but I'll give you a hint." He waited for it, "You made an impression on me when I was small."

"We met before?"

"Not directly but enough about that. Let's get you better then we can decide what to do. If I don't show up to work, rumors will spread, is that alright by you?"

"I don't care what the others think about me."

"What about the outlook on your company?"

"The clients know what's good for them, as do the shareholders, they won't say a word, and will ignore whatever rumors are going to spread."

"Will you make a press conference?"

"No. As I said, I don't care." Kiara smiled at him, "What?"

"Now you're starting to understand what I wanted to convey to you. Share your life with someone other than your company. You can do both but your personal life will have to be moderate."

His eyes were fluttering closed and he murmured, "Things would be so much easier if you just let me have you." When his cobalt irises were finally hidden behind his lids, Kiara only smiled at him as her face flushed, she wasn't sure what to do but stay there with his hand wrapped around her wrist. Once the heat abated, she smiled at him, removed her glasses, placed them on the tray, and removed the rag to wet it more. She kept wiping down his body, she managed to pull the covers over him as well once his grip left her wrist free, she kept his face clean while making sure he was covered up completely.

-::::::-

Morning approached, she woke up, stretched her back, it cracked in many places, she grabbed her glasses, put them on her face, and saw that he was still sleeping. His door was pushed open by a maid, she entered, Kiara put a finger to her lips, she picked up the tray, and approached the maid. She handed it to her and whispered, "I'm Mister Kaiba's secretary. He wasn't feeling very well last night so I stayed to watch him. His fever has lessened so he should be feeling a little bit better today but his sheets are definitely soiled and he should keep to a simple diet for a few days."

"That's fine miss. Thank you for taking care of our master."

Kiara smiled, "I consider it part of my job." The maid smiled in return, left quietly, Kiara turned to see that he was still sleeping, she grabbed her clutch, rubbed her eyes underneath her glasses, and exited his room. She made her way down stairs, the moment that she was halfway down the banister, a voice spoke up behind her, it made her freeze.

"Where are you going?"

She glanced over her shoulder to see a slightly angry Kaiba, "Home. I need to shower, change, and go to work."

"You're not working today." He coughed into his hands, "You're staying here." Kiara looked up at him quizzically, "You can wear some of Hawkins' clothes. I'm sure Mokuba has some that would fit you."

"Alright but I'll tell my mother at least."

"Fine. Whatever you did last night, do it again. I'm going back to bed." She nodded while he left to return to his room, she looked to see the maid standing there, the woman chuckled, and Kiara couldn't help but chuckle in return. The woman stated that she was going to ask Master Mokuba for some of his girlfriend's clothes.

"Thank you so much. I'll wait here." She immediately opened up her clutch, texted her mother about last night, and the current situation. Her mother's response made her laugh, "Of course she'd say that. She's so silly." The maid returned with a pair of cargo capris, a red henley, and a pair of loafers, "These will do, thank you so much!"

She nodded, "Oh but I didn't find a bra that would fit you...so I don't think we have anything..."

"It's fine. Thank you."

"You're very welcome Miss Katsuhiko."

"How do you know me?"

The maid's eyes gleamed, "Whenever we have guests over for the first time, we are all well informed of who they are." Kiara chuckled while she was shown to a guest room, she thanked her once more, entered the bathroom, and showered. She dressed with Rebecca's clothes on, they were a little snug and the top conformed to her bust but she managed, her gown was placed on the bed, her clutch was in the side pocket of the capris. Kiara sighed as she realized that the shirt revealed her nipples, she shrugged, and immediately entered the kitchen; this time she found some tomato soup, she heated it up, dug out some oyster crackers, found a packet of powdered gatorade, made that in a glass of water, made another bowl of ice water with a cloth, and placed everything on a new tray. She took it up to Kaiba's room while her wet hair was plaited into a braid that sat on her back, the end was tied off with a simple hair tie. The moment that she entered, Kaiba was sitting up underneath his covers, he looked at her as she put the tray on the table next to his bed, he glanced at her chest to see some of her body that she kept shrouded in mystery, but he focused on her movements as she wet the cloth, and began to wipe down his face and exposed arms first. "How are you feeling?"

"Better than last night."

"Good." She took the bowl of soup, she spooned it to him slowly until he turned his head away, she put it down, handed him some crackers to eat, he ate them, and watched as she put a straw in the glass of Gatorade. "I don't need that."

"You need to replenish your electrolytes and this is easy on your stomach." Still he turned his head away, she sighed, "Do you trust me?" This brought his attention to her, he stared at her while she stared at him, "Do you trust me?" He nodded, "Then drink." Kaiba reluctantly gave in to her demands, he drank the flavored water, leaned back, and sighed. "You've never been sick before have you?"

"Not since I was a child."

She chuckled, "That explains everything."

"What do you mean?"

He glared at her which made her chuckle even more, "I had my mother to take care of me and vice versa but you really didn't have anyone. I'm sure you kept Mokuba far away from you so he wouldn't get sick, so you never had this compassion of someone taking care of you. It's new to you and you don't like it, I understand." He 'harumphed' at her assumptions which only made her laugh even more, this brought the attention of her loose bust, his cobalt gaze stared at it. "Stop staring!" She swatted him gently with the rag, he looked up at her face, she made a circle around her face, "My face is up here not on my chest." It took him a few minutes to understand what she said but he laughed. "They say fifteen minutes of laughter is better than any medicine."

"How do you know all this?"

"Research. I told you last night that I'm not particularly fond of hospitals."

"Why?"

"Could never afford them so home remedies it was for my mother and I."

"I see."

She could tell there was some sort of pity in his voice, "Don't pity me. I'm glad because I never got worse. Home remedies are the best, always have been always will be because they've been around before the medical institutions were built so I trust them more." He only nodded while she cleaned off his skin once more, "Do you remember anything last night?"

"I remember everything."

"Ah, so you do remember what you whispered in your sleep to me."

He stared at her, "What did I say?"

"You said that the dating game would be far more easier if I would just let you have me." He glanced away from her, she only smiled at him, "I have this tendency like my mother to wait for the opposite to make the first move and then I like to tease them just like her." Cobalt eyes furtively looked back into her dashing sapphire eyes, "If you want to have me, you're going to have to work for it, and make the first move especially since you're the boss, you're my boss." Once more he laughed at her joke, she nodded with a smile, "Now eat some more." The maid knocked on the door, she peeked in, and asked if they needed anything else, "No thank you. I'll let you know though. Thank you so much." The woman nodded with a smile while Kaiba was oblivious to the intrusion. She left with the gossip of the mansion and proceeded to tell everyone else that worked there.

Roland had entered the mansion, he looked around, and began to hear about the rumors of someone taking care of Mister Kaiba. He quickly went up the stairs, knocked on the door, and entered; he saw Kiara wearing Rebecca's clothes. "Miss Katsuhiko?"

"Good morning Mister Roland. Mister Kaiba saw fit not to let me leave last night because he was ill and wouldn't take my advice on going home instead of dating gold diggers." Roland chuckled and asked how his boss was feeling, to which Kaiba replied better, "He's lying. He's feeling loads better. So much that he refused to let me go to work." Roland chuckled once more by saying that he was going to say in case she needed a ride anywhere, "Thank you so much Mister Roland. I appreciate it and I appreciate that you let Satsuki be my designated driver. I bet he races on the weekends."

"How do you know that?"

"He lent me his jacket one day after work when it rained on me. I recognized some of the racing patches on it."

"You're very perceptive."

Kaiba chimed in, "That's why I hired her." Kiara and Roland chuckled while the security head excused himself and she nodded while her full attention was riveted onto Kaiba. He leaned up and was going to kiss her but she put the wet cloth between them. "What?"

"I'm not getting sick again and you've got a cough so I'll have to dig around for some vapor rub." He chuckled once more while leaning back, "If you need another bath, let me know but for now you should stay in bed, it's better for you." Kaiba nodded, she put the cool rag on his forehead, it covered his eyes as well while she asked, "Are you going to stop this dating game?"

"Yes."

"Very good."

"Why?"

"I don't like those women."

"Why?"

"Why on earth would you want to date those women when you have a perfectly good secretary waiting for you every day?" The rag was taken off of his forehead so he could stare at her, she was smiling at him, not the joking smile that he had seen, but a genuine smile that held truth in her words.

"What do you know about me?"

"You're not ready."

"When are you going to tell me?"

"When I feel that you're ready."

He sighed, "You're really under my skin Katsuhiko."

"One request," he looked at her, "don't fire me."

He smirked, "I would never fire you no matter what."

"Good because there were many reasons behind my statement of not wanting to work any where else except for Kaiba Corps. Like I said before, you're my quirky executive and I'm not very good at sharing. I believe that's a trait we both have in common." He laughed once more while she placed the rag on his forehead, it cooled him off, and Kiara sat there on his bed wiping down his hot body.