A/N: Hi guys, I would love to hear your thoughts so please send some reviews my way.

Please note that I do not own Yugioh and/or the characters that appear therein except for my own plot and characters. Any names or resemblance to anyone alive or dead is purely coincidental.

Anika enjoyed social gatherings, especially ones that she was sure to get work out of. The annual Domino Business Owners Gala was a great place to be seen and heard, the potential for new work was amazing and it was one of the few times she allowed herself time off. Anika was an incredibly busy business woman and rarely took days off, but she was a lady and wanted to look her best. A trip to the salon later and her raven coloured hair and makeup was perfect; she slipped on her dress that fit her slim but curvy figure to perfection, put on her shoes and was ready to go.

A buzz from the intercom told her the limo was out front; ordinarily she would drive herself as she never wasted an opportunity to drive one of her beautiful cars, but this was not the occasion. Her chauffeur held open the door, and as soon as she got in, her phone rang. There was no need to glance at the caller ID, there was only one person who would call now, "Hey Alex!"

"So, where's my picture?" Alex asked.

"It will be on the internet tomorrow." Anika replied.

"I don't want to wait, how often is it that you get all dressed up?" He whined.

"Every day." She retorted.

"Not what I mean and you know it." He said.

"Aren't accountants supposed to be boring with no sense of fashion, especially the male ones?" Anika asked sarcastically.

"Yes, but I had to pick up the slack." She could picture him rolling his eyes at her and he knew as well as she did that he would not receive a picture of how Anika looked until every newspaper and fashion alert website put it up.

"I tell you what. Tomorrow I'll take you out to dinner and give you the blow by blow of tonight's happenings." Anika promised him.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Alex stated.

"I know. Bye, Lex."

"Enjoy it."

Alex had been Anika's friend since the first day of university. He was one of the few people that immediately understood her and supported her decision to start a company while studying. The two of them had seen each other through psycho exes, bad break ups and marathon study sessions. He was now a very successful accountant but they never have nor will they ever work together. It was the cardinal rule. They both agreed business required cut-throat ferocity and their friendship was too important. The fact is that he was the only man to ever fully support Anika.

Anika's musings were cut short by the driver's announcement of their arrival. He promptly opened her door and offered his hand. She looked around, drinking the scene in. "They really pulled out all the stops this year." She thought. There was a red carpet entrance to the luminous venue with handsome couples striding in. The scene was incredibly beautiful, bathed in golden light.

Anika saw everyone making their entrance with their dates as she knew they would from having read the invite, but she was always a bit of a loner and preferred attending by herself.

She ascended the stairs, her silver satin evening dress billowed behind her. It contrasted beautifully with her tan skin. The Swarovski crystals on her neck glittered in the light. Anika looked breathtaking of course, she would never know. She was taking in the magnificent surroundings, all the men in tuxedos and women in their finery, before she was offered a glass of champagne.

"No thanks, I don't drink." She said to the hostess.

"Yes ma'am we were informed, it's non-alcoholic."

"In that case, thank you very much." She smiled at the hostess stepping towards a sea of familiar faces when she spotted the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen.

Anika knew Seto Kaiba would be here and she was very, very keen to approach him. Kaiba Corp was incredibly successful, but she knew they could optimize their revenue with a few suggestions from her. However, she had to be careful in her suggestions. Kaiba's personality was not much of a secret and she knew the wrong word could blow her chances. She had to try, at least she had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

As she walked towards him she was stopped by none other than Mr Osamu Erizawa. Anika wrinkled her nose wishing he had not seen her. The man was a complete jackass, being almost fifty years old and the owner of a rival company did not stop him from making passes at her constantly until she publicly and very sarcastically turned him down. Ever since then all he has ever wanted to do is make her look bad.

Anika spotted Kaiba walking in her direction and knew this would not end well unless...

She changed the direction she was facing so Erizawa would not see Kaiba come through; she would NOT let this man blow her chances. Mr Erizawa did not realize how close by Kaiba was when he snidely commented, "So, Facet, you clean up pretty good, too bad you don't have anyone to look good for. You blew your chance with me, so don't even think about that."

Anika very sweetly replied, "I'm sorry, Mr Erizawa, that you still labour under the delusion that any intelligent woman, least of all me, would ever consider going out with someone as beneath them as you. I still have standards. If you don't believe me ask the press. I hope you still remember them." Erizawa noticed her gaze shift up as she said "Ah, Mr Kaiba. It's an honour to see you here this evening."

Anika smirked at the horror struck expression on Erizawa's face and noticed the distaste with which Seto Kaiba was looking at him. This was her chance. She was never someone easily intimidated but even she had to grasp the enormity of being able to address the Seto Kaiba. It was a bonus that he seemed okay with her walking towards him so she put on her most charming smile and bit the bullet. Anika was in complete shock when Kaiba spoke first, "Is that how you deal with everyone?" he growled.
"No, I usually save my snarky side for people who need to be put back in their place."

She was sure she caught him smirk, but it was gone as quickly as she had seen it.

"So, how do you think we could work together? It's obvious that is what you were going to say; why else would you be here?"
"True. As you well know I own the largest marketing and PR company around and have recently acquired a publishing house as well. I have followed your career for a long time and Kaiba Corp holds great interest for me, which is why I know I can improve the revenue you see."
He looked at Anika with disbelief "How in the world could you make Kaiba Corp more on the bottom line?"
"Easy. Good marketing. You currently do not have separate strategies effective enough for end users and commercial clients. We can develop great strategies that absolutely guarantee results."
"You cannot make that guarantee"
"Yes I can Mr. Kaiba. A good instance in your industry is Schroeder Corp. Ziegfried van Schroeder was desperately looking to improve the image and bottom line of his business. We heard, approached him and after just over ten months his revenue has increased thirty percent as compared to his last TWO financial years. Believe me we can guarantee results."
"Interesting. How can you guarantee your team will provide me with quality of service?"
"I try to oversee processes as much as I can. I have a direct hand in our biggest accounts. I would not let anything go wrong. After all I built this business out of nothing, I will not let anything diminish its reputation. I do not tolerate failure Mr. Kaiba. I'm sure you can appreciate that."

Kaiba actually seemed satisfied with her answers. Anika's heart nearly stopped when he pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her, "Tomorrow, 11am. I want to meet the head of your team."
"Of course. In fact..." she pulled her phone out her purse and hit the speed dial. There was an answer after two rings, "Hello?"
"Hi Hanari. We have a meeting with Mr Kaiba at 11am at Kaiba Corp tomorrow. I want you and your team at the office by 8... Good... Tell Andrea I expect to see her there as well. Good night to you too."
"Great. In that case I will see you in the morning Mr. Kaiba."

As she walked away she saw the sour look on Erizawa's face, Anika had beaten him to the punch yet again, and he really was getting annoyed at how she was always one step ahead. What she did not see was Kaiba looking at her retreating figure. For once someone intrigued him.