I hate this chapter to be honest. There are small things I like about it but it's not my best work. Okay, PSA over, let's go!

…

They had arrived at the hotel later that morning. They were staying in the California suite in the Four Seasons, a five star hotel in Beverly Hills. After unpacking, Scarlette opening the double doors to the balcony, feeling the warm summer breeze blow through her hair. They had a great view of the city and it was quite similar to Domino, caught between the sea and the hills.

She went back inside with a grin, finding Kaiba sat at the dining-table with his laptop. He didn't look up but seemed to notice her presence.

'So now what?' she asked.

He still didn't look up. 'You can go to bed and catch up on your sleep', he said.

She crossed her arms. 'What about you?' she asked.

He stopped; raising his blue eyes to meet her violet ones. 'What about me?'

'You need your sleep too', she shrugged.

He grinned. 'I didn't know you cared', he answered.

I hate you…

'Yeah, well, like it or not, but you need your sleep as much as I do', she put her hands on her hips; 'how else are you going to pretend to be interested in your associate kissing your ass? Huh?'

He let out a laugh. 'How do you figure that?' he wondered.

She held up her shoulders. 'Well I'm guessing your associate has a much smaller company and wants to provide you with materials of your Duel Disk-system in exchange for an honorary mention', she paused; 'I could be completely wrong.'

'Well you're partly right. He won't get his name on the final product. But in return for his services I'll recommend his minerals to other companies', he gave her an unreadable look; 'so you weren't so far off as you thought', he almost seemed to smile.

A moment of silence fell. She didn't quite know how to react to his constant gaze, so she shyly dropped her eyes to the floor and took a step back to head towards the bed. She really wanted to have a few more hours of sleep -

Before she could take another step backwards, Kaiba was suddenly in front of her, catching her by her wrist. She still didn't look at him. After realizing he had some sort of feelings for her…she really wanted to avoid another entanglement with him until she had sorted herself out.

His long fingers curled around her chin, tilting her chin upwards. 'You know it drives me crazy when you do that', she received chills from his deep, low voice.

'Do what?' she softly asked.

He moved to cup her cheek and she put her hand on his wrist in response. He was being so uncharacteristically gentle, and she felt her heartbeat pick up like crazy, adding even more color to her already flushed face.

'When you look away from me like that…' his steady breathing warmed her ear; tickling the sensitive skin of her neck. She willed herself not to close her eyes, even though being close to him felt almost natural and familiar…

For a moment, she felt like he was going to kiss her. He was so damn close and she caught a whiff of his expensive cologne. It left her with a fuzzy feeling in her stomach. Just the way his fingers felt against her skin, his low breathing, those gorgeous blue eyes…

'K-Kaiba -' 'don't call me that', their gazes linked and for a moment she felt like she couldn't look away. He kept her helplessly trapped in his stare and part of her didn't want to look away. His eyes were such a gorgeous deep shade of blue, why hadn't she noticed before?

'Go to bed, Scarlette', he murmured; 'room-service will be here around three o'clock', he let go of her but she could still feel his hand tingling on her face.

She swallowed, a blush still evident on her face. She was determined to get Kaiba off to bed as well. He needed the rest and if he was grumpy, she'd be the first he'd take it out on.

'You're going to get your rest as well', she firmly told him.

He looked humored; clearly not impressed by her. She wouldn't let it faze her; he was going to get out of that ridiculous padded trenchcoat and he was going to bed.

'You're still my assistant; you don't tell me what to do', he grinned smugly.

She fought his grin with her own. 'You said we were past last name basis. So technically, that makes us even', she said.

He chuckled. 'Using my own words against me. Clever girl. Still…there's only one bed, so you're going to have to share.'

Well shit, she hadn't thought about that. 'I'll take the couch.'

He scoffed at her. 'Don't be childish', he moved past her, shrugging out of his purple coat and removing his shoes before shutting all the curtains.

She growled, accepting defeat. 'Fine. But I'm not sleeping in this pencil skirt', she moved towards the walk-in closet they shared, and inside, got changed into an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts.

She found Kaiba lounging on the bed by the time she got back, sitting up against the headboard with his laptop on his lap. For some reason the sight was almost endearing in a way. To see him just lying around, even though he was still busy, made him more human.

Ignoring his sudden gaze on her, she moved to the other side of the bed and lied down with her back turned to him. She shrank into herself. The whole situation was just so overwhelming.

Tears stung in her eyes. She remembered Mokuba's words. Look at him with an open mind, he had said. If only things were that easy. Or maybe she was just making things difficult for herself?

Maybe she did like him. Maybe she always had liked him. And to the public eye they already seemed like a couple. So what was the harm in she actually fell in love with him?

She let him pull the sheets over her body, but noticed how he kept his distance. A shameful part of her wanted him to get closer and put his arms around her. But she was still so at war with herself and she hated that.

She just gave an annoyed groan, before settling underneath the warm sheets.

…

When she woke up a couple of hours later, she was roused from her sleep by the warm breathing down her neck and the weight draped over her middle. It also took her a minute to fully realize where she was.

She shifted her gaze towards the arm laid across her waist. She swallowed thickly, then carefully turned around to find Kaiba on her side of the bed. He was still deeply asleep, which was a rather adorable sight in contrast to how she knew him. He laid with his head on his free arm, his brown hair unruly and covering his closed eyes. She found herself slowly inspecting every little detail of his appearance, from the slight stubble that coated his strong jaw-line, to the way his long-sleeved shirt stretched over his impressive muscles.

Shit, I'm looking at my boss like he's some sort of eye-candy! Not to say that he wasn't; Kaiba was a very handsome man. She fully understood how appealing he was to many women.

She exhaled deeply as she reached for him to slowly brush his hair out of his face. It was quite soft to the touch, she noticed.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. Who would've thought that a man like Seto Kaiba could like a girl as common as her. She remembered from when they were in high school together, how she'd always watched him from a distance, surrounded by so many girls. She always thought he'd marry a famous model, have a couple of absurdly good-looking kids and leave all the girls that liked him with broken hearts.

Maybe part of her had liked him in high school. Maybe she had wanted to send him a love-note. That was, until she had seen what he did with the notes he got; he just threw them away without even looking at them. She had been so angry back then; to think he would belittle the feelings of all those girls…not even giving one a chance to come close to him. It infuriated her.

Lost in her memories, she didn't see that Kaiba had woken up and was now studying her thoughtful expression intently. She only snapped out of it when he grasped her hand in his.

She felt like a kid being caught with her hand in the cookie-jar, really. She felt busted, even though Kaiba had done the exact same thing to her before. She had no idea if he even liked the physical contact…

'D-did I wake you?' she asked.

He shrugged. 'I'm a light sleeper. But I guess there are worse ways to wake up', he grinned; 'and besides, I owed you one', he shrugged.

He let go of her hand and sat upright, throwing the sheets off himself. She remained on the bed for a few more moments, watching him go into the suite and pour himself a cup of coffee. Apparently, room-service had already been brought into the room.

She yawned before carefully shifting out of bed. She stretched her tense muscles, running her hands through her hair and moving towards the table where quite a lavish lunch was laid out. She felt a bit embarrassed; she didn't know there would be so much food to choose from.

'Do they always serve such large lunches or is it just because they know you're staying?' she asked.

He laughed softly. 'Both. It's not unusual for the staff to want me to stay here again', he explained.

She took a seat at the table, reaching for the grapes lying on a platter. 'Well I'm not complaining', he only smirked in response.

'It'll only be for a few days, so don't get too comfortable', she glared at him.

'Well you're the one who wanted me to come along', she countered.

'True', he sat his coffee down; 'I'm going to take shower. I advise you to do the same. My driver will be here around six', she gave a nod in response.

She guessed she had to hurry then. She liked taking her time to get ready. And she wanted to make a good first impression on his associate.

…

She had dressed herself in a deep purple, slim-fitted cocktail dress, with a low neckline. She tried to reach the back to do it up but she was unable to, much to her annoyance.

She got out of the bathroom, finding Kaiba already dressed in a dark blue suit and a white button-up. She was in awe for a moment; he looked amazing in a suit. She felt like such a lovestruck girl then. She had been completely oblivious to how handsome of a man Kaiba really was.

He gave her a quick glance. 'What is it?' he asked.

She averted her eyes. What was with her? Why was she getting so incredibly flustered in his presence?

'Can you zip me up?' she asked.

He offered a slight smile. 'Turn around', she did as he asked, holding her breath when his warming hands found her back, slowly zipping her up.

'I think I preferred you in blue', he pulled her hair back from her shoulders, allowing it to fall down her back in waves. She turned, a slight blush on her cheeks.

'You told me not to wear the blue dress', she held up her hands; 'boy you're hard to please…'

'Oh don't get me wrong, you still look beautiful', he walked past her; 'I just like the blue dress on you more', she threw her head back in annoyance.

'Come on. My driver should be outside by now', he urged her.

She followed him, taking his extended arm to allow him to lead her into the elevator and out of the hotel. There, his driver awaited them. And soon they, were on their way to the restaurant where they'd meet Kaiba's associate.

…

I declare this a horrible filler chapter xD I damn you, chapter 10! Damn you to the Shadow Realm!

Anyway, please rate and review. It lets me know you guys care ^^

Lots of Love,

~TheOneWithTooManyInterests