Chapter 4: The offer.
With a deep sigh Yugi parks his car in the parking lot, he carefully takes his feeding supplies and papers before walking inside the building, at the front desk there sits a man, but doesn't seem to notice him, he walks over and clears his throat. The man turns his head towards Yugi and the latter steps back a bit frightened when he sees the male's eyeballs are blue but they look empty, dull, and just not normal. "Hello, can I help you?" the man asks and turns his head a bit, so his ear is clear towards Yugi.
"Um… I…" he says hesitant.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I always forgot to wear my sunglasses, it's okay. I may not be able to see you, but I can hear you perfectly." The male says with a cheeky smile placing sunglasses on his nose in order to cover his scary empty blue eyes making sure the sticks do not come in conflict with his American flag bandana.
"Um…. I'm Yugi Muto, I have an appointment at 9... with um…. Miss."
"Ah, Yes, I know, Mana already informed me you would come today, you take the first few stair steps and the elevator to the most left you need to have, you need to press the top floor bottom, good luck cutie." He says without any shame when he purrs out cutie.
Doing as the male said he walks towards the elevator feeling the empty blue eyes in his back as if the man still can see even though he is blind. He waits till the elevator arrives and goes inside. "Hold the elevator!" a man shouts and Yugi stops the door from closing with a hand, when a caramel-bronze skinned male runs inside, he places his hands on his knees and tries to regain his breath. "Thanks, it takes forever by the time it is down again. Can you press top floor please?" the man asks.
Yugi dumbly nods and presses a few different buttons making the man laugh. "Now you've done it." he says with a smile when suddenly the elevator stops. "You accidently pressed the emergency stop button, but don't worry, you're not the first this happens with." The male says and walks towards the intercom and presses the talk button. "Keith, why did you scare the young man this morning? You know you need those glasses to prevent these things to happen."
"You sure it wasn't you're doing hot shot?" they sure don't feel afraid to let someone know they look good, able to see or not, it clearly doesn't matter. Yugi thinks when he sees the other man talk with the one at the other side of the line.
"Nope I'm pretty sure it was you; can you hurry I have an appointment and I'm already late as it is."
"Stuck again? Nah man now I'm sure it's your doing." the man Yugi recognises now as the one at the front desk. "I'll have you up in five."
"And now we wait." the man says while Yugi is secretly observing him.
Oh man, this guy simply screams sex appeal. The man has a smooth dark caramel-bronze skin, maybe Arabic? Or Turkish? But which country he knows has people with eyes as red as blood? He knows people with albinism can have red eyes, but this man's skin reveals none of that symptom. Or is this man secretly a vampire? No, vampires have a pale skin, and they are a myth right? Or are they like the twilight series? Still their own skin colour but glister in the sunlight? But the man he is standing with in the elevator, he looks like a pharaoh, a real sex god. Not a dangerous person willing to kill him.
His hair, much wilder than his own, and where Yugi has that cute little bang in between his eyes, this man has three bangs sticking op. The trim is red instead of purple but the same black centre he has this man also has it.
Then the face, a strong jaw, not very well shaven, but seeing the man was in a rush, and no baby-fat on his face like he himself still has some baby cheeks. The eyes, as red as crimson were his are a soft purple, and where he has big round eyes, this man 's crimson red eyes are more rectangular, and from what he can see, they demand respect, but are also playfully and filled with joy and most of all… mischief? And then the body, from what he can see, this man clearly hits the gym or his clothes must give the idea off a ripped body with how muscular he looks.
"Cute." He hears the man whisper bringing him out of his musings. "You like what you see Little One? I never seen you before." he then asks making Yugi feel himself heat up from head till toe.
"um, I'm having a job interview." Yugi manages to speak out softy but still loud enough for this man to hear.
The elevator starts going up again and Yugi is cursing himself for acting like a shy high-school teen all over again. The man sees Yugi fretting and dares to place his hand against his right cheek, the cheek with his tube, unconsciously Yugi leans into the cub of the man's hand enjoying the warm and surprisingly soft feeling. "Relax Cutie, you'll do just fine." The man says softly. And he feels Yugi relaxing a bit.
Gathering his courage Yugi then takes a deep sigh. "If you think I'll do 'just fine' then how do I make it look like I do amazing?" he asks boldly pointing his fingers with the just fine.
The man chuckles and then starts to loosen the purple tie Yugi picked out this morning to wear. "Let's start by taking this thing off, the one doing interviews hates those choking and constricting things." He says and turns Yugi around when he had taken it off, he opens the backpack and carefully without disrupting the tube and machine Yugi is carrying, he places the tie inside it. Then he zips the bag close and turns Yugi back around and looks sceptical. He looks like he wants too badly. The man thinks. Together with his purple tie he has a matching suit, a white blouse and white polished shoes.
"I hope you don't plan on working in this every day because this company stands out for its casually and wearing what you feel comfy in... let's open these buttons here." He says and opens the top two buttons of Yugi's white button up shirt. Then he makes the stiff board fluff up like he used to do it when he himself was in his college years. Then the man turns Yugi towards the mirror. "There much better. And probably the most important tip I can give you, is... relax, he is a pretty laid back kinda guy." He says with a gentle smile.
"Thank you," Yugi says politely and makes a bow. The door from the elevator pings and with a last "Bye Cutie." The man runs off to an unknown location.
Yugi looks to his watch. 10 minutes left, I hope this thing doesn't go to beep early I really don't wish to do it out here in the open. He thinks still not sure if it was right to agree with this during a job-interview. He walks towards the desk where he sees a woman sitting. I'm so out of place here, they all look like they spend lots of times under the sun, even that guy at the front desk looks like he spends most of his days outside. He thinks when he sees the woman also has a caramel-coloured skin. The woman clearly increased into her work doesn't seem to notice him, so he clears his throat, and she looks up with a delighted look. "Ah you must be Yugi." She says and he nods. "He is a bit late but will call you in any second now, meanwhile do you have a copy of your ID?" she asks.
He takes out his wallet and pulls his ID card out. "Sorry, the ink was out, and I forgot to buy new, by the time I discovered it the other day, the store was closed." He whispers handing her the card while remembering one time he had the same problem, and he got a serious scolding for being unprepared.
"Oh, that's not a problem at all, I can make a copy here." She says like it's the most normal thing in the world. She turns to the printer places his ID on the plate and makes a copy. Then she looks at it closely. "You need to replace this soon; in a month it will expire." She says handing him the card back. Yugi takes it back. Fantastic, that means I need to take a picture with this ugly thing on my face and show that for the next ten years, and 60 bugs I need to save up for it. A deep sigh escapes his mouth.
"Hey now, it doesn't look that bad, I have seen many people who looks worse with that, and those few running around here don't have placed the band-aid as neatly as you have, you look rather cute." She says with a cheerful voice.
"Well maybe I'm done being cute." He says sarcastically thinking about how his friends mock him every time with his appearance, he is a year by two years younger than all of them, and what Joey and Honda already have lost their boyish look, he still looks a bit like a child in his late teen years. And yes his cheeks over the years grew a bit more mature, but he still has that baby-face showing on his cheeks, and only since last week he can finally say he shaved for the first time.
Then his eyes and body, they matured a bit by the time he finished high school, but he still has that boyish look in them. And he still is small, has little to no body hair, and there where he has it, it is very thin and light.
Even if he is 20, and he was the first in the group with a boyfriend, however Yugi still didn't have his first wet dream yet and is a virgin on almost every point in the book, Joey and Honda say it probably is because he jerks himself since he was young. Yugi leaves them to believe that, but in all honesty, he never felt the need to, although Joey gave him many years ago those VCR tapes, and porn magazines, he never felt secure enough to watch or read them, so he simply pretended towards Joey, he had enjoyed them very much. And with him having this feeding tube, his college mates did not feel to date him because they felt pity for him not be able to eat solid foods, and were afraid of hurting him.
"Yugi?" the voice from miss Sennen brings him out his musings. "Ah, there you are, I lost you for a moment." She smiles and hands him back his ID. "He probably will ask for a drink when he calls you in, um, I know from some of the workers with a feeding tube they get only get fed, but some also are getting hydrated, which one does count for you?"
Yugi smiles, he is glad she doesn't look mad that he spaced out for a moment. "No, it only feeds me, I need to hydrate myself." He says sweetly towards her.
"Then what do you fancy?" she asks
~Maaaaa-naaaaaaa!!!~ a very whiny voice comes outside the intercom making Yugi laugh a bit, that didn't sound professional and like a boss at all.
Mana looks with pleased eyes and with a nod from her, he can't keep it in, and he laughs out loud and right now she presses the intercom ~Listen to what you have done, how can he make a good impression towards you if you whine like the baby-boss you are right now? ~ she scolds the man on the other side making Yugi only laugh harder.
~Oh! he's here? Send him in, and I wish for a half pint please? ~ The man says excited.
~Asshole, if you played games less you would not oversleep. Did you even sleep last night? ~ she scolds taking a credit card from out a draw with the Sennen logo on it.
~How else can I defeat the king of games one day? ~ The man whines but miss Sennen ignores him.
"Probably stayed up all night, otherwise he would not ask for the big tub. So, before baby-boss bugged in, what do you fancy?" she asks the still laughing but also surprised male.
"Cappuccino please one sugar." He says with a sweet smile towards her and when he has regained his breath.
"Cute and sweet, the perfect combination, but to make it nicer, how about instead of sugar, caramel? It gives it just that little bit more" she asks and Yugi not one to ignore and eager to try new things nods in approval. "Go on, you need the red door, simply knock the door, crack the code and enter." She says before walking out.
Yugi wipes the joyful tears away and walks to the door appointed to him, he looks to the system and snorts. "That looks like my old and first system, too easy." As instructed, he knocks the door and then enters the code. The door opens. "If this is the code he uses every time, I wonder why he isn't robbed yet, or even keeps his privacy." He muses accidently out loud.
"If you have a better way to secure my office, be my guest, I'm bugging my cousin for years now to update the system, and before him my father bugged his brother and when he took over, my cousin but they can't help me out." A familiar voice behind him says making Yugi jump and turn around to quick making him sway. "Whoa, easy there, I didn't mean to frighten you." He says while grabbing Yugi's arm to hold him steady.
Yugi coming back from his dizziness looked towards the boss. "You hate ties because they choke and constrict you, yet you wear a choker which are more a way to crush your Adams apple?" he asks boldly and slaps his hand in front of his mouth.
The man only laughs. "Now that's the spicy spirit I was looking for in the elevator, cute from the outside with a pinch of boldness, But spicy on the inside."
"Miss Sennen told me I was cute and sweet." Yugi says boldly with a blush.
"Please Yugi, cut the formalities, call her Mana, we all do... an if she calls you cute and sweet then she probably is right, she has a great way to judge people, but you also got some hidden spunk something she clearly missed, and I enjoy that. Now take a seat, I assume Mana asked you also for a drink if you can?"
"Yeah, she did." Yugi says walking to the appointed chair but before sitting he hears the beeper going off. "Damn, um, I need to change the bottle."
"Sure, go ahead, do you wish some privacy? There's a bathroom you can use." he asks pointing to a door to give Yugi some privacy if wanted.
"No, that's not necessary, mi.. Mana told me you enjoy watching these kind of things? um, do you have a napkin?" He asks hoping that this man is as easy-going as Mana is.
The man doesn't scold him, he simply hands him a napkin and watches how Yugi quickly but carefully changes the bottles with nutrition's and adds the meds he needs to take with them. "How many times do you need a new bottle a day?"
"This thing feeds me three times a day, this one." He says pointing to the empty bottle he placed already in a plastic bag ready to be thrown away. "Is the first and fast feeding, it takes two hours for this one to be empty, this one doesn't contain my meds, while the second and third bottle are slow feeders up until 8 hours, they feed me until I go to bed around 11pm these two are also the once I take with the meds I need to take." He says pressing some buttons to slow the feeding till 4pm. "They give me more the feeling of being full then when I have three feedings from an hour till two hours and feel drugged because the meds make me feel that way." He explains and looks up seeing how intrigued the man is.
"I'm curious though." Yugi says in a musing kind of a way while closing his backpack and placing it next to him.
"Then please, share your curiosity with me, maybe I can help you solve it?" the man says with a gentle smile.
"Well, first off, you seem to know my name, but I don't know yours other than 'Hot shot' according to Keith from the front desk, and as mi… mana called you, 'baby-boss', and 'asshole' when she was scolding you." Yugi starts.
Atem laughs loudly from that statement making Yugi blush, when Atem regained his breath, he says with a huge smile on his face. "Come on, who doesn't know the king of games? But your right, I didn't introduce myself... very well, you may call me Atem and any insulting name you can think of, but the last one only with my permission to use it in the open. And what else are you curious about?"
"Um, not to be rude or something, but I cannot remember sending an resume towards here?" The boy states softly.
"That's correct, we did get your resume via a friend and family member of yours who were worried about you... namely Ryou."
"I knew it had to be him; I need to thank him later." Yugi smiles.
"Correct, but he also told me your grandfather had a hand in this, they both hated the fact you only got rejection after rejection, so they both decided to help you out a bit." Atem says carefully. "Should they not have? Mana told me yesterday, she had the impression you were a bit ready with rejections, and finally wanted acceptation."
"No, I'm glad they did, I actually wanted to ask Ryou if he could help me because I was rejected again yesterday before mi…um… Mana called me. and yesterday's rejection was one of the worse once I had."
"Please do share?"
"After seeing my feeding tube getting to hear I belong in a nuthouse castrated and all and with the thread of getting kicked out by security all within the span of five minutes if not sooner. I feel like suing that company for their harsh behaviour but can't prove a thing with how he treated me, it's his word against mine." Yugi says sadly.
"Those are the worse companies; they do not wish to see what the capacities are that people truly have." Atem says. "I see things other people don't see. and I want to have you in my team, I also know in what department I want to have you."
"But I have no real disability, I only have this stupid thing!" Yugi spats.
"I know Yugi, and because you have a thing that keeps you alive, I don't care about that. Yugi, what I care about is how the person is in character. And not how a person looks, as you already have noticed with Keith, he is blind, since birth but he manages that computer and the elevator like anybody else in this building, the things he does with a screwdriver, hammer and other tools make a professional hide in shame. I have people running around here who need a diaper, and one of them I sometimes need to help when she needs a change because she used the big guns and can't reach correctly, some have miss-formed body-parts. And I don't give a shit about it as long as they can and are willing to work while enjoying themselves, I'm pleased and satisfied, that my company is on second place, I only see that as a blessing."
"But I want to be normal." Yugi says softly a tear falling down his cheek.
Atem stands and walks around the table Pressing himself with his back against the table. He cubs Yugi's face and wipes the tear from Yugi's cheek and forcing him to look up. "Yugi, if I have learned one thing in life, then it is that no matter how you look at it, nobody is normal, and nobody is perfect. I'd rather have a crazy world like the one we live in now, then that I live in a world with only normal and perfect people, and do you know why?" he asks and waits until Yugi gives some form of response.
A simple shake from the head is what he gets and Atem smiles. "Because when everybody is perfect and normal, I believe it would be a fucking boring world, the way the world is now is perfect because there is always something happening, be it exiting, be it sad, be it horrific, see life as an adventure and make a game out of it." He says and lays his arms around Yugi and pulls him in a firm but also gentle hug.
Yugi unconsciously presses himself against Atem wanting a cuddle and allows his tears to fall on the elder man's shirt while also fisting it. Why do I feel so comfortable doing this? Yugi thinks while Atem simply allows the young man to cry and regain his composure. "But you look so perfect." Yugi whispers silently but loud enough for Atem to hear.
Gently pressing Yugi back a bit he looks at him. "But I'm not perfect Little One, my father and I loved each other since we both have a passion for games, but he also in a way hated me, and here's the reason. You see, Mana is my ex-wife, we both have a wonderful two-year-old son, but…. Our marriage was forced by him, Mana and I are cousins in the third degree, but we are also childhood friends, and because we always played together even after we moved from Egypt to here, the two of us were two hands on one belly and our family saw us end up together in the long run, to most of my family I eventually told I'm gay but my father was obvious to that little fact, and I tried my best to keep it that way, one day however I was barely 16 and came home with a man five years my senior, my father walked in on us, my then partner almost was ready to penetrate me. He kicked the man away from me and out of the house, and I was sent to a church community to be cured from my so-called sick gay thoughts.
"When I returned two years later, I pretended I was cured, and my father already had the marriage with Mana's parents arranged. Mana is bisexual, and she didn't want our friendship blown away because we could not act like husband and wife, and I respect that. She and I came up with a plan, when father and guests are around, we pretended we were the perfect husband and wife and were in love with each other till no end, but when our guests were gone, she called her girlfriend or boyfriend whatever she was dating at the time, and I stayed alone focusing on taking over this company. My father decided after being married for a few years it was time for an heir, so Mana and I decided we would try to for fill his wish.
"I was ashamed over the fact I needed to use pills to get him up those few times we tried for a heir, and I didn't enjoy it at all. But the last time we had sex with each other she got pregnant. In that year I took over the company with my father's guides so I could be trained more to take over the company when he would retire.
"Two years ago, Heba was born, and my father was in heaven. He almost forced us to make another child if it wasn't that we had decided to tell him Mana had complications during pregnancy and delivery, and to keep her healthy, Heba would be our only child. My father died a year ago and we filed for divorce shortly after his burial, that was also the time I took over the company completely. I moved back to my mother, and Mana stayed in the house I bought for us. Heba is one week with me, and the other week with her." Atem ends his story "and depending on his mood you probably will see the little Rascal running around here often, and the workers love him all."
"But what about your mom, and her parents?"
"My father had his heart on the right place but didn't always find his way to that place. He basically forced her parents to let her marry me, and my mother knew I never was 'cured' when I came home. It was her who said to let Mana keep the house but under the condition she would not invite woman or men over when Heba was with her until she was certain the person would stay in her life and the same rule counts for me."
"And Heba?"
"He wonders when papa finds a daddy for himself." Atem says bluntly. "But I'm still looking."
"Have you ever tried to find that one male?"
"No, he was more the kind of guy who was after my money, in a way I'm glad father kicked that man out. I had a few flings in the past, but they never lasted long. As soon as I mentioned Heba they ran away." Atem says.
"So basically, you are like me a freak of nature." Yugi smirks with his teared stained face.
"Depends in what way." Atem says with humour in his eyes, happy Yugi makes such comments about him.
"I don't know if Ryou mentioned it, but before I saw him the first time I was a proclaimed straight man, I never looked to the male body like I looked at the female body, but when I saw Ryou walk in our classroom I was no longer interested in girls the way I was before, Ryou managed to almost let me come on the spot into my pants, he and I became friends and soon boyfriends, we dated shortly but then… stuff happened and we broke things off but stayed friends... sorry it's hard to talk about what happened."
"It's okay Cutie, if you are ready than you can come to me and talk, but only if you wish to do so. Now where is Mana with my black gold?" Atem says and looks longingly to the door when it suddenly opens. Mana walks inside in one hand a plate with two medium sizes cubs and one big sized cub in the middle, and in the other hand a bag with something inside making Yugi's mouth water with delight when he smells the sweetness waffle through it. Man, I wished I could eat again.
"Man, it's like the coffee corner had happy hour or something like that, but I have the go…… tell me you hired him and those are happy tears, or I swear I'm going to kill you!" she says when she sees Yugi's red puffy eyes and dried tearstains on his cheeks.
"He was a bit emotional Mana, you were right… but now to business, Yugi do you think you can make my lock so the workers can't crack it, and it changes till my wish?"
"That's easy, the old Kaiba has stolen that idea from me, I created that system in the game-shop from my grandfather, the old Kaiba saw it and I was young and naïve back then, I stupidly gave it to him when he asked me to read the papers, he promised me a nice sum, but I never got something in return, something I still wish to get him back for." Yugi replies.
"If you still have the very first documents, we can use my lawyers and make sure you get the system back for a nice price, too bad, the old Kaiba is gone, his son took over five years ago, but with his ego we can crack him for his father's mistake." Atem says
"How fast can you fix the system?" Mana asks.
"Depends, I need to know what kind of a people I need to keep a mind with, based on that I can fix a way to chance the codes at your content… mmm maybe three weeks tops?" Yugi muses. "But before that, maybe it's wise if you visit Kame-game first so I can show you how the improved version works?"
"The only people allowed entering my office are the team leaders, Mana and I, sadly since the code is easy to crack, the workers make a use out of it to walk inside till their contents, and although I tell them to stop doing that, they ignore it and it gets annoying. I wish to have a camera above the coding system and I wish to be able to see and allow them inside with the code."
"Then I like to meet the team leaders and see how they are to see how difficult I can create a code."
"Then I make you a deal, I will hire you as our head digital security. You can work on your games when you have the time for it, and if something is with the system you will be the only one able to fix it, maybe soon even have a small team working under your guides. You also will be well paid." Atem says and writes a number on a paper sliding it over towards Yugi. "This will be your monthly salary then. I can give you your first pay today already."
Yugi looks to the paper and needs to grab himself or he will fall out the chair he is sitting in. "This is monthly?! That's what I expected on a yearly base, not monthly. With one pay of this I probably can buy the game-shop and house from grandpa's landlord!" Yugi chokes out. "That's too much Atem."
"Yugi, in our culture we are grateful with what we get, if it is little or much, we never say it's too much or close to nothing." Mana says while hugging him from behind softly in his ear. "He already took an obvious liking towards you, take it, buy the game-shop and house for your grandfather and when he dies you can have it as being his heir."
"Thank you." Yugi sniffs. "But may I do one request then?" he asks and Atem nods. "I take the job now, but no forwards pay, you pay me on the same day you pay each and every worker."
"Goody, I go fix the papers!" Mana squeals and runs outside the office.
Two hours after Yugi walked inside the office he walked out with a lighter heart. He slips his phone out his pocked and dials the familiar number.
Phone call:
"Kame game, how can I help you?"
"You can help me by calling me the new head of digital security and game designer of Sennen corporation grandpa." The youth say with the biggest smile on his face he did not have in a while.
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