The Recruiter

Prologue

Secrets

"I see darkness in you." Chloe Sullivan declared.

The blonde young woman was standing by the door frame, seemingly torn between entering the office completely and staying within the reach of the reception area.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that." Bruce Wayne, Gotham City's favored son, looked at her through hooded eyes.

Their association was relatively new. Bruce was at yet another black tie event. Chloe was covering the event for the Gotham Gazette. By some force of nature the two came together and eventually agreed to go out to dinner.

Tonight was supposed to be their third date, a rare occurrence for Bruce, who had the reputation for changing women on a daily basis. He was supposed to pick Chloe up from her home. But for some strange reason Chloe seemed intent to thwart his plan and informed him that there was darkness in him.

"I know who you are Bruce Wayne." Chloe said cryptically as she finally made up her mind and entered the office completely.

Bruce' brow rose at her pronouncement. "And you wouldn't be the only one. I would have to go a thousand miles from Gotham before someone stopped recognizing me. And even that is not a guarantee." Bruce grinned charmingly. Internally he was on high alert. Chloe's statements were not being taken lightly. "My lifestyle seems to attract a lot of media attention." He uttered self-deprecatingly.

Chloe just smiled good-naturedly before allowing her gaze to roam around the office. "How secure is this place?" She asked as she turned her attention back on Bruce.

Bruce looked at her blankly. A beat passed before he answered. "Wayne Enterprises house a state of the art security system." He said nonchalantly.

"Do you check for bugs often?" She asked with such interest.

He remained quiet. He was not about to tell her that every day he came into the office he would check for himself if his surroundings were secure.

She shrugged when he failed to answer. "I'll take your silence as a yes then." She grinned at him. "I just wanted to be sure." She murmured quietly as she advanced towards him, stopping once she was standing in front of him.

Bruce watched her every move, wondering what her endgame was. She placed a gentle hand on his arm and stood on her tiptoes. He could feel her every breath against his neck and he wondered what she was going to do.

On one hand she might kiss him, something that they had not done despite the two dates that they'd been on. On the other, she might do something completely the opposite, maybe this was an attempt by his competitors (corporate and others) to get rid of him.

Chloe's hand wandered up against Bruce's suit and stopped against his right rib. She looked up at him as she gently applied pressure against his side.

Bruce managed to hide the pain as she hit his bruised ribs, an injury that he acquired the night before. He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes searchingly.

"Still sore, Batman?" She asked quietly.

TBC