Chapter 14
Kaiba was working late at Kaiba Corp, and it was quiet. Almost all the employees had left for the night, so only a few security guards were around. As he was typing away on his laptop, absorbed in his work, the door to his office suddenly opened and Alex entered. Kaiba stopped to look up and saw her before him, wearing a beautiful sleeveless black dress that fell just to the knees. Alex gazed at Kaiba and said,
"You have really poor security around here."
Kaiba stared at Alex and replied, "How did you get in?"
Alex smiled and replied, "As I said, you have poor security and I have my ways."
She walked towards Kaiba until they were within touching distance, and then she boldly sat in his lap. Bewildered, Kaiba asked,
"What are you doing?"
Alex laughed and replied, "What does it look like?" She looked at Kaiba's laptop screen and then added,
"You work way too much. You really should learn to relax more."
Kaiba coughed and replied, "Again, I ask. What are you doing, Ms. Lawrence?"
Alex placed her index finger on Kaiba's lips, as her way of telling him to stop speaking. She replied,
"It's Alex. Call me Alex, and I'm here because I realized something. I know who I want."
She gazed deeply into Kaiba's eyes and then continued, "I want you, Seto."
Alex slowly removed her finger from Kaiba's lips. Kaiba smirked at her and replied,
"It's about time. You deserve the best."
He wrapped his arms around Alex's waist and leaned in to give her a heated, passionate kiss, which Alex happily returned. Her fingers were entangled in Kaiba's hair, and Kaiba couldn't help wanting more…
"Seto. Seto. Seto!"
Kaiba suddenly woke up from hearing his name being called, having recognized Mokuba's voice. He shook his head, realizing that what he just experienced was a dream, although a very sensuous one. Mokuba stared at Kaiba and asked,
"Were you taking a nap?"
Kaiba replied, "Eh, I didn't mean to."
Mokuba smiled and replied, "Sorry to wake you up, especially since it sounded like you were having a very good dream."
Mokuba laughed quietly to himself, which annoyed Kaiba a little. Kaiba replied,
"What are you talking about?"
Mokuba looked a little mischievously at Kaiba and replied, "Oh, nothing. Just that I kept hearing you call out Alex's name over and over, and it didn't sound like a nightmare."
Kaiba's cheeks were getting red from embarrassment. Mokuba continued, "Teasing aside, I'd be really happy to see you two together."
Kaiba groaned and replied, "It's not like that. I don't have that kind of interest in her."
Mokuba shook his head and replied, "When are you going to just be honest? Seriously, Seto. You like Alex, so the solution is simple. Just tell her that you like her and ask her out on a date. That's what normal people do."
Kaiba looked at Mokuba and replied, "If we're going to have this conversation, then let me be clear. I'm not interested in Ms. Lawrence like that. Even if I were to entertain the idea of 'dating' her, I wouldn't do it like an ordinary person."
Mokuba replied, "Please don't tell me you'd go all out and announce your feelings for her to the entire world and then ask her out?"
Kaiba replied, "That's not a bad idea."
Mokuba exclaimed, "Seto! Alex would kill you if you did that."
Kaiba replied, "I wasn't serious, but I would ask her in a way that she'd be so impressed that she couldn't refuse. But as it is, I have no interest in going out with her. I simply don't have the time. You know that I run a multi-billion dollar company, and on top of that, I'm currently trying to work out this duel disk problem."
Mokuba replied, "Yeah, that's why we couldn't go to America. Oh, I almost forgot why I came here."
He handed Kaiba a folder full of papers and added, "These are the latest reports about the duel disks."
Kaiba nodded and replied, "Thanks." He sighed and added, "It looks like it's going to be another long night. You should go home, Mokuba. Roland will take you."
Mokuba nodded and replied, "Ok, but I wish you had some more help. If Alex were working here, I'm sure she'd be able to come up with a solution."
He looked teasingly at Kaiba, and Kaiba groaned and replied, "Why are you bringing up Ms. Lawrence again although…?"
Kaiba looked deep in thought, like the gears in his head were turning. Mokuba looked curiously at Kaiba and asked,
"Brother, what are you thinking?"
Kaiba replied, "Your idea isn't bad. If she were working here, she'd be able to come up with something."
Mokuba replied, "I was only teasing, but Alex is really smart, so she probably could. But it's not like you can suddenly approach her and offer her a job. She'd get downright suspicious, and she probably isn't allowed to work."
Kaiba replied, "Not unless she were interning here… I need to check something."
He got on his laptop for a few minutes to check some information regarding Kaiba Corp employees. He looked confused briefly and then asked,
"Why wasn't I told that she'd be working here?"
Mokuba replied, "Huh?"
Mokuba then peeked at Kaiba's laptop screen and saw Alex's name on the list of employees. Mokuba commented,
"According to this, Alex is supposed to be interning here in a couple of weeks. Oh, yeah. It's that high school internship program that was recently set up."
Kaiba replied, "Yeah, but I have to question why the person in charge never told me that Ms. Lawrence would be working here."
Mokuba shrugged and replied, "They probably thought you couldn't be bothered. You do take on a lot of work."
Kaiba replied, "Yes, that's true. Hmm…"
Kaiba picked up the phone and dialed a number. Once the person on the other line picked up, Kaiba said,
"You know that internship program? Call Ms. Lawrence and tell her to come by tomorrow afternoon at 3:30 pm."
There was a muffled response on the other end, and then Kaiba said,
"Nothing's wrong. Ms. Lawrence will be perfect for the job. I just need her to start working earlier than expected."
There was another response and then Kaiba hung up the phone. Mokuba looked at him and asked,
"You're going to have Alex work here, after all?"
Kaiba nodded and replied, "Yeah. I'll need her help on this project."
Mokuba replied, "And this isn't just your way of wanting to spend more time with her?"
Kaiba gave Mokuba a look and replied, "Mokuba, you know that isn't it. I really need to get this problem solved."
Mokuba replied, "I get it. You know, I thought you'd try to have Alex fired before she'd get a chance to work here."
Kaiba replied, "Maybe before, but she is smart and I want her help."
Mokuba nodded and replied, "Alex would be a great help. Plus, you two definitely would get more alone time together."
Kaiba replied, "Mokuba…"
Mokuba ignored the warning tone in Kaiba's voice and added, "As your brother, I'm going to be rooting for you, and I'll do everything I can to help."
Kaiba sighed and replied, "Mokuba, go home. I really need to get some work done."
Mokuba replied, "Fine."
Before Mokuba left Kaiba's office, he added, "The sooner you and Alex get together, the better things will be, and I want to see you smile again."
Kaiba was about to reply, but before he could do so, Mokuba had left his office. Kaiba shook his head and thought,
Have I stopped smiling? And why did I dream about her?
Meanwhile, that same late Thursday afternoon, Alex and Joey had just finished up their last rehearsal for their performance tomorrow. Alex waved goodbye to Joey and once she closed the door to her apartment, she thought,
Whew, I'm tired, but we're all good to go.
Then, her thoughts turned to Kaiba and she thought,
Kaiba's been quiet, but that's a good thing. He hasn't been a bother since that lunch date – Wait, that wasn't a date. But yeah, he's been quiet, preoccupied actually. I wonder what's up.
As Alex continued to be absorbed in her thoughts, her phone suddenly went off. She picked it up, briefly looked at the caller ID, and then said,
"Hello?"
The person on the other end replied, "Hello, Ms. Lawrence. This is Mr. Miyamoto from the HR Department of Kaiba Corp. This will probably come as a surprise since you're not scheduled to work here for another couple of weeks. However, we need you to come in tomorrow afternoon at 3:30. Please dress in appropriate attire."
Alex replied, "Yes, of course, but may I ask why I need to come in tomorrow?"
Mr. Miyamoto replied, "Mr. Kaiba specifically requested for you. He didn't give the details as to why although he may tell you when you come in."
Alex replied, "I understand. I'll be there promptly tomorrow."
Mr. Miyamoto replied, "Thank you, Ms. Lawrence. You have a good day, and we'll see you tomorrow at 3."
Mr. Miyamoto then hung up, and Alex did the same. Alex then thought about what just happened and said,
"I know Kaiba would have eventually found out, but I wanted to get the jump on him. Looks like I got surprised instead. Heh, I can't help feeling curious. I wonder why he needs me to start working right away."
She shrugged and replied, "Well, I guess I'll find out tomorrow."
Alex put her phone in her pocket and then went into the kitchen to start making dinner.