Corporate Raiders
Chapter 1: Good Publicity
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Nothing focuses the mind better than the constant sight of a competitor who wants to wipe you off the map.
– Wayne Calloway
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Flicking his gaze from the vid link in his hand to the mirror on his left, Dick smoothed his hands through his black hair and frowned. Setting the device up so that he could keep his eyes on the screen but fix his tie, his blue eyes darted around the small room before settling back on the image of his assistant. "She isn't that pretty, you know." When the woman on the other end rolled her eyes, he simply took a gulp of hot coffee and picked an invisible piece of lint off his suit sleeve.
"That's either because the picture is coming in fuzzy over the connection or your eyesight rapidly deteriorated overnight. Kind of looks like Bar…"
He held up one hand and pinched the bridge of his nose with the other. "You think that everyone with red hair looks like her. It's getting really old, Roth." She managed to look admonished but it was obvious her lips were holding back a smirk.
"You just keep that spark, Grayson, and you'll get through this interview just fine. Lengal looks like a dumb blonde but she's got this annoying habit of digging if she thinks you're fatigued. Just remember that Anders got the jump on us with Metro and you've got to do damage control." Dick could tell she was nervous; the front of her blouse was wrinkled, indicating she'd been pacing. This week-long media blitz had been hard on everyone, Rachel especially. She was used to following along with Dick on these sorts of things; going with Bruce had driven her just as crazy as it had him.
Straightening his suit one last time, even though the look in her violet eyes assured him he was being silly, Dick wished he had time for one cigarette before stepping out into the lion's den. Reaching for his link, he flashed his best boyish grin. "Take care of Bruce in Hong Kong, all right? Otherwise, this whole flying solo thing will be for nothing."
Wrinkling her nose and muttering something under her breath, Rae managed a small smile. "Be good, take care and remember, that's what we're up against." Jabbing her finger at the grainy photo one last time, the young woman clicked off. Dick was pretty sure that he didn't want to leave the green room. Ever.
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"Waaaaake up, Starbaby! Just because I'm not there is no excuse to lie around all morning." The holo link clicked on with a pleasant beep seconds after the audio engaged. This gave Kory just enough time to blink the sleep out of her eyes and sit up when the screen popped up about a foot from her face. "Wakey wakey, organic eggs and tofu bakey."
Groaning loudly at the sound of her PA's voice, the CEO of Sol Corp threw a pillow at the screen and pushed a heavy curtain of fiery hair out of her sleepy eyes. The young man on the other end winced, even though the pillow sailed through and hit against the door. Once the holo screen stopped wavering, her PA clapped his hands together and grinned wickedly.
"Go away, Gar, I don't…do not want to go jogging in Metropolis on the one morning I have to sleep in this week. I do not have to meet with Lane until two o'clock…please let me have one day off." Holding up her hand, all the while doing her best pout, Kory punched in the number for room service and quickly ordered a cup of coffee, black, and a custard Danish. When she hung up the phone, she shot a dirty look at the holo screen and rose from the mass of sheets in the center of the bed. "Oh, do not even start; I have not had any junk food all week. I was afraid the staff of the Halldorf would cry if I ordered a bowl of organic whole grain crunch. Room service did in Melbourne."
"Fine, I'll let it slide, it's not like you and Lois aren't going to drink a couple of pots before you get to really talking." When his boss disabled the rotation feature and turned her back on him, Garfield Logan took the opportunity to spoon up some plain yogurt onto an orange slice and look over the morning's stock reports. Even though it was only seven in the morning on the West Coast, the stock market had already been open for a half hour. "Woo! We're up two points already, Firefly."
She whipped around briefly at the sound of his voice and rolled her eyes, looking more alert albeit slightly annoyed. "Looks like that interview in Seattle did its job; I thought you were going on about something important." While Kory slipped into a plush robe, Gar ran his fingers through his short, spiky dark green hair. Although it didn't quite match Kory's eyes, it set off his dark tan nicely. Which had been the intention anyway. Turning around while tugging a brush through her hair, the Tamaranean-American giggled and started looking for her slippers.
"Grayson's in Metropolis today, too. This is what he looks like." Looking up from under her bed, Kory squinted and then went back looking for her slippers.
"Is that Harvey Dent? And you dyed your hair again, looks nice." Gar did a double take at the photo he had mashed against the sending screen and began shouting curses over his shoulder. "Hey, stop yelling at Morgan. It is not her fault you do not review these things. Now, you have got a meeting with our investors in Japan and I have coffee coming. Be good, BB."
"Take care, Firecracker."
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"Good morning Metropolis, from WGBS-TV, this is Lisa Lengal with Metro Wake Up." The woman was blonde, brown eyed, and impossibly perky. She was also beaming her megawatt smile directly at Dick, who felt like a deer caught in the headlights of an on coming semi. "Today we're here with our guest, Richard Grayson, CEO of Wayne Enterprises. You've been quite busy over the last eighteen months, since you were voted in. Exactly what brings you to Metropolis?" She fluttered her long, long eyelashes and he thought of killing Rachel for this most recent injustice. Well, that's certainly strike one today.
There were few things Dick Grayson truly hated, these included, golf, lumpy mattresses, and French toast. In the course of minutes, perky Miss Lengal had worked her way to the top of the list. "A bit of business," he lowered his voice and turned his eyes to the camera, "and a bit of pleasure." When it garnered the proper response, the women in the audience sighing loudly, he found himself relaxing just a bit.
Even the blonde talk show host had the decency to sit up a little straighter and fluff her hair. "Of course, of course, the S.T.A.R. labs takeover is on everyone's mind in Metropolis. With the big three, Wayne Enterprises, LexCorp, and Sol Corp, all with their fingers in the pot, this has been rather exciting."
"Oh," a smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, "I certainly wouldn't call Sol Corp one of the big three. Certainly they're up there, but, it's hard to compare such a fledgling company with the very established Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp." The audience tittered and he dismissed them good-naturedly. "But, never mind that, yes, I'm here to personally make sure things go along smoothly. It's been an exciting six months, but, we're finally ready to get this wrapped up." The woman nodded along, her eyes blank, and it was blatantly obvious he wasn't there to talk about his business dealings. Strike two, he thought, strike two, Rachel.
Resisting the urge to throw his empty coffee cup at her perfectly coiffed head, Dick instead took a deep breath and shifted in his chair. Bruce Wayne could charm the pants off any television talk show host, his adopted son was more apt to get frustrated and walk off stage. Which he would have if, according to Rae, Kory Anders hadn't given a stellar performance the morning before. As if reading his mind, Lengal's lips curved into a predatory smile and seemed to move into pouncing position.
"So, Miss Kory Anders was on our show yesterday and had some interesting things to say about her company. With Sol Biotech pushing a new drug onto the FDA this week and their Aerospace division securing a 2.5 billion dollar contract with NASA, does Wayne Enterprises feel pressed to step up?" Oh, smooth; disguising blatant baiting with business talk. Dick was surprised she just didn't come out and say: do you feel like pissing yourselves?
"Actually, I flew in from Phoenix last night and didn't catch that episode of Metro Wake Up. And while Miss Anders surely has done some moving and shaking since she was instated ten months ago, we're not too terribly worried." Actually, she was giving him a giant headache. Wayne had been on the top of both the Biotech and Aerospace fields since 1983 when they surpassed LexCorp. Of course, he wasn't about to let Lisa Lengal know that. "Besides, we've got plenty of projects in development. Just because we're not so vocal about them, doesn't mean they don't exist."
It seemed like the only people paying attention to the dialogue was himself and the blonde host. The clock just kept ticking on his ten-minute spot and when the cameras clicked over for commercial, Dick glanced over at the audience and cracked a couple of jokes. Although it seemed a little forced, they did loosen up. He wondered how Kory Anders had kept them captivated for nearly thirty minutes.
Lengal was touching up her smudged lipstick when the production crew wildly waved in her direction. Straightening immediately and taking note of the time, she turned her blinding smile on again and gripped onto his forearm. "Well, thank you Mr. Grayson for coming to speak with us today. Now, a little bird told me that you've got a bit of a surprise for us today." She managed a dignified giggle and motioned for him to stand up. "Now, the audience may know of your early days when you were a member of the Flying Graysons. What they may not know is that you're the only person who can perform a quadruple somersault." Dick paled and forced him not to pound his head on the nearest hard object. Strike three.
He shook his head wearily and smoothed down the front of his tailored three-piece suit. But, the audience was clapping widely and Lengal just couldn't wipe that bubbly smile off of her face. Sucking in a breath, he took off down a clear strip of stage and completed the series of flips before he exhaled.
Public relations sucked.
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It wasn't hard for Kory Anders to feel out of place. It wasn't just her golden-orange Mediterranean tan, bright green eyes, or Tamaranean red hair. Even a delicated crème-colored skirt suit couldn't hide the fact that she was 6'4" and towered over just about everyone, including the Daily Planet's star reporter, Lois Lane. With Lane's pit bull-like tenacity, it was hard to believe she was so petite in real life.
Her all-purpose PA had arranged the little meeting, just her and all-star reporter Lois Lane in some quaint café in downtown Metropolis. At least it was better than going on Metro Wake Up, thank God that was over. If she had to answer another stupid question, and look happy about, she might hurl her vid link out the nearest window. Spotting her from across the café, Lois set down her cup of coffee and smirked. "How do you feel about Mr. Grayson's comment this morning on Wake Up? He said your company, Sol Corp, shouldn't be considered one of the big three."
"Frankly, Lane, I was enjoying a heavenly custard Danish when Miss Lengal was questioning Mr. Grayson this morning. This is the first time I have heard of that. What I will say is this: I took over running Sol Corp ten months ago. Since then, we've kept Wayne Enterprises on their toes. To quote Gar, 'Woo, we went up two points!'" she leaned forward and her eyes glinted wickedly, "So, how about we cut the crap?"
Lois flashed a toothy grin, never one to back down, and pulled out a tape recorder, legal pad, and pen. "In the last week, you've been to New York City, Central City, Phoenix, Seattle, and Melbourne, all important cities for S.T.A.R. labs. What's with this wild publicity campaign?"
"Besides making me rather tired? Actually, you can thank Lex Luthor for all of this running around; he was the one who started all the politicking. Although it will all come down to the shareholders at the end of this week, public opinion is still important when dealing with such a high profile take over. We were not about to let LexCorp get the upper hand." It had all become such a huge headache for everyone at Sol Corp, especially Kory, who as CEO, was the company's most public face. She was used to dealing behind the scenes, the public arena was quite nerve wracking.
Uncrossing her ankles and adjusting a slipped stocking discreetly, the red head shrugged a shoulder and offered a small smile. "Sol Corp has built itself up through corporate takeovers, starting in 1945 when my grandfather bought out Hartley Corp and JumP Inc. S.T.A.R. labs will be in experienced hands if their shareholders vote to take our offer. We will not go in and muck up what they have already got right."
The lilac-clad reporter drank the last dredges of her coffee and then reached over and lit a cigarette. When Kory waved the smoke out of her face and forced a cough, Lane rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I forgot, you're allergic to cigarette smoke. At least that's the line your super health conscious PA fed me. Seriously, Anders?"
"I am allergic to getting lung cancer." The women chuckled and Lois took a long drag before crushing out her cigarette. As Kory leaned over to grab for her compact, the reporter turned off her tape recorder and scooted closer to the table. The CEO eyed her warily.
"Off the record?" Lois took a breath and waited until Kory nodded. "Can I ask about ex-boyfriend Xane, leader of everyone's favorite punked-up rock band Red X?"
"I guess he is fine, we have not talked in six months. Last I heard, he was sexing up some girl named Kitten." Although Kory hated this part, she felt like she owed it to Lois. The Metropolis reporter had been the only one to take her seriously when she took over her father's role in the company. She'd been tough, but fair, and stayed out of Kory's personal life. At least when the recorder was on.
"So sad, too, you guys looked good together. You had yourself some nice arm candy there, Anders. What about," the woman's expression visibly soften and she reached across the table to lightly touch the red head's jacket sleeve, "your father? How's he doing?"
Myr Anders had suffered a massive stroke almost eleven months ago while on vacation with his wife, Lucy. Kory, who had been running Sol Technologies at the time, had been voted in as CEO while on a mid-Atlantic flight. Pinching her nose and waving her hand in front of her face, she forced a smile. "Fine, my father is fine. Still in rehabilitation, still working hard. Lane, he is never going to be the same…it is sad, sometimes."
Always intuitive, Lois saw that the conversation was taking a darker turn. Looking down at her watch, she quirked an eyebrow and reached down for her purse. "Just before I have to jet, dear, I've got a couple of rapid fire questions. Was that you in that limo with Roy Harper? Have you and your PA done it yet? And, really, when are you sending your sister to rehab?"
By the time Lois was done, Kory was red faced and laughing and Lois was doggedly trying to get to the truth. With a quick hug and none of that silly air kissing, the women parted and Kory started on her way. Lois had Pulitzer-prize winning writing to do on the war and Kory had a meeting at four.
There were upsides to visiting Metropolis.
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"A quadruple somersault, Rae, a fucking quadruple somersault, I haven't done that in years. What in God's name were you thinking? I would rather talk about Barbara than drag out my early childhood in the circus." Dick was pacing around a spacious condo, careful not to trip over any furniture. Thankfully he wasn't in a hotel, yelling and pulling out one's hair wasn't conducive to that kind of atmosphere.
The woman on the other end of the line sighed, loudly, and Dick could imagine that she was looking for split ends. There was a reason she turned off the video feed when he got like this. "Look, Lex Luthor is running around charming the socks off of everyone. Kory Anders has Lois I am God's gift to reporting Lane, in her corner. For the love of God, Dick, we have to do something. Especially after her performance on Metro yesterday. I saw you, you could barely hold ten minutes. She held them captive for thirty."
"Don't start with me, Rae. This is not the week for pushing me to be Bruce Wayne." There were plenty of times with Rachel Roth made Dick Grayson want to bash his head against a wall. As much as he loved his adopted father there was a reason Bruce was still the president of Wayne Enterprises. The only reason why Bruce wasn't in Metropolis was because there'd been some emergency dealing in Hong Kong and the Chinese liked him better. "Don't start or I swear to God I'll start in with Joe Wilson."
"Oh fuck, Dick, why don't we drag out all the dirty laundry? You were cute, Lengal's popular, and print doesn't get your face out there. Now, it wasn't so bad; I can't believe you did that in your suit. Anyway, calm down, drink some wine, and get ready for the vote tomorrow. And if you keep pestering Vic, I swear I'll rip your testicles out by reaching down your throat."
He cringed, but chuckled anyway. Nothing like talking to Rachel "Raven" Roth to put a positive spin on things. There was a reason why he'd hired her as his personal assistant when he first started on at the Thomas Wayne Foundation. Nearly four years later and he wouldn't know what to do without her. "Take care, Rae, and don't listen to too much bad, dark poetry while I'm gone." Before she could defend herself, he clicked off the link and headed for the wine cabinet.
No, Metropolis wasn't all that bad, which was why he set the bottle of Bordeaux down and grabbed the keys to his motorcycle. After all, there wasn't any reason to call up his driver when he was in search of a nice bar to drown all his worries in.
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"Gar, please, I need you to talk to me." Kory was sitting in the middle of her hotel room, stripped down to her bra, panties, and stockings. Picking up a high heel, she contemplated throwing it at the wall. "I am freaking out here, Gar, and I need you, as my PA, to calm me down."
The young man on the other end of the line laughed so hard that he snorted his soymilk out of his nose. "Starbaby, I need you to take a deep breath. See, this is what happens when you drink too much coffee in one day. I don't want you to touch anything stronger than green tea until you're back in San Francisco." Rubbing at his temple, trying to remember the last time he took an aspirin, Gar leaned back to allow his secretary to clean up the mess he'd made. "Now, I'm sure Blackie is fine. I understand she picked a horrible time to disappear, but, that's what she does."
She dropped the shoe, instead of attempting to make a dent in the wall, and instead wished she could reach through the holo and bash Garfield Logan's head against his far too expensive oak desk. "But she is my sister, Gar, and the last thing I need with this whole merger is finding out that she is getting drunk in Cancun. How can you be so…you're sleeping with Terra again!" Kory bolted up and winced when she banged her head on the coffee table beside her.
"Fuck no and you're using contractions, Star. How about you take a breath and calm down. Order room service, drink a glass of champagne, and get some sleep. You've got that vote to face in the afternoon." Usually Gar would never suggest alcohol; it was usually chocolate soymilk and some whole-wheat toast. After all, that's what he was there for. However, the merger wasn't the only thing Sol Corp. was dealing with. There was a charity ball coming up in the next couple of weeks that was giving him a migraine and Sol Biotech was trying to get a new drug passed through the FDA. His star would get through it, she always did.
Huffing loudly, all the while struggling into a pleated mini, Kory rolled her eyes and momentarily forgot she didn't like dropping letters from her words. "This is worse than having to explain exactly where Tamaran is on the world map…twenty times in five minutes. It just pisses me off. I guess it could be worse, she could be doing all this damage in San Francisco…or here." Looking up from her hands, Kory tried to pull back her shoulders and not look so defeated. Seeing Morgan running across the screen with an armful of papers, she sighed and offered a weak wave.
"ByeStar, I'll see you on Monday."
The link blinked off and she threw it into her purse, defeated. Talk about her wayward sister, nicknamed Blackie by Gar, usually got promises of a foot rub and expensive organic chocolate. She'd have to give him a vacation, as soon as she got done beating the crap out of him for ignoring her current crisis.
Fortunately, the good thing about Metropolis was that they had plenty of bars. If she was going to have to deal with all the nail biting suspense of waiting on the vote results, then she was going to do it after getting nice and intoxicated. Calling the lobby so that they could get her a cab, she pulled on a light coat and headed for the door.
One good thing about having Koma "Koko" Anders as a sister was that you knew all the best places in the world to become completely shit faced in. Metropolis was no exception.
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Note: This has been bouncing around in my head for ages and it's taken me this long to get it started. Since this is largely a Dick/Kory fic, I hadn't expected Rae and Gar to find such strong voices. I'm glad they did, especially Mother Hen Gar. Next up, Dick and Kory meet, Vic Stone finally gets some action, and our PAs keep rocking hard. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them at the end of the next chapter. Cheers!