Sitting on the floor of her parent's guest bedroom, empty boxes around her, Eva Gordon found herself staring at the diamond bracelet which she has set down on the bed, still in the box, as she wasn't sure she wanted to touch it. She really didn't think that one date should elicit such an elaborate gift. Though the bracelet was beautiful, it almost made her feel... cheap? Bought? Unsettled? Most certainly unsettled. It wasn't in her to accept such a gift, atleast after one date. After nearly an hour of focusing on the bracelet and NOT on packing, she decided that the next time she saw Aaron, she would return it. Yes, after thinking about it, she would indeed return it. And not mention a single word of it to her parents.

She sighed.

When had her life turned from boring and ordinary to this? And at that, she wasn't even sure what this was. She was dating an extremely wealthy and affluent business man who had ties to world over, and had befriended one of the world's most influential and powerful men.

Bruce.

She said the name over in her head. If anything was a surprise, it was definitely her relationship with Bruce Wayne. He was nothing like how he tried to present himself to the public. He wasn't a moron, he wasn't vain, he wasn't incompetent, and he definitely wasn't a womanizer. Of course, Eva knew that he had developed a certain liking to her, though she wouldn't flatter herself to believe anything further than that. She was no amazon beauty and had no real societal ties, though she knew Bruce didn't really take those types of women seriously. But for whatever reason, he perpetually decided to link himself with women that were lucky to have an IQ barely above mental retardation standards. She couldn't deny that if she could choose how her life would go, he would definitely be in it, but that was a course of thought she had strained to hold back. She couldn't let herself fall for a man that obviously had secrets and wanted to hide who he really was from the world.

All of this lead her back to the bracelet. There it was right in front of her, sparkling and beautiful, and completely keeping her from the task she should be fulfilling: packing. If she had known Aaron longer, been dating him for longer than a week, she wouldn't have to keep herself from feeling so awkward. But this present in itself had just made her feel weird. It was so wrong, and she knew it. Bruce had told her before they both left his office that she should be careful; that he didn't feel right about such a lavish gift. Him saying that should have insulted her, if she hadn't agreed with him 100%.

Eva closed the box and set it beside her on the ground. Rubbing her eyes, she stood up and stretched. She didn't have time for this. Bruce had gotten the apartment ready for her move in, and she couldn't wait to get done with the moving... All she had to do was actually get started.

XXXXX

Bruce rubbed his eyes wearily. He had abandoned his quest to find more information and evidence in the slaying of the young woman in the warehouse, for the time being. He was onto a new project Aaron Adams. Eva was the daughter of a police detective, not a plastic socialite with a taste for the expensive. She was beautiful in her own way, but by no means a looker of statuesque proportions. The gift Aaron had given her set off alarm bells, and from the look on Eva's face, Bruce could tell his weren't the only ones dinging to life. She simply was not the type of woman that just accepted something like that at face value. Adams was up to something, that was obvious, but perhaps he thought that with such a meager life, Eva would be flattered and not suspicious.

Wrong.

She hadn't voiced her concerns per se, but she was definitely skeptical. That's right Adams, she's no bimbo.

For the last two hours, Bruce had poured over histories in Adams' life. He youth, his subsequent loss of his family's company, to how he regained it, his family, though there was not much in the way of that. His mother had taken up residence somewhere in the South of France some years ago, but hadn't been back to the States in years. In fact no one had heard from her, not even her closest friends and family. Not to mention, no one had been out to that part of the world to visit her since she left. Strange and suspect. If there was one thing that Bruce Wayne had learned in all his years as an individual, it was that nothing was as it seemed. He was living proof.

Perhaps it was time for that meeting Aaron had been wanting to have for some time. Maybe that would give more insight into his motives.

XXXX

The following day, Eva was tired. Having stayed up well past midnight to pack, she only had about 3 hours of sleep total. She sucked down as much coffee as she could before Bruce was set to come into the office. They still had some files to go through before his report was due at the board meeting.

She grabbed the notes Bruce had written over the files they had reviewed thus far and began tasking away on the keyboard of her computer. Eva tried to stay diligent on the task at hand, but it didn't take long for her to begin to feel the burn of that damn bracelet she had placed in her desk. I'll never get any work done if I don't deal with this... NOW. She stopped typing and looked at the clock on her computer screen. It was 8am on the dot. Not too early to call, she thought and without a second thought, Eva picked up the phone and dialed Aaron's cell phone. She let it ring until, at last, his voice mail chimed on. "Aaron, this is Eva. I'd like to meet for lunch, if you have the time today. Give me a call back when you get this." she clicked off. Now to think on what she was actually going to say. She didn't want to insult the man, but if she didn't be firm and blunt, she may suffer him not getting the message of how the bracelet was received. Eva took the bracelet out from her desk drawer and looked at it once more.

Sighing, she spoke softly to herself, "Who knew diamonds could be such trouble?".

"And what a beautiful sight those are."

Eva immediately looked up and smiled when she looked into Alfred Pennyworth's eyes. The kind old man smiled back down at her. "Alfred. How nice to see you," she said, standing up. She couldn't help it, Eva found herself walking around her desk to give the man a gentle hug.

"And you as well. I would ask how you are doing, but it's quite obvious from the look on your face, you're genuinely perplexed."

"Well, yes. I..." she wasn't sure how to word exactly what she was thinking about without giving Alfred an offset idea of what kind of woman she really was. "It's this bracelet. I'm not entirely sure how return it to it's gifter," she explained.

"Ah, yes. Master Bruce told me about it."

At that, she arched an eyebrow. "He did?"

"Indeed, and I have to say, giving it back is the right course of action."

"How though? I don't want to insult Aaron, but..."

"But at the same time, you feel insulted?" Eva nodded her head in agreement.

"Then explain that. You can't have even a meager friendship without the cradle of honesty."

Alfred smiled at her, and she nodded her head again. He was right. She would find the right words to explain that to Aaron.

"On a different note," Alfred began, "I came to let you know that Master Bruce won't be coming in today."

"Oh?"

"He has some meetings elsewhere in the city to attend."

"I wasn't aware of any meetings."

"No, they are of a personal nature, Miss Gordon. But he did ask me to give you this." He pulled a manilla envelope out from under his shoulder and handed them over to her. "These are some more files, ones he found in his desk at the Manor."

She took them and silently groaned. More files. "Thanks Alfred, I'll be sure to review them."

He shook his head. "Master Bruce has looked them over, as well, and left some notes inside for you."

"Of course."

"I should be off, but let me just say, Miss Gordon, if there is anything you need, don't hesitate to ask."

Eva smiled once more. "Of course, Alfred. Thank you."

He turned to leave, and when she saw him disappear down the corridor to the office wing, she sat back down at her desk and opened the envelope. Pulling out the file folder, she instantly read the name that appeared. "AARON ADAMS"

Bruce kept a file on the guy? She supposed he would afterall, he kept several files on people he considered to be business associates or rivals. But something inside of her told her that this wasn't just a business file. What was Bruce up to?

XXXXX

Sorry, dear readers, for such a very long delay in updating. I never forgot this story, but I had the damnedest time finding the right wording for everything. I can't promise timely updates, but from now on I am bound and determined to finish this story to the bitter end. As always, reviews are a welcome sight and they really do help to get me motivated. I'm looking for a beta, so if you are interested, please, send me a note. I've been out of touch of writing for a while, and could use a little help. See you next chapter!