Prologue
The two women sat across from each other in a large and stylishly decorated office. A dark stained wooden desk was covered in pages of graphs and results of opinion polls.
Lena's red painted lips drew a thin, bitter line that underscored her brilliant green eyes. She was a strikingly attractive, and could appear just as strikingly dangerous at times. Michelle supposed it was the mark of her Luthor upbringing. It was one of the many things that conspired against her attempts to remake the company's image.
"This is ridiculous."
"The fact remains that public perception is everything in this game; and the public currently sees you as another Luthor - cut throat, business oriented and cold hearted. L-Corp's newer projects have gone only a small way towards addressing this. It is an unfortunate reality that a single woman is still generally perceived as a heartless career woman by the kinds of men who run these companies, and by those who hold their shares."
"What exactly are you suggesting?"
Lena Luthor's dark brow quirked at a sharp angle, daring her PR advisor to continue. Michelle, however, had not survived in this business for as long as she had backing away from difficult conversations.
"You need to improve not just your business image, but also your personal image."
"Shall I adopt an orphan, then? Rescue a kitten from a tree, perhaps?" Lena asked in a biting tone.
It seemed nothing would ever convince people to see her as anything other than another Luthor. Well. Anyone but her mother. She kept her face even as that thought buried it's barbed tip deep in her chest.
Michelle did not dignify those sarcastic questions with a response.
"People need to be able to relate to you, to see themselves in you. A personal relationship that portrays you in a gentler light would be ideal. Failing that, perhaps a dog. People love dogs."
"You want to me to... get a husband and kids? Play happy families and drop my daughter of at ballet class?" Lena's lip curled up in disdain.
"Hardly. An instafamily would be far too suspicious a publicity move. You need something believable; a minor relationship with someone amiable. Aim for the press to feel like they have discovered a secret. It will attract attention, and the right person could cast you in a positive light. Show the softer side, so to speak."
The sour expression on Lena's face softened briefly, before a confident smile replaced it. Fine. The public needed amiable? She would charm them within an inch of their lives.
"I know just the person," Lena responded.