Is it physically possible to wake up with an actual railroad spike embedded in your skull and still live to speak about it? Well that's how I felt this particular morning as I slowly sat up on my couch with a groan. I wiped what I hoped was caked saliva from the side of my face, glancing down to see the same clothes I had on when I went on that date with Grayson last night. Okay, wow, I must have just slept on my couch all night, I thought. I raised a hand to my head with a grimace as I slowly regained my bearings. My eyes blinked a few times when I glanced at the digital clock on the kitchen counter. That clock is funny saying that it is 10:15 in the morning, ha! I thought. I grabbed my cell phone from the nearby table to see that the time matched what was on my clock and my eyes grew wide as I leaped from the couch. This was another one of those moments in life that I was thankful for having superpowers even under the most mundane of circumstances. I super sped through my shower, brushed my teeth, changed my clothes and did not stop this super speed until I was in the lobby of my apartment building. Think anyone would notice if I flew to Wayne Enterprises? Ugh, okay fine, of course they would!
By the time I actually made it to Wayne Enterprises, it was almost noon and I could only imagine the beef I was going to get from Bruce over this and then some. The elevator seemed to be in a perpetual state of upward motion as I ran through the doors once they opened. As I passed Ruby, I gave her a nervous wave before approaching the big, mean pair of all too familiar doors. I gave a light knock, clearing my throat and began to slowly creak the door open. There he was in all his cocky glory; an eyebrow slowly rose as he peered up at the door as my head poked in. He glanced at his watch and then back up at me as I slid all the way in, shutting the door behind me.
"So, Mr. Wayne, I can explain," I began, the sun seeming exceptionally bright in his office today as I raised a hand to shield my eyes. Bruce's eyebrows rose as he studied me questioningly.
"Mr. Wayne? Wow, this must be some explanation to start it so properly. Too bright in here for you? Was such a beautiful day outside, thought I'd revel in it a bit," He said with as smug of a grin as I imagined he could. My eyes began to narrow as I most assuredly began to smell a rat.
"Dick already told you, didn't he?" I asked and he smiled broadly, interlacing his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair.
"You know I got the oddest text from him this morning, which was at 7:00 a.m., by the way…apologizing on your behalf today if you were in fact late, but he didn't give me the foggiest clue as to why you would be late," he said, loving every single minute of having the ball hovering eternally in his court. I groaned as I sulked down in the chair across from his desk, putting my head in my hand. I let out a huff before deciding to just admit it.
"Fine, fine, okay…I have…a hangover. Like, a major, Doomsday sized hangover," I stated as the sudden smell of bacon filled my nostrils and made me almost want to hurl. I lifted my gaze from my hands to see Bruce fiddling with what looked like a breakfast sandwich from some fast food joint and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Since when do you eat junk food, Mr. Eight Pack?" I asked, noticing he hadn't even taken a bite of said sandwich. He glanced down to the breakfast food and then back at me rather innocently.
"Oh, since this morning actually, I just had a hankering for one all the sudden, it was the strangest thing. Do you want a bite?" he asked, holding the sandwich out towards me. My hand rose to block my nose from the smell as I got up to walk away. Bruce started to laugh as he tossed the sandwich into the wastebasket.
"This isn't funny, Bruce, how long does this sickness and remorse last?" I asked with all seriousness and he canted his head at me.
"You know, when Dick told me that you actually got drunk last night, I did not believe him for a second but here is the living, breathing, sickly proof that a Kryptonian actually can get a hangover. Incredibly amusing I have to say. I'd have paid money to see that," he said as I could only roll my eyes at him, waving him off with a flick of my wrist.
"Wasn't much to see, I pretty much just made a complete idiot of myself and will not be doing it…ever…again." I said as I firmly crossed my arms over my chest. Bruce smirked at my comment tapping his finger atop the desk.
"That's what we all say, yet that is never the case. Ever," he said with a smile. His thoughts were interrupted as Ruby's voice bellowed from the intercom.
"Mr. Wayne, there is a delivery here for Ms. Danvers; is it alright if I send them into your office for her?" Ruby asked as Bruce rose a single eyebrow, looking over to me.
"Are you expecting anything?" he asked me and I slowly shook my head, having no clue what the delivery could be.
"Go ahead and send them in Ruby," he replied as he rose from his desk to walk to his office doors. His entire body was stiff as if he were expecting a huge Jack-in-the-Box to appear and explode once it landed inside his office. Instead, three men walked in, each holding a vase with what had to have been two dozen red roses in each. My mouth dropped as I watched the roses roll in and placed on Bruce's desk. One of the deliverymen held out a digital signing pad for me to sign for the delivery and I stood frozen and dumbfounded. Bruce walked over to one of the vases that had a card and yanked it from its holder; this action jolted me back to reality.
"Hey! That's my note!" I yelped, lurching forward to grab it from him, his arm raising the note into the air out of my reach. He started to read it, aloud:
"I hope your first hangover was worth it, Babe, and that these flowers brighten your-," he was cut off as I had floated into the air to grab the note from his hand and floated back down, clutching it to my chest. Bruce slowly turned to look at me, as mild disgust swept across his features.
"Babe? Red roses? Must have been one hell of a night," Bruce said as his jaw squared off a bit. I looked down at the note to confirm they were for sure from Dick and yes, of course they were; who else would it have been?
"Pssh, it didn't even get that far," I said to myself as my eyes widened, realizing that I said those words aloud. Bruce's face was frozen in complete surprise before he lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck.
"Why does it matter if they're red or not anyway?" I asked suddenly, realizing he didn't just say roses, but specifically their color category.
"Every man should know what the different colors of roses represent-red being passion/ love- not the smartest move to give after the first date. Unless, as I said, it was one hell of a night," he repeated, eyeing me warily to see if I'd dish out any additional dirt. I rolled my eyes, figuring Bruce would find any means necessary to emasculate Dick at any cost.
"You know, even if it was that kind of night, it'd really be none of your business, Bruce. I think the roses were a very sweet touch," I said matter of factly as I removed my cell phone to thank Dick for the gesture.
"Is that what women are calling cliché's now a days? 'Sweet'?" he asked. I could feel his eyes burning a hole in the top of my head, watching me as I texted, a smile played on my lips. I looked up at him, pretending I didn't hear his fleeting comment.
"Oh, what did you say? I didn't hear you because I was saying yes to another date this Saturday night with Dick Grayson," I said, giving him a smug smile. He stood from his desk, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"You'll have to reschedule. If you would've actually shown up on time this morning, I could have informed you before you made any plans," he said as I looked around me confused.
"Why would I need to reschedule? We don't come into the office on weekends, or at least I'm sure not!" I said, getting rather defensive as he slid a flyer in front of me on the desk. I leaned forward to read that it said, 'Wayne Foundation Children's Hospital Charity Ball'. I looked up at him still confused.
"Okay, so your foundation's millionth charity ball is this Saturday. Nothing new there, what has this got to do with me?" I asked as he took a seat at the corner of his desk.
"I need you to come with me as my plus one. I suspect there may be some key players from our previous Gigante encounter. More than likely, they'll be under cover and I'd rather the night go off without a hitch as it tends to effect the money that's donated," he said to me, pausing for effect as I waited for him to get to the point of still, what it had to do with me.
"I need your super hearing. I could wear audio enhancers but they still can't compare to the decibel and range your ears can work," he said as I looked at him with mild amusement. My hands crossed over my chest as I sat forward in my chair.
"So, you need me huh? What's in it for me?" I asked as Bruce folded his own arms over his chest.
"I forget about the fact that you came in four hours late because you got overly intoxicated last night; you keep your job, and you get a free, very expensive dress," he said sternly, his gaze not faltering as if he were attempting to use mind powers to get me to agree. Wait, maybe that was the trick up his sleeve, maybe Bruce Wayne was a telepath!
"You just love backing me into a corner, don't you?" I ask, taking out my cell phone to text Dick back about rescheduling our date with a frown. Bruce smiled to himself as he made his way back to the other side of his desk. I deleted the first three attempts that I texted out, all of which mentioned why I was rescheduling. I decided on the fourth attempt at the text to state simply: "I'm sorry but we will have to reschedule our date for Saturday. Something came up for work; you know…the other kind of work. ;)" and I pressed send. I felt a little bad that I didn't tell him about the ball with Bruce, but I just didn't feel like dealing with the drama that would undoubtedly ensue. At least that's what I'd continue to tell myself. I put the cell phone back in my purse and peered across the desk at Bruce.
"There, done. There had better be dancing at this thing, at least," I scoffed as I adjusted the glasses on my nose.
"It's a ball, there's always dancing," he said sarcastically, and he had a point, I probably should have known that.
"Let me guess, too cool for school, Bruce Wayne wouldn't be caught dead dancing at these things," I grumbled and rolled my eyes.
"Quite the contrary, I'm a regular Fred Astaire," he retorted, which perked my interest, but I attempted hide that.
"Now, go get some coffee- take the equivalent of Kryptonian pain killers and go sleep it off. Be in the office at 7 am tomorrow, sharp. Got it?" he said, completely taking me off guard as I slowly realized he was letting me go home because I didn't feel good. I remembered a quote from The Grinch that said, "And his heart grew three sizes that day." Bruce cleared his throat, which jolted me back to reality.
"You better go before I change my mind," he said, motioning to the door with his head. I leaped up at that comment and started scurrying towards the office.
"Ms. Danvers, you going to leave these here?" he said, referring to the roses. I smirked over my shoulder.
"Keep 'em. You could use a little of the color red in your life," I said before whisking myself out the door, refusing to let him have the last word.
