Chapter Text
Dylan knocked on the door. Or at least someone who she was 99.9% was Dylan. Who else ever came over? Fuck. That was the third time this month. Hass rolled over and checked her alarm clock. The numbers were too bright, and it took her eyes a second to adjust. 6:50 am. Fuck. Work in 10 minutes.
“I’m up! Coming”
She leapt out of bed and felt around her side table for her glasses. Thick, black, Buddy Holly. Were these ever fashionable?
Hass could hear Dylan’s muffled laugh through the door. Thank god he was always early. Though how he always knew when she had slept in, she didn’t want to know. He probably checked her log-in when he checked Mr. and Mr. Kaiba’s. Not that the older brother ever needed it. And not like the younger brother was ever to be found.
Her “apartment” had once been one of two guest suites in the main office tower. For important clients only. Kaiba Corp had been kind enough to convert it into an apartment for her after her last promotion. No commute? No rent? Much better than a raise. By the time that promotion had come along, Hass was third in the company work hierarchy, behind only the Kaiba brothers. And to the company’s credit, this arrangement had stopped her from being as late. Everyday. And for asking for more company shares. Like anyone else in her position had the right to, as she had been told a million and one times by her mother.
Dylan was going to have his work cut out for him this morning. Hass had seen the CEO’s younger brother sneaking his girlfriend into the only remaining guest suite around 2am as Hass was leaving her office. Dylan had ways of knowing everything.
Hass rifled through her closet. Petticoats littered the floor, spilling out of an already full laundry basket overflowing with too many decorative tights, blouses, and skirts with more layers than any one outfit should have. She scooped up two petticoats and tried to shove them into the dirty laundry basket, pushing down and hoping everything stayed. How long had it been since she had taken a day off? How long had it been since she had gone to the dry cleaners? Too long.
A clean petti, no clean bloomers but who besides her could notice. More black then anyone person should own. Fluffing out her skirt, Hass ran around, grabbing random things around the room and throwing them into a pile on the bed to see if she really needed them. Her cat, Mango, had half his whiskers into her closet before she noticed him and gave him a look. To his credit, he pretended to look guilty as he jumped on to her bed to watch her run around. Hass yanked the closet door shut, she did not need to deal with cat hair on all her clothes, and noticed her favorite brush on the flood next to her nightstand. 7:20 am. Fuck this all to hell.
7:50, finish her hair. Tear apart her closet for 20 minutes trying to find a soft bonnet to match her coordinate. 8:10, yell at her makeup. 8:30, grab shoes and run out the door, her too large purse hitting the doorframe on the way out. She left the door open so Mango could run around the floor while she was working. The only people with access to this level anyway were the Kaiba brothers, the cleaning staff, and Dylan: the elder brother’s over-worked assistant. She wished she had time to straighten up, because she knew her bathroom was getting cleaned today. And she knew would come back to all her stuff organized, cleaned, with fresh towels in the bathroom, and a feeling of guilt.
The elevator at the end of the hall chimed open, and she put on her platforms as fast as she could so she could at least pretend to be presentable. Check herself in the mirrored elevator wall. Straighten her bonnet.
The elevator door chimed open at the 3rd floor. Presentable.
Hass felt like her whole life the last month had been confined to the office tower. Work. Then ride the elevator up to the 21st floor. Sleep and play with Mango. Then back down to the work floors again. She hadn’t had a weekend off in forever. She felt frantic and overwhelmed. But to her credit, as she clacked trough the halls she looked like she had it all together.
Say hello to everyone in the break room. Grab coffee. Take the long way to her office so she could avoid everyone. Last thing anyone wants is have their boss start asking them questions first thing in the morning anyway. Hass glanced at her watch. 8:50 am. Not really first thing in the morning, but still.
Hass sunk into her desk. She made a point to leave her office door open to make people feel comfortable. Which made it difficult to get a lot of work done during normal hours, but it helped with office moral. She had lunch from the vending machine in the breakroom. Her fingers cramped. 2pm. Fuck.
Hass pulled out her cellphone and texted Dylan.
Tell Mr Kaiba I will be out for a while. I need to run some errands.
It was always easier to message Dylan. He would make it sound like a good excuse to Mr. Kaiba. Not that the young CEO would have noticed anyway. A new tournament was starting tomorrow, and he had been working constantly. The elder Mr. Kaiba had still been in his office last night around 2 when she headed back to her “apartment.” Probably why he hadn’t noticed or cared that his younger brother had stumbled in drunk and with his latest girlfriend at 2 am. Hass idly wondered if the elder Kaiba brother had ever gone to bed. Not that it was any of her business.
Hass headed towards the elevator and pushed the up button. Her phone chimed. Will do. Do you need help?
She sighed. Not only did Dylan do everything for Mr. Kaiba, but he kept track of the younger Mr. Kaiba and tried to convince Hass that she needed help as well. Being Mr. Kaiba’s personal secretary/assistant was a full-time job. Hass didn't want to add more to Dylan's work load. She wondered if she should ask Mr. Kaiba for her own assistant. But she needed an excuse leave the building. Even if it was just to get groceries and do laundry. I’m good. Need to leave the building. Haven’t been outside in days.
Understood.
She had no idea if that meant it was okay, but it had to be done anyway.
The elevator chimed and she headed back to her apartment. Cleaned Mango’s box and threw everything she possibly fit into both her laundry bags. Sighing, Hass took two trips to the elevator. Mango rode down with her, so she dropped him off at the 3rd floor. He swished his tail gratefully, and Hass continued to head down to the first floor. Her cat was popular in the office whenever it struck him to come down.
She had to hold the door open and drag both bags into the 1st floor lobby. Fumbling through her purse she tried to find her phone so she could call a cab. No way she could take both bags to the dry cleaners on her own. There was too much in her purse and there were no inner pockets. The large black heart wasn’t practical, but it was cute and that’s what counted. Not being able to find her phone was making things difficult.
“Do you need help?” a familiar voice said.
Hass’s eyes jerked up. Mr. Kaiba. Her boss. Fuck. In front of her watching her look for a phone so she could call a cab to play hooky from work. Fuck.
“Just calling a cab."
“Are you ditching work?” Mr. Kaiba said. Hass suddenly felt sick. He must have seen her panic-stricken look because he quickly followed with “Kidding.” His face was still serious, and she wondered if he was really kidding or just trying to make things less awkward for her.
Hass went back to digging through her bag, more frantic. She didn't know how to handle this conversation. It was rare for her to have interactions with her boss outside of a work situation.
“You’re okay,” he assured. The elder Mr. Kaiba easily picked up both bags, one in each hand. “You can borrow my car; I was headed out anyway.” Hass blushed. With his sleaves rolled up to his elbows and a fitted black button up, it was easy to forget that Mr. Kaiba was her boss and not just a guy her age with amazing forearms. It was hard not to stare. She looked down, hoping Mr. Kaiba didn’t notice how warm her face was..
“I don’t want to make you late.”
“You can ride with me.”
He didn’t wait for an answer. He headed out the door with both bulging bags of laundry, his long legs leaving her behind. Hass chased behind, all to aware of how high her platforms were and trying not to fall over.
It was all so smooth. A limo instantly pulled up. The driver seeing the bags opened the trunk before opening the door for them. Mr. Kaiba gestured for her to get in first and then slid in behind her. Hass was self-conscious of just how large her skirt was as she sat on the opposite end of the back of the limo. The window upfront rolled down. “Where to ma’m?” She told him the name of the dry cleaners, the window rolled back up, and the car pulled out.
Hass felt awkward, and she was all to aware of just how comfortable the elder Mr Kaiba seemed. He looked out the window absentmindedly, like he took limos around town every day of his life. Which he probably did.
Hass had ridden in a limo before. Of course she had. Before she lived at the Kaiba Co. headquarters, Mr. Kaiba would sometimes send her home in one if work ran late, saying it wasn't safe to take the bus so late at night. But she had never ridden with him. And she had never gotten over the awkward feeling of riding around in luxury.
Even though Mr. Kaiba was her immediate boss they barely ever spoke outside of work, he had never said anything about how she dressed or the way she moved a cat into the work tower. Instead, he had just complimented her code and invited her to more shareholder meetings. Strictly business. And not her super-hot boss who was only a year older than her. She really needed to get out more.
They arrived at the dry cleaners, and Hass fully expected to be dropped off, but to her surprise, the chauffeur parked so that she was closest to the curb and opened the door for Mr. Kaiba, and Mr. Kaiba, to his credit, walked around the back of the car and helped her out. Hass was so aware of how large his hand was compared to her own. She didn’t even notice she was in shock till he was back beside her, bags in each hand. She meant to open the door for him but he placed a bag on the ground and held open the shop door for her. The door chimed as they entered.
If anyone was surprised to see the Seto Kaiba, of Kaiba Co, escorting a Lolita and carrying bags of laundry no one showed it. He placed the bags on the counter and waited beside her while they sorted through the clothes. She was just telling them how one skirt needed to be handwashed when she noticed that Mr. Kaiba was paying. “Oh! You don’t need to do that sir.” “I know.” And he said it in such a way that she knew that was that.
She followed him out of the store when she was done, going just a little faster then comfortable in her too tall shoes as he strode comfortably in front of her, beating her to the limo and holding the door for her. This time when he got in after her and sat in the seat in across from her, facing her. “Would you like to me to take you somewhere else or do you want to join me for a business event and dinner.” Hass had no words. “I wouldn’t mind showing off my favorite programmer.”
Her mouth felt dry. She was smiling. Her chest ached. With him facing her she had nowhere to look to hide. “I don’t mind joining you,” she squeaked, embarrassed of how her voice sounded.
Was that a smile back? But Mr Kaiba never smiled. So it must have been her imagination.