"I think these plans should suffice," the board member announced.
"'Suffice'?" another retorted. "Don't you know who our client is? Sufficing won't cut it! We'll be fired for sure!"
"There's not much else we can do; if these plans aren't approved, then we won't meet the construction deadline anyway." Another voice came through.
The board members continued to bicker, adding more voices as time went on until they eventually came to a chaotic chorus of arguments. From the other end of the room, only observation occurred. Perhaps it was the added stress of the project that drove the room to the negative energy, the silent end contemplated. Ignoring both ends of divide, the two teenagers in the room merely made faces at one another from across the table.
Kosei looked unsurely between his father and family members. They made no opposing reaction to him and continued to witness the altercation take place. His gaze fell to his father, the elder CEO, who didn't facially expose a reaction to the spectacle.
"Father…" Kosei began.
Realizing what his son's words would eventually mean, Akihiko gave a deep sigh and stood from his seat at the head of the table. "Alright, that's enough," his voice rang through the chorus.
Upon hearing the CEO, the board members awakened to an array of silent apologies. Everyone took their seats once more to await further instruction. The two teenagers gave nervous glances to one another to await their grandfather's words.
"Now," Akihiko continued. "I don't mean to sound condescending, but is this how I should expect you all to behave yourselves in front of the Kaiba Corporation?" A murmur of disagreement responded. "Whatever occurs today is what will be. If our plans are rejected, then we may lose the contract, but I don't want any doubt shown in the meeting. The board meeting is in two hours, so please take the time to ready yourselves for your best work."
Once the elder man finished his speech, he quietly dismissed himself from the room. The remaining board members began to gather up their supplies and converse with one another. Lydia glanced to Naoto who was watching the employees exit the room. "Do you think we'll have any chance to attend this meeting?" she asked him.
Her cousin shrugged. "Who's to say?"
"Maybe Granddad could pull some strings."
"I doubt he could for you, but my chances are far more likely."
"Why do you say that?"
Naoto smirked. "Because I'm an intern while you're not. You just follow your father around."
Lydia scoffed and stood from the table. "Well, I'm going to ask him. I need to go to Kaiba Corp anyway."
Naoto laughed as he trailed after her. "You 'need' to? What business could you possibly have there?"
The duo turned a corner to make it to the elevators. Lydia smiled to herself. "Well, what would you say if I knew Seto Kaiba?"
Naoto filled the elevator with booming laughter. "Right, Cuz, and I'm best friends with the Prime Minister, sure."
Lydia rolled her eyes. She should've known her comment wouldn't have been taken seriously. She remained silent throughout the rest of their walk with the only other noise being occasional bursts of laughter from the young male beside her. Eventually, the duo reached their grandfather's office and waited for permission to enter. Upon entering, they found both of their fathers surrounding their grandfather's desk. The trio turned to greet the two teenagers.
"Yes? What can we do for you two?" Akihiko greeted.
Naoto stepped forward. "I—"
"—We," Lydia corrected.
The young male huffed. "Fine, we were wondering if we'd be allowed in the meeting later on today. If we're allowed at board meetings, then it's only fair we can sit in on contract meetings."
Akihiko nodded. Stillness fell over the room as the recipients awaited some sort of response. "Well," the elder began. "I suppose that is only fair. Very well,"
O.O.O
The lead designer pointed to the blueprints neatly spread across the board. "Based on the space given to us through the Kaiba Land Expansion, the hotel would be in position to oversee the park in its entirety,"
"I'm well aware," the cold CEO interjected.
"Y-Yes, well based on that fact, we thought it best that the hotel have a curved structure," the designer motioned to the curved "C" shaped building in the blueprints. "Based on the angle, that means any guests can easily view the amenities of the park from any room assigned."
"And what about the outer side?"
"From the construction location, the outer side will be able to view the horizon of Domino City even though its miles off. Either way, each side is an idealistic landscape view of Kaiba Corp's success both within and outside of the city."
A number of shareholders nodded and murmured in agreement. "What are your thoughts on materials?" one asked.
"We can use any requested materials that are within budget. However, for the window layering that wraps around the building, we hope to use reflective glass to follow through with the 'dragon scale' aesthetic."
Another murmur fell over the table. The majority of shareholders expressed promise for the project, causing a hopeful energy to fall over the receiving party.
Kaiba leaned back in his chair and gave a confident smirk. "Hn, I'm pleased that you all express some deal of acceptable standards for this project." Everyone in the room held their breath to decipher what the brunet's words concluded. "Construction will begin early next week in order to uphold your deadline. I want a copy of the blueprints on my desk by the end of today."
As the young CEO stood to leave the room, a unanimous sigh of relief filled the space. The remaining board members congratulated one another on their successful pitch ultimately sustaining their contract. Kaiba spoke few words with his attendees before removing himself from the scene. The mass of employees grew into a joyous scene of exchanged gratitude and discussion of transaction deals. Materials were soon collected and swapped between workers as they all prepared for the next business endeavor of the day.
Lydia stood on the outskirts of the commotion, but kept a watchful eye upon her family members. She smiled as they faces lit up through the course of their conversations. Despite the meeting being only a cautionary step toward a massive end goal, she felt a sense of pride toward her heritage; of all the work they had to build through in order to gain recognition from a capital business. Even seeing Naoto weave his way through exuberant discussion was enjoyable. However, she swayed from her thoughts upon realizing her stead being in the room was fruitless. She wasn't suited for the business context with the higher-ups present. Upon informing her father of her leave, she made her way out of the room.
She breathed a sigh as the stillness in the plain hallway greeted her. She turned to make her way to the elevators until she was spun back in the other direction. Upon catching her balance, she looked to the being towering over her.
"Oh, Kaiba, I thought you left already," she said.
"I trust you're available to work on our project now." The brunet said flatly.
Project work, the thought dawned upon her. I almost forgot. "Yeah, you're lucky I came prepared," she peeked into her bag to assess that the materials she packed that morning were still there. "Also, thank you for asking this time." She laughed.
"Hmph, whatever, just follow me."
Lydia obeyed and trailed behind the brunet as they made their way to his office. The duo entered the elevator as Kaiba punched the button for the top floor. Lydia eyed the small space and the young CEO's demeanor. His face stared forward at the doorway without readable expression or twitch. The aura emulating from his composure was heavy and immense.
"So," She began. "how's your day been?"
"Can we skip the pleasantries?" Kaiba replied dryly.
"I was only curious."
Kaiba let out a long sigh. The air expelled only seemed to make the atmosphere heavier. "It's been fine," he finally answered.
Lydia smiled. "See, that wasn't hard, was it?"
The brunet grunted as the elevator opened. The duo soon reached the doorway to the office. As the door opened, they were met with the burn of daylight coming from the large paneled windows. What little furniture there was still sat the same as it did in the days prior as she recalled.
"Hey, Bro!" an ebony-haired boy greeted his older sibling.
"Hello, Mokuba,"
Kaiba strode past the young boy as he approached his desk. Mokuba smiled to him before turning back to where he originally sat. "Hey, Lydia!" he greeted.
"Hi!" she smiled.
"Go on and do your homework downstairs, Mokuba. We have work to do." Kaiba said.
"Aw, why can't I stay and do it here?" Mokuba pouted. His eyes reflected a sad gleam that upon viewing, was almost impossible to resist.
Kaiba released a long sigh. "Fine, just keep it down."
"Okay, Nii-sama!" Mokuba cheered. His pity tactics seemed to work every time; he knew his brother had difficulty resisting him.
Lydia chuckled as she watched the boy retreat back to the couch in the corner of the room. She soon pulled up a chair across from the CEO's desk. "So, we said we were going to talk about our outline, right?"
"Yes. Considering the requirements, it's best we focus on the factual information rather than opinions."
Lydia nodded. "I agree. How should we gather information?"
"That won't be a problem. Kaiba Corp can supply more than sufficient facts to prove the safety of virtual reality."
"We also need to discuss negative effects in the paper, though."
"Tch, you expect there to be any?"
"Well, yeah, we talked about that the other day."
"Hmph, as if any of that slander is actually true,"
"Kaiba, didn't we just agree this project isn't largely opinion based?"
The brunet rolled his eyes. "Whatever,"
"Well, we could probably find most of that information online or the library."
He nodded. As the duo continued to discuss their project, things slowly began to fall into fruition. Communication between them seemed to vastly improve from their rough start a few days prior. Eventually, they fully planned out their project.
"I have further business to attend to tonight, so I think it best we end here." Kaiba stated.
"Sure, that's fine with me," Lydia agreed as she stood up to stretch.
"I'll contact you when to meet again."
Lydia raised an eyebrow to him and then held out her phone to him. "Here, just give me your number."
"That isn't necessary."
"It's the easiest way to contact me. Plus this way you can stop sneaking up on me to get my attention." Lydia's words dissolved into a laugh.
Kaiba eyed her skeptically with his eyes narrowed. After a moment, he finally took the phone and punched in a few numbers before handing the phone back to her.
"Thanks," Lydia smiled. "I'll text you later so you'll have mine."
"Fine,"
"I'll see you later then." Lydia soon bid her goodbyes to the Kaiba brothers and left the office.
And it's done! Really glad this one is done; parts of it were just weird to me and I wasn't sure what to do, but the result is here and imo it's not bad. However, if there are weird moments or pacing mishaps, then I apologize. But, thanks for tuning in and I'll see ya next time!