Family Ties-Epilogue

"So this is the new Vice President," asked 22-year old Katrina Crane, Kaiba's secretary. She looked at the new VP questioningly with her big brown eyes. She moved her black bangs, which were in her eyes, behind her ear as Kaiba answered her.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Kaiba.

"Well that's not nice is it Seto," said Marianne. She pretended to look hurt but that didn't fool Kaiba.

"Why did I let Mokuba convince me to give you this job," sighed Kaiba, pinching his nose as Marianne leaned he elbow against his shoulder. His secretary looked at her as if she had just slapped Kaiba. No one called him Seto other than his brother, but he looked as if he didn't care.

"Because you know I'm best fit for the job," stated Marianne matter-of-factly. She was enjoying messing with her little brother.

"I don't think that's it," replied Kaiba, gently pushing Marianne's elbow off of him. He looked at her and saw a playful glint in her eyes, knowing now that she was messing with him. "You think you're so funny, don't you."

"Unfortunately, yes," said Marianne, mocking Kaiba in a playful manner.

"Just get to work will you," sighed Kaiba. He walked to his office and closed the door behind him. Marianne laughed and started to walk to the elevator.

Katrina was very confused as to what had just happened. Mr. Kaiba never let people talk to him like that. She wondered if this woman was Mr. Kaiba's girlfriend. The thought made her sad and a bit jealous of Marianne. She was even more confused when she saw Marianne walk the opposite direction of the VP's office.

"Mrs. Anderson, your office is the other way," said Katrina. Marianne looked toward her and chuckled before answering her.

"Oh, I'm not working in the office, I'm working from my home," replied Marianne. "I work better there anyway."

"Oh alright," said Katrina. She watched Marianne as she entered the elevator and thought about who this woman was. She had never heard of her before and now she was the new vice president of Kaibacorp. Mokuba was supposed to be the VP, but now it was this woman. It was a mystery that Katrina just had to solve.

Days passed by slowly for Katrina as she tried to figure out Marianne. Marianne came to the office each day to talk with Mr. Kaiba but then she left right after that. Katrina couldn't find a good time to talk with her. She wanted to ask Marianne what her relation to Mr. Kaiba was.

It was about a week before Katrina's opportunity presented itself. It was a dreary day and things were moving slower than usual. Kaiba was in a bad mood, and no one wants to be around him when he's angry. Katrina could hear him yelling at someone on the phone from the other side of the door. This was going to be a bad day for someone in the office.

Katrina was just typing on her computer when Kaiba barged out of his office. His veins were popping out and he looked like he was going to strangle someone. He walked right up to her and yelled, "Get Marianne up here right now." After that he just went back into his office and slammed the door behind him. Katrina called Marianne quickly so she wouldn't anger her boss. She told Marianne that Mr. Kaiba wanted her and she responded with a calm, "Ok, I'll be there in a moment."

In about 10 minutes, the elevator beeped and Marianne stepped out of it. She walked calmly past Katrina and into Kaiba's office. She could hear him yelling at Marianne and venting his anger out on her. The yelling stopped after about 5 minutes and all became quiet on the 78th floor. After about 10 more minutes, Marianne stepped out of the office, still as calm as she was walking out. Katrina was surprised that she wasn't crying or at least looking a bit stunned.

"So what did Mr. Kaiba want," asked Katrina hesitantly. If this woman could take one of Mr. Kaiba's outbursts, then she must be pretty harsh herself.

"Someone had messed up and lost most of the programming for our latest project. He was pretty mad," replied Marianne.

"How are you not scared of him after he yelled at you like that,' questioned Katrina.

"He wasn't yelling at me, he was yelling at someone over the phone. He knows I can't work under pressure so he was yelling at the man that messed up. And Seto is not that scary once you get to know," laughed Marianne.

"So you fixed the mess up?" asked Katrina.

"Yes, it was a simple recovery. Seto may be smart, but when it comes to programming, I'm the best," boasted Marianne.

"I haven't been able to ask you this but I really want to know if you are Mr. Kaiba's girlfriend?" asked Katrina. She was surprised when Marianne started laughing.

"His girlfriend, of course not!" laughed Marianne.

Katrina looked at her, puzzled. "Then what are you to him. No one calls him by his first name except his brother and he seems fine when you call him that."

"I can only tell you if you promise not to tell anyone," whispered Marianne. Katrina nodded and Marianne told her, "Seto is my brother. Weather you believe me or not, it is true.

Katrina looked at her like she had grown two heads. Mr. Kaiba has a sister! She didn't know if she was telling the truth or not. She was relived to know that they weren't dating but she didn't know if she could trust Marianne.

"Why don't you want anyone else to know," asked Katrina after she got over her initial shock.

"Because I don't want people to be bugging me about it. I don't want people intruding in my life because of my brother. I know that as the VP I will be getting a lot of attention from the press, but I don't want anymore then is already guaranteed," replied Marianne.

"That makes sense. So why do you go home instead of work here?"

"Because I have a son and I need to keep an eye on him during the day. I get my work done on time, so Seto doesn't have a problem with it," answered Marianne.

"OK I get it now, thank you for answering my question. I know they were a bit personal, but I guess I'm a little nosy," said Katrina.

"I don't mind, I'm not one to keep things from others. If they ask, I will tell, if it is a reasonable answer," said Marianne. "Well I need to get back to work, see you later."

Katrina waved good-bye to her and went back to work as well. She was happy to get that all settled. It made her happy to know that Marianne trusted her with a big secret. She wouldn't tell anyone. She was also glad to know that Marianne wasn't dating Mr. Kaiba. She smiled to herself and felt better about everything now that she had gotten the answers she wanted. She felt like everything would work out for everyone in the end.

A/N- So that's the end, I hope you like it. It took me a while to think of a way to end this but I finally did it. If you are wondering why I ended it like this, it is simple-

1) Katrina is going to play a somewhat big part in my next story (And she's got her little crush on Seto! and no she is not the reincarnatoin of Kisara, she's in the white rose.)

2) I think that Mokuba would want to do something else with his life so he made Seto make Marianne the new VP.

This was really fun to write and thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed!