Cat Grant, Queen of All Media and CEO of CatCo, was nervous.
Things had been going better than she ever expected with Adam. When he had shown up in her office, she had been sure it had been to tear her down for all she hadn't done for him. She had marched in with her head high ready for the worst he could do.
His offer had been unexpected. He read genuine and Wilson hadn't found anything alarming about him, but he made her nervous. It didn't seem out of the realm of possibility for him to turn on her at the most inopportune moment, but she was trusting him with her reputation. He deserved at least that much.
He acted like a friendly puppy that hadn't expected to be accepted. He reminded her a bit of Kara.
She had introduced him to Carter a couple days ago. Carter had known about Adam's existence for a long time so it hadn't been as difficult as it could have been. She never understood why being honest with your child was so hard for some people.
It had been fascinating to see them interact. Carter had been understandably standoffish at first, but Adam was a natural. He was well used to younger siblings. His father had remarried and procreated two more times, giving Adam a little brother and sister. Over board games and discussions of Adam's work, Carter warmed up to him almost as quick as he had taken to Kara. It looked like Supergirl had competition for Carter's new hero. Not that Kara was Supergirl. He just liked them both.
But Carter was with his father tonight and this would be her first official event with Adam. She had considered a grand party to celebrate his arrival, but that had seemed a little too much. She was selling the idea of a simple man just looking to reconnect with another part of his family. A party full of celebrities wouldn't have exactly said that.
Tonight could still read like he was using her celebrity to gain his own. She could spin it though. Everyone else had already proved how petty they were by suggesting he was her lover. She had won that little game. He would need to get to know her lifestyle at some point. She had kept Carter out of it as best she could, but a grown son would be harder to keep separate.
Kara had bonded with him and would stay extra close to the both of them. Kara would be a step behind them at all times. Just in case. She was excellent at her job and Cat had no doubt that she would be excellent tonight. Her guardian angel she had called her. Her secret weapon.
There was a reason she had thought Kara was Supergirl beyond just that of appearance and coincidence. The more she got to know the girl the more she became convinced the girl could do anything. It was an admirable quality to have in an assistant, but it was more than likely unsustainable. Kara was a human after all and not a super powered alien.
Seeing Supergirl side by side with her assistant had been a shock. She had been more than convinced and she was rarely wrong. She had put it down to being too close to the situation to have a clear head, but something about the meeting had set off something to her journalistic sixth sense.
She didn't put it together until she was lying in bed trying to sleep. Supergirl had known Kara's real name even though she had only been addressed as Kiera in her presence. It could be easily explained away by James having told her, but something felt off about the whole thing especially with all of the added up coincidences.
She had let it go though. If Kara was Supergirl, the girl had gone to extraordinary efforts to hide it and keep her job. Cat tried to convince herself that she hadn't been touched by Kara's impassioned plea about what the job meant to her. Her journalistic integrity and commitment to the truth meant more than the words of pretty young girl.
She had mulled over the girl's words and wondered what Supergirl's secret identity was like. Cat couldn't imagine she would willingly spend times doing other things when she could be out there saving lives, but even superheroes must need down time just like doctors. Surely an alien would have better stamina than a normal human, but the emotional toll of saving lives would be high especially if you failed.
She carefully unwrapped a piece of candy. She had been kindly gifted with a rabid metabolism and she took pleasure in flaunting her chocolate addiction to those less fortunate. She always made sure to pack away a large meal at events when Lois Lane was attending. She would never let her live down the exercise videos she had done years ago back in her late teen years.
Kara was being treated as an actual literal buffer, sandwiched between the two of them. Adam kept crowding her into Cat and Cat didn't seem to mind too much. Cat didn't need her at events like this. Most of the people there were well known to Cat so when Anderson Cooper had been her date, Kara had expected to be off to the side just in case.
Even when Cat needed her during an event which was rare, she usually stayed a step or two behind. Never out of earshot (normal people earshot), but certainly not on top of her like right now.
It was agony. Adam kept bringing her into the conversation and ignoring the fancy pretty people his mother was trying to introduce to him.
"So Kara," Adam started again.
Winn's voice in her ear saved her. She quickly checked her phone, acting like she had an important message and stepped aside to talk to him in relative privacy.
"Hey, Winn. Please tell me it's something good."
"It's not good. I know you are still trying to act super normal in front of Cat and all, but…"
"No a distraction is good. Just tell me it's something easy."
"Well, if you consider unstable building fire with a family stuck inside easy…"
"Where?" she said, already heading for the exit.
"You're drunk," Kara said, staring dumbfounded at her sloshed boss.
"Adam."
"What?"
"Got me drunk."
"Why?"
"I don't know. He's been handing me martinis all night," Cat said, swaying a little. Kara moved to steady her, but she shrugged her off.
"He could have been nervous."
Cat just hummed. Kara looped her arm in Cat's to steady her. "Let's get you out of here before someone notices." She quickly called the driver to come around.
"My guardian angel," Cat said, fondly. Her face contorted as she came to a realization. "Where were you? You were supposed to be our buffer."
"I just wanted to give you some time to get to know each other."
Cat's eyes narrowed. "That's not what I asked you to do and your job is to do what I say."
"I'm sorry, Miss Grant."
"Again with the apologies, Kiera. What good do they do me?" she asked, tilting a little more to the right than was safe. Kara righted her easily and Cat seemed to regain some equilibrium.
She practically poured her into the limo when it pulled up. She made to close the door, but Cat's hand darted out and stopped her. "Get in."
"What about Adam?"
"He's fine. Get in. Unless you'd rather get away from me."
Kara sighed. "Fine," she said climbing in.
Cat scooted over as best she could being as drunk as she was. She was still practically on top of her and Kara could feel her thigh pressed against her own. She was going to kill Adam. She should never have mentioned that Cat was a lightweight, but it had slipped out in her embarrassing Cat Grant love fest the other day when they were passing the bar Cat had dragged her to after she had shouted at her.
"Where did Adam go?" Kara asked, trying not to think about the feeling of Cat
"He finally started paying attention to the pretty starlets when you left," Cat said. "Are you jealous?" she asked, studying Kara's face.
"No," Kara said, staring ahead.
"You act awfully squirrelly when the topic of Adam is brought up." Cat said, tapping her lips. "It reminds me of how you act around hmm… James."
Kara turned to her. Cat's face was much closer than she expected. "That's over with."
"Oh? Is it?" Cat asked.
Kara chuckled. "Yes. Definitely."
"I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. Now Adam…"
"Adam," Kara cut in. "Adam just figured out something embarrassing about me and he's milking it."
A pleased smile snuck onto Cat's face. "Too bad he turned to trade work. Sounds like he would have made a great reporter."
"I think he probably got it from you," Kara said with a smile.
"Well, his father isn't the most observant man so I think that would be safe to say," Cat said. After a moment, Cat tilted over and rested her head on her shoulder. Kara stiffened.
They sat in silence while Kara tried to keep her breathing in control. It was hard with her boss leaning so gently against her. Cat's breath evened out and Kara wondered if she had fallen asleep. At work, it was easy to forget how tiny her boss was. Her presence was always so large and in control. It felt like she towered over you when she spoke. Right now, hair in her face, pressed against her Kara could feel how small the woman actually was. She brushed some hair off of Cat's face.
"Why do you smell like campfire?" Cat mumbled and Kara jumped.
"What?"
Cat sniffed. "You stink," she said, but didn't remove her head from her shoulder.
"I went out for some fresh air. There was a fire pit outside for the smokers."
"You went out for fresh air by the smokers? Brilliant," Cat mumbled. "Nothing to do with that fire Supergirl was seen at earlier I'm sure."
"What fire?" Kara sputtered out. She laughed nervously, looking down at. "I thought you were off that. You saw us together."
"Sure." Cat sighed.
"I'm glad you aren't interested in him. I don't like sharing," Cat said into her shoulder. Sharing? Kara wondered. Did she mean sharing Adam or… She really was going to kill that man. This was torture. He was a sadist just like his mother.
"Sharing?" she asked.
"I've never been very good at it."
"No, you haven't," Kara said quietly.
"You know me so well," Cat murmured.
They pulled into Cat's driveway and Kara let out a sigh of relief. "We're here," she said. Cat huffed and roughly pushed off of her.
"Finally free of me," Cat said, smoothing her skirt. "You've wanted to be away from me all night."
"That's… that's not true."
"It is," Cat said, opening the door and sliding a slim leg out of the car. "Figure it out, Kiera," she said, climbing out. "Preferably before tomorrow." She slammed the door in Kara's face and stumbled drunkenly toward her front door while Kara stared open mouthed.