Chapter 9

The Turning Point

Once again Kaiba and Anna sat opposite from each other across the chessboard. They hadn't said more than three words to each other since the game began. Kaiba was intent on the game, he was finally figuring out her strategies, and he was coming closer and closer to beating her. He was certain it wouldn't take long, perhaps even tonight. She didn't seem to be playing as well. Perhaps she was distracted, or she was loosing her touch. It didn't matter. He was going to defeat her one way or another. But that wasn't to say, he wasn't grateful to her. She pushed him into new realms of thinking. He had to adapt and change with every game they played. In a way, she inspired him to be more motivated and persistent. Of course, he wouldn't have admitted that to her.

After a long silence, Anna spoke. "I read this interesting article in the New England Medical Journal the other day. They did this study of one hundred different people who were obsessively competitive. They had athletes, and housewives, and even a Scrabble champion. But anyways, the study had a lot to say about those in the group that were winners, but more interesting was what they had to say about those people that were consistent losers. Some had developed an inert phobia of winning. They set their minds on accomplishing, what they perceived as an ultimate goal. And when they get close to achieving that goal, they back off or find some excuse not to win. That was because they were afraid if they reached that goal, that there would be nothing left for them after that. Say you set your mind on being Scrabble Champion, then you win. What then? If, in your mind that is the ultimate state of being, and you become that, what else do you do? You have no goals higher than that. It's like knowing you want to go to Rome, then getting there and not knowing what to do next. Does that make any sense?" Kaiba just glared at her. "But even more interesting was the other portion of the losers. They found that they had a deep psychosis that prevented them from winning. They were afraid that if they won, they would lose something. Their family, friends, support system, job, or whatever they felt was important. So instead of losing what was important they purposely lost the competition. And the weird thing was, most of them didn't even know they were doing it."

Kaiba propped his head on his hands, "Are you trying to say something?"

Anna leaded back in her chair. "Well, I come here every Monday and Thursday, like clockwork. And we always play something, and you always lose."

"So you think I'm losing on purpose?" Kaiba was getting angry.

"It does make me ask the question. If I move my bishop to Queen's Knight Four, would I be invited back on Monday?"

Kaiba scanned the board, that move would make her King a sitting duck, and he would have checkmate in the next round. "Don't you dare give up. I don't want charity. Don't surrender, fight until you have no strength left, and if you have an opportunity to win, take it!"

Anna stared him down for a moment then moved one of the pieces on the board. "Checkmate." Kaiba threw his eyes back to the board. He didn't see that coming. She changed strategies again. Anna stood up and got her jacket off the back of the chair. "I'm just saying, that when I come over here, we don't have to play games. We can just hang out, like normal people." Anna grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Looking back she said "I'll see you on Monday. Oh, and just to let you know, I was being nice. I had you three moves ago." And she left.

The following Thursday, Anna arrived right on time. She had it down to an art form. She knew exactly how long it would take her get across town, up the elevator, and down to the end of the hall where Kaiba's office was. She stepped out of the elevator and noticed Mokuba sitting on the couch outside the office near the secretary's desk. She had met a few times before, but only briefly. Kaiba occupied most of her time.

"You may not want to go in there." Mokuba warned her as she approached him, the couch, and the office door. "He's mad about some business transaction, and he's doing a lot of yelling."

"So it's best to just wait out the storm?" Anna said as she found a seat next to Mokuba on the couch. She could see that Mokuba was upset. Kaiba might have inadvertedly yelled at Mokuba during his rage. "How long do these temper tantrums normally last?"

"It could be hours. He's really mad."

Anna and Mokuba sat on the couch making small talk for fifteen or twenty minutes before Anna had a brainstorm. "Hey, you want to get out of here?"

"Huh?"

"Let's go out and have some fun. It's better than sitting here. Who knows how long he'll be at it."

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere you want to. I'll treat."

"Really?"

Anna smiled. "Absolutely!" She stood and approached the secretary. "Mrs. Wong would you tell Mr. Kaiba that Mokuba and I are going out and we'll be back," Anna paused. "When we get back. Come on, let's go!" Anna took Mokuba's hand in hers and led him to the elevator.

"I don't think this is a good idea. My brother doesn't like not knowing where I am."

"Maybe he should worry. It might give him a reality check." With that they disappeared into the elevator.

It was another five hours before the pair returned to Kaiba Corp. Headquarters. They made so much noise; you could have heard them coming a mile away.

" You are really no good at Dance Dance Revolution." Mokuba teased.

"Hey, give me a break, if that waiter hadn't tripped me, and hurt my ankle, I would have kicked your butt."

"Excuses, excuses."

The merriment and laughter from the pair was cut short when they realized Kaiba was standing in the doorway of his office, and he didn't look happy.

Mokuba whispered, "I think I'm in trouble."

Anna whispered back, "I think we both are."

"I better go." Mokuba told her.

"And leave me here with him? Gee, thanks."

"I had a great time. Can we do it again sometime?"

"If I don't get banned from the premises, sure."

Mokuba scurried off to the elevator as Anna waved good-bye. Turning back to the office door and Kaiba she gave him a big smile, hoping to calm his mood. It wasn't working.

"It's all my fault," she tried to explain. "You were busy and we were bored, so we decided to go have some fun."

As she approached him, Kaiba turned and walked into the office. Anna wasn't sure whether she should follow him or not. She cautiously took a step into the office, making sure to see where he had gone. Surprisingly, he was seated at the chessboard.

"You still want to play?" Anna questioned.

He said nothing. She stashed her bag behind the chair and sat down. Normally silence would overtake the first half of the game, but Anna was in a talking mood and she spoke before the first move was made. "Mokuba is a good kid. You did a great job in raising him." Kaiba said nothing in response. "He's smart, funny, and has a lust for life." Anna continued. Nothing seemed to get through to him. "And he's worried about you."

Kaiba looked up at her. That got his attention. "He has nothing to worry about."

"Well, he is." Anna wasn't going to let topic drop. "He's afraid you're not happy. He doesn't think you've been truly happy since you were a child."

"Are you a psychiotrist in your spare time?"

"No, but I do agree with him. For all your money and power you don't seem very happy."

Kaiba didn't want to listen to any more of this, "If I wanted a shrink, I'd hire one." Kaiba got up from his chair in a huff and went to the door. He opened it and gestured for her to leave. Anna knew she had overstepped her bounds, but she didn't feel sorry, he needed to hear things, whether he wanted to or not. Anna stood, straightened her skirt and blouse and headed for the door.

As she passed him a voice came over the communicator on his jacket, "Mr. Kaiba, this is the security office; we have a situation down here."

Kaiba pressed the collar of his jacket; "I'm on my way."

He trailed her down the hallway and got into the elevator with her. He was the one, who pressed the buttons for the appropriate floors, as if he was reminding her to leave. He wouldn't look at her. She might have continued her assault, but she knew she was already in hot water and she thought it best not press her luck.

Almost halfway down Anna came to a realization. "Ah, cripes!"

Kaiba turned to see what the commotion was about.

"I forgot my bag." Anna proclaimed. "I'll have to go back up and get it." Anna went to punch the button on the elevator panel, but Kaiba blocked her.

"That will take too long. The elevator will have to go all the way down before it will go back up." He pressed the button for the next floor. The elevator stopped. "We'll take another elevator up." Luckily there was another elevator immediately available and they entered it and headed up.

Anna was a little confused why he insisted on traveling with her. He could have easily sent her back up while he went to the security office. Perhaps he didn't want her wandering the building alone, or he was worried that she might rummage through the paperwork in his office. Either way, at the moment, he was more interested in her whereabouts than what was happening in security. And what was happening in security?

She didn't have to wonder long, for suddenly the lights went out and the elevator came to a screeching halt. They were both rocked by the sudden stop and had to grab at the walls to keep from falling. A small light came on from a corner of the elevator, it wasn't bright, but it was enough that they could see their surroundings. Kaiba tried activating the communicator on his jacket, but couldn't get a signal; even the emergency phone in the elevator was dead.

"Shouldn't the back up power come on by now?" Anna asked.

"Yes, it should have."

"But it didn't."

"I can see that."

Kaiba tried to pry open the doors, but they were jammed. He even tried banging on them, hoping to get some response from outside. There was no response. Anna just stood back and stayed out of the line of fire. After fifteen minutes of no power, no COM link, and no signs of life from outside the elevator Anna decided to take the lead.

"I'm not going to play the damsel in distress. Give me a boost, I'm going to see if I can find out where we are." Anna pointed to the emergency access panel in the ceiling.

"What makes you think I'm going to let you go up there?" Kaiba protested.

"Well, I'm not strong enough to lift you. So it's me, or no one."

Anna kicked off her shoes and against his best judgment; Kaiba boosted her up high enough that she could open the panel and lift herself onto the roof of the elevator.

"What do you see?"

"Other than five inches of dust? Nothing." Anna's voice echoed through the shaft. "There is no light at all. I can't even see the light coming from the other levels. I have no idea what floor we're on." Anna crept around trying to find the walls and not lose her footing. "It's like a sauna up here. And I really hope that wasn't a rat that crawled over my foot!"

Anna searched around in the dark for a few minutes. All she managed to do was stub her toe and sneeze from the dust accumulation. Finding that it was hopeless to continue, she headed back to the dimly lit opening. Dangling her legs through the panel, she warned him that she was coming down. Kaiba reached up and grabbed her around the waist in order to cushion her descent. In turn, Anna put her hands on his shoulders to balance herself. Once on the ground both of them immediately removed their hands and stepped away. Neither wanted to give the other the idea that they were getting fresh. Anna was covered in dirt. Her feet especially, were pitch. She did her best to brush off what she could, but she was pretty sure her clothes were ruined. She might have commented on that, but he didn't look like he was in much of a mood to listen to her complaining about an outfit.

"I'm not an expert, but aren't elevator shafts supposed to have emergency lighting?" Anna questioned.

"Yes, they are."

"So let's see," Anna began counting on her fingers. "You get a call from security, the power goes out, the back-up power fails, the phones are dead, your com link is jammed, and the elevator shaft doesn't have any lights. I'd call that pretty suspicious, wouldn't you?"

"Thank you for the astute observation." Her deductive reasoning apparently didn't impress him.

"Hey, I call them like I..."

Anna was abruptly cut off by a giant roaring sound. It was like metal crunching and scrapping then suddenly a tremendous crash that shook the elevator car. The two looked at each other with shocked and worried faces.

"What the hell was that?" Anna asked.

"Sounded like something falling."

"Please don't say the word 'fall' when we're stuck in an elevator."

"Don't be so dramatic. Elevators have back-up systems, if the main brakes fail, the emergency brakes take over."

"Yeah, like the emergency power that was supposed to come on."

"You aren't afraid, are you?" Kaiba thought he found a weakness.

"Are you telling me that big crash didn't startle you at all? You really do have ice in your veins."

Kaiba was taken back, he knew people said things like that about him, but no one had dared say it to his face. And he definitely didn't expect to hear her say that. And worse, Anna only had to take one look at him to know she hurt him. She wished she could turn back time, if she could, she would have never said what she did.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"Considering you don't lie, it must be true." He turned his back to her, partially to show his anger, and also to hide how crushed he was. Anna didn't speak; she had done enough damage.

A half an hour passed. Kaiba was sitting on the floor leaning up against the wall next to the control panel. He was primed in case the power came back on. Anna sat against the back wall and stared at the elevator doors. She had joked to herself that if she had been a better student of Master Yoda she could easily open the doors with her Jedi Mind Powers. Or in the least be able to cloud Kaiba's mind so he would forget the harsh words she said earlier. Obviously bored and beginning to go stir crazy, she decided to attempt conversation again, knowing full well he might ignore her.

"I can't believe it's taking them this long to find us. They know we are in the elevator, it's just a matter of them finding the right floor."

"They're looking in the wrong place. They think we were in the elevator across the hall, the one going down. They are at least ten stories away from us."

"You're right, I forgot we changed elevators. We could be stuck in here for hours."

Kaiba wouldn't even look at her. She figured he was still angry with her, so she gave him time to cool down. Kaiba was happy for the silence; it was the only calm he had seen all day. He buried his head in his arms, which were crossed over his bent legs. He just wanted this bad day to be over with, he was tired and frustrated. And being in a confined space with Anna and no chessboard or dueling arena between them made him uncomfortable. He wasn't good with people. He wasn't a normal teenager, he didn't know how to interact with others, girls especially. He had no idea what to do. His eyes glanced over his arms to see what Anna was doing. She was leaning back against the wall with her eyes closed. The fingers of her right hand were twitching; it looked as though she was typing out words on the floor. 'Her brain just doesn't stop, does it?' he thought to himself. He buried his head again, hoping to find a few minutes of sleep, but for the next hour it eluded him. He finally gave up his pursuit of sleep and leaned back against the wall. He hadn't given Anna much thought because she had been unusually quiet. He thought she had nodded off but when he looked over to her he was surprised to see she looked very pale. Sweat beaded her brow and her breathing was slightly labored.

Anna noticed he was awake and she thought it was about time she let him know what was going on. "I really wish I hadn't forgot my bag."

"What's in that bag?"

"Oh, all the necessities, laptop, palm pilot, cell phone, insulin."

"Insulin? You're Diabetic?"

Anna just nodded her response. "And I forgot to take my dose earlier when I was out with Mokuba."

"What's going to happen?"

"In the simplest terms, I'm going to get weaker and if I don't get my injection, my body is going to shut down."

"You could die?" Kaiba asked gently.

"Possibility."

"How much time do you have?"

"It's hard to tell, I have no way of checking my blood sugar. All that was in my bag. And with all this heat and stress it's just making it worse."

"Don't worry, we'll get out of here in time."

"Promise?" Anna threw a cheeky grin at him.

"I promise I will get you out of here." Kaiba was sincere, and Anna knew it.

Time crept by and Kaiba studied Anna. She seemed to deteriorate right in front of him. The color disappeared from her face, dark circles were forming under her eyes, her breath became shallow, and those ever tapping fingers lay dormant on the floor. It was like watching someone rapidly grow old.

"Could you do me a favor?" Anna's voice was meek and a mere shadow of the bouncy and boisterous roar that Kaiba was used to. "Could you talk to me? I need to stay focused."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Recite prime numbers for all I care, just say something."

Kaiba hesitated a moment then spoke, "one, two, three, five, seven, nine, eleven..."

"I was joking." Anna butted in.

"So was I," Kaiba answered. Anna gave him the biggest smile she could muster. "What else did Mokuba tell you?" Kaiba didn't like the way she approached the subject earlier, but he had to admit, his curiosity was killing him.

"He idolizes you. He thinks you're a genius. He couldn't stop praising you. He thinks you are almost perfect."

"Almost?" Kaiba was surprised by her choice of words.

"He thinks your social skills are lacking." Those were Anna's words, not Mokuba's. "He wants you to go out and have fun. Smile. Laugh. Enjoy life for a change. He's afraid you're missing out."

"And he told you, a perfect stranger, all of this?"

"Well, apparently he is of the opinion that I'm the closest thing you have to a friend. And under that revelation, I am going to insist that you call me 'Anna'. If we are going to be friends and all."

"I don't need friends. And I'm too busy running a multi-national corporation to 'hang out' or party."

"Oh, too bad. Let me guess, you're one of those people who think that they can control every aspect of their life. Your professional and private life is calculated out and you know exactly how and when everything will occur. I used to be like that. But then I learned that life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans."

"The best you can do is quote John Lennon?"

That comment perked her attention. "You know John Lennon's music?"

"Only fools don't like the Beatles."

Anna grinned and gave a weak chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"I never took you for a Beatles fan. I always thought of you as more of a Devo or Talking Heads kind of guy."

"I like them too. I listen to all kinds of music; it's relaxing after a rough day."

"Like today?"

"Especially today. And this day just won't end." Kaiba sighed

Conversation came easier for them. Anna was quite pleased at the progress they had made. They finally found something in common that didn't involve monsters or chess pieces. Anna thought it would have been a very nice evening if not for the fact that they were stuck in an elevator and she was dying. Eventually Kaiba did most of the talking. Near the end Anna was getting too weak to speak and he could see her concentration wane.

"You should lie down." Kaiba insisted. He took off his white coat and folded it into a pillow for her head. She barely had the strength to find the floor without collapsing onto it.

Kaiba sat on the floor next to her head. He had no way to help her and he didn't like being powerless.

"Can I ask you a personal question?" A waning voice asked him.

"If I say no, will you ask me anyways?"

"Probably."

"Then go ahead and ask."

"Earlier, when I was going through that access panel. Did you look up my skirt?"

Kaiba just stared at her with utter amazement. "You're dying and all you're worried about is whether or not I looked up your skirt?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"It's a ridiculous question. I di..." Kaiba was interrupted by a banging on the doors. He sprang to his feet and pounded back. "In here!"

"Mr. Kaiba?" Came a voice and more banging.

"Get us out of here!" Kaiba ordered through the closed doors.

"Brother!"

"Mokuba!" Kaiba heard a familiar voice. "Mokuba listen to me, you have to go upstairs to my office and get Anna's bag. Bring it here immediately. And have someone call my personal physician, tell him it's an emergency."

"Are you hurt?"

"It's not me, now go! Hurry!" Kaiba demanded.

The sound of metal being pried open filled the elevator. Kaiba turned back to assure Anna of their safe rescue, "Hold on, they are almost through..." Anna's eyes were closed and she looked as though she was barely breathing. He knelt down and checked her pulse, it was weak, but it was there.

The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness were the words, "Anna? Wake up, Anna!"

Anna was aroused from sleep by the sudden pouring of sunlight onto her face and a gentle nudge on her shoulder. She found it very hard to open her eyes, and her mind was still foggy. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was lying in a bed and that Kaiba was standing beside it.

Her voice was groggy, but she was able to speak, "I guess we got out of the elevator."

"I told you I would get us out. You didn't believe me?" Kaiba's voice was plain and dry, as usual.

Anna gave him a half smile, that's all she could manage. She rubbed her face trying to wipe away her soporific mask. She was even able to sit up a little. Noticing the morning light streaming through the newly opened curtains, she asked "what time is it?"

"It is eight o'clock."

"Eight o'clock? I've only been asleep for a few hours."

"It's eight o'clock on Saturday."

"Saturday?" Anna couldn't believe it. "I slept through Friday? You should have woke me. I had work, and people are probably worried about me..."

"The doctor said you would be fine, but you needed your rest. He also said you need to eat, so breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

Anna pulled herself up into a sitting position, and it was then that she noticed what she was wearing, or in this case, what she wasn't wearing. "Where are my clothes?"

"I had them laundered and pressed, they are hanging in the closet." Kaiba saw how puzzled she was by her current wardrobe. "Sorry I didn't have anything more appropriate for you to wear."

"That's...okay." Anna was still a little dazed.

Kaiba headed for the door to give her time to change. "Mr. Kaiba?" Her voice stopped him. "Thank you."

He didn't look back he simply answered, "My name is Seto, I'd prefer if you called me that."

Anna has over joyed, "Thank you, Seto."

Seto Kaiba left the room.

Anna dragged herself out of bed, and it was only then that she could fully take in her new attire. It was a set of men's pajamas. The sleeves and pants were a bit too long, and the chest was a little tight, but otherwise they fit her well. She realized these were probably Seto's. 'Oh my god, I'm wearing Seto Kaiba's pajamas, how am I ever going to explain this one to Yugi?'

She found her clothes and spent a few minutes in the bathroom trying to make herself look presentable, it's a hard thing to do when you don't even have hair brush. She was happy to see her satchel on the chair in the room, and she grabbed it before leaving. She wasn't going to let it out of her sight again. She opened the bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway. He didn't instruct her on which way to go, so she spent a moment inspecting her surroundings. There were several rooms on the short hall, most likely other bedrooms. The hall was a dead end, so she went the other way. The hallway lead into a main room with a couch, chairs, and the latest entertainment technology. She assumed this was the living room. She thought she could see an entryway and the front door through an archway. There were a couple of paths she could have taken, but her search was made easy. All she had to do was follow the friendly sound of Mokuba's voice. It led her to an informal dining room. Seto was sitting at the head of the table and Mokuba was seated beside him.

Mokuba smiled when Anna entered the room. "Anna! How are you feeling?"

"I'm a little worse for wear, but thanks to your brother, I'll live." Seto pretended to ignore her comment by burying his nose in the newspaper.

"That sure was a rough night."

"Did you figure out what was going on?" Anna sat down next to Seto and across from Mokuba.

"You won't believe it. The power for the whole grid went down, and someone hacked into our system and cut off the back up generators, and..."

"It's still under investigation;" Seto's stern voice cut Mokuba short.

It was obvious to Anna that Seto didn't want word getting out about this, it would hurt Kaiba Corp.'s reputation. "But everything is all right now?"

"Oh, yeah! We're back up and running. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to cook breakfast." Mokuba reassured her.

Anna was confused. She looked out the window at the horizon. "Are we still in the tower?"

"Ahuh!" Mokuba muttered with a nod.

"You live here?"

"Where did you expect us to live?" Seto finally entered the conversation.

"I don't know..." Anna thought for a second. "A playboy millionaire with a young ward...shouldn't you live in a big mansion on a cliff with lots of secret passages and a mysterious underground cave?" Anna teased.

"We used to live in a place like that, but I didn't like it. So I sold it." Anna couldn't know he was talking about Gosaboro Kaiba's house. "I had one of the floors renovated to suit our needs."

A petite thirty-something lady entered the room with a tray. She placed a cup of coffee on the table in front of Seto and gave Mokuba a glass of milk. "Would you like some coffee?" She asked Anna.

"No thank you. I'm hyper enough; can you imagine me on caffeine?" The lady smiled. "Do you have any juice?" The lady nodded and retreated to what Anna was pretty sure was the kitchen.

Mokuba took a drink and said through his milk mustache, "Boy, you two were lucky!"

"You mean other than the whole 'almost dying' thing?" Anna was joking, but Mokuba wasn't.

"Seto didn't tell you? That first elevator you were in fell fourteen stories. If you had been in it, you would have been crushed." Anna just stared at him in shock. "That's why it took us so long to find you. We were searching the debris, we were afraid you were in that elevator. But when we couldn't find you we went looking for the other cars."

"Aren't elevators equipped with emergency brakes and back up emergency brakes in case the first ones fail?" Anna was taking a jab at what Seto had told her in the elevator, but he was pretending not to hear her.

The woman appeared through the door again, this time with plates of food. She served Seto first, then Mokuba, then Anna. Anna knew where she stood in the pecking order. With her food the woman brought Anna a glass of orange juice, "Ah, nectar of the gods, thank you!" Anna praised her as she drank from the glass. Anna was terribly hungry, she hadn't eaten in over a day and she refrained from speaking so she could fill her stomach. Seto mainly picked at his food, only eating small amounts, while concentrating on his newspaper. Anna had noticed he was reading the stock reports and she leaned in closer to look at the stocks on the back of the page. Seto glanced around the paper at her. She wasn't paying any attention to him she was engrossed in the numbers.

"Can I help you?" Seto asked sarcastically.

"Oh, no. I was just looking. This Enchesco stock is worth buying."

"Enschesco has been on a downward spiral for weeks. It's practically worthless."

"It will rebound."

"And how will it do that?"

"It's elementary my dear Watson. The stock has been tanking because the business isn't making any money, the guy who owns it is a brilliant metal smith, but a lousy businessman. And right now it's ripe for a take over by one of the major steel manufacturers. It would be worth buying just to get the patents. With the owners melding formulas and enough capital it could change the steel industry, as we know it." Anna knew she had his attention. "I say wait until it falls to twelve dollars a share, then buy. You'll be able to resell it in three weeks for at least a hundred and fifty dollars a share."

Seto was intrigued. "Do you have any more stock tips?"

"Sure, if you don't mind," Anna pointed at the newspaper. She looked over the numbers for a few minutes then pulled out a pen from her bag and began marking the pages. She handed the paper back to Seto. It took him a moment to understand her many squiggles, circles, arrows and numbers.

"You can't possibly think that this will work. Some of these stocks don't have enough momentum to do what you are saying. And this one," Kaiba pointed at one she highlighted. "That's totally unrealistic."

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. If you invest in any of my suggestions and you lose money, I'll pay you back everything you lost. But if I'm right," Anna gave Kaiba an evil grin. "You owe me twenty-five percent of your profits."

"One quarter of my profits?"

"Consider it a finder's fee."

"If you are so sure about these stocks, why aren't you buying them?"

"I don't have the money. Most of what I predict needs a lot of capital to invest in, and I don't have it. Not yet at least."

Kaiba took another look at the paper. If she were willing to cover his loss it would be a risk free investment. "If you don't have the money to make your own investments, how are you going to cover my potential loses?"

"I said I'd pay you back, I didn't way when." She gave him a big toothy grin. "Besides, if you follow those instructions, you won't lose."

Their talk was interrupted by a voice over his COM link. "Mr. Kaiba, that phone call you were waiting for, is on line one."

"Understood," was his only response and he got up and left the room.

Anna finished off her plate and read a few articles in the newspaper.

"He must like you." Mokuba broke her concentration.

"How do you figure?"

"Seto doesn't eat breakfast."

Now that was food for thought. Anna and Mokuba were chatting when Seto re-entered the room. "I've got business to attend to. I'll have a private car take you home."

Anna knew that was her sign to leave. She grabbed her bag and followed him into the living room.

"The driver will meet you in the lobby. Just tell him where to take you." Kaiba led her through the front entryway and opened the door for her. On the other side was a hallway leading to the stairs and elevators. It looked like all the other hallways in the building. No one would have suspected there was a residence there, but that's probably what he wanted. As she passed through the door she did notice the electronic key lock, authorized personal only.

Once outside the door she couldn't help but ask, "so, can I come back on Monday, or are you sick of me?"

"You can come back, if you like," he said plainly.

Anna found it amusing that he was no longer ordering, but asking her to come back. She tried to hide her smile, but she was sure he saw. She approached the elevator and just stared at it. She did not want to go back in there. Kaiba stayed at the door watching her, he wanted to see what she would do.

"Ya know, I think I'll take the stairs."