Wow! This is a really quick update! I can promise you that I will not always be this speedy. It's just that I had this idea in my head and I didn't want to make you wait. Whenever I get to a cliffhanger, I feel like screaming because I don't know what's going to happen next. And I just ended with a cliffhanger in the first chapter! Anyway, the reason this is out so soon is thanks to all you lovely people who reviewed chapter 1. It was so nice to go on my e-mail and see your reviews sitting there! It makes me feel so loved! Also thank you to the people who added me to their author alerts list. You were all so nice, so this chapter is for you!
Tea didn't hear the car until it was too late. She only looked up when she heard the noise of the brakes trying to stop. Her body was frozen. She couldn't move. She could only watch as the car sped towards her.
'Screech' went the brakes of the car.
'Bang' went the two passengers of the vehicle as they and their belongings hit the floor.
"No!" the driver screamed and tried to stop the limousine.
Time seemed to move in slow motion as the limo approached Tea. First it was 10 feet away. Then 5. Then so close that she could have reached out and touched it. The limo finally came to a stop barely 6 inches away from Tea. "Phew," gasped the driver, wiping his forehead. "That was close." It had been a miracle that the limo had stopped in time.
Tea didn't notice. She had passed out.
"Driver. What happened?" Seto Kaiba asked. He had fallen to the floor of his limo, along with his computer and other things for his company.
"Well sir, we hit a girl that was crossing the street. We didn't exactly hit her, but see, she passed out or something. I really didn't mean to…"
"Stop your babbling. Do you really think I care?" Seto asked impatiently.
"Seto? What happened?" Mokuba asked, pulling himself out from underneath the seat.
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," he responded, opening the door to the limo. Barely noticing the stormy weather, he strode around to the front of the car. When he saw who was lying there, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"No way!" Mokuba said, having followed Seto outside. "Tea?"
"What is Yugi's little cheerleader doing out here?" Seto thought.
"Seto, we have to help her!" Mokuba tugged on his older brother's sleeve. "We can take her home and make sure she gets better!"
"Hnn. I think not Mokuba. Besides, one of her geeky friends will probably be coming to pick her up anyway." He dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
"But Seto, there's no one around for miles! We can't just leave her here in the middle of the road!" Mokuba protested. "We did almost run her over! And besides, she's my friend! We have to help her!"
"Oh great. So if I say yes, we get to have the cheerleader stay over. But if I say no, Mokuba will never forgive me. She did save his life during Battle City," Seto remembered. "It could have easily been Mokuba under that crate instead of her. That nut job Marik could have even used him to try to get to me. He did know that I had Obelisk the Tormentor..."
"Big brother?" Mokuba asked. He was starting to get worried. All Seto had done was stare at Tea for the past minute or two, like he was deep in thought.
"All right, she can stay," Seto said. "But she better not annoy me." Turning around, he started to walk back towards his limo.
"Seto?" Mokuba said.
"Hnn." The problem was obvious. Tea was still unconscious and Mokuba couldn't carry her. "Fine."
Striding back to where Mokuba was standing, he knelt down and took Tea in his arms. She was so cold, so instinctively, he held her a bit tighter. Ignoring the giggles that had erupted from Mokuba, he walked towards the limo, only to be stopped by a small obstacle. Mentally sighing, he turned back to Mokuba.
"Mokuba. Get the door," Seto demanded.
"Okay Seto. Whatever you say, big bro!" he chirped.
"Mokuba..." Seto growled.
"Just kidding!" And with that, he opened the door.
Seto entered the limo and decided to lay Tea down on one of the long leather seats. He then took a single seat opposite from her. Mokuba sat next to Tea, looking sad and forlorn.
"Will she be okay Seto?" he asked.
Seto's gaze softened as he looked down at his only brother. "I don't know Mokuba. I don't know."
Changing his tone of voice, he addressed the only other person present. "Driver. Drive," he ordered.
Where to, sir?" The driver was very confused.
"Kaiba mansion. And be quick about it."
Tea awoke a few hours later in a bed that was not her own.
"Oh my god, what happened? Where am I?" she wondered. She was in a pink themed room with sun yellow trimmings. Light streamed in through the windows, making her guess that it was about 12:00.
Unsteadily, she tried to get out of the bed. Holding onto the headboard, she could feel her legs trembling beneath her. "This better not be permanent," she thought. "How else can I dance? Not like I'll make it to America anyway, legs or no legs," she finished regretfully.
Opening the door, she found herself in a long hallway. There were more windows in here, this time made of stained glass. "God, how rich is this person anyway?" she thought. Seeing an open door, she decided to move on.
After walking down the flight of stairs that the door had revealed, she heard voices coming from another slightly adjacent door.
"Seto, what if she doesn't get better? Shouldn't we get a doctor or something?" Mokuba's concerned voice piped up.
"Mokuba," Seto said, exasperated. "This is the sixtieth time you've asked. I checked on her 5 minutes ago and she was not running a fever or anything like that."
Behind the door, Tea grinned. So Kaiba -if it was him- did care. Even if his brother had made him do it, he had still tried to make sure that she was okay. Maybe she could prove that Seto Kaiba actually had a heart. "But I should probably focus on cleaning up the mess that is my life first before I go on to help others," she thought, sighing.
"Well, I don't care!" Mokuba said. "I'm going to make sure she's all right!" He threw open the door and sprinted out only to crash into none other then Tea herself.
"Ummm….Hi Tea, how are you feeling?" he asked, turning a crimson red. Turning around, he led her back into the dining room.
"I'm okay," she responded. "My head hurts, I am a little dizzy, and my legs feel kind of funny."
"That was to be expected," Seto remarked, allowing his gaze to wander over to her. "Good Lord, she certainly has beautiful legs," he noticed. The next second, he could have smacked himself for that remark. Putting his head in his hands, he wondered why Tea Gardener had to be so beautiful.
"Seto? Are you feeling sick?" Mokuba asked.
"No," he answered briskly, keeping his eyes on anything but Tea. "I was just up too late recently."
At this, Tea blushed crimson. "Oh no Kaiba, you really didn't have to look after me. I was feeling okay, really."
"Hnn," he remarked still averting his eyes from her body.
Suddenly, a beeping was heard throughout the room. "Ooops, that was my watch alarm!" Mokuba said. "I'm going to be late for class! See you later Seto! Bye!" he dashed out the door.
Tea smiled shyly, wondering where exactly Mokuba was school.
"Oh, and Tea?" Mokuba was back. "Don't forget to drink lots of liquids!" he said. Then he was gone, leaving Tea alone with Seto.
Kaiba finished the soup he had been eating and immediately pulled out his laptop. Opening it, he started typing on a computer program. His fingers skittered across the keys as he tried to perfect his duel disk design.
Tea longed to say something, anything. The silence was oppressing, broken only by the tapping of keys. She watched him as his brow tightened, trying to work out a problem. "Kaiba?" Tea asked.
"What?" he replied, eyes still on the computer screen.
"I was just wondering, what exactly am I doing here anyways?" she inquired.
"Don't you remember?" Kaiba said, still not looking at her
Tea stood stock still as the past night's events came back to her.
Flashback
"Hey Tristan, have you seen him?" Tea asked her friend. She was searching throughout the bar for her boyfriend, whom she had not seen for the past hour. He had promised a party, but she didn't know that he meant an alcoholic one. Tea wasn't comfortable in the bar, especially with so many men staring at her, so she wanted to get him to take her home.
'Oh, he's somewhere over there- I think…" Tristan pointed vaguely as he saw a beautiful blond girl pass by. "Hey, wait up miss!" he called, leaving Tea by herself.
Tea walked in the direction Joey pointed. Coming to the bar, she saw him. He was sitting with another girl, talking and laughing. Tea recognized the girl. Her name was Jasmine and she was in Tea's English class. Both of them held beers in their hands. The girl hiccupped and laughed, and as Tea was watching, she leaned over and kissed him.
End Flashback
"Gardener? Gardener?" Kaiba broke into Tea's thoughts. "What's wrong with you?"
"I just…-never mind," Tea responded. She turned away from him, her eyes scanning a blank wall.
Abandoning his laptop, Seto walked around to where she was sitting.
"Gardener, what is wrong with you? I saved your life and now you're sitting in my mansion. Anybody would be pleased in this position," he remarked, noticing her put her head in her arms.
"I…-nothing," she said, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. "Oh, Kaiba!" she said, whirling around to face him.
The next thing Seto knew, she had put her arms around him and was crying into his chest. Unsure how to respond, he awkwardly put his arms around her and patted her gently on the back.
"Stupid…….he invited me to a party………..goes and kisses someone else………dumps me………I was so stupid……..should have seen it before," she sobbed, burying her head deeper into his chest, which was very muscular and well formed.
Seto almost had a heart attack. "What the heck is she doing!" he thought. "She's treating me like I'm one of her friends or something!" He still didn't know how to get her off. Maybe he should just let her cry for a while. After all, it was pretty nice to be held like this. "Arghh! Where do these thoughts keep coming from?" he almost screamed at himself.
Tea, meanwhile, was finishing up her "confession." Not like Kaiba would be able to understand what she was saying anyway……Kaiba! Tea's eyes widened in shock. "Oh my god, am I actually cuddling up to Kaiba!" she thought. "What was I thinking?"
Sliding out of his grasp, Tea sat back on her chair, sniffling loudly. "God, Kaiba, I'm so sorry!" Not receiving a reply from the CEO, she walked over to where he had continued working on his laptop.
"What company work could you possibly be doing during the weekend?" she asked.
"Nothing," he replied. This just earned a sharp glare from Tea. He sighed. "Duel Disk Version 5.5," Seto responded. "Trying to make up for stupid employees messing everything up…"
Tea bent over the computer, her chocolate brown hair brushing Kaiba's shoulder. Glancing at the rotating 3D model, she bit her lip in frustration. "Look, Kaiba," she said. "What if you just made it like this…" she reached over and grabbed some paper and a pencil, beginning to sketch.
Seto looked over at her, scribbling away. "What does Gardener think she's doing?" he thought. "Does she really think that she's the one to perfect my duel disk when I can't even do it?"
"Gardener," he said, interrupting her drawing.
"Yes? Oh, I probably should have asked first, it's not my house or anything…." "Good going Tea," Tea answered herself. "Now the great Seto Kaiba probably thinks you're an idiot for babbling too much!"
"You're right, Gardener," Seto remarked. "It's not your house, it's mine. Which is why I can't let you stay here."
"What?" Tea asked. "But why? I haven't done anything wrong! I don't have anywhere else to go! And Mokuba said I could stay for another week…"
Tea abruptly stopped her rampage when she noticed a smirk cross Kaiba's face. "Kaiba! That wasn't funny! I thought that I was going to starve or something!" She was angry, and the fact that Kaiba was still smirking wasn't helping.
"Tch, Gardener, you're so gulliable. Even the mutt wouldn't have fallen for that. Then again, having an IQ of 2, he probably would." Seto leaned back in his chair, triumphant.
"Don't start dissing my friends again, Kaiba!" Tea said. "Yeah, my 'friends'," she thought. "Fat lot of good they did me now that I'm accepting Kaiba's hospitality."
"Whatever, annoying cheerleader girl. The point is, I can not let you stay here for free, taking advantage of my kind hospitality." Here, Tea snorted. "You'll have to do some sort of work to make up for the money you're costing me," Seto concluded.
Tea was about to object, then decided to let him finish first.
"So Gardener, what can you do?" Seto asked her.
"What do you mean?" Tea inquired.
"Can you cook?" he asked, sincerely hoping that the answer would be yes. "I need a new one ever since that old lady got hit on the head with a frying pan. Takes hundreds of dollars of medical insurance every month," he shuddered.
"Umm, sort of," she responded
"Can you clean?" he attempted another question.
"Uhhh, not really," she said, twisting around in her seat.
"Well, what are you good at, Gardener?" Kaiba asked, starting to get very impatient.
"I can dance really well and…" she bravely began.
"Dancing doesn't get work done, Friendship Girl," Seto interrupted.
Hesitating, she tried again, "I can type-I worked as a typist in Mexico once and…"
Here, Seto leaned forwards in his chair. "You actually worked as a typist in Mexico?" Now he was interested. He didn't even know that Gardener had the money to go to Mexico, let alone do volunteer work.
"Yeah, it was that summer volunteer opportunity back in school during the summer before senior year, remember?" she asked, doubting that Kaiba actually would remember. "He barely even came to school his senior year, he was getting harassed by the press a lot," she recalled. "Even when he did come, he didn't pay any attention to the teachers. I wonder how he actually managed to pass at all, let alone with As and A+s. It's obvious he's a genius or something," Tea finished. "I can't imagine that Kaiba would actually bribe the teachers to give him good grades. In fact, that actually sounds like something he would do."
"Hnn. I have the perfect job in mind for you. You will be my personal secretary, handling all calls and information," he leaned backwards, stretching. "I only hope I don't get a heart attack from working with friendship girl," he sighed inwardly.
Meanwhile, Tea was having a few thoughts of her own. "Working as his personal secretary! But I don't know anything about that! Aren't secretaries supposed to be blond and pretty and faint at the voice of their hot boss?" (a/n: you see, poor little Tea has been watching too many movies lately….not all secretaries fit this description. I just needed a stereotype so please do not get offended,) "Oh my gosh, did I just say that Kaiba was hot! Well he kinda is, with that tall, dark and handsome look and...no, stop thinking like this Tea! Where were we before we got distracted by Seto Kaiba's hotness? Oh yeah, working for him..."
"Gardener?" Once again, Seto's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Huh?" was her witty response.
Sighing, he asked, "So do you accept?"
"Uhh…sure, I guess…." Tea decided, still very confused.
"Fine. Here are your terms of employment," he said. "Please read them over carefully."
Tea scanned over the list. It included her rights, privileges, when she could quit, and days off.
"Any questions, cheerleader girl?" Seto asked. He was very curious as to what her response would be.
"Just one, Mister Kaiba," she responded sarcastically. "It doesn't say here that you have the right to insult me and my friends," she finished, before leaving the table and going back to her room.
Seto smirked. "It seems that Gardener isn't an idiotic bimbo after all. I think she will enjoy what I have in store for her."
Turning back to his laptop, his eye caught the piece of paper that Tea had left. Glancing at it, his jaw slightly dropped. Shifting his gaze back to the laptop, he smirked and began typing furiously.
Whew! That was a long chapter! 8 pages! Again, thank you to BUNNIE, The Cougar, Avataria, ShadowVixen, peeps, Lil-Fluffy-Chan, DudettRin101, QueenofHearts4u, seguha, Bradybunch4529, and SportZScooby. You guys rock! 11 reviews in 2 days!
