~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~
For the Risk of Love
By: Garden Goddess
Garden Goddess Tales © 2003
~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~ ☼ ~
Author's Note: Hey guys GG here again. Here's another chapter of my story! I know it seems a little fuzzy at first but the plot will get better - trust me! So please read on and review!
Summary: Zoie Takara is a fiery woman who goes to any lengths to win a man's money but when her friend puts her up to the challenge of softening the cold exterior of the duelist billionaire Seto Kaiba, she finds she's getting more than what she bargained for.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of its characters. I do however, own Zoie.
This story contains explicit scenes of sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Chapter Two: You're Hired
Kaiba's mind raced for a second. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded so familiar to him and he raised his gaze to look at her a little more closely to figure it out. She seemed a little intimidated by it so he looked back down at the application again. Than his eyes ran over her former employment and his eyes widen.
"Former National Duelist Champion of America?!" Kaiba's voice expressed his shock as he lowered the application from his view to look at her,"You're a duelist?!"
Zoie tried her best to surpress a giggle. She knew he'd recognize her after he read what her former job had been. She was beginning to think that maybe this was going to be easier than she had thought, especially by the way he had looked her over when she first walked in. It was a clear indication that he atleast found her physically attractive.
"Yes, two years straight champion actually," Zoie explained to him,"I've retired from the game though. I was eighteen when I finally resigned."
Kaiba looked down,"And I see you're twenty now. Didn't I see you-"
"-at Battle City?" They both finished together.
Zoie nodded at his look of utter shock,"You were the one who held it right? I wasn't exactly invited per se but I did get a chance to use you're equipment."
"You're friends with that fool Yugi." Kaiba's frown hung heavily on his face.
"Correction," She added matter-of-factly,"I was friends with Yugi. Me and him have not spoken since than so you can't use that as an excuse to not hire me. The only ones I keep in touch with are Tristan, Mai and -"
"Joey Wheeler?" He offered with a growl.
She nodded,"Yes."
Kaiba muttered,"That mutt is probably in jail by now."
Zoie couldn't help but feel angry by his comment,"He's not that bad you know. I used to hate him too but he's really nice once you get to-"
"Save you're pathetic jabbering," Kaiba snapped raising the application to read it,"Why should I hire you?"
"Because no one else wants this job."
"People will do alot of things for money," Kaiba insisted with a hard glare as he lowered her application again to look at her.
"Everything except spending all day with you," She snapped back. She bit her lip once she let it fly loose and blinked when he didn't respond at first. She didn't mean to let that one come out but his attitude was really beginning to get underneath her skin. She really didn't mind working for him because the pay would be good and she could always use the money but the whole point to this was being able to spend time with him and getting him to loosen up so she could get him to like her. Than Mai would lose the bet and she'd be the richest woman in the world.
"You're hired."
Zoie almost jumped out of her chair when he finally spoke. She originally thought she had heard him wrong. When he should be yelling at her for her nasty comment, she had thought she just heard him say she was hired.
"What?"
"I said you're hired," Kaiba said lowering the application,"You available to start now?"
Zoie hesitated," I... guess..."
"Good," Kaiba rose from his chair and gestured to the piles on his desk as he put his trench coat on,"See these piles? Separate them by date and subject. I'm going home for the night."
Zoie's mouth practically hung open,"What?"
Kaiba growled angrily at her,"I'm paying you to work, not for sitting there and asking stupid questions!"
Zoie immediately rose from her seat and approached his desk as he turned to leave. His tone sure had its way of forcing her to do what he wanted. She just couldn't stand its harshness.
"Once you're finished, leave them on my desk. I expect you here by nine tomorrow," Kaiba said flatly opening his door,"I hope you're a hard worker because you've been hired during our busiest time."
With that he slammed the door closed behind him leaving her alone in his office. Zoie let out a sigh and slumped down into his office chair. She never imagined that this would have happened. He was most likely going to work her until her arms and legs fell off and in that condition, she wouldn't be able to seduce him like she had orginally planned. She let a smirk make its way to her lips once she finally thought about how more handsome he had become since the last time she had seen him.
He still kept his hair rather messy, letting his bangs brush into his eyes and the length no further than the nape of his neck. His eyes were still that tantalizingly fierce bright blue that she had remembered from the large screens in Battle City. His features, such as his mouth, nose, arms, and chest, had all been redefined into a more manly physique rather than keeping its original boyish defines. He was about an inch or two taller now as well. She guessed he was about six feet or taller now. To top it off, he still wore those trench coats she had been so taken by when they were younger except now instead of his dark blue trench coat, he wore a black one in its place. She supposed he still contained the dark blue one and she found herself wishing he had worn that one instead.
Suddenly a shrill ring snapped her from her thoughts and she stared at his office phone. She panicked for a second, not sure what she should do but than again, she was his assistant now and she should probably take his messages when he wasn't around. She slowly let her hand make contact with the back of its reciever, its shrill ring echoing into the room again. Finally she picked it up and brought it to her ear and mustered the best professional voice she could.
"Kaiba's office. May I help you?" Zoie wrinkled her nose at her greeting. It made it sound like fast food place or a department store.
"Who's this?" A boy's voice greeted her on the other end.
She rolled her eyes than tried to keep a steady tone,"This is Zoie Takara. I am Mr. Kaiba's new assistant. He's not in right now - just left a couple moments ago actually. Would you like me to give him a message?"
"No, its alright, this is his brother Mokuba."
"Mokuba?" Zoie's mind suddenly pictured the short young black haired boy from the tournament and she grinned,"Mokuba?! Oh my! It's been ages since I've last seen you!"
"I know you?"
Zoie tapped her head momentarily at her stupidity,"Oh, I'm sorry. This is Zo, you know, the brunette that hung around Mai Valentine? I was there when you're brother was giving Battle City."
There was a brief silence and than he replied,"You're the one who called my brother an egotistical psycho, right?"
Zoie gasped. She had completely forgotten about that. Luckily, only Mokuba was around when she had said it and he had given her one heck of a lecture about it. It had been after Kaiba had tried to challenge Yugi a million times when he was trying to find his friends. She had found him to be acting so obnoxious that she just had to say something.
She laughed slightly,"Don't tell him that though!"
Mokuba's laugh relieved her nervousness,"Don't worry I won't!"
She grinned and leaned back in her chair,"How old are you now? Seventeen?"
"Eighteen."
She squealed slightly,"Oh! You must be absolutely adorable!"
Mokuba chuckled,"So when did my brother hire you?"
Zoie sighed,"Just now, actually. I almost gave him a heart attack when he realized I dueled. He looked like he was ready to pass out! Than he started to attack me about being friends with Yugi and - wait! He isn't gonna challenge me to duel him is he?!"
"Nahhh," Mokuba's response made her realize how deep his voice was now,"He doesn't duel very often anymore. If you were Yugi he probably would but you're not so you've got nothing to worry about it!"
"That's good," Zoie sighed,"So how are you? I haven't seen you in such a long time, kiddo."
There was a slight pause,"I'm just - you know, relaxing and enjoying my teenage years."
"I'm happy for you," Zoie slightly laughed,"You'll be alot more rounded than Kaiba is, that's for sure!"
"Yeah, I guess."
"So when-"
She paused when Kaiba's doors flung open and Kaiba walked in, searching for something than finding it. He raised the brief case than turned, finally noticing she was on the phone. His eyes suddenly hardened into a deep glare as he tightened his grip on his brief case and clenched his jaw.
"What are you doing?!" Kaiba asked angrily,"I leave you for ten minutes and you're already slacking?! You're even lucky I gave you this job!"
Mokuba could heard him in the background and replied,"Zoie, tell him I said hi and he'll stop yelling."
Zoie bit her lip,"You sure? Cause he looks pretty angry right now, I'm actually beginning to fear for my life."
Mokuba's laugh echoed in her ear,"He's had a stressful day just tell him I said hi."
Kaiba growled and started heading toward her, his hand extended, waiting for the reciever to be put into his palm, "Hand me the phone! I should fire you for this! I will warn you only once that you are not-"
"Mokuba says hi," She said before he went any farther. Kaiba immediately stopped his yelling mid sentence, lowering his hand to stare at her quizzically than reached over and pressed the speaker phone button. There was a loud beep than Zoie heard the reciever go dead and link to the speaker. She hung the reciever up as Kaiba let his brief case drop to his floor.
"Mokuba?" Kaiba asked smoothly.
"Hi Seto!" Mokuba's voice came from the other end and Kaiba sighed, raising two fingers to rub the bridge of his nose for the fourth time that day.
"Mokuba, what are you doing talking to my employees?!" Kaiba said irritated,"Didn't we have this discussion before?! You can't keep trying to get every woman I know to date me. I'm so tired
of - "
"That's not what I was doing!" Mokuba suddenly hissed,"I called to talk to you and we were just talking!"
Zoie looked at Kaiba confused and he waved her off dismissively,"Mokuba, what do you want? I'm here now so tell me."
Mokuba suddenly changed his tone,"Now that you mention it, Zoie do you have a boyfriend?"
Kaiba growled into the phone,"That's it. Mokuba you're grounded."
"You can't ground me! I'm eighteen!"
"But you live under my roof," Kaiba muttered,"I expect you home by ten. Now if you excuse me, I have-"
"So do you Zoei?!" Mokuba's voice piped up again,"Cause Seto's available - "
Kaiba shut the phone off before he could finish and snatched up the reciever,"Goodbye Mokuba, I will see you tonight. I love you. Bye."
He slammed the phone down and shook his head. Zoie sat immobile. She had never seen anything like what had just happened before her. Kaiba looked at her briefly than slowly walked to the front of his desk, stepping over his brief case. He suddenly began to pace back and forth in front of her and she bit her lip nervously. Maybe this was going to be harder than she thought. Dating was obviously a sensative subject for him and she was thinking seducing him wasn't a really good idea anymore.
"Uhh... Mr. Kaiba?" She asked finally mustering up courage.
"What." Came the flat reply.
"Are...you alright?" She said softly,"Would you... like some coffee?"
"I'm fine."
Her brows furrowed in annoyance,"Okay, I can't take it anymore!"
Kaiba stopped pacing to look at her,"What?"
She stood from the chair and let her palms rest on his desk,"Don't you think the reason he's pushing you dating so far is because he cares about you and wants you to be happy?!"
"I am happy!" He snapped back,"And I didn't ask for your input!"
Zoie suddenly realized the impact of her words. If Mai were there, she knew she'd be telling her to practice what she preached but she dated - just not for love. But this was different. Kaiba never socialized with anyone. She doubted he ever had sex let alone kissed a girl before. It made her angry that he cared more about his work than actually spending time with the female gender. No wonder he was such a bastard all the time.
"Are you always this stubborn?!" She suddenly yelled angrily.
"Are you always this bitchy?!"
"Only to men," She retorted as she walked around his desk and grabbed for her purse,"Forget this job, I quit. File you're own damn papers."
She walked past him but he grabbed onto her arm,"Wait."
"I will ask you once to let go of me," She told him coldly,"I never tolerate anyone touching me."
His hand left her arm and he muttered,"I need you here. I've had so much work that I have been falling behind and you're the only that applied that's capable of the job."
"You talk as though I care," She barked, turning to him angrily,"I don't know why I even bothered coming here, it's obvious you're practically dead on the inside!"
Kaiba's face filled with confusion and she slapped a hand over mouth. Great! She almost dropped the fact that she only took the job to try and get him to like her. She couldn't let him know or he'd be doing more than just firing her.
"Why do I feel like we're talking about two different things here?"
"Just forget about it," She breathed,"I'm leaving."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaiba blinked and than twitched as the echo of his door slamming reached his ears. He than raised his hand to his nose again, pressing two fingers to the bridge and let out a loud frustrating growl. He knew he shouldn't have even bothered to hire her but he had told her the truth. He needed the extra help because he had been falling behind horribly. Now, he was unbelievably confused by her sudden reaction to the argument he had with Mokuba. He approached his desk again and leaned down to grab his brief case.
'Now what am I going to do?' He asked himself as he rose clutching the handle and turning to daze at his current situation, 'Without help, I'm going to fall even farther behind. She was right, no one will work for me. This is ridiculous, I don't need anyone's help! I am capable of doing this all by myself.'
He suddenly let his brief case drop to the floor and returned to his desk, plopping back into his chair to gaze at the piles of papers upon his desk. He would work late into the night and be done by he guessed - midnight. Than he'd have a fresh start in the morning after he went home and attempted to get some sleep. He knew it'd be a waste of time. He could never sleep a full night let alone a couple of hours. Sleep wasn't part of his mind set but coffee held a prominent spacing.
'Coffee sounds like a good idea,' His mind suddenly thought, 'I'm going to need alot of coffee to last me tonight.'
With that thought still lingering in his mind, he grabbed the phone reciever to page his secretary with one hand as he grabbed a pile of papers with his other. Hearing no response, he stood, grabbing his mug and huffed as he approached his door.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zoie had made it as far as the elevator on the floor before she stopped herself, silently cursing at herself for giving up such a good job. Besides the fact of being able to work next to Kaiba, she had given up the opportunity of good pay, which she desperately needed at the moment considering she had quit her other job a month ago. Mai did her fair share of work but they had made an agreement to split the rent and Zoie needed to come up with her share by the end of the week. She hated asking Mai to cover her share. She knew Mai was planning on saving up so she could go to beauty school to become a hair stylist. The thought of taking such money made her feel horrible but facing Kaiba - she wasn't exactly thrilled about that either.
Her hand raised to press the elevator button but instead, just hung in the air as her mind raced. She had no idea that Kaiba held such a cold temper, one that worked its way underneath a person's skin scratching away at the flesh. She had never felt so angry at one's stubborness and lack of concern. Mai had been right in telling her that no normal girl could break down that iced wall surrounding him. Zoie literally had felt a chill when he stared at her, his eyes narrowed and his eyes burning into her own. Those eyes were the eyes of a cold, sadistical, unfeeling businessman - and it only made her want him more.
Her hand lowered and she turned to stare down the hallway. Zoie had to be honest - there was never an instant when she felt she had truly had feelings for a man. Sure, sometimes there was a sense of attraction, but that was only natural, a cause of human nature. Than again, she had never really looked for love - only the size of their bank account mattered. She had been so shallow for years and never realized how fruitless she had been until this moment. If she stayed the way she was, she'd walk out and forget about Kaiba. She'd find another man with money and stay with him until his cash flow ran dry. Normally, she'd never waste so much time on a man - ever. It didn't matter if she lost the bet or not, this was just the way Zoie was. This was the only way she knew how to be.
But Kaiba was different.
She wanted to get to know him - she wanted to know how a man so callous and cold could love his younger brother, could care for only one person and yet shun all the rest away. Even she herself wasn't that cold.
She sighed and began to walk back towards his office making it all the way to his door but only standing in front of it. She was yet to find the courage to step back inside. His secretary eyed her strangely than slowly stood, placing a hand upon her shoulder.
"Miss?" She suddenly recognized her,"Aren't you the young lady that applied for the assistant job?"
Zoie looked at the secretary and smiled at the old woman,"Yes, I'm sorry about leaving like that. I just... I don't know what I'm doing here. He's only going to treat me like dirt."
The old woman grinned and nodded,"I'm Joanne. I've been here quite awhile young lady and this is the first occasion I have ever seen such a beautiful young lady in the presence of Mr. Kaiba."
Zoie smiled in return,"Zoie Takara. Is he always like this?"
Joanne nodded,"He's in rare form tonight. He only becomes this rigid unless he's falling behind and buried in paperwork."
"I guess I should help him than," Zoie sighed,"I saw the piles he has in there and it could take him all night - Mokuba would never forgive me if I let him do that."
"Oh! You know young Mokuba?"
Zoie laughed slightly,"How could anyone not know him? He's such a sweet adorable kid... used to be anyway. Now he's all grown up - probably just as handsome as his brother."
Zoie felt the old woman slowly take her hand and squeeze it lightly,"I know this seems very odd for me to ask but... "
Suddenly Kaiba's door swung open and he was about to walk out. He was stopped quickly however, when the two woman stood just outside his door, blocking his path while he held his mug to approach the coffee machine in the lounge in the other room. He saw Zoie's figure and his expression deadpanned into annoyance. Zoie shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and Joanne slowly approached him to take the mug.
"Let me get that for you," Joanne smiled at him as his eyes followed her as she took the mug and walked away,"Miss Takara has been waiting for you."
His eyes shifted back to her and he snorted,"What are you still doing here, didn't you just quit?"
Zoie decided to give the same cocky look back and turned to him angrily,"I wouldn't be giving me attitude, Seto Kaiba."
She pushed past him and grabbed a hold of his sleeve, pulling him into his office and slamming the door. Kaiba was stunned that he hadn't been alert enough to stop the action and finally removed his sleeve from her grasp. He turned to her angrily, his eyes narrowed into a expression of pure annoyance.
"What THE HELL do you think you're doing?!"
Zoie slowly let her purse hit the ground, her eyes locking into the blue orbs that stared at her. Kaiba's breath caught as he watched her approach him, her eyes not leaving the depths of his own. He found himself fighting to look away but not being able to as her figure was soon pressed up against his own.
"Kaiba...."
The sound of his name made a chill run down his spine and he shivered slightly as her hands slowly raised to frame his face. Kaiba didn't have a chance to even let a thought grace his mind for her hands were pulling him down to meet her lips. The touch of their lips was like a spark and it spread like wild fire. Kaiba's arms immediately shot up to encase her in a tight embrace, his strength crushing her slender body against his own as she encircled his neck with her own arms, trying to tighten the connection of their lips. Kaiba felt himself falling, his mind losing all rational thought as his hands began to explore the softness of her body.
But before he found anything of interest, she broke away from the kiss, their lips separating with a soft smacking sound. They simply stared at eachother at first, not sure what to say after such a passionate moment. The daze was broken when Zoie's face suddenly broke into a crimson blush, her eyes disconnecting from his. Kaiba grinned at this and raised two fingers to her chin, tilting it upward so she looked at him.
"That was some kiss Takara."
She wrenched her head away from his fingers,"You deserved it."
Kaiba's grin faded slightly into a soft smirk,"Let me take you out to dinner."
"Are you asking me out on a date, Seto Kaiba?"
"What if I was?"
Zoie crossed her arms and eyed him wearily,"Than I'd likely think you were ill and feverish."
"Weren't you the one who kissed me a second ago?"
"You made me mad."
"So you kissed me?" Kaiba asked confused and yet amused at the same time. His eyebrow raised slightly and the smirk still held securely onto his face. Zoie couldn't help but begin to blush again and looked away from him immediately.
"I rid myself of frustration that way," She said turning her back to him,"You didn't seem to mind."
"You didn't answer my question."
"I didn't hear a question," She snapped,"All I heard was a command."
Kaiba was becoming irritated,"Are you going to let me take you out or not? I'm not going to waste my time arguing with you any longer!"
She turned to face him again and Kaiba felt his breath catch again. What was it about her that made him feel so strange on the inside? Sure, she was beautiful but he'd met numerous beautiful women before but not one that was as captivating as this one.
"I'll go out with you on one condition."
"What's that?"
"We double date with Mokuba."
Kaiba's face fell and she eyed him angrily,"Fine."
Zoie nodded, a slight smile upon her face,"Shall we get to filing?"
Kaiba turned to look at the piles on his desk and raised a hand to his face,"God, I almost forgot."
"Let's get started!"
