Chapter 2: A Business Meeting

Note: Thank you SO much, reviewers… you make me feel warm inside! So, my goal in writing this story was to finally capture Seto's true snarky character, after fluffing him up a LOT in my previous stories, especially the last two. You'll have to let me know how I do. ;) (I also wanted to play with the idea of the uber-privileged Mokuba going through a rough spot as a womanizing jerk in his teenage years, but I failed at that – Mokuba's sweetness wrote itself!) Finally, I agree with you, ForeverBlue90, and I also am a mad Anzu fan. Try to bear that in mind during future chapters, when you might think you want to kill me!

"It has occurred to me that I'm making your job harder," Seto said, pausing with one hand on the door to look at Mokuba. "When I get Mazaki to go out with me, Rebecca will get a chance to hang out with Yuugi. What if they really do get together?"

"It's a shame you don't have more faith in yourself," Mokuba said sarcastically. "You should work on that. I hear Anzu likes confident men."

Seto shook his head.

"Anyway, I don't care," Mokuba said defiantly. "If she and Yuugi really like each other, then they should be happy together. But I have a feeling that Yuugi doesn't like her," he added. "I can tell from the way he acts around her that he just thinks of her as a friend."

"You can tell what Yuugi thinks underneath that sticky layer of sappiness and naivety?" Without waiting for a reply, Seto yanked open the door of the pizza shop and entered, Mokuba close on his heels.

Just as Rebecca had promised, she was sitting at a big booth with Yuugi and Anzu as well as their other friends, Jounouchi and Honda. "Yeah, I've been here before," she was saying brightly. "In fact, Mokuba and Seto and I come here a lot. The Kaibas like this place too."

"You mean Kaiba eats pizza? I thought he ate rusty nails and people's souls," Jounouchi said doubtfully.

"Just for dessert," Rebecca said acidly.

"I'm going to hate this," Seto whispered to Mokuba.

"That's fine. Forfeit the deal," Mokuba said, turning around to leave. Seto's hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Rebecca, what are you doing here?" Seto said, his voice hearty and completely fake.

The whole booth glanced up. Jounouchi choked on his soda.

"Oh, hey, Seto. Mokuba," Rebecca said, just as cheerful and fake. "You guys here for dinner?"

"Seto usually cooks," Mokuba lied, looking at Anzu, who seemed like the kind of girl to be impressed by a man's cooking. "But tonight he was tired so I talked him into pizza."

"Want to join us?" Yuugi asked. Rebecca and Mokuba silently blessed him; Jounouchi and Seto tried to kill him with their minds.

Seto made a show of hesitating, then noticing Anzu and letting his gaze linger on her. She noticed him noticing her and quirked her brow at him.

"Yes," Mokuba said firmly.

"Okay…" Seto said more slowly, still looking at Anzu.

Rebecca gladly slid over, squishing herself next to Yuugi. Mokuba slid in beside her and Seto took a seat next to Anzu.

"Kaiba, they take special orders here," Jounouchi said loudly. "Should we order you a pizza covered with the hopes and dreams of small children?"

"That gives me indigestion," Seto said coldly. "I prefer the blood and guts of inferior duelists."

"We should have met at the bar," Mokuba whispered to Rebecca.

"Here." She passed him a bottle under the table. "I thought the night might go like this."

"What a fun evening," Mokuba said cheerfully in the car on the way home.

Rebecca glared. "I didn't get to talk to Yuugi at all. He sat there looking scared the whole time while you and I tried to distract Jounouchi from picking a fight with Seto."

"Yeah, we were having a real hard time of it," Mokuba informed Seto, "so we spiked Jounouchi's drink. That finally mellowed him."

"Was that why he was singing by the end of the evening?" Seto asked with a grimace.

"Well, he does that sometimes anyway," Rebecca confessed. "Although I think the alcohol actually made him more in tune."

Seto winced, his ears still aching. "Remind me never to go to karaoke night."

"Sorry, I promised we'd both be there," Mokuba said unapologetically. "That's this weekend."

"What?" Seto hit the breaks sharply, causing Mokuba and Rebecca to lurch forward in their seats.

"Seto!" Rebecca grabbed at her seatbelt. "I am way too full of pizza for you to be doing that."

Seto hit the gas, then the breaks again to annoy her before resuming the drive back to the Hopkins' place. "Why couldn't Yuugi drive you home?" he asked, just to be mean.

Rebecca glowered. "Because your dumb brother told him my house was on your way home, that's why."

"Oops," Mokuba said, as unapologetically as before.

"He picked me up, though," she said, staring out the window. "I had to sit in the back between Honda and Jounouchi. Anzu got shotgun."

"I didn't want to tell you this, but you picked up their smell," Seto said. "That's why I had to put the windows down."

"Did you get a date with Anzu?" Mokuba asked hastily, before Rebecca could snap back. "Please tell me you got a date with Anzu. Rebecca and I worked really hard to distract everyone else so you could work your magic."

"I got her number." Seto patted his pocket. "In a purely professional capacity. I asked her about setting up camp at KaibaLand and she said she would arrange a meeting with us and her supervisor."

"Ooh, how romantic. When's the wedding?" Rebecca asked sarcastically.

"I'm doing you a favor, don't push it," Seto said. "Actually, I'm doing you two favors, so if you don't shut your mouth, I'll pull over and you can walk home."

"You could use the exercise," Mokuba said helpfully. "You did have a lot of pizza tonight." Then he leaned forward in his seat so that she couldn't hit him.

"Seto," Anzu said brightly. "Good afternoon."

"Kaiba-san and I are pleased to be here," Shina said coldly and formally.

Seto sighed. He'd had little choice but to bring Shina along to the meeting with Anzu and her boss, the director of Domino's official camp program – she was, after all, the manager of KaibaLand. This is what I get for dating an employee, he thought irritably.

Anzu was clearly startled at being cut off like that, and instinctively looked over at Seto for a cue. Seto was rubbing the bridge of his nose, and Anzu apparently read that as acknowledgment that Shina was a soulless bitch – which was pretty much accurate.

"Glad you could make it," Anzu said sweetly, giving Shina a ridiculously large smile, then sidling over and taking Seto's arm. "If you'll follow me into our conference room, Okada-san will join us in a moment."

Shina looked coldly disapproving. Anzu sped up with Seto until she was nearly dragging him across the foyer, forcing Shina to take quick, mincing steps in her tight black skirt and black stilettos to keep up. "Have a seat," Anzu indicated, and Seto and Shina sat at one end of the table in the conference room. A moment later, Okada Akio entered the room, clapping his hands together. He was dark-skinned and beaming; he looked friendly and open and everything that a camp director should be. Seto looked at Shina, pale and blonde and frigid and severe, and had to grin. You're outmatched here, babe.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!" Okada said, sliding into a seat next to Anzu.

"Not at all," Seto said.

"We just arrived, Okada-san," Shina said.

"Oh, please, call me Akio. Anything I can get you folks before we get started?"

Seto shook his head, but Shina said with a mean little smile, "Coffee would be nice." She stared directly at Anzu.

Both Anzu and Akio looked taken aback by this request. Seto flinched again. When he'd told Shina about this meeting, he'd mentioned that Anzu was an intern with the department, which she apparently took to mean that Anzu was the glorified errand girl. While that would have been a fine assumption at KaibaCorp, things were run differently in the Camp Department.

Akio half-turned to Anzu, looking apologetic, and Seto leapt to his feet. "I'll get it," he said with his best charming smile. "I see your coffee pot right over there."

Normally Seto would have been the first one to start bossing people around and demanding coffee, but he had several good reasons for offering to get it himself now. He wanted to appear amiable in front of Akio, because he really did want this camp to work out. He wanted to make Anzu feel indebted to him, because he had to seduce her to win the stupid deal. And he wanted to piss off Shina. Right now, that last was his strongest motivating factor.

Unfortunately, he'd never made his own coffee in his life.

This can't be that hard, I work with machines for a living, he thought, staring at the gleaming chrome and rows of buttons.

"It's a percolator coffee machine," Anzu whispered, coming up behind him. "It's really old. Are you sure you want to…?"

"Sit, sit," he whispered back, still smiling. It was unusual for his face to get this much exercise. "I've got this."

Anzu shrugged and returned to her seat. Shina pulled out a thick file from her briefcase and set it down with a heavy plop in front of Akio. "Information about KaibaLand," she explained crisply. "History, financial records, summary of goals, and here – in the back, color coded under the blue tab-" she flipped the file open to the right section – "a bullet-pointed list of advantages to you in allowing KaibaCorp to open up a Duel Monsters-based camp branch located at KaibaLand."

Akio looked mildly stunned, and tentatively reached out and touched the inch-thick file. Seto silently groaned and dumped the coffee grinds in the top of the machine, shutting the lid and flicking the brew switch in a hurry. He had to get back there and salvage this meeting.

"Akio," he said, sliding in across from the director. "I've followed your camp program for a while – I have a little brother, you know, and when he was younger he attended a water sports camp during summer break. I was impressed at how you managed to incorporate important learning skills into what was a fun time for the kids. Mokuba came home telling me all sorts of things about marine biology, in addition to looking really healthy and happy." Seto leaned forward. "I also know that camp participation has declined slightly over the last three years. Duel Monsters is a huge fad right now and a themed camp could really bring in a new crowd."

"So how does it stimulate the kids?" Akio asked, leaning forward too. "Is it just a game or is there learning involved?"

"That's explained in the blue section," Shina began, and Seto cut her off. "It's excellent strategy," he said firmly. "It forces the children to think ahead and to plan – as well as to be creative and flexible. Not only that, but each of the cards has a rich history that could be the basis for miniature lessons."

"There's a whole series of cards that are plant-themed," Anzu chimed in. "That could be a way to talk about botany. History, religion, mythology… there's potential to learn about all of those."

"Math," Seto joked. "When I was a kid, we had to add and subtract lifepoints on scrap paper."

Anzu and Akio laughed, Anzu's amusement tempered by her astonishment that Seto had made a joke. Well, he was a good businessperson, and he hadn't gotten to be that way by being a boring conversationalist. Unlike his icy counterpart over there. She looked at Shina with distaste.

"Well, that's partly your fault, isn't it?" Akio said, leaning back in his chair. "You helped invent those fancy systems that do the math for the kids."

"Guilty," Seto acknowledged, and got up to get the coffee. Shina was sitting stiffly in her chair, and she scowled at him, but he ignored her. She'd gotten the position of KaibaLand manager because she was extremely efficient; Seto had no desire to fire her, especially since he would hate to work against her if she was hired by one of KaibaCorp's rivals; but she did make meetings like this difficult. She hadn't quite learned personal skills, something that had been a severe impediment in their personal relationship (which was saying a lot, considering he wasn't exactly Mr. Personality either). Sex with her had been like sex with a machine, which was why they'd only done it exactly twice in their four-month relationship, Seto remembered with distaste.

He poured the coffee without looking and hurried back to the table, eager to keep winding in Akio now that he'd gotten the man hooked. Anzu accepted her mug and paused with it raised to her lips, but Akio took a sip without looking, and suddenly his face contorted.

"What's wrong with the coffee?" Shina hissed, looking at her own mug. Seto glanced down to see black specks floating in it.

"Kaiba, did you remember the filter?" Anzu murmured under her breath, but the whole room heard anyway.

Trying to save face, Seto took a determined sip of his own coffee, mastering his first impulse to spit it out everywhere. "I'm so sorry, I've become unaccustomed to drinking it like this and I forgot that some people prefer it filtered," he lied, blinking rapidly.

"You drink it unfiltered?" Akio asked, still grimacing.

"Oh, yes," Seto nodded, his mind racing. "A friend of mine from Europe got me onto it. Apparently it's a fad over there."

Anzu rolled her eyes, clearly not buying a word of it. Shina stared at him in disbelief.

"I haven't heard about this fad," Akio said doubtfully, pushing his mug away. "I think I prefer mine the normal way."

"I'll make another pot," Anzu offered, jumping up. "For those of us that prefer it filtered." Her voice cracked a little on this last word and she turned her back in a hurry so that no one would see her laugh.

Seto took a deep breath and another slurp of the disgusting coffee. "So tell me about the process for adding a new camp to your lineup," he said, smiling bravely.

"It was a pleasure meeting with you, Seto," Akio said, shaking his hand two hours later. "Call me when you have the draft proposal ready, and we'll arrange another meeting to hammer out a schedule. Maybe we can even get a trial KaibaCamp up and running in time for winter break."

"Will do," Seto nodded.

"A pleasure, Shina," Akio said, transferring his attention to her.

"Likewise," she said.

"Thank you, Anzu, for arranging this meeting," Akio added, clapping Anzu on the shoulder. "A job well done. We'll have to include you in the future planning, eh? For now, I have to head out for a meeting with the equestrian center, so I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, boss," Anzu said, smiling as he left the room. She started to follow him out, but Seto stopped her with a touch to her arm. "Anzu, can I have a word?" he asked. "Shina, I'll meet you outside."

Shina pressed her lips tightly together, but collected her briefcase and left without a word. Anzu backed up and sat on the conference table, beaming at him.

"This is great," she said enthusiastically. "This could be my big break, helping to start a KaibaLand dueling camp. Right now this is just an internship, but who knows? Maybe if I do a really good job arranging this camp, they'll offer me a full-time position."

"Congratulations," Seto said, and to his surprise he meant it. Anzu might still be an annoying cheerleader, but right now she was directing all her pep towards making KaibaCamp a reality, so he could tolerate her. Maybe. I'll have to tolerate her if I'm going to seduce her, he reminded himself. Speaking of which…

"Let me take you out for a celebratory drink," he said. He wasn't smiling anymore, because he had done quite enough of that during the meeting, but at least he refrained from scowling. "We can talk more about camp plans, so you can keep impressing your boss by being a step ahead."

Anzu looked surprised by the offer. "Well, thanks, Kaiba." She paused. "I heard you were coming to karaoke night."

Despite himself, Seto grimaced. "I heard that too," he said dryly.

Anzu laughed. "Mokuba wheedled you into it, huh? It's actually a fun time." She looked doubtfully at him, obviously trying to make him fit into her idea of a good time. Seto sighed and swallowed a retort. "So I'll see you there, right?"

"Yeah, you'll see me there," Seto said, waving a mental white flag. "But let me also take you out for drinks before then. Would that be okay? What are you doing tonight?"

Now Anzu really looked surprised. "Um… tonight? Well… I'm sort of behind on laundry… I have to go to the bank after work… supposed to call my mom…" she trailed off, blushing at being caught floundering for excuses.

Seto waited patiently, working ferociously to keep a scowl off his face. Inside, he was fuming. It was just plain undignified, that's what it was, sitting here listening to Anzu make lame excuses not to go out with him. First of all, she should be so lucky that he, Kaiba Seto, billionaire genius CEO, would actually consider her a worthy date…

I'm doing this for Mokuba, he reminded himself. He really needs to tell Rebecca how he feels, and winning this deal is the only way I can get him to confess anytime soon.

Also, I really hate losing.

He waited; Anzu's small brain was uncomplicated and by his calculations, she would be guilted into having a drink with him in about three seconds.

"…but really nothing that can't wait until tomorrow," Anzu concluded, feeling tremendously guilty. "So, sure, I'd love to have drinks with you tonight."

"I'd love it," Seto echoed flatly. "Pick you up at seven?" He was gone before she had a chance to respond.