Magnolia Blossoms: Six

She glared up at him, quite obviously settling into a mood. "Impudence, Mr. Kaiba?" she asked sweetly. "What impudence?"

"That may amuse your little mind, Ms. Haveles, but you're wasting my time. Now, allow me to make some things clear to you. I work odd hours. You will receive calls that have last minute plans, and you will stay to look after Mokuba, or you will leave my service. Do you understand me?" he asked quietly, his voice intense, his grip tightening a bit. The two had a small staring contest, icy blue meeting emerald. To her dismay, Callie lost.

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba," she said, looking down and pulling her wrist from his grasp. He let her slide off towards the door, watching her carefully. Finally, he looked away right before she shut the door, and therefore, he almost missed her sticking her tongue out at him. Almost.

With a sigh, he rubbed his temples, and decided to simply let it go.

Mokuba ran up to Callie almost instantly. She giggled at the worry on his face. "He wasn't going to eat me, you know," she said calmly, ruffling his hair. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"I know that. I wanted to know if he fired you!" She made a face at him.

"That eager to get rid of me, kid?" she asked, mock serious. He scowled, and she laughed again. Her stomach growled, and she realized that due to the argument, both she and Mokuba hadn't gotten breakfast. "Hey kid, you hungry?" she wondered. He nodded. Rosie appeared suddenly, making Callie jump.

"I'll prepare something for you two. What is it that you'd like?" she asked quietly. Callie raised an eyebrow. What was this woman, a housekeeping goddess in disguise? She felt a tug on her hand, and looked down at Mokuba. Granted, it wasn't that far of a stretch, since she was 5'8", and Mokuba apparently had the gene that had given his brother the towering height. The kid was already 5'4" at age twelve, and still growing. Scary.

"Can we make something instead?" he asked, his eyes shining with the prospect of a project.

"Ask Rosie, it's her domain," Callie said, turning to look at the pretty maid. Rosie shrugged her shoulders, and Mokuba grinned. Callie sighed. "What do you want to make, Mokuba?" she asked, heading towards the kitchen. She heard Mokuba start laughing, and Rosie called her name.

"Yeah?" she called back, still walking.

"Miss…Callie…the kitchen's the other way." Callie paused, making a face where the two couldn't see.

"I knew that. I was…testing you. I wanted to see if you would notice that I was going the wrong way," she said, turning in time to catch the pair rolling their eyes. "I WAS!" Mokuba shook his head, and started off into the other direction, towards the kitchen. Grumbling to herself, Callie followed him, Rosie walking silently by her side, but the blonde could still hear an occasional giggle. The two women pushed open the swinging doors of the kitchen, and Rosie headed over to the fridge, but Callie stopped in awe.

"Callie?" Rosie called, watching Mokuba out of the corner of her eye. The blonde stumbled a bit, looking up and around the kitchen.

"It's huge…and scary." Mokuba and Rosie snickered. Callie snapped out of it, her cheeks reddening. With a huff, she walked over to the two, ready to start their project.

An hour later, a pouting Callie was confined to a corner in a chair. Occasionally, Mokuba or Rosie looked over, making sure that the sulking girl hadn't left the corner they'd assigned her to sit in. Callie, for her part, was highly offended. Obviously, these two had never really heard of a second chance. Just because they'd needed the fire extinguisher the first time didn't mean that she couldn't cook. After all, she made a mean macaroni and cheese, and she'd told them so. Nonetheless, she was still confined to her corner, and that was where she stayed.

Seto strode into the house, wide-awake despite the late hour. He set his briefcase on the floor in the kitchen, and hearing the TV, heading towards the large den area. He found the large plasma screen set to VH1, which seemed to be covering modeling. He frowned at Callie, who was, as usual, asleep on the couch. He'd grown tired of this routine. This was the third time in the last week that she'd been asleep when he'd returned. And to his dismay, he'd discovered that she virtually slept like a log.

He picked up the remote, flicked off the TV, and just looked at her. She was much more likable with her mouth closed, he decided. He could barely believe it had been over three weeks since he hired her. It seemed like three agonizing years of torture. Callie was outright unbelievable. She laughed, actually laughed when he walked in home early one day last week, coated in coffee and various other elements. When she heard the full story (he was still determined to discover who had leaked the information in the first place), she had laughed even harder, and told him 'I believe I warned you that your secretary would snap!'.

But now, as he looked at her asleep on the couch, her glasses digging a ridge into her nose, he figured she could be tolerable. As long as she was asleep. With a sigh, he hoisted her over his shoulder, making a mental note to assign her to a room for late nights.

Author's Note: Yes, this chapter has been changed. The first half is the same. The only thing different is this last part, which I decided I didn't like. Also, please forgive the lack of break lines, since that doesn't seem to be working on my computer.