Magnolia Blossoms: Eight
He looked around the room, barely able to contain his shock. The room, which had been plain white and sparsely decorated when he left, was now…he didn't even know what it was. All he knew was that it looked like something out of a bad horror movie. His vexing employee was currently sprawled on her bed with his brother, engaged in a war of cards. She hadn't even looked up. The room drew him away from losing his temper with her. He hadn't seen the worst of it yet.
The bed had caught his attention first, since it definitely was not the bed that had been there earlier. This bed was a middle-size blood red contraption, with hardwood posts carved in the Gothic Renaissance style, the gargoyles leering at Seto, their smirks laughing at his surprise. But the rest of the room was just…insane. Callie had had the nerve to paint the walls without his permission, and what had she done? She'd painted them red. Not just red, but a crimson red that reminded one of blood. And she'd bordered this paint with black. Add in the antique candelabras (where in God's name had she gotten those?) the carved hardwood desk and the black velvet curtains over the windows, and the room looked like something out of a haunted house.
"Calandra!" he snapped, noting that she was still engaged in her game with Mokuba. When she was slow to respond (Mokuba was on the verge of discarding all his cards; they were playing spit), he crossed the room in two strides and spun her around forcefully. She stared up at him with innocent eyes, blinking.
"Yes, Mr. Kaiba?"
"What have you done to this room?" he gritted.
"Well, I should think it was obvious that I redecorated," she muttered, squirming out of his hold. She shrank back as his eyes flared. She'd forgotten how intimidating this man could be.
"And did it ever occur to your feeble mind that perhaps you should have requested permission from me?" She felt heat rise into her cheeks at the word 'feeble'. She despised it when people thought she was stupid, something that had oft occurred in the past. It irked her to no end. But she kept her lips shut, knowing that Seto was most likely on the verge of firing her. That lasted for around a minute.
"I-" Before she could say anything that got her into more trouble, Mokuba intervened.
"I'm sorry, Seto, I said she could. I didn't know you'd get angry…" the boy trailed off, his grey eyes shining with unshed tears. Callie decided that the boy would make a fantastic actor. It had, after all, been her idea, and it had never even occurred to her that Kaiba Senior might get bitchy about it. Granted, Mokuba had been surprised at her color choice, but once he'd been in her house (they'd gone to get some of the furniture that was now in the room), he'd realized it wasn't out of the ordinary for the woman. Her whole house had been styled in the wake of the Gothic Art area, with many antiques. The younger Kaiba had wondered where the money had come from, and had been upfront about it. Callie laughed and mentioned a friend, and then dropped the topic. Knowing not to push, the young boy had simply moved on.
The elder Kaiba sighed at the look his younger brother was giving him. "Is this true?" he asked Callie. With a sigh, the girl nodded. She didn't really approve of lying, but there was no reason to get both Mokuba and herself into trouble. Seto sighed. "Fine. I'll have it repainted sometime." Callie gritted her teeth as he turned, his trench coat filling with air. As he headed out the door, he paused, looking at one of the antique candelabras by the door. Callie bit her lip as he brushed his fingertips over it. It was an old piece, and she didn't let anyone touch it. But, she didn't feel up to a fight with Seto, so she let him look at the piece. She watched his expression knit into a frown, and then he swept from the room. With a sigh, she turned back to her game with Mokuba.
Seto entered his room, turning on one of his laptops instantly. He accessed his database, and typed in Callie's name. He'd recognized the type instantly, and had known it to be a relatively rare and semi-expensive piece. What he wanted to know is how the girl had managed to purchase four of them. With a sigh, he pulled up the few files that came up, and began to look through them. To his dismay, he found nothing.
Once Callie was sure Seto was gone (it took around three minutes for her to decide he wasn't listening outside the door), she started snickering. Mokuba raised an eyebrow at her. "Thanks for the save, Mokuba. Though I have to say, Kaiba Senior's expression really made me wish I had a camera," she told him. He grinned at her.
"No problem, but guess what? You owe me." She groaned. Great. Just what she needed. He'd probably want to do something that would end up with her getting into trouble. She sighed. She wouldn't try to slink away, because he was right-she did owe him. Oh, how she hated the Kaiba brothers' sneaky ways.
"Fine, Mokuba, I owe you," she muttered, and then looked up as there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in, Rosie," she yelled out. The maid entered, looking at Callie oddly.
"How did you know it was me?"
"Who else would it be? Kaiba? He wouldn't knock. And if he did, I think it would be more aggressive than that." Rosie smiled at the look on the girl's face.
"Well, Master Kaiba has sent me to remind you that you may return home." Callie's face brightened.
"Booyah. I'm out of here. Mokuba, see you tomorrow. See you guys," Callie said, darting out of the room before either could say their goodbyes. Rosie shook her head, and watched Mokuba grin and then zoom off to who knows where.
"What an interesting house this will be…" the maid murmured, a small smile dancing on her lips.
A/N: Erm…nothing to say…I'm sorry it took so long, Twilight! Don't kill me!
Setalina Muro: Oh, yes, this is going to be a SetoxOC story. It's the other one that won't be. Thank you for the review!
Twilight: I'm sorry, I know this took forever! I redid my room once. Because it was bright pink until four years ago. I'd like to have Callie's room, but my parents would die. Literally. So instead, my room and bathroom are ocean themed, which is fine. Heh.
Hero Girl of Brien: Heh. There's no cliffhanger in this one….
WhitejellO: I've not decided on the car color yet. It will come to me soon.
