When the driver opened the back door Seto Kaiba shielded his brilliant blue eyes from the midday Sun as he stepped out at the front doors of a department store. Just looking up at the boldly designed storefront and the mannequins in the window made Seto's gut clenched with anxiety (though he would be damned if he ever admit it). This is stupid, he griped internally, but the moody teen still offered little resistance as his secretary ushered him into the store like a hen herding her chick.
"What do you mean 'we're only shopping in the discount section'?!" Seto's secretary exclaimed, positively aghast. The CEO cast a sideways glare at the lady as she gaped at him.
He huffed. "Just because I have gobs of money doesn't mean I can't be frugal with it."
"Frugal?" His caught his secretary's eye giving a subtle twitch before she pressed a finger to her temple. "Mr. Kaiba, how is 'frugal' even a word in your vocabulary? You own and hold the patents for the greatest technology in the world. You have poured money into an entire tournament city, and even into a custom dragon jet for heaven's sake!"
"Yea, but I wanted the dragon jet." He countered smoothly. "This whole shopping trip was your idea, and I didn't want any part of it. So why should I splurge my money on something I don't care about?" Truthfully, Seto was baiting the woman, daring her to tell him how he could spend his own money. Remarkably, she did no such thing.
"While you would have more luck finding something that suits your taste, Mr. Kaiba, if you expanded your search beyond the discount section," she said with a shrug, "you are right. You can spend your money as you please." A finger gently jabbed his chest. "So long as you get something work appropriate." Seto pursed his lips and brushed her hand away.
"Whatever, lady." He wasn't going to argue. Better they find what they came here for and get out as fast as possible.
"You there." The secretary signaled for the attention of a pair of shop clerks who were malingering and sharing idle gossip one aisle over. "Yes, hello ladies," Seto watched as the woman turned on a very sweet and savvy charm, "I wonder if you might assist me." One of the girls, a lean, pretty blonde, popped a bubble of Dayglo pink gum.
"Yea, sure," she said with a very plastic smile, "what can we do for you?"
"My boss is in need of a change in wardrobe," the secretary explained with a vague gesture to the man behind her, "something a little less punk rock and more along the lines of business casual. We're shopping in the discount section only, so I don't expect you to find me any Armani, but we're looking for something tasteful and work appropriate."
"Anything else?" Asked the second girl.
"Yes." Said the secretary. "I would like to help him find a dress." The words passed her lips and Seto Kaiba watched the eyes of both girls fix on him.
"A dress?"
"For him?"
They eyed him up and down and Seto bristled, but before he could say anything all three of them jolted when his secretary snapped her fingers sharply before the blonde's nose, commanding her attention.
"Yes, a dress for the gentleman." She affirmed, her sweetness now beginning to border on venomous. "There isn't going to be a problem with that, is there?"
"No, ma'am." Replied the blonde.
Seto's secretary smiled. "Excellent. We'll be waiting by the changing rooms. Now, off you pop."
Seto watched as both girls scurried off to pull some items from the selves. Turning to Seto the secretary crooked a finger, beckoning the young man to follow, which he did. Those two girls weren't the first to have looked at him that way when he revealed such a preference in clothing. He hated that look people gave him. But… his secretary had been the first to simply smile at him when he confessed to her in the limo. She had been the first one to defend him. Not that he needed protection. He was Seto Kaiba, after all. Although, he admitted in the quiet of his thoughts, it was sure nice to have someone in his corner.
Seto frowned at his reflection as they waited by the changing rooms. He wasn't nervous. Who said he was nervous? Seto Kaiba didn't get nervous, but he really wasn't looking forward to what the clerks had selected for him to try from the discount racks. And his heart sunk like a cannonball when he caught sight of the girls approaching the dressing room with a rack loaded with tacky garb.
"Check it out." Announced the plastic blonde. "We found some really fun things for you to try on."
Seto took one look at the rack- at the few pairs of clown pants, horrifically designed slacks, and the dresses that were more hideous than Joey crying- and his fury instantly swelled. Then the most extraordinary thing happened. Before he could make a sound, the scathing words burning on the tip of Seto's tongue came streaming from the mouth of his secretary like some remarkably well-rehearsed ventriloquist act.
"What the hell is this?" the lady stormed over.
"You asked for something casual." Said the brunette.
"This," the secretary pulled a pair of faded pink and pea-soup green camouflage pants, "is downright hideous. What part of this says 'business casual' to you?" She dropped the trousers in disgust. Seto, meanwhile, simply crossed his arms and watched the lady work.
"And what in Ra's name is this atrocity?" A dress was pulled off the rack. Red and gold sequins glittered mockingly under the harsh fluorescent lights.
"That's a classic." Insisted the blonde. "It's sparkly and pretty-"
"Wrong." The secretary cut her off sharply. "This looks like that bloody fast food clown got drunk and decided to try drag on a whim."
"Come on," the blonde persisted in a weak attempt at a sales pitch, "they aren't that bad. Just give them a try." Seto watched his secretary pinch the bridge of her nose. Suddenly he was glad that he avoided trying her patience too hard, because her seemingly endless fountain of patience appeared already worn out with these two.
"Do you girls have any idea who this man is?" she asked rhetorically. "He is Seto-bloody-Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporation, and the wealthiest man who has ever graced Domino City with his presence." Seto pretended her words weren't leaving a proud blush in his cheeks.
"With the amount of money he is willing to invest here for a decent array of clothing, you'd think he would be able to afford some competent assistance. As this is obviously beyond the two of you to provide," she swept her hand, sending the rack of tacky flying down the aisle, "I'll just have to do my job and take over from here. As they say, if you want something done right, do it yourself. You!" A finger snapped to the brunette who jumped.
"Me?"
"Yes, you." Said the secretary tersely. "I want you to find me no less than four pairs of dress slacks. They need to be long; the man has femurs for days." Seto blinked and checked himself in the mirror. She noticed that? "And I want no patterns, no frilly add-ons, just plain slacks in black, navy, and grey if you have it. Go!" The secretary's last word held the crack of a foreman's whip. The girl squeaked and ran off.
"And you," she wheeled on the blonde who was looking like a mouse staring down a dragon, "I want you to hunt for dresses." Seto's secretary turned to him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to hold himself taller under her appraising gaze.
"You're going to bring me every item you can find in every shade of blue-green, silver, and white." She said as she tilted Seto's chin, adding in a voice just above a whisper. "I want to see those beautiful eyes pop right out of his head." Seto felt his stomach do an odd flip in the moment of silence that passed before his secretary turned back to the clerk.
"Well, don't just stand there gawping like a codfish." She snapped. "Off with you!"
"Yes ma'am." Squeaked the blonde.
Seto watched the clerk run off into the shop before his gaze drifted down to his secretary. Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to like her more than he had expected.