"So, how are you doing today, Miss. Future-CEO?" One of my very best friends, Donna Troy, asked me as she pulled out a chair and sat down at the outside café with me.

"Technically speaking, she isn't the CEO of anything until she makes her big decision." That was the voice of my other friend, Rachel Roth. Her eyes, when she had spoken, never left her book. I could never read and talk at the same time, especially if I was interested in the book. Rachel was always interested in books.

She was right though. About how I needed to make a decision before I went and legitimately became the CEO of anything.

"Oh c'mon, Rachel!" Donna nudged Rachel with her elbow. "Don't be like that!"

"She is right though," I nodded, flicking a piece of my vibrant red hair away from my face. "From the looks of it, I will never be the legitimate CEO of the company. I mean, the company is just doing better and better and there is no big decisions to be made." I shrugged, but I didn't mind though. I wasn't really sure if I was absolutely ready to be the CEO of my parents company.

I actually wasn't suppose to be the CEO of the company (It was called Tamara by the way). My older sister, Koma, was the one that was originally destined to run it but she ran away when she was eighteen, with ten million dollars that was stolen from our parents. We were multi-millionaires so the loss of that money didn't really exhaust my parents at the time, but they had immediately turned to me, their next child. At fifteen, they told me I would be running Tamara. I didn't think much of it at the time because I thought at the age I am now, which is twenty-three, that my parents would still be alive, but at nineteen my parents passed away tragically.

I had been pretty distraught about it because I had a missing sister, millions of dollars coming to me, and my little brother, Ryan, was being sent back to our home island; Tamaran. I guess it was a lot to process at the time and because of how stressed I had been, I ended up spending a little over fifteen million dollars to buy a penthouse when I was completely and utterly drunk. It was such a nice penthouse though; I could never sell it. I used it for parties, mostly.

Anyways, once I inherited all the fortune my parents had, it seemed that everyone was throwing themselves at me for my money (and for my, as Donna puts it, amazingly hot body.) It was so hard to tell who wanted to be my friend for the wealth I had, or just because they wanted to be my friend. Luckily, I already had friends that didn't care about what I looked like, or how rich my parents were. Those friends were Donna Troy, a black-haired girl that was currently bickering with my other friend, Rachel Roth. Rachel loved books, and she actually owned a book store called "The Ravens Nest." Then there was Jenny Hex. Jenny was… extraordinarily interesting. The last three to complete my friends list was Victor Stone, Garfield Logan (Rachel's boyfriend surprisingly), and Karen Beecher (Victors girlfriend.)

That was it, really. I didn't have a boyfriend, or a long list of ex-lovers. My friends were my friends since third grade and my life was planned out for me mostly since I was fifteen. I guess I liked it.

"Kori? Are you even on this planet sometimes?"

"Huh?" I turned my attention back to Donna. I tended to examine my life more than I wanted to but I still couldn't wrap my head around it sometimes. Being a twenty-three multi-millionaire was boring yet… different? I guess? I wasn't sure how to explain it. "Yeah, sorry, what?"

"Has Mr. Wayne talked to you lately?" Donna repeated herself and I sighed at the mention of the name. Bruce Wayne, another multi-millionaire. A few months after my parents died, Bruce Wayne had offered me some business proposals, each one I had turned down generously. The thing was that my company didn't need any help or deals or anything really. We were famous for zorkaberries, which could be used to do anything really; from baking pies to facial cream to rid of acne. We were doing more amazing each year. I didn't need his ideas, but he kept insisting. I guess because I was young that he thought I would say yes, but I didn't and I wouldn't. He still asked me every now and then.

"No, thank X'hal." I rolled my emerald orbs. "Although I'm sure in a few days he will schedule an appointment with me, which I will happily decline." I grinned, Donna giggled, and I could see Rachel smirk from behind her book.

"Well, if you need anyone to beat him up, just give me a ring," Donna winked at me before standing up from her seat. I was going to ask her where she was going but she already started answering, "Photo-shoot." Donna wasn't a model, no, she was the photographer; a good one. "I'll see you all later though, okay?" I smiled and nodded then Donna bent down and kissed me on the lips for about one second. She went over to Rachel and leaned down to do the same thing sneakily but Rachel turned at the last seconds so Donna's lips had been met with cheek. I laughed. "One of these days I will kiss you, Rachel!" And with that, Donna left, laughing as she went.

"How does Gar ever manage to steal a kiss from you?" I asked Rachel.

"He doesn't." She rolled her eyes and put her book down. "Why does Donna still kiss you?" A question that had been asked many times but no answer ever came, just a shrug from me or Donna. Back when I was fifteen, a few days before my sister ran away, Donna and I had dated for about two weeks. It was weird, awkward, and sort of fun. We mostly just kissed and made-out. What can I say? I was fifteen and my best friend was hot! Plus, when my sister did ditch the family, she was very good at comforting me (and I got free affection; what more could I want?)

"Because she owns my heart!" I sighed dramatically, planting my hand against my forehead with a chuckle and a smile. "A kiss is just a kiss until it is with someone who you will truly miss."

Rachel rolled her eyes at me. "No wonder neither of you have boyfriends… or girlfriends. You both are swapping spit all the time that everyone thinks you both are in love."

"Oh please! We give goodbye and hello kisses and that is all!" I laughed then stood up, deciding to be dramatic. "Good day to you, Miss. Roth!" I stomped my foot, grabbed my bag and stormed away with a flip to my hair. I left for real, going straight back to Tamara.

I knew that Rachel wouldn't be angry at me for the way I left; she'd probably be glad because I could see Gar tripping on his laces, running to her. I could honestly still never understand how those two managed their relationship; they were complete opposites. But then again, some wondered how Rachel and I maintained our friendship because people would also say we were opposites; which was true; they would say, she is the moon and I am the sun.

I didn't think that was an exactly good comparison but I was a bit bubbly in my teenage days and she was sort of gothic (that's the best word I can think of).

Opposites attract though, I assumed.


As I finally made my entrance back to the company, I was met with numerous people swarming around me, popping questions and asking me what my big decision was going to be. They had been asking this for months now. Some of them were paparazzi, and others were actual employees of mine that were asking questions that sort of/actually mattered to me. I waved off most of them, and, may I add, I did it rather coolly with the dark shades of sunglasses I was wearing. I felt sort of like those girls in movies that would walk into the building with shades on, a light and magical breeze at their long hair and everyone staring exactly at them.

Yeah, I definitely felt like that right now as I walked into Tamara.

I guess it was nice sometimes, having all these people that looked up to me and admired me, but sometimes I'd rather not have these people crowding me, and by sometimes, I meant the majority of the time. When I was younger, and my sister was still around, Kom got all the attention because everyone knew she would be taking, as she called it, the throne. The pictures were always snapping at her and she would wear this big smile then pose, like she knew exactly how to react to this, and she did. I envied that. She knew how to play the part, I really didn't. I would always be standing in the sidelines with my younger brother and I was content with that, but then this became my life, and I managed.

"Miss. Anders!" My assistant, Katherine—Kitten—Moth, called out to me, waving her hands around excitedly. I sighed and walked over to her, waving at the few guards to take care of the paparazzi.

"Yes, Katherine?" My voice reminded me of my mother's; soft yet prim.

Kitten twitched, "It's Kitten!" I knew she was resisting the urge to yell at me for calling her Katherine, but she didn't. I was her boss, after all. Kitten didn't exactly like me; she and I went to high school together but when she found out I had inherited the company, she wanted to be my best friend, so I hired her out of pity. "Anyways, um, Mr. Wayne is on your floor waiting for you." And then I groaned and twitched. What a bother this man was becoming.

"What does he want this time?" The question was more to myself and I already knew the answer, but Kitten seemed to be willing to answer.

"He probably wants to help with the company!" She bounced on her heels with a grin. "Ohmigod! I mean, I didn't go up there and say hi to Mr. Wayne or anything but do you think he brought Dick with him? I bet he did!" Then, she was rambling to herself and I had tuned her completely out. Sometimes I wondered why I didn't fire her right on the spot, but I remembered that I pitied her for some reason.

"Kitten," I put my hand up to silence her but she kept talking. "Katherine!" I snapped and she shut up… finally. "How long has Mr. Wayne been waiting up there?" I talked to her like she was a child. It seemed to work easier.

"Uh, an hour?" Good. "I don't know, I just like got in a few minutes before you and then that lady that sits up at the front told me to tell you that Mr. Wayne was up there."

I nodded approvingly. "Thank you, Katherine." And then I turned on my heel and started walking towards the elevator with Kitten following behind me silently. We quickly boarded the elevator and I pressed the button to my floor. The twenty-fifth floor.

As the elevator moved up, I kept thinking of things I would say to Bruce Wayne and how the situation would play out. I could already see him standing there, looking out the big glass window then he'd turn around and smile at me confidently and say, "It's nice seeing you, Miss. Anders." Like he owned the building or something and I was the guest. It was rather annoying and that was partly the reason why I disliked him so much. There was other reasons, of course.

I was already planning all the things I would say to him when the door to my floor opened up wide. I stepped out calmly and gave a wave to my hand to signal Kitten to follow me. I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, there was a man leaning over the receptionist desk, talking to the girl behind the counter. I think her name was Becky, but I'm not sure and it didn't matter.

But I did notice that Kitten seemed awfully distracted by him and wasn't really willing to follow me, which she didn't because seconds later she scurried over to the man. I rolled my eyes and proceeded to my office. I opened the door then, BAM, there he was; Bruce Wayne.

He was standing near the enormous glass windows, looking over the city of Gotham. I didn't like that he looked at it for so long; it didn't seem like anything to stare at.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne," I decided to make myself known with my sweetened voice.

Maybe he was so intrigued by the view that he hadn't noticed I even walked in because it seemed my voice had caught him off guard a bit, but he recovered quickly, turned around halfway, smiled at me, then said, "It's nice seeing you, Miss. Anders." Just like I knew he would say, with that damn cocky smile.

"Why are you here today, Mr. Wayne?" I clasped my hands behind my back and took a few steps forward. This was my office, why did it still seem like he was in charge? I needed to be more firm, that's why. "Take a seat," I gestured to the open chair. It was more of a demand than a suggestion really and he seemed to understand that so he made his way to the chair briskly then he sat down and smirked at me.

"I think you already know why I'm here."

"Well," I stood behind my desk but in front of my chair. "If you are here for the reason that I believe you to be here, then you can do me the pleasure of leaving and taking your boy with you because he is distracting my assistant." I wasn't sure which boy Bruce brought with him, but it was one of them.

Bruce Wayne had three adopted sons and one biological son. In order it was: Richard—Dick—Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne. I hadn't meant all of them but I knew them—sort of. The oldest, Dick (he was adopted), went to the same high school that I went to; I was a freshman and he was a sophomore. I didn't pay attention to him and he didn't notice me; I liked it that way actually. I was never introduced to him because I didn't care to know him. He had a reputation of being a playboy, which may or may not be rumor but he seemed to have a new girl on his arm every month. Just another reason not to want to meet him.

The second was Jason Todd, who was also adopted. I meant him when I was about thirteen years old. Bruce Wayne had a charity event going on and my parents were invited so my family attended. All I remember is that he seemed really pissed off. I greeted him politely and I did a slow dance with him because I was forced to. After that, the few charity events that my family had attended I would wave to him and smile. If I was lucky, he'd wave back, and maybe smile too.

Third was Tim Drake, another adopted one. He was younger than me by much so I never really met him. All I knew is that he was a senior in his high school.

Last, but not least, was Damian Wayne, which was Bruce's biological son. I knew him more than all the others really because a few times Bruce had brought his son along with him when going to meet me, or Damian followed him here. I'm not really sure.

"I'm actually here for a different reason, really," Bruce said to me, standing. "I have a contract that I want you to look over for me." He pointed down to my desk, which had a neatly made contract sitting there. Heh, I hadn't even noticed it. "I think you'll see that it would benefit both of our company's amazingly."

"That's up to me to decide." I narrowed my eyes at him then looked down at the contract. I brushed my fingers against the paper. "If that is all you have to say now, then leave and take your boy with you, please." I didn't look back up but I knew he had left seconds later because I heard my office door close.

I took a few seconds to breathe before I sat down in my comfy chair. I didn't exactly trust Bruce Wayne. My parents basically taught me to never trust any type of business person because in the end they are usually only looking out for themselves. I had decided that Bruce Wayne was most likely one of those people. He had to have screwed over a few people every now and then to become as successful as he was. Also, he was a playboy and I did not trust that.

"Becky," I hit the button that would buzz the receptionist. "Get Katherine in here, please."

A few seconds later, the blonde Katherine Moth stomped into my office with eyes of fire. "That bitch receptionist flirted her way into a date with Dick Grayson! Doesn't she know that Dickie-poo is mine!?" I wondered if Kitten knew that people didn't really want to hear about her problems, especially ones silly like that and especially me.

At least I knew which Wayne-Boy was in my building, but it wasn't like I cared. "Katherine," I silenced her rambling by handing her the contract that Bruce had given me. "Go make a copy of this contract, okay? Then take the original to Taylor on floor twenty then bring the copy back to me." Once again, I instructed her like she was a child but she sort of acted like one, in my defense.

"Huh? Oh yeah, whatever." She took it from me and nodded. It looked like she was about to cry. I knew she was obsessed with Dick Grayson, but I didn't know she would cry if she couldn't get a one night stand with him. "Do you need me to take anything to Wayne Enterprises?" She twiddled a piece of her hair. "I mean, like a message or anything?" I knew what her motives were, but I decided to do what was best for her.

"No, Katherine, I do not. Just do what I said to then you can go home." The last thing I needed was her becoming overly obsessive of Dick Grayson.

She nodded then left.


About twenty minutes later, Kitten had returned with the copy of the contract. I thanked her politely, took the copy, told her she could leave then a few minutes later I left. With the company doing so well, I never found a need to stay in too late so I always came and go as I pleased.

Despite the fact that I knew I wasn't going to sign Bruce's contract, I still felt the need to look over it like a professional. So when I got to my cozy little apartment that was on the outskirts of Gotham, I plopped myself down on my bed and started looking over it. It basically read that Wayne Enterprises would get ten percent of Tamara profit and that Tamara would get fifteen percent of Wayne Enterprises profit.

It didn't make sense though. They would be losing money and not gaining. Bruce had said it would benefit both of us, but it seemed like it would only be benefiting me. There had to be some other reason he would make this type of deal. I had tunnel-vision to find out why so I took pictures of the contract, sent them to Rachel then started up my laptop and started investigating.

I probably invested for a good few hours and I had come up with a lot of information that made me want to immediately decline the contract and I planned on it. According to the research I had done, Tamara was doing better than Wayne Enterprises so not only would I be losing money, but Wayne Enterprises would be gaining. Also, due to some intense research, I learned that Dick Grayson was going to be running Wayne Enterprises soon, which would explain why he was with Bruce today. He was probably trying to learn about me. Maybe that's why he was taking my receptionist out on a date, so he could screw her for some information.

A few minutes later, I got an email from Rachel that pointed out the flaws that I had learned from the contract. There was honesty no way that I was going to sign it. There was no benefit for me or my company.

So it was settled, I would go to Wayne Enterprises tomorrow and decline Bruce Wayne's offer for the millionth time.


Authors Note: I have temporarily/permantely discontinued "The Virus." It wasn't getting as much attention I thought it would get. So until I feel ready to come back to it, or until the reviews magically spike, it will stay discontinued. I very much like being liked and it always bothers me when I don't get reviews on stories, makes me feel like I didn't do that good of a job, so I'm going to be a bit more stern on my reviews before I update stories.

For this story, I will be asking for three reviews until you get the next chapter.