A/N: Feeling very sad about the lack of reviews :( By the way, this story has so far been taking place just slightly before The Dark Knight.


I thought non-stop of Bruce Wayne for the rest of that day. Images of him played through my mind like an annoying song on loop. The only difference was that thinking of him constantly wasn't annoying me at all…and that had me worried.

My whole life I had always been too trusting- too willing to believe that everyone's intentions were good, and far too willing to let people into my life. It had burned me in the past, and each time it did I vowed to be more defensive and guarded…only to have the same cycle repeat.

But Mr. Wayne was another story; he was my boss. I had no choice but to keep an appropriate distance, whether I wanted to or not.

Fortunately, that was made easy for the following days after our lunch, because he didn't come to work for the remainder of the week. "Perks of being the boss," I mumbled as I dropped off more paperwork for him with Heather, receiving her usual scrutiny and attitude.

Mr. Wayne hadn't yet officially fired Roger, as we had both agreed to wait until after I graduated. I wouldn't be able to work full-time at Wayne Enterprises until then anyway, and, to be honest, I was dreading the confrontation. Roger Glass was absolutely terrible at his job, there was no denying that, and he had treated me worse than most people treat a sewer rat…but I couldn't ignore the nagging guilt in my stomach.


"Okay, what's wrong?" Holly asked me, sticking her chopsticks back in the carton of lo mein.

"What do you mean?" I replied innocently, taking a bite of broccoli.

"Natalie, you've been walking around here like a zombie since Tuesday…I wanted to give you your space but it is now Friday, and I'm starting to worry," she said, her forehead creased with concern.

I sighed, toying with the placemat on our small kitchen table. "Remember how I told you Mr. Wayne wants to give me Roger's job?"

"No I forgot," Holly rolled her eyes.

I ignored her sarcasm and continued. "Well…I've just been feeling really bad about it…" I shrugged, nibbling at another piece of broccoli.

Her eyes widened. "You're kidding, right? After the hell he's put you through?"

"I know, I know…but I can't help it. I took the guy's job, I got him fired…I just feel bad, it's not a big deal…" I mumbled.

Holly grabbed on to my hand, willing me to look up at her. "Natalie, you need to start giving yourself some credit. You're so focused on making everyone else around you happy…when the hell are you going to start making yourself happy? This guy doesn't deserve his job, but you do! So just take what you deserve for once in your damn life!"

I had to smile at her. There were so many things about Holly that I wish I could be. "You're right," I said softly.

"So no more feeling bad, okay?"

I nodded, and she gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. "Now pass me the white rice."


I made a silent promise to myself as I climbed out of my car Monday morning that I would take Holly's advice and push away any guilt I had about Roger. "It's his fault, not mine" I repeated in my head.

The 28th floor was unusually quiet, and when I placed my stuff down on my desk, I found out why.

"Roger's not in today," the researcher in the desk across from me commented without looking up from what she was writing.

I swallowed back my smile and nodded to her, but she didn't notice. I looked around the sparse floor, wondering what I was supposed to do. Just then, the phone on my desk rang, making me jump.

"Hello?" I answered quickly.

"It's Heather. Mr. Wayne wants to see you," she drawled in her nasally voice.

"Okay, I'll be right up," I responded, feeling my heart flutter a bit.

I slammed down the receiver and walked to the elevator as casually as possible, but the familiar tingling in my body that was present whenever I thought of Mr. Wayne was making it hard not to sprint.

His door was open when I reached his office, and so I poked my head in and knocked to get his attention.

His face lit up with a smile when he saw me, and I couldn't help but return it.

"Miss. Brennan, come in," he said, motioning for me to sit.

"I didn't know you were in today, Mr. Wayne," I commented, lowering myself into the armchair.

"I figured I missed enough days last week," he replied.

"Were you on vacation?" I asked, making small talk.

"I was uh..." he cleared his throat, busying his hands with some papers, "BASE-jumping."

"Oh wow…that sounds amazing…" I said absentmindedly, but my focus was on a picture on his desk. It was Mr. Wayne- no doubt about that with his dark gaze and strong cheekbones- but he was a young boy and stood between two smiling adults.

I frowned as I eyed the picture. Everyone knew about Thomas and Martha Wayne, the selfless philanthropists who had been murdered in front of their son. A shiver weaved around my spine.

Mr. Wayne followed my gaze and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Do you want to get lunch again today?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Yeah, definitely," I answered without thought.

"Great, I'll meet you downstairs at 12," he smiled.

"I'll be there," I replied, matching his smile.


I drummed my fingers against my desk, nervously chewing on my lip. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea…maybe I should call him and say something came up, that I had work to do.

I shook my head, continuing to fidget. I wanted to go with him…in fact, there was pretty much nothing I'd rather do than go with him. "Dangerous thoughts, Natalie."

But he was the one that invited me. What did that mean? Did he always take his employees out to lunch? It's not like I had anyone to ask, the only friends I had made so far were him and Mr. Fox.

"I could always ask Heather," I laughed to myself, imagining what her reaction would be.

But then I thought back to what Holly had said the night before: "When the hell are you going to start making yourself happy?" And being around Mr. Wayne made me happy…

Just then I noticed from the clock on the wall that it was nearing twelve, and with a sigh I grabbed my khaki trench coat and pulled it on, making my way downstairs.


I found Mr. Wayne standing in the lobby, his hands stuck casually into the pockets of his suit jacket.

"So where do you want to go?" he asked as we found his car.

"Oh," I started, caught off guard, "I figured you had a place in mind."

"No, no…I chose last time. Your turn," he smiled, opening the door for me.

I climbed in, and waited for him to get in as well.

"There is one place…" I said, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. "It's called the Meat Wagon…they have the best cheeseburgers I've ever had," I finished sheepishly, wondering if the place was too shabby for Bruce Wayne.

Mr. Wayne laughed, starting the car. "Sounds good, where to?"


Ten minutes later we were walking into the Meat Wagon, a long aluminum trailer fashioned to look like a 50's diner. Straight ahead was a long counter with stools along it, and lining the walls around the diner were booths, where a few patrons were scattered. A sign hanging above the cook's window boasted "Home of the Meat Orgy!" How could I have forgotten about that sign? Mr. Wayne clearly noticed it, because his mouth twisted into a smirk as he met my mortified gaze.

"Hi Darlin's!" Kathy, the plump owner of the Meat Wagon, called out in her southern drawl as she made her way around the counters to where we stood. "Natalie, dear, good to see you!" she waddled over to me, her crazy gray curls bouncing with the motion, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi, Kathy, how have you been?" I smiled, wondering what Mr. Wayne thought about the fact that I was clearly a regular there.

"Can't complain, Darlin'. Haven't seen you in a while though! Who's this handsome fella?" she grinned at Mr. Wayne.

"Kathy this is Bruce Wayne…my boss," I added uncomfortably.

She gave me a knowing smile and raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Mr. Wayne said politely.

"Oh the pleasure's all mine, son…please, call me Kathy, I certainly ain't no ma'am," she chuckled, grabbing two menus from the counter. "Now follow me."

She led us to a corner booth and handed us the menus. "Take your time, kids," she said before disappearing into the kitchen.

"I like her," Mr. Wayne smiled, eyeing the menu.

"She sure is something," I replied, ignoring my own menu. I already knew it by heart.

"She'd be a good match for Alfred…he also likes to talk" he added with a laugh.

"Alfred?"

"My…guardian I guess you could say. He's the butler…but he's been there for me my entire life," he said, his expression softening along with his voice.

"He sounds really important to you," I said, watching his face.

"Yeah, he is," he smiled. "So what are you getting?" he asked, placing his menu in front of him.

"Same thing I always get: Kathy's Home Burger. She puts some kind of sauce on it that is unlike absolutely anything I've ever tasted..." I said, my mouth watering. "Oh, and a vanilla milkshake."

He nodded in approval, sliding his menu away. "I think I'll get the same."

A few minutes later Kathy had taken our orders, while simultaneously glancing between Mr. Wayne and me with a suspicious smile.

"You won't be disappointed," I said once our orders were in. "You won't be able to eat a burger from anywhere else ever again."

"Those are some pretty high praises…" Mr. Wayne smirked.

"If there's anything I'm confident about, it's this."

Just then, Kathy returned and placed our milkshakes in front of us, grabbing two straws from the front pocket of her apron. "You'll be graduatin' soon, ain't that right, dear?"

"Yup, in three weeks," I smiled proudly, stirring around my milkshake with the straw.

"Well good for you, darlin'! You'll have to come by for a graduation present! Anythin' you want, on the house," she smiled brightly, "and bring your friend," she added with a wink before disappearing again.

Mr. Wayne laughed as I concentrated on my milkshake, willing the red blush not to fill my face.

"If this burger is as good as you say it is, I may have to take her up on that offer."

I nodded and let out an uncomfortable laugh.

"So what made you want to BASE jump?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"What?"

"You said you were BASE jumping last week right?"

"Oh, right, yeah…it just looked interesting," he shrugged.

"That's a pretty extreme sport to do on a whim," I smiled, taking a drink from my milkshake. "I wish I were that spontaneous."

"You could be."

I looked up at him, raising a brow. "You think so?"

"With some hard work, sure," he laughed.

"I've just never been the type to leap forward without considering every single thing that could go wrong. It's a curse," I sighed.

"Or a gift. Depends how you see it. I've just been through enough to know life is short," and once again his eyes were on mine.

Our eyes were locked when Kathy brought over the burgers. "Enjoy!" she shrieked happily, the clang of the plates on the linoleum table breaking us from our trance.

Mr. Wayne stared down at the monstrous burger, a smile playing on his lips. Then, he rolled up his sleeves, shot me a playful look, and took a bite.

It was probably rude to stare while he tried to eat, but I was nervous for his reaction. I leaned forward with my eyebrows raised as if to say, "Well, what do you think!"

He chewed thoughtfully, teasing me, before finally swallowing. "I have to say, I don't think I'll ever be able to eat a burger from anywhere else ever again," he laughed.

"No come on, seriously, do you like it?" I asked.

"I do, it's perfect," he smiled, taking another bite.

I smiled contently, and started to eat my own burger.

We sat in a comfortable silence while we ate, except when Mr. Wayne noticed some sauce on my chin, to which I blushed furiously as always.


"I have to say, that was very good…maybe I should let you pick where we eat next time too," Mr. Wayne commented as we sat in the car on the way back to Wayne Tower.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that responsibility," I joked.

"I trust you," he smiled, his eyes calmly on the road ahead as I discreetly studied his face.

"He didn't mean it like that," I thought to myself, sinking into the leather seat and watching Gotham's skyscrapers pass by in a blur.


The next morning I was sipping coffee in the living room when Holly burst in, switching on the TV.

"What's wrong?" I asked, but she held her hand up to me.

"Shhhh, watch!"

She changed the channel to the news and onscreen a pretty blonde reporter stood in front of a bank covered in police tape. She spoke with a practiced sternness. "I'm here live at Gotham National Bank, where we are learning a group of armed men dressed in clown masks entered this morning, successfully entering the bank's vault and escaping with an undisclosed amount of money…there has not been a confirmed number of casualties yet but authorities believe that several of the suspects may be dead…"

"Clowns?" I asked her, my hands wrapping tightly around the mug.

"Freaky right?" she responded, eyes still glued to the TV.