Opening the file in front of her, she looked at the recent news article on Gotham's favorite son, Bruce Wayne. Billionaire, Philanthropist, keen businessman; there were so many adjectives in that one little article. It said so much, without saying anything at all about the man. Oh, she knew his parents had been killed when he'd been just a child, but that had been just over 21 years ago. In the last year he'd come back from the dead, alienated half of Gotham, lost his home, won back his empire, and was once more becoming beloved by his peers. He was reaching the age of 30, and seemed such a mystery. Her lovely mouth twisted into a cynical grin. Probably why he's popular fodder for the tabloids. Well, if the man wanted privacy that was fine with her, she understood that need. She didn't need him personally, she needed him professionally.
At 26, Callie was recognized as a genius in the field of genetics and microbiology. The only child in a wealthy family, she'd had the best schooling and had graduated with a double doctorate in both fields three years previously. Her parents, also geneticists, had died in a lab explosion three short months after her graduation. The same explosion had put her into a coma for a year. They had said she would be in a permanent vegetative state. The doctors still had no idea how she'd come out of it, no worse for the wear. Well, what they didn't know, she smirked slightly to herself.
So now, she was on her way to Wayne Manor, the newly rebuilt Wayne Manor, to approach Bruce Wayne on a business proposition. "Oh Daddy, how I wish it was you instead of me." she sighed. Her father had always been so deft at handling anything with the word business in it. Callie always thought of herself as a science geek, now everything dealing with Hughes Labs was her role to fill. It was amazing how people automatically think that because you have a specific last name you can, and should, do anything.
The car pulled to a stop, and Callie looked out the window at the impressive building. It was stunning. Even knowing that it had been rebuilt so recently, she felt the sense of heritage in the building. Her door opened and the driver helped her out of the vehicle. She straightened her dove gray pantsuit, grabbed her matching clutch, and strode up the stairs towards the entry. Before her hand could even touch the door, it swung slowly open to reveal an older gentleman, who appeared to be in his 60's. He wore the garb of butler, however he had an air about him that made her feel he was something much more.
"Ms. Hughes is it?" he asked in his very proper British accent.
She graced him with a small smile. "Yes, I'm Calliope Hughes. I have an appointment with Mr. Wayne at 1 o'clock."
"Certainly Madame, Mr. Wayne is expecting you. I'm Alfred. If you'll follow me." he turned and headed into the house. Callie followed him and he led her to a set of closed double doors to the right of the large foyer. He opened the door, and held it for her. "Mr. Wayne, Ms. Hughes is here for your appointment."
Callie heard a low voice respond, and Alfred gestured for her to enter the room. Pushing her shoulders back, and standing straight, Callie took a deep breath and headed into the lion's den.