Chapter 8

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A deep breath told him the air was clean, crisp, and cool, a perfect day so far. For some reason he had extra energy. He felt wonderful. He hated to admit, but maybe Yugi and his friends weren't completely full of crap. I did feel good doing nice things for others. Or at least, others that he cared about. That he cared about? Did he, the Seto Kaiba actually find someone he cared about? All signs pointed to yes. He glanced up and watched as Sakura made her way into her seat.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed, a little upset. "You should be at home or resting or something." She raised an eyebrow at him and smirked.

"You know me better than that, I'd be bored all day long. Not to mention sad. I still have to clean out his room." Despite the topic, she had a smile on and an empty voice. Kaiba could see her guard was up, but wasn't about to point it out. He did know her better than that. "Hey, before I go back to work for you, I-"

"Let me guess, one stipulation?" He cocked his own eyebrow and offered his classic smirk, making her laugh out.

"Yeah. I'm going to be honest. If you cant take it, tell me now. I'm not going to fluff your ego and 'yes' you to death. I know you're going to correct me, but you have to be willing to take it in return. I'm not going to be mean, or brutal, just honest." He nodded. In truth, that's exactly what he knew he needed. He also knew he wouldn't always be open for criticism but he was willing to take it. He wasn't perfect, and she was one of the few he respected enough to correct him and help him rise above his imperfections, to better himself.

"Treat me... As you would a friend." Sakura stared at him with jaw dropped. "Excluding while you're at work for me." He added, but changed his mind. "No... even then. Granted, I'm going to have to place my own stipulation on this." She closed her mouth and waited for him to name his demands. "I want you honest with me at all times. Work or no. Even if it's not about me. I will test this."

"That's... Alright. I will. And, you really don't want me to treat you like a friend. I'm horrible to my friends." She said with a short laugh.

"Well, it'll give me time to practice having a friend." He chuckled. She started to smile, but it faded when Joey entered the room, followed by Yugi and the rest of them.

"Hey, Sakura, I saw you were out of school yesterday. You ok?" He asked cheerily. Kaiba watched her guard go back up as she faced him.

"Yeah it wasn't anything to be concerned over." She said trying to keep their conversation short. Kaiba looked at her and decided it was time for the first test. He knew she was hurting. She wasn't ok. She just needed to admit it.

"Are you ok?" Kaiba asked, injecting himself into their conversation. Sakura turned her gaze on him, but was not pleased. She knew what he was trying to do, and that he knew the truth. She accepted his condition, so the only thing she could do was tell him the truth... and in front of everyone, contradict herself.

"Kaiba I just asked-"

"No." she cut Joey off and he turned to her surprised. "And that was low." She added, but Kaiba got the answer he had hoped for.

"What's wrong?"Joey asked, concern clear in his voice.

"None of your business, mutt. If she wanted to tell you, she wouldn't have said she was alright when you asked." Kaiba said to him.

"Hey, back of jerk. I'm talkin' to her, not you. Why don't you go count your money or something?" Sakura sighed heavily.

"No, he has a point. I really don't want to talk about it. I'm not alright, but I'd rather not draw it out. I'm not a very open person." She said, trying to stop their quarreling. Joey sat back down in his seat, confused at why she was taking Kaiba's side all of the sudden. She turned away and decided to change the subject. "So, same deal as last time?"

"No. I don't want you spending all your time alone in your house. I've been looking for a new personal secretary at Kaiba Corp for a few weeks now and I think you'd fit in perfectly." He informed her. Suddenly her encounter with the receptionist at the lobby made sense. If he had a secretary, they would have been the one to answer the receptionist instead of him doing it personally. "You're qualified, and I don't have to worry about you pissing me off." He said, flipping open his laptop.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far." She said with a wink. "I'm supposed to be treating you like a friend, right?" He smirked.

"That I can handle."

"You have no idea what you're in for. When do I start?"

"As soon as you feel you're ready."

"So... today?" He looked at her in amusement. "I have to get out of that place."

"Fine. Need a ride?" He offered. Kaiba Corp was across town and if she walked it would take her hours to get there. She nodded happily, but something crossed her mind and she glanced at him with an odd look.

"What about the designs for the project?" He smirked. He liked how quickly she thought through things.

"As my personal secretary, you will be sitting at the desk outside my office, making sure no one bothers me who doesn't have an appointment or is in an emergency. You might be doing some light filing and, you'll definitely be accompanying me to outings, but other than that, there's a lot of down time. You can work on them at the desk. You'll receive commission just like before, on top of the hourly pay. Just make sure you're not neglecting your duties." She smiled brightly, making him feel like he'd dome something extraordinary again.

"Sure, but I'm afraid my previous speed will be reduced... also... I still have those pieces from... last time." She looked down and chewed her bottom lip. He shook his head and just started typing on his laptop, hinting that she should also get some of her papers done, so she could go to work that night.

"We're taking a limo?" She asked as they approached the vehicle.

"No, it's a Volkswagen Buggie." He said sarcastically. She gave him a fake 'ha ha ha' before turning to him.

"What happened to that cute little sports car you drove?" She asked, trying to keep the sun out of her eyes as she looked up at him. Was he always this tall? She could barely make out his raised eyebrow.

"Why, you got a thing for sports cars?" He opened the limo door for her and waited for her to enter, effectively confusing the driver who had just stepped out to do it for him.

"All girls do. Haven't you ever heard the Good Charlotte song? Girls don't like boys, they like cars and money." She giggled, seating herself. He followed her in and closed the door.

"Really? Well I have both." He said with a playful smirk.

"Mr. Kaiba! I'm not that kind of secretary." She said, laughing and gently pushing his shoulder. He did something to surprise her farther, and laughed with her. She looked forward to working for him again, but even more, she was excited to be his friend and learn about him.

When they approached Kaiba corp, it didn't seem all that scary anymore. He led her to the top floor via a private elevator, built to go directly to his office. Once it opened, he moved in to the room, leaving her to do nothing but follow him. On his desk he lifted a few cards and papers and presented them to her. They were ID cards and Kaiba Corp protocol papers, like the ones she had before, but these were electronic ones, build to open the doors of even the highest security areas.

"You already had them made? Wasn't that presumptuous of you?" She teased. He pulled the cards back before she could grab them and she looked up at him.

"I can always make you wait the two weeks everyone else did, if that feels fairer." He smirked as she offered him her saddest fake pout.

"But I'm special." She said, and he chuckled. He handed her the cards and moved to the doors to his office, unlocking them and letting her out. Her desk stood, nothing impressive, but she didn't need much to do a good job. He instructed her on how to use the intercom, then the computer.

"It's an unusual operating system that I created, based off of Linux platforms."

"Which is it like the most?" She asked and he looked at her questioningly. "Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora..." He was stunned. She knew computers as well?

"Debian..."

"Oh, good, That's what I've got on my laptop at home. How similar are they?" She was full of surprises.

"In user interface? Near identical. I've changed some things, added and subtracted, but as far as navigating, you wont be able to tell the difference."

"Then what apps am I going to be using? The OS I can work with, I just need the specific programs." She was proving to be the best decision he ever made. He wondered if it was bad that hearing her using computer terminology made him extra happy, but shrugged it off. He proceeded to explain which programs were necessary to do her work and the known issues with the system.

"Every once in a while, something on the computer will cut out the intercom. If this lasts and you need to get in touch with me, just knock." She nodded and he disappeared into his office. After an hour or so of practicing with the programs, she felt she was secure enough to use them when the time came. Kaiba Corp was only open for a few more hours and between phone calls she drew the designs for the people of his virtual world. She somehow immediately felt... comfortable. Like she was meant to be sitting there, doing this.

About five minutes before her shift was supposed to come to an end, she began packing up and wondered how she should go about leaving. She figured it would be rude to just take off, but didn't want to disturb him if he was busy. She didn't know what time he was going to be leaving either. She decided to try out the intercom, and reached slowly over to the box that was on the far corner of her desk.

"Um, Mr. Kaiba?" She called into the box while holding the button down.

"The doors to Kaiba Corp are locked, if you need me, just come in." He said shortly and she heard a click. A few seconds later, she poked her head in.

"I didn't know when Kaiba Corp closed, and I know you said my shift is over around now. I just didn't know exactly... what to do."

"I guess I did leave that part unobserved. The doors get locked at seven. After that you can come and go as you please. When your shift ends at eight, you come in here and I take you home." He said, folding his laptop and packing his briefcase.

"Oh, Ok. Hey, do you know the bus rout around town?" He looked at her blankly.

"...No."

"I didn't think so. I'll look it up when I get home." She said with a smile as he cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Oh, for when I go home tomorrow."

"What part of, 'and I take you home' didn't you understand?" She looked him over for a second, but he was still standing there, smirking down at her.

"You... shouldn't have to take me home every night. I'm an employee. Just a secretary." She said, still somewhat in disbelief. He chuckled a bit, moving to his private elevator and typing in the security code.

"But, you're special."

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So, I realize now that I've made Joey look kind of sleazy in the last chapter. That was not intended. It was Kaiba's opinion that he's sleazy, but outside of that I tried to portray him as more of an idiot. A nice guy, but not very good with words... or thinking... or really much at all... I have a brother just like him...

Also, I'd like to remind you all that I update once per day. Between 9Am and 11:30 AM EST. For those of you who don't have/cant get story alerts. I am fairly consistent in my updating and now that Last Night of The Kings (SetoXSerenity Fantasy fic) is complete, I will continue to be. Possibly even faster, but no promises.

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love