President of Industrial Development.
That was her title now.
Miss. Naomi Mills, Industrial Development President of Wayne Enterprises. She quite liked the sound of it, too.
Naomi had been at Wayne Enterprises for almost three weeks now. She settled in nicely and immediately set to work. Her first week compromised of many introductions and meetings to get to know her coworkers and the company but she had yet to meet Bruce Wayne just yet; however, that was about to change.
She left her office on the 21st floor and took the elevator, passing the applied sciences offices, to the 24th floor. The 24th floor was the second to last floor of Wayne Tower and it held the largest conference room. At 2 pm, in just a few minutes, she had her first meeting with the other presidents, officials, and managers to update them on her plan for the future of the railroad and what they were currently working on. She already met majority of her associates but there were a few big names she had yet to meet.
So far, Naomi liked working for Wayne Enterprises. She was used to a male-dominant work environment and it was no different at Wayne Tower. Everyone had been more than nice, and she could easily pick out the men who were probably best to avoid. She had grown to like a couple other associates a lot – Mr. Lucius Fox and Mr. Kevin Phillips to name the main two.
Mr. Phillips had shown Naomi around and introduced her to everyone. He showed her the ropes and gave her some ins and outs of working for Wayne Enterprises. He was an older, stocky man with three daughters, and he always boasted about them. He possessed a good, sarcastic sense of humor too, which Naomi immediately liked. A few days in, Mr. Phillips introduced Naomi to Lucius Fox once he returned from China. The tall, charismatic man immediately took a liking to Naomi and vice versa. They shared substantial conversations and took a strong interest in each other's plans for the company.
Naomi's plans for Wayne Enterprises were bold and they would take time, but she wasn't nervous in the slightest. The railroads Wayne Enterprises purchased were far behind than those she worked for previously - they were old, unmanaged, and lacked variety. Her first proposal called to update these roads with modern equipment, add proper management, and ultimately (and what she was most excited for) to expand. Her new conquest is to finish the expansion of a track connecting Gotham City to Metropolis and to Central City in the shortest amount of time yet.
"Naomi, do you need me to assist you with the PowerPoint slides? Or should I just be sitting the whole time?" Bonnie asked.
Bonnie Hatfield was a petite, older woman who reminded Naomi of the stereotypical grandmother that always wanted you to come over for dinner and always had a batch of cookies baking in the oven. She was a woman from the south, which they greatly connected over since Naomi's first day, and it helped since she was Naomi's executive assistant.
Naomi glanced down at the blonde woman as the exited the elevator and began to walk down the corridor of glass walls.
"No, I think I'll manage, but thank you." Naomi nodded to give her thanks and Bonnie smiled.
Bonnie let the young woman lead the way and enter the conference room first. It was the largest one and some men had already arrived. As they entered, the men's conversation slightly lessened. Bonnie took the empty seat next to one that was meant for Naomi and she patiently watched Naomi settle her belongings at the top of the table.
So far, Bonnie had taken a great liking to Naomi. However, on her first day it was a little different. She knew that occasionally Mr. Wayne offered positions to very attractive women with no qualifications and she would have sworn that was the case with Naomi. It was her apparent youth, lean body, and overall exotic beauty that made her think so, but she was so very wrong. As soon as she could, Naomi had begun to work and displayed a great competence for what she planned to do at Wayne Enterprises.
Naomi withdrew a flash drive and plugged it into to her laptop that connected to the screen behind her. She stood tall and briefly smoothed her silk blouse and trousers that modestly accentuated her figure. While it loaded, Naomi glanced around the room as the men she worked with filtered into the room after her and settled into their chairs.
She wasn't nervous for her first meeting. Instead, she was excited and ready to make her big announcement.
"Good afternoon, everyone." She said with a smile. They all turned to her and gave their greetings.
The men liked having a woman around, although their thoughts were not the most appropriate during her first week, but she had made a statement and a powerful one at that. She was not to be messed with or taken for granted, and she was ready to devote some time and money into Wayne Enterprise Railroad Services.
"While this loads, I guess I can start with the main objective." Naomi began as she flipped through a small stack of papers.
She pushed a strand of dark hair behind her ear and looked straight ahead. An unfamiliar face stared back at her. He sat at the head of the table, completely opposite her, in a rather relaxed, slouched position compared to the rest of her coworkers. Lucius sat to his immediate right. For a brief moment, Naomi nearly lost track of her thoughts and inwardly cursed herself, how could she forget that he would be at this meeting?
"So, as you know, when Wayne Enterprises purchased the majority of track in the Northeast and Midwest, the idea of connecting that track to create one long railroad that would ultimately connect Gotham to Metropolis was being thrown around."
Naomi spoke strong and with a fluid, steady voice. It gave nothing away to her previous stutter of thought from the face of the handsome stranger. She looked around the at the men – everywhere but straight ahead.
"In the two weeks that I've been here, I've been seeking through every avenue to make this possible and I am very pleased to announce that the construction of a new rail line has been taken into effect and because of the distance and previous track already created, it will be done in under a short four months." Naomi paused and looked around.
Her coworkers – some below her and the few above her, nodded appreciatively. She clicked her laptop to turn to some presentation slides and opened a map of the new route.
A few of her coworkers spoke their approval of the new development. They asked a few short questions to which Naomi answered with ease. She hesitantly glanced to the man across from her to see his reaction. Her eyes widened and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight.
He was asleep.
Bruce Wayne was asleep in one of her meetings – a meeting to introduce her and announce her new project.
Naomi cleared her throat and returned her focus to her presentation. She turned to her next slide and carried on her presentation with grace all while some anger bubbled within her at her boss's actions – or lack of.
Naomi concluded her presentation well and her associates left the meeting impressed. She spoke with Mr. Phillips outside of the conference room as others left.
Still seated in the back of the room, Lucius kicked Bruce's seat. He watched a brow raised as the man jerked awake and looked at him with a pointed expression. Lucius could see the exhaustion in his features and slightly felt bad.
"You missed your new President of rail's first presentation." Lucius said with unbothered amusement.
Bruce rubbed his face in an effort to wake himself up. He tried to think of what he remembered from the meeting, but the last thing he could think of was watching the pretty brunette enter the room. He cleared his throat and sat up in his seat.
"That's why I have you. How did it go?"
"She's going to do a lot for us." Lucius quickly turned in his seat to glance at Naomi and Mr. Phillips.
"She's right outside if you'd like me to introduce you, but I don't think she quite liked you sleeping during her presentation."
Bruce looked to the two bodies standing outside of the room and tried his best to get a look at her, but the glare from the windows prohibited him from getting a good view. He nodded to Lucius and stood.
"Guess I should practice my apology." Bruce muttered mainly to himself. He waited for Lucius and followed him towards the door.
"Haven't you perfected it by now?" Lucius jabbed with a small side smirk. Bruce ignored him and straightened his jacket instead. He worked himself back into his playboy persona and made sure to exhibit his Bruce Wayne signature qualities to meet his new employee.
Bruce overheard Mr. Phillips tell Naomi of some issues they've had in the past involving the rail and he suddenly stopped as Lucius and Bruce approached.
"I hope I didn't interrupt," Lucius cut in with a smile.
Naomi smiled at him and shook her head. Bruce slowly passed through the doorway before finally coming completely into view.
"Of course not."
Naomi briefly glanced to Bruce before looking to Lucius and her smile stayed the same. It was a fake one, Bruce could tell, one that was polite and just to be nice. He took in her features as Lucius spoke to her. He was briefly given a file on her as was customary with new employees and he vaguely remembered the attached photo with it.
She was much more stunning in person and Bruce had to admit, she was a sight for sore eyes. She looked different than the other beautiful women he was accustomed to. She was natural and didn't look artificial – a rarity in Gotham City. If she was as smart as her resume stated, she was quite a catch. Aside from her employee profile, he didn't know much of Naomi, and his playboy persona would be the one to learn more.
Naomi focused on Lucius even though her mind was buzzing with the fact that Bruce Wayne was right in front of her, and she was just about to meet the man who fell asleep during her presentation.
"I'd just like to say outstanding performance, Miss. Mills." Lucius congratulated. "I'm very excited for the project and I'd like to introduce you to Bruce Wayne." Lucius gave a slight gesture to the man to his left.
Naomi turned her attention to Bruce and gave a tighter smile. She briefly took in the tall man before her. He looked like the photos she had seen online and in tabloids, but those pictures did him no justice. He was a god of a man with some of the most satisfying features, and had Naomi been in a different place – not post-divorce and not freshly moved to a new city, she would have been open to the fact that she was attracted to him.
"A pleasure to finally meet you, Miss. Mills, I've heard many good things. I'm looking forward to seeing the project completed." Bruce outstretched his hand as he spoke which Naomi obediently shook with a strong grip. She held her head high and held his unwavering sharp blue stare.
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne." She paused briefly to rethink her next statement.
"I hope it didn't bore you too much. I'll make sure it's more entertaining next time." She finished with a dashing smile.
Lucius looked between the two. It was obvious he enjoyed her remark and Bruce was slightly taken aback by her bold, backhanded statement. He was not the slightest offended but if anything, he was amused by her boldness to speak like that to him. No one ever spoke to him like that and it was a welcomed change.
"My apologies. I assure you; you don't need to worry about me doing anything like that ever again." Bruce reassured with an equally stunning smile.
Naomi gave a sweet smile in return but made no reply. Instead she turned her attention to Lucius and Mr. Phillips.
"I have some things I need to finish up before the weekend, so I will see you all on Monday." Naomi said and she took a couple steps back towards the elevator. "Mr. Wayne, it was nice to meet you. Have a good weekend."
She smiled at the three men and turned on her heel. She just wanted to get to her desk, finish some emails, and go pick up her best friend from the airport.
Bruce watched Naomi's retreating figure and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"What'd you do to piss her off?" Mr. Phillips asked with evident humor.
Bruce shrugged and gave the man a sloppy grin.
"Fell asleep."
Mr. Phillips laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"You have the best first impressions." He laughed and shook his head.
Mr. Phillips had been one of the oldest employees at Wayne Enterprises and was actually very close with Bruce's parents when they were still alive. He was one of the few board members that Bruce actually liked and one of the few Bruce considered a real friend.
Naomi quickly returned to her desk and took out her phone. She had a handful of missed texts from Erin.
"I'm so excited lol"
"We have to eat somewhere good tonight"
"Let's go out?"
"Landing in an hour!"
A small smile played on Naomi's lips as she read each one. She was excited for her best friend to finally come visit her. Although it had only been three weeks and she kept herself busy with work, she missed Erin and having someone to just hang out with after work. She quickly texted her back that she would be leaving work in thirty and will be at the airport just in time.
Naomi hustled through final emails, but although she was ecstatic to see Erin, thoughts of Dex began to cloud her mind. Bits of loneliness had pried into her over the past few weeks, but they didn't flood her and make her depressed. Instead, she had accepted the fact that she was single. She was cheated on, but she was single and free. It was hard but she didn't remember the good parts with Dex, the happy years they shared, she remembered that he had a full-on affair with another woman. That was enough to keep her independence going.
Some twenty minutes later, Naomi left her office and headed to her car downstairs. She hurried to her slate Porsche Panamera Sport and peeled out of the parking garage in an effort to beat the Gotham traffic.
Naomi circled through the airport's arrivals lanes before she spotted her short, blonde friend.
A broad grin plastered Erin's face and as Naomi pulled her car up to the curb, she raised her hands in the air and did a small, awkward celebratory dance move.
Naomi couldn't help but laugh at her friend as she got out and went around to give her a hug.
"Hi!" Erin dragged out as they embraced. Her long, fake eyelashes batted in excitement.
Naomi and Erin were polar opposites. Naomi was tall, dark, and athletic, while Erin was short, pale, and couldn't play a sport to save her life. Despite their obvious differences, they shared a passion for food, traveling, the occasional party, and they balanced each other well enough to be friends for 11 years.
"How was your flight?" Naomi asked as they went to the trunk to toss Erin's luggage in.
"It was good! Went by fast." They briefly paused as they entered the vehicle and Naomi began her effort to leave the busy airport.
"Ugh, look at you!" Erin exclaimed as she turned in her seat to get a better look at her long-time friend.
Naomi glanced to her and gave an embarrassed smile.
"What?"
"New city, new car, new job… new Naomi." She giggled at the latter.
Naomi rolled her eyes and focused on the road.
"So, how's work? Have you met that one guy?" Erin asked. She slouched in her seat and focused her attention on her phone. Her long acrylic nails furiously tapped her screen.
"It's good, had a good meeting today. Who do you mean?" Naomi asked even though she knew who Erin was referring to.
"You know that um… Bruce Wayne. The hottie that's all over my insta. I can't believe you work for him." Erin said as she flashed Naomi her phone screen. It was littered with various photo of Bruce around Gotham and Europe, some just of him and some with various models.
"Yeah. I met him today actually. He fucking fell asleep during my meeting."
Erin immediately laughed.
"He fell asleep? Wow." She said as she scrolled through more photos of him. "I'd let him fall asleep on me."
Naomi scoffed at her friend's comment. She didn't find anything special about Bruce Wayne. She'd admit he was handsome, he seemed charming, and his wealth certainly had some appeal, but she found it so unprofessional that he was asleep in her meeting and that completely turned her off. Besides, the last thing she needed was to gain any interest in one of the most notorious playboys in all of the modern world.
"Can you believe you have someone in your city dressing up as a bat?" Erin started. "I mean, I know there's Superman and all them, but you live in Batman's city."
"Yeah... I know. Honestly, I forget he exists." And that was the sure truth. Naomi often forgot that Batman was a thing in Gotham, until she put on the news or occasionally glanced up at the late night sky and saw the iconic light in the sky.
They arrived at Naomi's apartment with little traffic. Naomi pulled her car through the car loop and left her car on for the valet to take it to her assigned spot.
"Hello, Miss. Mills." The doorman, Henry, greeted as he allowed Naomi and Erin to pass through the white marble lobby.
"Hi Henry."
Erin glanced around the lobby as she walked through and once inside the elevator, she turned to Naomi with a very approving expression.
"I can't wait to see your place."
Naomi smirked as she pushed the button to the 10th floor.
Her apartment building was one of the nicest in Gotham City. It had a central location, it was safe, and provided everything Naomi needed and what her hefty six figure salary could account for. Her three-bedroom apartment took up the entire 10th floor. It was modern and minimal with floor to ceiling panoramic windows all around the apartment and offered stunning views of the city.
"Wow." Erin called out. She dropped her bags by the front door and immediately walked to the windows in front of them. The sun was setting, and a pretty purple painted the sky.
The layout of the apartment was open and very spacious. The large entry way immediately opened to one giant room that consists of the living room, kitchen and dining room. Different ceiling levels illuminate the different rooms.
"Isn't it pretty? You don't get a skyline like that in Wilmington." Naomi said as she joined Erin to take in the view.
"That's for damn sure."
They stood against the window for a few more minutes in silence as they took in Naomi's new home. Despite the mixed reviews of the city, she had grown to love it.
"So, how've you been? Anything new with Dex?" Erin slowly asked. She'd been dying to ask how her friend was doing but knew it was a touchy subject and Naomi was one to shut down when being faced with emotions.
Naomi kept her eyes on the fading sun and pondered Erin's question. She pursed her lips before answering.
"I'm okay. I've… it's been hard, but honestly, I'm doing a lot better than I thought. He used to call, text, and email me all the time but I blocked him." Naomi finished with a light chuckle and shrug.
"Well, good for you. You're strong, and it'll only get easier. And honestly… I feel like this is where you belong. You've always wanted to be in a big city and you never really got to move on your own somewhere." Erin said thinking of how adventurous and outgoing her best friend is. They'd visit various big cities a lot when they were younger and Naomi always had a passion for the fast-paced environment. She was one of the few that could actually handle it.
"Yeah," Naomi nodded. She bit her lip and smiled. "I'm loving it."
"So, what's the plan? I'll go change then we get food? Drinks?" Erin asked with a change of tone.
"Let's do it."
Their weekend would be Naomi's first time out in Gotham. Hell, she hadn't had a real night out anywhere in so long. Now, she was single, but she was also nearing the age of 30. How she would handle their night let alone the next morning would be adventure all on its own.
A/N - Naomi, Erin, and Mr. Phillips are obviously my original characters... there will be a couple more! Please give me your thoughts, ideas, comments, criticism! All is welcomed, and all is wanted :)