Love Can Touch Us One Time and Last For a Lifetime

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Siegfried asked me, as my mind came back to the present.

My eyes scanned the numerous magazines and newspaper articles in front of me.

“I haven’t had any criminal charges pressed against me for being drunk whilst underage, these magazines can’t prove I was actually on a drunken bender.” I said, trying to act a lot more confident than I was feeling.

That’s what you need to do in the business world, and in life generally. You’re more likely to get your own way than if you appear timid and shy.

“Did you stop to think about what this may do for my company and it’s image? A few articles mention your employment here.” Siegfried bitterly asked.

Then, something came over me. While outside of the office I was bitchy and overly confident, when I was in a corporate environment I was timid and shy, and ready to ass kiss at any second. So naturally, even though I hated Siegfried for being sleazy and not promoting me to where I belong, I was still timid, shy and especially an ass kisser.

Except for when I worked at Kaiba Corp. As much as Kaiba was superior to me in every way, I never saw him as that. He was one of my peers; he was in a few of my classes. I always viewed Kaiba as an equal, and I was able to be my bitchy self. Maybe that’s one of the reasons he went for me.

But something snapped inside of me. It wasn’t that this was the straw that broke the camel’s back; I could still take a lot more abuse. But what Siegfried did to me was entrapment. I absolutely hated entrapment. I took a big intolerance for it during my later years of middle school and early years of high school. A few girls had a sleepover, spoke to me on AIM, attempted to trap me by trying to get me to bitch about people, I was smart and knew what they were doing, but they just lied and told everyone I bitched about people anyway.

It ruined my life! Ok, not really. But that’s how immature girls in their early teens think, and at the time I thought it was the end of my life.

However, I’ve hated entrapment with a passion since. So I wasn’t going to taken Siegfried’s abuse lying down.

“Sorry Siegfried, but I was under the impression that you giving me that VIP card was to raise your company’s image.” I said, sounding smart-ass, even going so far as to use Siegfried’s first name, instead of calling him Von Schroeder.

“What gave you that impression?” Siegfried asked, sounding amused.

“Let’s see. Firstly, I’m Seto Kaiba’s ex girlfriend, and his most famous one at that considering I was the first, and the one the media loved. That alone can improve the image of your organisation. Then, you give me a VIP card, not to anyone else, but me. Sorry Siegfried, but it seems you wanted this to happen.” I smirked.

“Well done Ella, I really like this attitude makeover of yours. You’re correct, so no disciplinary action shall be taken. I however would like you to accompany me for a business lunch; so a few things may be discussed. Don’t worry, they’re good.” Siegfried winked.

“Alright, anything to get out of doing real work.” I grinned.

***

As I walked into the fairly high-class restaurant with Siegfried, I noticed there were a few paps around. They were taking pictures furiously. Instead of ducking out of their way, or quickly running inside, Siegfried grabbed my waist and posed.

When we arrived inside, I HAD to ask him what the hell that was.

“Ella babe, aren’t you tired of being linked to herr Kaiba? Aren’t you still so mad at what he said about you and herr Wheeler? This is the perfect way to push his buttons, and make him look silly.” Siegfried replied.

I thought about it. Siegfried was right. If I could pretend I was going out with Siegfried, I wouldn’t be linked to Kaiba anymore. It’s not like I’m ever really linked to Joey anymore and we dated. Siegfried was a lot less famous than Kaiba, so when we ‘broke up’ people wouldn’t remember me, then maybe I could go back to my regular life, instead of this weird sort of fame I didn’t ask for.

“This is definitely fake, right?” I asked Siegfried, giving him a weird look.

“Of course Miss Ella! You are a young girl, I do not want to drag you down and impose.” Siegfried smiled, pleased he got his way.

“Okay, deal. We can pose whenever we’re out and make the media believe we’re together. But nothing more than hugging or holding hands. It’s not kissing I’m worried about, but we don’t want to ruin our image do we?” I winked.

We then walked out of the foyer and into the restaurant, where we were immediately seated. After Siegfried quickly ordered for the both of us, he took his hands in mine.

“Miss Ella, I have an important question to ask you.” Siegfried informed me.

“Ya?” I asked.

“There’s an important ball coming up in two weeks. It’s being held by Industrial Illusions, and important key stakeholders of the gaming industry have been invited. I of course scored myself an invite, and I’m allowed to bring a guest. It would be my honour if you, Ella Campbell, would escort me to this event.” Siegfried asked, kissing my hands.

Hm, Kaiba would be there for sure. He probably thinks he’s one up on me, dating a daughter from a big corporation. I’m sure he’s said to her a hundred times ‘you’re so much better than that commoner I dated before you’ I can’t wait to see the look on his face.

Although Kaiba and I parted on good terms, the fact that he defamed both Joey and I made me feel nothing but hate and disgust towards him now. This was the perfect way to get back at him.

“Sure, count me in!” I beamed.

We only made small talk before our food arrived. I was once again timid and shy, and I felt awkward when I was alone with my boss/’lover’ it wasn’t how it was with Kaiba.

However, in the middle of eating something dawned on me, which I remembered I needed to tell Siegfried.

“Hey, Siegfried?” I asked, addressing him by his first name now I was under strict orders to do so.

“Yes Ella?” Siegfried asked.

“Um, I looked at the financial records that you posted online for all of Schroeder Corp’s shareholders, and there was a big accounting error.” I meekly suggested, hoping that this would finally lead to me being promoted, even though I knew the outcome.

“What error was that?” Siegfried asked, leaning back on his chair with a smirk.

“I worked out that the Net Realisable Value of the disposal of some of your old stock was completely wrong, which messed up your reports like the balance sheet big time.” I informed.

“How so?” Siegfried asked.

“Well, the price of the asset was correct, whoever was in charge of preparing the accounting information forgot to subtract the selling costs of the old stock. You wanted to quickly get rid of some of the old duel monsters cards, and you gave a bonus to the person who sold the most. The accountant forgot to subtract that bonus from the realisable value, resulting in an overstated net realisable value. This threw such reports as the profit and loss statement out of whack, affecting the balance sheet.” I said, attempting to sound as confident as I could.

“I see. Thank you Ella, I’ll consult my team of accountants as soon as we get back.” Siegfried replied.

“So, can I work in the accounting department yet?” I asked Siegfried, sounding excited.

“Ella, we both know you’re not qualified to do that. You’ve only done one year of an accounting degree, and you have no experience.” Siegfried sighed.

“No experience? I worked at Kaiba Corp. in the accounting department. You’re right about not being qualified, but I’ve done enough for a cadetship, or at least to work as junior accountant. I’ve picked up on 5 crucial errors in the past month! You’d be saving a lot of money if I was a junior accountant!” I argued, once again trying to seem confident but still seem sweet.

“Ella, it’s beneficial for both of our images to have you as the face of my company. It’s important that when people walk in, one of the first things they see is my smiling, busty, beautiful secretary. It’s worth losing a few dollars to retain you as a secretary, isn’t it? When you’re not qualified for a job, you may as well stick to what you do best.” Siegfried said, staring into my eyes and cupping my face with his hand.

I sighed to myself, and tried not to look disappointed. I was always the one arguing to Kaiba that I wasn’t qualified for every job he’d put me in. It was time reality caught up to me, and I got what I deserved.