The first day in a new place was always the worst. The fact that it was in a completely new city as well made it all that much unbearable. What made it homicidal rage worthy was the fact that she had a couple of wrenches thrown into her plan, such as her mother finding out far too soon that she had really moved to Gotham instead of any other city on the planet.
"Anabiel. Rosalyn. Di Antonio. How could you lie to me about moving to... to that place. How could you willingly move to that sewage pit after everything that I told you about? I named you after the angel that cures stupidity not acts stupidly!" Her mother ranted. Anabiel knew she'd have to curb the tirade or it would last for the rest of the night.
"Mother that is why I moved here. This city needs a helping hand. I already have a couple of companies here creating jobs as well as motions in the council for a couple of not for profits. If I move my base of operations here I can create more jobs and get people off the streets. My being here will also make it easier for my business movements. I won't be an outsider stepping on toes." She paused listening to the silence that was coming from the other end. For a moment she thought her mother had hung up on her.
"I suppose your right." Her mother finally sighed, "But that place isn't safe, you're going to end up upsetting someone and getting hurt."
"I promise no toe stomping.." Anabiel smiled into the phone.
"oh this coming from the girl who used to walk up to bullies and punch them in the face because they were being mean?"
"It's no longer punches mother, Its corporate takeovers. Anyways someone has to look after the little guy."
"Your bleeding heart is going to get you killed." Her mother was getting exasperated with her.
"Eh. Whether its blood loss from my bleeding heart or a bullet going trough it I'm willing to be a martyr if it gets shit done." Anabiel joked.
"That is not funny young lady." She could hear the scowl on her mothers face.
"Mom. I was kidding. I wont let anything happen to me. I know self defense and I have security systems in place. No need to worry." She practically cooed in order to calm her mother. "Now if you don't mind I need to unpack."
"Make sure you get to bed at a decent hour."
"Yes mother."
"And brush your teeth before bed."
"yes mom"
"and lock all the doors and windows."
"ma!"
"Okay. Okay I love you."
"I love you too." Anabiel said as she hung up the phone, tossing it onto the sofa next to her.
She padded her way into the kitchen to get a glass of wine but once she was there she decided she needed something stronger after that conversation. She reached into one of the boxes on the counter and pulled out a bottle of cognac and a glass. Almost as quickly as she poured she had downed her first two glasses, basking in the warmth that was spreading out to her limbs. She poured a third and brought it back into the living room.
She looked down at the papers spread across the coffee table. All of them pertained to her new city in one way or another. Newspaper clippings, reports from the police, autopsies, all the way to files on politicians. If everything had went as planned she would have had the city kneeling before her in under two years but with recent events it looked like it was going to be more like a five year deal now.
She shifted her attention to a folder filled almost to the point of over flowing. It was paperwork she needed to fill out to acquire several new buildings and permits to do as she pleased with them. She was especially looking forward to two buildings in particular. One was to become a bar and the other was a casino. The revenue created by those two alone would pay for all the clinics and shelters she had planned.
She already took care of the sick in this city with her pharmaceutical company, might as well give them a place to get better with her drugs. Plus it would help her keep a better eye on the black market. Get the leaks early on and what not.
She looked up from the papers and saw it was time for the news to come on. Pulling out her cell phone she pulled up the local channel and listened to the reports of a city falling apart when an article she wasn't expecting popped up.
"And who is this new power company on the rise? Rehema Corp is on our streets and helping our needy earning them the nickname 'A helping hand' by our down trodden, but do they have an ulterior motive? Are they here to sweep us up? Has the queen of hostile takeovers, Anabiel Di Antonio turn her eyes on Wayne enterprises? More on this topic after the break."
Her phone instantly started ringing when it went to commercial. Anabiel didn't even need to check who it was. She knew it was her press team.
"Did you see the news? I can't believe it! You're not even in town one night and already your competitors are muck racking!" Her PR president was practically frothing at the mouth." You've done nothing but help these ingrates and now they're trying to pull this? Just say the word miss."
"Just make us look like the good guys and them like idiots. Oh and this reporter is obviously in someones pocket. Find out who's and destroy their creditability." Anabiel stated curtly before she hung up the phone.
She waited for the commercials to finish and couldn't help but smile when the news came back on. The reporter that was slandering her company looked quite sheepish.
"we would like to apologize to our viewers for the rather misleading introduction into our next segment. We do not mean to paint Rehema Corp. in a bad light but the exact opposite. They are a welcome breath of fresh air in a city that's doing little to fix itself. Please join us in this segment that shows how they plan to do just that."
Anabiel smiled when one of her company's adverts came on and exited out of the screen. She was definitely going to have to give the press team a job well done gift. She was rather proud of how quickly they had acted.
Grabbing her drink she walked over to the window and looked down at the city below her. She couldn't help but think it looked like a sparkling gem and if she played her cards right, it would be her gem in no time flat.