Blood Brothers

"Mr. Wayne? What's your opinion on that, sir?"

Thomas Wayne was startled out his daydreaming by the question. He turned his attention away from the Gotham skyline to face the joint chairman of Wayne Enterprises, a man whose name he couldn't even remember right now, despite being joint head of the company with him.

"Uh…I think…it's a great idea," stammered Thomas, slowly, hoping it wasn't too obvious that he hadn't been paying attention. But his heart was never really in these board meetings. He didn't think it was natural for any man in his twenties to have a passion for meetings, and Thomas was no different from a lot of men in their twenties. His mind had been preoccupied instead with his ambitions in his medical career, and a couple of very attractive society women he had met at his latest party.

Thomas Wayne was a very lucky man, he would never deny that. He had inherited Wayne Enterprises when his father died, along with a vast fortune to run it and keep himself living an extremely comfortable existence. While his only real occupation should have been the running of Wayne Enterprises, Thomas had no head for business, preferring to leave the actual running of the company to people who were interested in that sort of thing, and pursuing his own passion for medicine. He had trained as a doctor, and opened a small, private practice, more of a hobby for him than a career though. When he wasn't busy in board meetings or indulging his medical interests, he lived the enviable life of a man about town – rich, respected, hosting parties and mingling with the elite of Gotham City. A fine life, with a good balance of work and pleasure. He was a very lucky man.

And his luck held out, for none of the men in the meeting seemed to realize he hadn't been paying attention. They nodded in agreement with him and his co-chairman said, "Then it's settled. Thank you all for coming today, gentlemen. Mr. Wayne and I will see you soon."

Thomas let out a sigh of relief and stood up, beating everyone else to the door. Alfred was waiting for him outside.

"How was the meeting, sir?" asked his faithful butler.

"Stayed awake through it," replied Thomas, smiling at him.

"An improvement on the last one then, sir," replied Alfred, dryly. "Splendid."

Thomas laughed, heading for the elevator. "Forgive me for troubling you with such a mundane matter, sir, but Mr. Kane has asked me to inform you that they've just appointed a new secretary," said Alfred as they descended.

"Kane, that's his name!" said Thomas, snapping his fingers. "I actually forgot in the meeting, Alfred, that's how boring it was. Why does he think I care who he's appointed?"

"I believe, sir, that as head of this company, at least in name, he would recommend making her brief acquaintance, if only to preserve the idea that you care about this business at all," retorted Alfred. "Besides, it's always good publicity to have a man of your station seeming to interact with even the lowliest of employees."

"Point," agreed Thomas. "Ok, where is she?"

"Just setting up her desk in reception, sir," said Alfred, holding open the elevator doors for him. "Right this way."

Thomas sighed, trudging over to the reception area. He saw a petite young woman, demurely dressed, unpacking some boxes and files, and headed over to her. "Name, Alfred?" he muttered.

"Napier, sir," replied Alfred. "Mrs. Mary Napier."

Thomas nodded. "Mrs. Napier?" he asked, leaning on the desk and smiling at her. She had been turned away, but suddenly looked up at him, and Thomas's breath caught in his throat.

He had never seen a more attractive young woman. The plainness and modesty of her dress only made her exceptional beauty even more stunning. It was fresh and natural, with no pretense to glamor and no art to make it appear more than it was – completely unlike all the women he was used to. Her wide, blue eyes, pretty and innocent, stared up at him, and she smiled nervously. "Yes?" she asked.

"Uh…hi," stammered Thomas, trying to regain his senses. "I'm…uh…Thomas Wayne."

Her face looked shocked, and a little afraid. "The Thomas Wayne?" she stammered. "Head of Wayne Enterprises?"

"Yeah, that's me," said Thomas, nodding. "But don't worry – I'm not as scary as everyone says," he added, smiling kindly at her. "Uh…just thought I'd take the opportunity to welcome my new employee in person."

"Oh, that's…very kind, Mr. Wayne, but not at all necessary," stammered Mrs. Napier. "I'm not used to…uh…"

She trailed off, playing nervously with her fingers. "Everyone here has been very kind," she finished, awkwardly.

Even her awkwardness was attractive, because it was so utterly natural. Thomas was completely fascinated. "May I ask why you took the job here?" asked Thomas.

"I feel very lucky to have it," she stammered. "Uh…thank you."

"I didn't have anything to do with it, but you're welcome," he said, beaming at her. "I wouldn't have let them give it to you if it was up to me, though. I hope you don't think this offensive, but I don't like seeing a woman working. I hate the thought of beautiful people having to waste their time slaving away eight hours a day behind some cramped desk."

She smiled shyly, enthralling Thomas even more. "Oh…well…I kinda…have to work. My husband is…between jobs. He has been for a while now."

There was pain in her eyes as she said this, and she continued to play nervously with her hands. But the mention of her husband reigned Thomas in somewhat – as captivating as this woman was, she was married. And he wasn't the kind of man who chased after married women.

"Well…in that case…I guess I'll leave you to it," he said, smiling. "Uh…let me know if you need anything or have any problems. I'd be happy to help."

"I wouldn't dream of troubling you, Mr. Wayne…"

"No, please, I mean it," he said, gazing at her sincerely. "I like to think everyone who works for me should be able to approach me personally. I'll certainly do my best to help them."

Mrs. Napier smiled at him. "You're a very decent man, Mr. Wayne," she replied. "Not at all what I was expecting…" She caught herself, blushing in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, that was…"

"Honest," finished Thomas, smiling at her. "I like that."

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Napier."

"And you, Mr. Wayne," she replied.

"It's Thomas," he said. "Always Thomas to you, Mrs. Napier. See you later."

"It's Mary!" she called after him, suddenly.

"Mary," he breathed, the thought of the name making him happy beyond reason. "Oh, this is bad, Thomas," he whispered to himself as he walked away. "This is very, very bad."