Miss Sterling & The Billionaire
Pairing: Bruce Wayne (Batman)/OC
Rating: K+
Warnings: Cursing.
A/N: I'm thinking of answering to the comments on here. I pressed the reply option but it keeps taking me to DMs so... you get the picture. You can leave any questions you have here. That being said, I want it to be known that the reason I left WGACA so open ended is because I don't want to restrict myself in case I ever come back for a Dark Knight Rises fic. I'm not keen about it at the moment but I can't be sure about the future. Mind you that's a big IF but considering how the Bane thing in the sequel was a recurring thing, I wouldn't scratch out the concept completely. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter Four- Stalker
He never got hate.
Ever.
It just never happened.
And it wasn't because he was such an angel either. People liked his behaviour. That's what made the playboy image so great. People liked it. But now- it seemed as though everything he knew was wrong. As Bruce went through the website, he saw that a lot of people were disgusted by his ways. Some labelled him misogynistic, others called him a dick, a prat, an ass hole and more for his behaviour.
Bruce was confused. He thought that people liked it. His PR team had assured him time and again that the public lived vicariously through him. So then what was this...?
Bruce didn't know.
Alfred, on the other hand, did. "I think you've gone a notch bit too far Master Wayne," he said to him.
Bruce sighed.
"What does that even mean?" he asked him.
"It means that you need to tone it down."
"Tone what down?"
"The image. Be genuine. People are beginning to see through it."
"I am being genuine."
"Yes, completely," Alfred quipped and Bruce knew that the matter was serious.
The very next day, he called his entire PR team who seemed to be completely unaware of the site itself.
"There are plenty of hate websites on the internet," said Matthew Winter, his publicist. "We can't track all of them."
"I'm not asking you to," Bruce said, "but you do need to know that it's causing my approval ratings to go low."
"What?"
"Yes, this website has an approval rating chart and I've got the lowest ratings," Bruce told him, showing him the number.
"Wow, that is low," the man couldn't help but comment and Bruce glared him. He'd never seen a more incompetent lot.
"I want you and your team to work on my ratings," he explained to him, "to boast my public image. I don't know what's wrong."
"Hmmm... it's never happened before," the man said, "we've never had any trouble with you. People love you. Why's there so much hate then?"
Bruce looked heavenwards before taking a deep breath. He could feel his temper flaring but he had to keep it together. There was no point in lashing out on his PR team- the very guys he was supposed to be on his best behaviour with. Granted, the lot proved to be incompetent but that wasn't the point. The point was that he needed to boast his public image as soon as possible.
He couldn't have more hate sites about him sprouting across the internet. It just wouldn't do.
So he asked- no, ordered his team to get on it while he himself tracked the owner the website.
Which is what he was doing at the moment.
"Alfred," he called his butler.
Alfred appeared a few moments later.
"Can you get me information on the web histories of the inhabitants of these three buildings?" he asked him.
Alfred looked at the paper he handed to him and declared, "One of these buildings is a coffee shop. This should be simple enough. However the other two private properties, I don't think I'll be able to-"
"By any means please," Bruce insisted and Alfred nodded.
"Okay then but why do you need it?"
"I need to track the owner of the website," he informed him, "for legal action. I've already got two interns- Lesley and Kyle- on it but they haven't been able to find much. Just the location of the majority of the posts. Whoever's doing this is smart. All of these locations are nowhere close to residential buildings."
"Ah, and how do you expect me to find the web histories if the interns at Wayne Enterprises can't?" Alfred asked him.
"Well, I know you're resourceful," Bruce said to him and he chuckled.
"That I am."
Bruce offered him a smile before turning back to his work and groaning. He couldn't do it. He needed someone better- someone more experienced- someone with better understanding and street smarts to help him track the owner. He needed someone like Iona.
Bruce shrugged.
No, he didn't need her.
He'd fired her.
He couldn't call her.
No, he couldn't.
His pride wouldn't let him.
He looked around to find Alfred still standing close by and sighed before asking, "I need a hacker."
"I know o-"
"Who is not Iona," he cut him, "I need someone who will deal with this professionally. I don't want any employees with a past relationship with me."
Alfred was positively smirking as he nodded and finally left the room.
Bruce groaned turning back to his work.
He didn't like this. Not. One. Bit.
The owner had to be a member of the paps, he thought to himself as he noticed the events they reported, they even commented on photo ops and appearances. Hmmm...
This might make a good court case.
Bruce didn't want it to be a court case. That would make him look like an absolute ass hole. Maybe he'd talk to the man in private. Maybe he'd settle out of court. He didn't know.
He just found this entire ordeal to be irritating.
This shouldn't have happened. He already had enough on his plate.