J.J - Thanks to everyone for the reviews, it made my day. Or five days... however long it's been. >.> Here's the next chapter. I have a basic idea where this story is going,but things are liable to change at a moments notice. ThoughI'd giveall you lovely readers fair warning.Bare with me... -.-


Chapter Two

Meeting the Boss

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Botan awoke to light streaming through the windows on either side of her, resting easily across her face. Her nose wrinkled as she let out a loud yawn, turning lazily on her side so she could see the clock on the bedside table. She gasped in horror. The digital red numbers blinked 6:51 at her.

She couldn't believe herself. She was going to be late, and on her first day of the job. She tore out of bed, determined to make herself more presentable at a later time, settling instead on a simple pair of jeans and blue-collared shirt. She realized, as she hastily did up the buttons in her front, that they hadn't supplied her with any type of uniform. Hopefully they would today; she didn't have much of a wardrobe to pick from.

She rushed across the hall to the bathroom, her anxious feelings of encountering the alleged Mr. Jaganshi returning (much to her annoyance). She zipped through the door and hastily checked herself in the mirror, brushing through her messed hair before pulling it back into an apt ponytail.

She brushed a quick fifteen seconds on her teeth, gave herself one final examination in the mirror, before running back into the hall, no matter how unsatisfied she had been. She came to the end of the hall and tugged open the door, flying rather ungracefully down the steps. She was surprised, and deeply grateful, that she didn't trip with her hurried pace.

She came to a halt in the main room, biting her lip anxiously. She had known she was going to get lost. And such fate seemed inevitable at the moment. Where had Kurama said the kitchen was? He'd said it was downstairs, but how far downstairs? One floor? Two? Dear lord, did they have a basement? She supposed she could just start looking, but with the size of the place, she'd be at least an hour late for breakfast before she found it.

She didn't realize how helpless she must have looked until a young brunette woman approached her with a caring smile, with equally warm brown eyes, "Excuse me, miss. Are you lost?"

How many times would one hear that question inside someone's house, albeit a big one?

She smiled sheepishly. "I suppose I am. Is it that obvious?"

The girl laughed. "I still get lost now and then, and I've been working here for three years." She extended a hand to Botan. "My name's Keiko. I'm a maid here."

Botan eagerly took it, feeling almost desperate for a source of companionship within her own type. "My name is Botan. I'm a maid here as well, just started. Or, I hope I will be. I'm meeting Mr. Jaganshi today."

"Oh, the maid for the top floor."

"News gets around, huh?"

Keiko gave her a wry smile. "Generally. Yusuke, the top chauffeur, told me."

"You know Yusuke?" Botan inquired curiously.

She thought she saw a small hint of a girlish blush cross Keiko's face before the pretty cleaning girl answered anxiously. "Yes. I know him, I guess."

Keiko shook her head after a moment, before that ever brightening smile returned to her face. "Anyway, being a maid and all, I bet you were headed down to breakfast. Why don't I show you the way?"

"Indeed. I'll have to pay close attention so I can find my way at lunch."

Keiko giggled. "It's not too hard to find. . . ."

"Unless you're me." Botan blushed.

"It's on the base floor," Keiko continued with an amused light in her eyes. She led Botan to the same stairs she had traveled up with Kurama and the two made their way down at a leisurely pace. Botan made a mental check in her mind when Keiko turned left. She remembered the painting of a calloused rose at the beginning of the hallway they entered and she counted the doors out until Keiko stopped at one and entered casually with a quick sideways glance to make sure Botan was making a memory of the location of the door.

"Hey!" they were greeted by a familiar voice. "You found our new maid, my sweet."

"Yes, I did. Since no one else had the common sense to show her where to go." She shot an annoyed look at a particular red-head, who was standing in the corner. Whether fortunate or not, his mouth was full of bagel so he couldn't reply, but a guilty look crossed over his green eyes. Keiko then turned her cool glare to the owner of the voice that had greeted them. "And I'm not your sweet."

Yusuke pouted visibly. "You're bruising my tender self-esteem, love."

The fiery young girl hardly seemed affected by this statement. "Not your love either," she said, picking up an apple and beginning to slice it with a knife.

With her gaze turned away from him, Yusuke rolled his eyes before winking subtly at Botan. She grinned in return. For a moment, she simply stood and absorbed her surroundings. The kitchen wasn't small, but it was in no way formal either. There was a round bar-counter and a two large tables, with a fridge and microwave in the left corner. It was apparently where most of the employees had their meals, and you could tell by the comfortable, friendly atmosphere. Already, Botan felt right at home.

"So, Keiko, Yusuke, you guys just gonna go about your business and leave the rest of us hanging, or are you going to introduce us to the new girl?"

It was a taller, outspoken looking girl that had spoken, her expression sarcastic and teasing. She had light brown hair and sharp hazel eyes. Yusuke stood to his feet, chuckling at such a thoughtless mistake. "My deepest apologies." He gestured a hand towards Botan, who had already started to fidget and flush a little. "This is Botan. Botan– everyone."

"Brilliant introduction," the same girl retorted with a snort. She presented Botan with a genuine smile. "I'm Shizuru."

"Hi," she managed to say.

"This is my brother, Kazuma." She motioned towards a tall, well-built man with orange hair beside her and dark eyes. "I'm a maid, he's the main cook."

"Hey babe," he said with a grin that she found not to be degrading or immoral, as one would expect with such a comment. "Call me Kuwabara."

"Nice to meet you both."

Kurama stepped from his corner and smiled warmly at her. "Sleep good?"

She thought about telling him how she had thought she had seen the actual Mr. Jaganshi in the hallway that night, drunk or injured, but she decided to keep it to herself. No need to cause contention over something that was none of her business anyway. "I did, thanks."

"Great. Well, we've got to go everyone. Meeting to be to."

"M-Meeting?" Botan's eyes widened in surprise.

Kurama arched a concerned brow. "Yes. Remember? I told you yesterday that Mr. Jaganshi wanted to meet with you."

"But now?" she whispered, sounding like the basket of nerves she felt like. She had thought she would have more time to prepare. She didn't even look decent!

Kurama checked his watch just to be sure. "Yep. If he's on time, he's been waiting about two minutes."

"Oh no, let's hurry." She ran out the door without Kurama. Tardiness was far worse than not looking her best. She returned a few seconds later to grab his wrist and tug him along after her. "Come on! You know I don't know the way."

He grabbed a muffin as they sped out, forcing a chunk of it into her mouth. She glared at his seemingly oblivious smile, chewing quickly. He jogged along beside her and casually directed her the way they needed to go with an amused 'left here' and a 'right after this corner'. "Hold it!" He grabbed her shoulder as they passed by a fine oak door. "We're here."

He placed a hand over her own as she began twisting them frantically. "Don't do that," he commanded gently. She stopped, nodding slightly as she began fiddling with the hem of her shirt instead.

He watched her for a moment. "You alright?" he questioned softly.

She met his gaze, pausing in her nervous twitches and apprehending the genuine concern that she found in his eyes. She breathed deeply before allowing a small smile to grace her lips. "I'm fine." She squared her shoulders. "I've nothing to be afraid of. I'm confident in my abilities." She said the last part mostly for her own benefit, not Kurama's.

"Good. You should be." The confidence that his own voice held made her feel more ready and relaxed. She'd done plenty of interviews, all of which she'd ended up surpassing expectation. So, this time she was being interviewed by a millionaire... no big deal.

"Ready?" Kurama asked.

She took a determined breath. Her image of successful business man came to her mind. She hadn't exactly thought of him as ugly, but maybe he would be so she'd feel more impressive. "Ready."

"I'll go first."

Kurama pushed open the door. There was a long table in a solitary room, much like the conference room upstairs, but this table was much smaller and there were only two chairs. One a few feet in front of herself and Kurama, and another very large one at the other side where he was sitting.

She couldn't see him because the large swivel chair was tall and faced away from them. It reminded her of a villain scenario out of a Batman cartoon. This thought eased her a little, and she felt slightly more confident.

Kurama cleared his throat. "Hiei, the new maid for the top floor is here."

She saw the chair beginning to turn and suddenly all courageous thoughts left her. Feeling her nervousness fill up inside her like a balloon, she dropped her gaze so she couldn't see his face.

He didn't say anything. Kurama didn't say anything. She of course didn't say anything.

It had to be the most unbearable awkward silence of her life.

Finally, he spoke from across the room. She had almost expected him to sound a little nasal, snobbish and English-sounding perhaps, but instead what reached her ears was a cold, masculine voice, oozing with confidence and sounding completely cutthroat. "I won't bite you."

The way he said it made her think otherwise. She tried to squander the blush that she knew was coming when she felt her whole body heat embarrassedly. She steeled herself determinedly, reprimanding herself for being such a coward, and slowly raised her head to meet his eye. A slow smirk spread across his lips before he added, "You're too far away."

Words that were lost on her. The first thought that flashed across her mind was that he wasn't ugly. And then that he definitely wasn't what she had expected. She was beginning to think she should just stop expecting things around here, because she was proving to be wrong quite often.

He was the most impressive man she'd ever seen. He held himself as if sitting on a throne, not an office chair, creating almost instant feelings of inferiority to whoever he was looking at, which happened to be her at the moment. He looked deadly and ruthless, and yet he was dignified. Hard-edged elegance. He might cut your throat, but he would do it with flare.

His face was tanned and youthful looking, no apparent lines to mar what Botan thought looked like sculpted features. Especially around his eyes, which was unsettling because it could only mean that he didn't laugh very much. His hair looked unkempt, but like it belonged that way. Much like the rest of him, she thought. It was a deep black shade that matched the rest of his entirely achromatic choice of clothes. His eyes were a blood-red color, piercing and predatory, much like a cobra. She saw in them no traces of warmth or compassion, only a sinister and cold look that immediately sent an unpleasant tingle up her spine.

She could now officially say that she had been intimidated by someone.

He raised a questioning eyebrow, lacing his fingers together in a bored fashion. He somehow managed to make even that gesture seem powerful.

Sensing his impatience, she forced herself to speak. "Um..." Yes, that was intelligent, she angrily chided herself. And it was a filler word. Made her sound stupid.

He glanced dubiously at Kurama. "Is she mute?"

At first, Botan thought it might be an odd attempt at humor, but his face was completely serious. Kurama coughed to hide what Botan guessed might be a chuckle, before shaking his head. "No, she's not mute." He gave her a pointed look as if willing her to prove his claim.

Botan only stared at him. She just couldn't seem to find the will to speak. Kurama slowly nodded, trying to pry some words out of her. Finally, she snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "No, no I'm not mute."

She glanced at Mr. Jaganshi again. "Sir. My name is Botan." She had to suppress the urge to bow.

A wry, seemingly amused smile passed over his lips. Although, smile might not be the correct word for it. This man just didn't look like he was capable of an actual smile. He motioned his hand towards the other chair across the table from him. "Take a seat, then, Botan." He threw a glance at Kurama. "If you'd leave us, Kurama."

No! Don't leave me! Botan screamed mentally. But Kurama smiled and nodded respectively nonetheless, quickly exiting the room.

Botan mentally whimpered before quickly plopping herself into the chair. She glanced up occasionally at him so she wouldn't look like she was avoiding him (even though she was), and began twisting her hands in her lap.

She could feel his eyes on her, and they felt like tiny lasers of fire. She wished he'd stop before she combusted right there in the little conference room.

"I thought," he said after a moment, which drew her gaze back up to meet his. "That we could start this interview with your questions first."

"My questions?" she repeated stupidly.

"Unless you don't have any," he replied in a tone that seemed to say, I dare you to not have any.

"Of course I do," she said, a bit too quickly to sound casual. She probed her brain anxiously. A lot of her questions concerned him personally... her most recent one being why the hell was he still a bachelor? She realized her thought with a furious blush, pushing it out anxiously out of her mind.

"Well?"

"Like . . ." she began, biting her lower lip in thought. Her face lit up in remembrance. "Like uniforms!"

"Uniforms?"

"Yes, I'd like to know if there is a regulatory one, and if I'm supposed to wear it on all days, or just my hours, and so forth." She gave him an expectant look, proud of herself for thinking up a decent question.

He paused, scrutinizing her carefully for a moment. Finally, he leaned his chin onto a bent fist and replied, "We don't have any uniforms. I only require my chauffeurs to wear suits when I go to certain events."

Botan felt her stomach pitch. Everywhere she had worked, they had provided uniforms. At least seven pairs so she only had to wear her own casual clothes while she was at home. And her own 'casual clothes' consisted of a few pair of jeans and shorts and a couple of t-shirts. She had a nice outfit for special occasions and one dress, along with a few pajama-styled clothing and her under garments.

She didn't own enough clothes to work in day and out, not to mention she'd look like a ragged college student in them. She supposed she'd have to go shopping with her first paycheck, instead of storing it away like she planned.

She hardly thought as she blurted, "When's my first paycheck?"

His eyes widened, slightly caught off guard, before he chuckled tersely. "Want to get to the most important issue, hm?"

"No," she argued, flushing at the implication. "Money's not the most important issue to me, it's just . . . well. . ." she struggled for a way to put it, "I need the money . . . er– quickly. . ."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Your food and housing needs are paid for, Botan."

"I know, it's not that–"

She stopped as she watched his countenance grow hard and dangerous so fast she could hardly recall his cool and indifferent expression of before. She thought his eyes alone were going to cut her to shreds. If she had that type of power, she'd wager that she'd be rich too. She'd just walk up to people on the street and glare at them like that and demand their money. Looking at him now had her thinking she would have easily passed over her wallet just to obtain some type of smile from him.

"If you're in debt, I suggest you pack your bags now. I will not tolerate your financial baggage–"

"What!" Botan practically shouted. He was silent immediately. "I'm not in debt! I don't own anything that needs payments, I don't do my own banking and I've never even played an honest game of poker!"

"There's no such thing as an honest game of poker," he said in such a flighty, nonchalant way, that Botan couldn't stop the soft, surprised chuckle that slipped out. He had a sense of humor. It was an odd, sadistic humor, but it was there.

He was regarding her softly now, an almost amused look across his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but paused in the act and brought his fingers to his lips instead. "That was odd."

Botan raised an eyebrow. That comment was what was odd. "I guess. You made an attempt at humor." She'd only known him for ten minutes and already she could tell that he wasn't the type of person to strike up a joke often.

"Not that." He looked like he might want to laugh, but if he did, he held it in. "You interrupted me."

She blinked. "I . . . I guess I did."

"And you raised your voice to me."

She was becoming uneasy. "Did that too."

He paused, seeming almost baffled with himself. "And I'm not in the least bit angry. Meaning, also, that you still have your job."

Finally realizing her obvious blunder, she gave him a stunned look. She hadn't meant to, not that she was particularly sorry for it anyway, she had just felt the need to defend herself against his accusations. Did he really fire people for simply interrupting him?

As if reading her mind, he said, "Yes, Botan, that is reason enough for me to fire you. So see that you don't do it again."

She felt a challenged, rebellious side of her lunge forth in spite, but she quelled it and placed a fake smile on. "I won't."

Rule number one - the boss is always right.

He nodded briefly. "Any other questions?"

"No," she said, feeling much more comfortable now then she had at the beginning of the interview. "Kurama covered everything fairly well."

"Then I suppose I can begin with my questions."

She swallowed nervously. He was back in his predator state. And she was back to being nervous.

"If you're not in debt, and all your needs are taken care of, why do you need the money so quickly?"

She averted her gaze, bristling uneasily. "Well, if you must know, all of my needs are not taken care of."

She dared a glance at his face and was surprised to see the briefest glimmer of concern pass through his eyes. However it was quickly replaced the same cool look, this one slightly condescending though. "No need to get snappish, dear."

She ignored the added endearment, although it had taken her by surprise. "I'm not getting snappish." She looked back at him haughtily.

"Don't argue with me."

She wasn't going to. She bit her lip and retaliated her irritated gaze. Mr. Hiei Jaganshi was turning out to be a very confusing person. One minute you could survive a civil conversation with him, and the next you wanted to cower under a rug, thankful he'd only insulted you.

"Why do you need it?" he repeated.

She sighed. "It doesn't matter. It isn't important and I can get by without it." But she had to know. . . "But, when is my first paycheck?"

He looked as if he wanted to probe her sudden indifference, but he merely held a steady gaze and answered her. "All paychecks are delivered the end of the third week of the month." He almost sounded smug as he continued, "Seeing as this is the beginning of the fourth week of the month, you have just under a month to wait."

Her face visibly crashed. A whole month? Surviving with her meager wardrobe? She wouldn't make it. Hiei noticed her crestfallen face. "You could save yourself the trouble and simply tell me what you need, instead of skirting around the issue in embarrassment like a thirteen year old girl."

She wanted very much to slap him across the face, but she figured that might just be against the 'rules'. It took a lot of will power and a couple of deep breaths before she could hold her tongue and manage a small smile, if only for her pride. "I said it was nothing, and I meant that it was nothing. I keep doting on about this hat I want, but really, I can get by without it."

The look he gave her clearly stated that he didn't believe her, but didn't care enough about the issue to address it further. "Fine."

He rose from his seat and walked towards the door. "You start today then, as you're probably aware." She noticed, with faint amusement, that the way he walked suited him very well. As if everything in his path had better move for him, or suffer the consequences. She rose as well, though not near as gracefully as he did. She stepped wrong and lost her footing, barely managing to stumble back upright without falling flat on her face.

Hiei snorted by her side. "Careful where you step, Botan. There's ground everywhere."

She glared at his retreating back, not sure if she liked that odd sense of humor he possessed. She waited until she was sure he wouldn't be in seeing distance before exiting the room herself. As she walked, she pondered the meeting of her imposing new boss. Unexpected was a good word to describe it, but she still didn't feel like she knew him even a little bit. His arrogant behavior could be frightening, but she couldn't help feeling a degree of intrigue of what was behind his actions.

If she thought about it, his whole attitude seemed like one giant charade. As if she weren't really worthy of his time. He probably wouldn't even remember her name by tomorrow morning. While this thought was definitely insulting, it was at the same time fascinating. She was caught off guard by her own thought. But the more she questioned it, the more she realized that she really did think he was a little fascinating...

She felt the brief need to know exactly what was behind the act, to know the real him, but she only laughed at herself for her foolish daydreams and set off to find proper cleaning products. She was unsuccessful until Keiko finally came to her rescue again.

It was later in the afternoon when she came to Mr. Jaganshi's office. The door was shut, obviously indicating that it was occupied, but it was the last room of the day she had to do, and she didn't particularly want to wait until he was finished. She gathered her nerves and knocked on the door, duster in hand.

No answer.

Frustrated, she rose her hand to knock again, but before she could, he finally answered. "Come in."

He sounded like a villain, a vampire inviting his prey in. It made her all the more resilient to clean while he was in there, but after telling herself she was being stupid (it wasn't the first time that day) she went in.

He was sitting at his desk, leaning back in his chair, feet propped up on his desk. His jacket of before was gone, his crisp white shirt rolled up to his elbows. His tie was loosened a great deal and he had unbuttoned the first two buttons on his shirt. He glanced briefly up as she came in, pen between his teeth, but other than that didn't say anything.

Thoughts of roguish villains left her as she observed him. In this state, he almost looked mortal. It made it easier for her to start dusting his shelves. "Sorry. I'll just be a minute, H– uh, Mr. Jaganshi."

She'd almost called him Hiei. Ever since Kurama had let it slip, it felt more natural to call him that, but luckily she had caught herself and stuck to the red-head's former advice. Mr. Jaganshi didn't even acknowledge her comment anyway. She mentally rolled her eyes. She could have guessed he wasn't the type to show common courtesy.

She had just started on the first shelf when his phone rang. He casually pressed the speaker button with his heel, obviously not wanting to move from his position to pick up the receiver. "Yes?"

It was Kurama. "Mr. Hiwatari is on line one."

She watched as Hiei's face became irritated. "I don't want to talk to him." Botan mentally snickered. He sounded like a three year old child.

Kurama's sigh came through the speaker. "He just wants to know if you're going to the banquet or not."

"I already said no," Hiei replied.

"He wants an explanation. No isn't good enough."

"What about, hell no?"

Botan faced away from him so he wouldn't see the laugh she was trying to smother.

"Try a sentence or two."

Hiei growled. "Tell him this sentence. Or two. Depending on how I word it." He cleared his throat. "Tell him if he doesn't stop calling me, I'm going to–" He paused, suddenly seeming to remember he wasn't the only one in the room. He glanced at Botan and she quickly averted her eyes to not look as if she'd been eavesdropping. He turned back to his phone. "Er... I'm going to sacrifice him to the pyramid god by hanging him upside down from a tree and sticking flowers in his hair."

Kurama's surprise was evident by the silence that followed. Proud of himself for surprising his assistant, Hiei tapped the phone impatiently as if it would make Kurama talk. "Was that one sentence, or two, Kurama?"

"Er... it was, um, one . . . I believe." There was another brief pause. "Though, there might have been a few run-ons."

"Just get him off of my phone lines," Hiei said curtly before promptly clicking the speaker button off. He ran a hand along his jaw as he swivelled back to his computer. "Bastard."

"Who? Kurama!" She couldn't help herself. She couldn't believe Hiei would speak that way about his assistant. Her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said.

Hiei snapped his head around to look at her, evidently as stunned as she was at her sudden outburst. "No," he said. "Mr. Hiwatari."

"Oh..." She shifted uneasily, wishing he'd stop looking at her.

"I thought I told you never to raise your voice to me." His tone indicated he thought he was talking to a child.

She wasn't about to argue with him to top it all off. "So you did." She smiled nervously. "Well, I'm finished here, so I'll just leave..." Before I'm fired on my first day. She quickly went out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Only then did she let out a slow breath.

Great first day.


J.J -And now they've met. Isn't Hiei such a pleasant person?

Next chapter: The Ugly, The Rich and The Richer