Chapter Two

'What is the board thinking,' Seto asked furiously as he crumpled the papers in his hands.

'That for the first time they are actually looking out for the company's best interest,' Mokuba answered his brother's rhetorical question.

'Hn,' he face contorted into a scowl, 'it's in their best interest to keep out of our private lives.'

'But in this sense don't they have a right to get involved,' Mokuba continued to push his brother's buttons.

Since yesterday the meeting with the board has been eating away at him. It was as if they had finally decided to make peace with him and his brother and not try anything to overthrow them. Of course, this board wasn't like the previous one since they didn't try kill him and control Mokuba. They just felt that he and his brother were still too young to take over such a large company. Even though they were high grossing, they attributed it to luck and not genius. In addition, they felt that he branched out too much and his interest were placed else where and that it was bad for his health. More like they just wanted someone that wasn't him with more experience at the reigns. However, he would still be in power, only less stressed, but who knew what another company president would plan. 'Still it's a decision that we could have made on our own. Not that it should be pointing out.'

Mokuba watched his brother, who seemed to be beyond furious at the suggestion from the board. However, his brother really shouldn't have a problem fulfilling their request. He was often seen out with beautiful women, he just didn't have time to bother with them or wasn't interested in their advances. He was just focused on his work or his favorite hobby Duel Monsters, but seeing as it crossed over into his work it wasn't really a hobby anymore. 'If you're really worried about being able to find someone yourself, you should take their suggestions into account.' He turned his gaze towards the black folder on the right corner of his desk.

Seto followed his brother's gaze and saw the ill-begotten file he had thrown in the trash yesterday. His secretary must have found it and placed it back on his desk and placed it with the other files. 'And have a puppet for a bride? You must be kidding,' he grabbed it and threw it in the trash once more.

'You know, some of them are quite interesting and brilliant. Not to mention attractive,' Mokuba had also been given a file, so that he could find someone of interest to him.

'Of course they are brilliant, they are probably being paid to marry us and be breeding cows,' Seto angrily bashed them without knowing if his statement was true or not. All he knew was that he wasn't happy at the suggestion of marrying and having an heir or heirs. He wasn't even thirty yet for them to suggest such a thing, he still had other ideas and projects that he needed to focus on. Not a woman and children, he couldn't yet imagine having someone else invading his space.

'That's rather offensive,' Mokuba shook his head in disappointment at his brother's comment. If any woman heard him talking, she would probably slap his across the face with all her might. He didn't want to admit it, but sometimes his brother needed a reality check. Not everyone was after money or willing to give up their freedom to become a puppet.

'Offensive or not, it's probably true,' he just watched his brother shake his head. He suddenly got up, he was getting no where with Mokuba and he seemed to approve the boards idea of him getting married or at least finding someone. 'I am going to go out for some fresh air, I'll be back later once I've calmed down a bit more.'

Mokuba wasn't going to protest, he just watched his brother grab his jacket from its stand by his desk and get ready to leave. 'Will you be taking the car?'

'No, I won't go that far,' he told him and Mokuba just got up and followed after him as he left and told his secretary that he was stepping out and would be back later.

Yawning the female behind the counter watched the slowly dwindling street outside the front store window. The lunch rush was over and Risa had left her to manage the store while she took a break. Last night she had progressed a lot on her short piece, she had even done some research on the time period her story would take place. She had emailed the first five pages to Yu, but had yet to hear from him. Maybe her boss didn't fancy the direction the story was taking or that it was centered around a brotherly bond instead of romance. She had heard that two others were working on a romance filled story, knowing who they were she was sure she couldn't compete with their work.

Alisa pulled out her computer from under the counter and opened it so that she could start working on the rest of her story while they were slow. Once Risa returned she could take a break and solely focus on her story for an hour. She had just been working on her seventh page when the door opened and chimed the warning, 'Welcome,' she automatically looked up from her place to greet the customer. To her surprise it was one of her inspirations that walked through the door.

'Hello,' Mokuba returned her greeting and watched as she closed her laptop to give him her complete attention. 'I had a feeling after we crashed yesterday that I had seen you somewhere,' he told her.

Alisa beamed at him, 'I am glad to see that I am noticeable, usually people notice Risa.'

'The other girl that's usually here with you in the morning with the blonde platinum hair color,' Mokuba described the only other person he ever saw with her.

'Correct,' she cheerfully answered. 'I can see that you are a loyal customer if you know us well.'

Mokuba wouldn't go that far, but they were quite an interesting pair. They seemed like polar opposites that compliment each other and work well together. Nevertheless, it did surprise him to see that the quiet and remote female was actually rather talkative and charming. By her smile she seemed to have a cheerful nature, which made her more attractive. He suddenly froze at his train of thought, she was attractive and appealing to him.

She had waited for a response from him, but he had suddenly went quiet and lost in thought. Maybe he enjoyed his encounters with Risa more than her or maybe he was trying to find the words to asking her for compensation for yesterday. 'Is there something on you mind? Did I ruin your suit yesterday when you fell? Or did you go to the doctor afterwards and need me to pay the medical fee,' she offered for him.

'What,' Mokuba was brought out of his thoughts by her sudden inquisitions. 'Um, no,' he lifted his hands and shook them before him. 'I was just thinking for a moment.'

'Oh, I see,' she still felt guilty for running into him yesterday because she was playing around with Yu and running away from her responsibilities. 'So I don't feel so guilty anymore, how about a treat? You're welcome to anything on our menu,' she offered him.

'That's,' he was about to protest, but the bright smile that adorn her rose tinted lips made him stop. He ordered his usual a chocolate mocha blender without the shots of espresso.

'Ah, this order is usually accompanied by a medium white flat, is it not?' She might not have noticed him in the mad morning rush, but his order was unique. People usually craved coffee with their sugar in the morning and he didn't, plus instead of getting a warm cup it was always a blender.

'How'd you know?'

'I might not be great with faces in the morning, but I do remember unique orders,' she told him as she turned to make his drink.

'So you were running from your manager yesterday,' he asked trying to continue their conversation and hopefully getting some information about her.

'Yup, he came in to pick up some work that I procrastinated,' she answered as she measured the ingredients for his drink. 'Because I had looked back to see if I was making my grand getaway, I failed to see in front of me,' she placed the blender on its base and turned it on.

'So you don't just barista and run a bookstore for a living?'

Alisa didn't mind answering his questions, but she was suspicious of his sudden interest especially when he didn't know her name. 'Nope, but before we get into more deeper and personal questions. How about we both introduce ourselves,' she pointed out.

'Oh,' he blushed in embarrassment at the sudden revelation that the he was asking too much too fast without a proper introduction.

'I am Alisa Prism,' she told him as she finished prepping his drink, topping it off with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, 'and as you've guessed it, I don't just work here but also with P-publishing.'

Mokuba recalled the logo of the company card the man from yesterday gave him. 'My name is Mokuba Kaiba,' he returned the introduction, 'I work at Kaiba Corp.'

Alisa nodded, but felt kinda bad that she had to force him to introduce himself when she already knew his name. His brother might be the center of attention, but that didn't mean his little brother didn't share some of the spotlight. 'Well, Mr. Kaiba,' she teased, 'it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.'

'Just Mokuba,' he corrected as he took the offered drink.

'Alright,' she agreed, 'would you like to take a seat. We can talk more if you'd like.' She gestured for him to take a seat at one of the small tables beside the wall, where most people sat and relaxed for a bit. 'It must be exciting working for Kaiba Corp.,' she told him as he settled down and she took her place at the counter to talk to him, but also to keep watch on the shop.

'Most of the time, when I am not swamped with work and I get to try a new gaming product,' he answered.

'Knowing how far you guys have advance in the gaming industry, I can imagine it,' she beamed at him. 'I watched a duel monster's match once and I was amazed at how realistic the monsters and attacks were.'

Mokuba could feel a bubbly warm feeling at his company and technology being praised. 'I am glad to hear that you enjoyed watching them battle because of our companies technology.'

'So besides working at a top rated company, what else do you like to do,' she figured if he wasn't going to go on about work, maybe he'd like to talk about something else.

Mokuba was silent, his grayish purple hues turned down to stare at his drink as he thought of the answer to her question. It wasn't difficult, but he was always either at work or with his brother testing a new gadget he was working on. He lifted his hues up, baffled by the fact that he didn't have an answer to give her. Now she was going to think that he was a boring dud. 'I understand,' she tried to save him from her question. 'I get so immersed with work sometimes that I forget that I need to do stuff to destress and enjoy myself.'

'What are your hobbies,' he asked her.

'Hmm, I would like to say reading but only if it's for pleasure. Running is a good one too, I like to forget about my stress and work, but it also helps me sometimes.'

'You do a lot of running here,' he asked as he looked at her space behind the counter.

'Only when I am running away from my responsibilities or need help with my creativity, since it opens my mind to new ideas,' she answered.

'So when you said you worked at P-publishing, you work there as a writer?'

'I am one of their writers, the man that was with me is my manager. He makes sure that I stay on schedule and out of trouble, but I usually cause more trouble than necessary.'

'Sounds like your manager is always busy,' Mokuba saw her mischievous smile and had an inky that she might like to cause trouble for him.

'Yup, hopefully he doesn't decide to leave me one day,' she nervously laughed at that being a true possibility.

If Mokuba recalled correctly he was a good looking individual, so she might be attracted to him. Then if that were a fact he didn't stand a chance, her heart could already be spoken for. 'Do you like him,' he blurted out the question without thinking about it or what meaning she could take from it.

Alisa pulled back from the counter, where she was leaning on and blinked at his sudden question. 'Um,' his face slightly reddened in embarrassment, 'you don't have to answer that? It's just the way your face softened as you were thinking about him possibly leaving you. I just wondered,' he tried to save face, but by her bewildered expression he might have scared her off.

She shook her head, 'It's okay, I was just taken aback. I've never thought that I looked or sounded like I was interested in him,' she told him and as she was about to continue to answer his question the door opened and chimed. 'Welcome,' she automatically greeted without looking up at the person first. As soon as she turned her gaze towards the newcomer and saw who it was she felt a soft heat enter her cheeks. Speak about the devil and here he was to make her more subconscious of their conversation and current topic. 'Yu, what a surprise.'

Yu looked at her suspiciously, why was she blushing all of a sudden, 'Yes, I came to see if you wanted to have lunch?'

'Lunch,' this was a situation that she would have never over thought of before.

'Yes, I want to go over the pages and outline you sent me. The Chief has some thoughts about your piece,' he told her and looked to see if Risa was the one she was talking too when he walked in. 'Hello,' he greeted the male that was sitting watching them.

'Good afternoon,' Mokuba greeted as he studied the man they had just been talking about moments ago. After he had studied her reaction earlier, he knew that he had made a mistake by asking her that question. Instead of easing his worry about her getting taken away before he got a chance to pursue her, it made him more anxious.

'I see you have a guest,' Yu turned to the oddly silent female.

'Yes, Mokuba came by to introduce himself and visit,' she explained to him.

Way would he do such a thing, Yu asked himself as he turned his attention to the male, who got up with his drink in hand. 'Maybe this is a bad time?'

'No,' Mokuba announced as he too recalled he needed to get back to work, 'since you need to talk about work. I should get going. It was a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance.'

'Oh,' she felt at odds having to see Mokuba leave because of work. 'You don't have to leave right away.'

'I don't want to interfere and I also need to get back to work,' Mokuba gave her a smile.

'Right,' she recalled that it was a weekday. 'It was a pleasure meeting you and hopefully we get to meet again,' she told him as he got ready to leave.

'Yeah,' he agreed and he finished excusing himself and saying his farewells before leaving them.

Once he left, Yu became aware of one key and disturbing fact, even though she never dressed appealing or wore make-up, she was always surrounded by attractive men. This young man wasn't the first attractive male that he had seen roaming around her. He hadn't worked long with her, but he knew that she was like honey for the bees, only she never noticed them. 'An admirer,' he asked her after he had left.

'If he were, would you be jealous,' she asked.

'Why would he be jealous,' Risa walked in from the back room. She had gone out, but returned through the alley and had heard Yu's last statement and her question. 'Seeing as how handsome he is and can have any female of his liking. I don't think that he would want a wallflower.'

'Harsh,' Risa had saved her and broken the unease she had been feeling. 'You should say something to defend me,' she told him.

He looked her over before shaking his head, 'She has a point,' he told her as he hid his true feelings.

'Humph,' her heart was completely at ease with his sudden announcement. It allowed her to remember whom her heart belonged too, but maybe she should look to finally move on. She wasn't getting younger and he was already happily married with a child. 'Now I'll have to prove both of you guys wrong. That I am not a wallflower.'

This was not the direction that he had wanted her to go, 'Before you start proving anything, how about you focus on work,' Yu advised her.

'This is why I am always the last one to get picked at a party,' she told them.

'You never go out,' Risa pointed out.

'Because I am always working,' she complained as she untied her apron to take it off and grabbed her lap top. 'Anyways, I am going to head out with Yu for lunch to talk about work. I'll be back in an hour.'

'Sure, have fun,' Risa called after her.

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Seto eyed the drink in his brother's hand, the logo on it was familiar, 'You went out?'

'I needed to get some air too,' it was a lie, he had really wanted to see if she was the person he thought she was and since they were slow right now, a break was fine.

'You seem kind of chipper,' he noted his brother's light step and smile.

'Really,' he touched his face to see if he was making an odd expression.

'You have an idiotic expression on your face,' Seto stated.

'I made a friend,' he said as he looked down at his drink, which his brother was studying with displeasure.

'You shouldn't make unwanted company,' Seto warned him, the female that came to mind as he saw the logo only brought him unease.

'Who says it's unwanted, I can't just live for you and the company,' Mokuba voiced as he recalled her asking about him having any hobbies and it brought to his attention that he didn't have any. It also meant that besides his brother or employees he didn't have other people that he interacted with outside of home or work.

'This person seems to be an awful influence already,' he noted his brother's sudden defiant tone.

'You should meet people before you make assumptions about them,' Mokuba rebuked his statement.

His little brother had never gone against him, so he was taken by surprise. All his mind could bring up was a short female, who didn't bat an eye to look twice at him and wore horrible oversized sweats. She was probably affecting his brother and rubbing off on him. First Mokuba was agreeing with the board and now he was defying him, Seto wasn't taking this well. For all he knew was that he needed to put a stop to these changes.

oooooo

A/N: I hope you guys are enjoying this story so far. This is the first time I've worked with a female protagonist that is so carefree. Nevertheless, I enjoy her dynamic with Kaiba when she is interacting with him. Hopefully, you guys will as well. So please continue to read and enjoying the story.