=Jem's=POV=
"And do you have an appointment with Mr. Kaiba?" the woman behind the desk in the lobby asked. I had decided to do it right this time to avoid any further touching.
"Well, Seto told me to meet him here at two today," I answered.
The receptionist glanced up at me skeptically. "Name?"
"Jem," I answered. She didn't say anything else, and I kicked one foot back, pivoting my toe back and forth into the tile floor as I waited.
The woman checked her screen and must have seen my name as she raised her eyebrows with disgust or surprise, or both, I couldn't tell. She picked up the phone, hugging it to her shoulder as she continued working on her computer. "Mr. Kaiba, your two o'clock is here." After another moment she hung up, turning back to me. "Mr. Kaiba will see you now."
I collected the bag I had with me and went to the elevator—which was now watched over by a different guard—without hesitation.
=Seto's=POV=
There was a knock at my door.
"Come in," I grumbled, immersed in my work.
Jem pushed open my office door carefully, keeping it propped with her hand as she discreetly slid between them. I directed my eyes up at her as she glanced needlessly around my office, advancing toward me. She carried a bag with her, which she dropped at the side of my opposite black leather chair before plopping down.
I busily leaned back and opened a desk drawer, extracting a professional binder. "Here's what we're doing," I declared as I pushed it in front of her, turning back to my computer. "Look it over and make sure you understand it."
She stared at the binder for a moment. "You... already have it put together," she said aloud.
"Mm."
"Well," she began, picking it up, "let's see what you devised, then."
The office was silent after that, only broken up by the sound of my mouse. Almost too quiet—too peacefully quiet—for being in the room with another person. I glanced at her.
She sat upright, her eyes cast down at the binder in her lap. She gracefully flipped the page, tilting her head to attend to the top of the next section. She looked quite relaxed as she read it over, her features softer than usual. Her bust rose and fell slowly.
"Hm," she responded. I turned my eyes back to my screen before she caught me looking at her. "Well, what if-"
My phone rang, cutting her off.
=Jem's=POV=
"Kaiba," he answered. I flicked my eyes up to him briefly. "I'll be right there." He hung up the phone before he stood and mentioned, "I'll be right back," before he left hastily.
I was about to speak with him about the project. It wasn't that his plan was bad, I just found it boring. Lots of ideas were racing through my mind and I needed to write them down before I lost them. I had a dry erase marker in my bag and pulled it out, continuing to hold the binder open in one hand as I went to his window.
I had it mostly mapped out when he returned. I glanced back over my shoulder to see him slow as he approached, glaring at his window. "Oh hey," I greeted, turning back to my work. "This is more what I was thinking." I turned back to see his reaction.
He began to read over my work, his face falling a bit as he did. His eyes remained glued to my writing when he said, "...You made a bomb."
"Yeah," I replied. "There wasn't anything wrong, per se, with yours, but I had been at least hoping we could blow something up. You know, give this project some hope of being fun."
"What are you going to blow up? The school?" He had just reached me, now standing behind his desk as well.
"Well, no. We'd just have to go outside or something. You should be able to see here that it won't be that big of an explosion."
He finally turned to me, and I could tell already that he did not like the idea. "Jem, that's against the law."
I quickly looked back at the window, trying to figure out what he was talking about, but I couldn't. "Which one?" I puzzled.
"Are you kidding?"
"No..." I replied, still looking over my work. Then I realized what he meant and turned to him with bright eyes, gesturing as I spoke by subtly pointing the marker at him. "Oh, you me the law," I responded. I glanced past him as I muttered to myself, "I always forget about that one."
I noticed his eyes still boring into me and my eyes flashed back to him. "I grew up on my father's estate, which is so far away from anything else the law never really applied, nor was I really taught too much about it. I thought you were talking about a law of physics or something." He still didn't seem satisfied with this somehow. I didn't understand. "What?" I asked.
He shook his head. "You're just- unlike anyone I've ever met," he answered. He promptly pivoted away, spinning his chair back before he sat down. Seto resumed his occupancy with his screen, proclaiming, "We're doing what I've presented to you."
=Seto's=POV=
I heard her sigh before I sensed her gently lay down the binder in front of me. I spun my chair back slightly, only to find her standing right next to me, leaning her opposite hand on the table. The back of her closer hand rested on her hip, and her body was turned slightly toward me. However, she didn't seem to notice as she intently studied the pages again. She was so close to me, but a repressed part of me felt it was still too far.
"Do you know where to get all the materials for this?" she questioned, interrupting my irritating thoughts. "I'm thinking this one might be hard to find," she remarked, running her desk hand over to point at the far corner of the page. She leaned forward a bit, her second hand absent-mindedly coming to rest on the back of my chair. And she doesn't even seem to be mindful of it.
"Yes, I have all of it here at my company."
"Ok then," she replied, closing the binder and giving the spine a tap on my desk. "I'll make it seeing as you designed it, and you seem to have much more demanding duties at hand than I do." She walked back around the desk, collecting her bag. "May I have your contact information in case I have any questions or anything?"
I simply reached in my suit pocket and extracted one of my business cards to give her. "And I have engineers here, too. Here's how to contact them." I wrote a note on the back of the card. "They will give you the materials and can help you as needed." She accepted my card, taking a second to study it. "Don't lose that. I'm very selective about who I allow to contact me, but I can't guarantee I'll answer even if you call." She pocketed it and smiled, going to collect her bag.
"What?" I snapped.
"Oh," she said, sticking the binder in her bag, "you're just unlike anyone I've ever met either. In a good way."
And with that she turned to leave. As she walked away, she gathered her silky blonde hair in her hands, releasing any strands from under the straps of her bag, and pulled it to rest over her shoulder. With her hair settled, most of her movement was in the sway of her hips, which I tried to ignore as she exited.
"Jem," I called after her. She turned back slightly at the door. "I'll want to look it over before we hand it in. This is a big part of our grade and I'm not risking my perfect 4.0 at the hands of another."
I think I saw her smirk. "I'll be sure to schedule another appointment when I complete it," she replied mockingly. The door closed behind her and I sat back, huffing with exasperation. I folded my hands in my lap, looking at the doors she had just exited, then pushed the girl from my mind, purposefully forgetting her in the midst of my work.
Five days later she returned carrying a modest box. "And here it is," she remarked. She set it on my desk as I pushed my chair away from my computer, standing up. But I didn't have to go far. Surprisingly, she then perched herself next to it on my desk as she waited. I tried to be discreet as I glanced at her briefly while I opened the box. She leaned back on one arm, her head tilted to that same side as she gazed out my window. She wore a sleeveless dress today, and it was the third time I had seen her out of her uniform. It was made of a navy blue, flowing fabric, sashed around her waist. Her legs were less displayed, but the cut of the neckline was lower than I had seen on her. I wasn't sure if I preferred her in her own clothes—the change made her that much more distracting. I hated how much I had to redirect my attention around her.
"So what are we going to say?" she asked unenthusiastically. My eyes quickly flickered back to the box and I lifted the item out of it. It looked as though she had constructed it perfectly. I had gathered that she was smart, but still, I was impressed. My design had been quite complicated.
"You don't need to worry about it," I said, placing the item back. "I'll be in control of that."
Her eyes flashed from my window to me. "Are you serious?" she asked. But she didn't sound upset so much as relieved and excited.
I looked at her firmly. "I'm always serious." I started to turn away, but she grabbed my suit and reclaimed my attention. I looked back at her perplexed.
She pulled me to her a bit, leaning in. Her shining blue eyes looked up at me keenly. "You mean I don't have to say anything?" I didn't respond right away, I was so taken aback. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I didn't feel as opposed to her tugging on my suit as I would have expected myself to be. "Just to be clear," she added after my silence.
"Yes," I replied dryly.
She smiled excitedly and pulled me down, quickly kissing my cheek before she jumped off my desk.
I was stunned.
She turned quickly, but then spun back resting a hand again on my chest. "I'm sorry," she said excitedly, "I just hate talking to people I don't know or like." With that she spun back, hurrying for the door. The ends of her dress bounced a bit with her step. This was the most lively I had ever seen her.
"Wait," I called after her. She whirled back around. "Take it," I instructed. "The teacher knows how controlling I am. If you bring it in, I'll be less likely to be downgraded."
"Right," she answered, rushing back to grab it. She collected the box in her arms and was off again. "Thanks again Seto, you're the best!" she called back, still in her excited mood. I never thought my controlling nature would make someone's day.
She reached out and pulled on a door handle, leaning back to open the heavy thing. Once it was wide enough, she spun again to protect the box, waving goodbye to me as she did before the door again shut behind her. I reached up, placing my fingertips on the cheek she had kissed.
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