PICKING UP THE PIECES Chapter 3

"Naia? Are you awake?" Mokuba's sweet voice called.

I sat up and stretched. "Yeah. Come on in, Mokuba."

The young boy entered and walked over to me. "Did you…did you get back to sleep alright last night? After your nightmare, I mean?"

That's right. I apparently had a bad dream, because I woke up in the middle of the night in Mokuba's brother's arms.

"Y-yes."

"That's good. Seto and I were really worried about you. Anyway, Seto wants to have a talk with you after breakfast."

Yeah, about taking me back THERE. "Ok." I said softly.

"Breakfast will be ready shortly, so I'll let you get ready."

"Thanks, Mokuba."

He smiled and rushed out of the room.

I got out of bed, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed for the bathroom. After a quick shower, I got dressed, braided my long hair, and headed down to the dining room.

Mokuba was eating a bowl of cereal and his brother was busy reading a newspaper.

"What would you like to eat, Naia?"

"Um…I'm not very hungry. Maybe I'll have…a cup of coffee."

I saw his brother glance at me from behind the newspaper. I averted my eyes quickly, however, as one of the maids set a cup of coffee in front of me.

"Thank you." I said softly*

When I had finished, the older brother stood up and cleared his throat. "Naia, may I have a word with you in my office? You will excuse us, won't you Mokuba?"

"Sure, Seto. I gotta get ready for school anyway." He said, and headed upstairs.

I got up and obediently followed Seto into his office. "Have a seat." He gestured to a sofa against the wall. I sat down and he sat next to me.

"I need some information from you, Naia." He said softly, but firmly.

"Y-yes s-sir." I stammered, looking down at the floor.

"Your father…does he…does he hit you?"

I nodded, feeling my tears coming once again.

"Is that why you ran away?"

I nodded again, the tears beginning to fall.

He put his hand on my shoulder. "I WON'T take you back there."

I looked up at him. "Y-you w-won't?"

He moved his hand and stood up. "No. You may stay here for the time being."

"Oh, thank you so much...Mr. Kaiba."

"Don't thank me just yet. I expect you to earn your keep."

My eyes went wide with shock as the worst thoughts possible went through my head.

[SETO'S POV]

I woke Mokuba up first thing in the morning as usual and before I allowed him to go down to breakfast, the two of us discussed the situation with Naia.

"Why do you think she had that nightmare, Seto?"

"I suspect her father…abuses her."

His eyes went wide. "Oh Seto! You CAN'T take her back there!"

I sighed. "I know, Mokuba. I don't intend to."

"You don't?"

"Of course not. Now, go get dressed and let her know that I wish to speak to her after breakfast."

"Ok Seto."

I went downstairs to the dining room and sat down, opening the morning newspaper and drinking a cup of coffee. Before long, Mokuba joined me.

"She'll be down shortly, Seto." He informed me, then helped himself to a bowl of cereal.

Within 10 minutes, I heard her enter the room. I glanced up at her, but she quickly averted her eyes.

I waited while she drank her coffee before standing up and clearing my throat for her attention. "Naia, may I have a word with you in my office? You will excuse us, won't you Mokuba?"

"Sure Seto. I gotta get ready for school anyway." He said and headed upstairs.

Naia followed me into the office, and I pointed to a sofa against the wall. "Have a seat." She obeyed and I sat beside her. "I need some information from you, Naia."

"Y-yes s-sir." She looked down at the floor.

Just looking at her, I already knew the answer to my question, but I had to ask anyway. "Your father….does he…does he hit you?"

She nodded.

"Is that why you ran away?"

She nodded again and I saw the tears falling from her eyes.

My God! What kind of sick person was her father? To do something like this? To his own daughter?

I put a hand on her shoulder. "I WON'T take you back there."

She looked up. "Y-you w-won't?"

I had the sudden urge to protect this girl, to take care of her.

I stood up. "No. You may stay here for the time being."

"Oh, thank you so much…Mr. Kaiba."

"Don't thank me just yet. I expect you to earn your keep."

As soon as I said that, I regretted my choice of words. Her eyes went wide with shock and the way she looked at me made me sick to my stomach. She thought I was going to make her do something…or do something awful to her.

Even though I didn't usually have pity on ANYONE, I felt so much for this poor girl in front of me. Something about her made me WANT to help her, in whatever way possible.

[NAIA'S POV]

I stared at him, the worst thoughts possible going through my head.

"Naia…" he said softly, reaching out to me.

I flinched, moving as far away as possible, wishing that I could just disappear into the couch cushions. "Please, no. Don't…hurt me. Please." I sobbed.

"Naia, I won't hurt you." His hand returned to his side. I looked at him cautiously. He knelt down so he was at my level. "Please, Naia, you have to try and trust me. I am NOT your father. I mean you no harm. I want to help you." He stroked my cheek gently, his eyes never leaving mine.

His eyes, which were cold when he first saw me, were now warm and sincere. Could I really trust this man? Could I put my trust in ANYONE after the hell my father had put me through?

"Will you let me help you, Naia?" he asked softly.

I nodded, unable to look away from his beautiful sapphire eyes.

He smiled. "Good. I want you to come to work for me at my company."

"W-what?"

"Nothing hard. Just answering phones, maybe a little filing. Do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"I…I think so."

"Ok then. Why don't you get ready? We'll leave in 20 minutes."

I sat up quickly. "What? You mean…today? But I…" I looked down at what I was wearing. "I really don't have anything else to wear…"

He stood up and looked at me. "That's alright. We can take care of that later." He held out his hand to me.

I took it and he helped me up. Only in doing so, I lost my balance and fell against him.

"Are you ok?" he asked, holding me up.

I nodded and felt my face heat up. "I…I'm sorry…Mr. Kaiba."

"Just call me Kaiba. Mr. makes me feel like an old man." He said with a smirk.

"Ok…Kaiba." I said, managing a small smile.

"You're very pretty when you smile. I'll have to do my best to make you smile more often." He said gently.

"Seto? Are we leaving?" Mokuba called from the front hall.

"Yeah, Mokuba." Kaiba said, his eyes not leaving mine. "We're coming."

After dropping Mokuba off at his school, and stopping at a clothing store to get me something more appropriate to wear, the limo continued on and stopped in front of a tall office building. There was a big 'KC' hanging over the front entrance.

"Welcome to Kaiba Corp, Naia."

The driver came around and opened the door. Kaiba got out first, then turned and offered his hand to assist me.

I blushed as I took it. His hand was so warm. He didn't let go as we entered the company.

"Good morning, Mr. Kaiba." the guard said a bit sarcastically. He looked at me and smiled. "Who's that pretty little thing?"

Kaiba rushed over to him and grabbed him by the collar. "You'd better show her some respect, unless you wish to be unemployed." Kaiba said, while glaring at him.

"Yes sir! Sorry, Mr. Kaiba." He turned to me. "Sorry, miss."

"Come on, Naia." Kaiba muttered softly to me as he led me to the elevator.

Because we had walked away, and our backs were to the guard, neither Kaiba nor I saw him pulling out his cell phone and dialing, an evil smirk on his face.

The two of us rode to the top floor in silence. When the elevator opened, I gasped. The entire floor had no walls, only windows. I could see the whole town from up here! I ran to the window and peered out, admiring the view.

Kaiba chuckled softly before joining me. "Sometimes I forget how beautiful things can be." He said quietly, gazing at me.

Was he referring to the view...or me?

I blushed slightly. Being so near to him made me feel…warm and safe…a feeling I hadn't experience for some time.

He walked over to his secretary's desk. He said something to her, she nodded, and then they both looked over at me.

"Naia, come over here."

I nodded and approached the two of them.

"This is my secretary, Mary. She'll show you around and tell you what to do."

Mary shook my hand gently. "It's very nice to meet you, Naia. C'mon, I'll show you where everything is, then we'll take it from there, ok?"

I nodded. She was a very friendly person, and I liked her immediately. She took my hand and turned to Kaiba. "Don't worry about anything, Mr. Kaiba." She said with a smile.

Kaiba nodded and went through a door that I assumed led to his office.

Mary led me around the floor, pointing out the mail room, copy room, filing cabinets, as well as where the supplies were kept.

When we returned to her desk, she handed me a stack of papers. "These need to be filed. If you have any questions, just come ask me."

"Ok." I said in a small voice and set off to complete my task, thus beginning my employment at Kaiba Corp.