Bonus Chapter: Our First Meeting

Damien's POV

Breath, just breath, Damian thinks to himself. He stares at the financial reports in front of him with a grim expression. He knows something to wrong with the department head that just left, the head of the Wayne Charity fund. The man perspired and chattered a little too much, it felt like he was hiding something, and Damian was going to find out what.

Setting the reports aside, Damian reaches for the next file on his desk, glaring at it as he does so; it's pink. Damian isn't amused by the head of this new department sense of humor. Marinette Dupain-Chang. He narrows his eyes on the offensive folder on his desk, how dare she send him a pink folder. What did she think this was, a sorority? Hell no, it wasn't and she was going to get a piece of his ire if there were just fashion pictures in that folder.

Reluctantly he picks up the objectionable folder and opens it. He quickly flips though the pages but after looking more closely he realizes that this was more then a rough outline for the new fashion department, but a full draft with budgets, accounting documents, three years of forecasting and employee that she would like to take from other departments. How did she put all this together? She only started yesterday; he was sure of it. He was there, he walked her to her office.

How the hell did she find employees in Wayne Enterprises that where already willing to move to a new, untested department and under a young unexperienced leader like that little wisp of a woman. How did she convince these people to jump ship so to speak?

Damian picks up his phone and calls one of the people on the list. He needed to know if they were really interested in leaving or did, she just put a list of random people in front of him.

"Hello, accounting department, this is Janet," a kind voice says.

"Janet," Damian barks, "I need to know if you are leaving the accounting department to join Ms. Dupain-Chang."

The phone is silence for a few moments then sounds of shuffling and shifting, like someone moving franticly around, nervously. Finally, the woman says unsteadily, "Ummm… Ms. Dupain-Chang ap.. approached me yesterday after work – no I mean … Ummm - it was lunch time - and … I … Well, she … umm… Well, she asked if I would like to join her. I have been thinking of leaving after being passed over for a promotion … S-Sir. I mean that's not the only reason. I'm not so petty to leave for that – I just – Well I just want more for myself."

Damian thinks about this for a moment, as the woman continues to babble on about her trivial life problems. How did she know who to approach?

"Thank you," Damian says and hangs up on the woman.

After calling the other employees on her list, five in all, all with similar stories. Dupain-Chang approached them and after chatting for a time she asked if they would like to join her department and somehow, they all argued. Some seem truly interested in fashion and jumped at the chance to join her. Others wanted to move up and hoped to do it in her new department. One didn't really seem the type and didn't sound all that interested in the position, she seemed more like a add on not a real candidate, he wanted to reject her as a potential leader in Ms. Dupain-Chang's department, but after looking more closely at Dupain-Chang's plans Damian felt that that would harm her blooming department.

If he was being honest with himself, he was truly enthralled by her plans, and the speed and skill at which she moved through WE to find people who were overlooked and asking them to join her was truly impressive. She was using the resources here at Wayne most effectively, more than anyone else ever did, and in such a short time too. He had to know. He had to ask.

He sent a massager demanding a meeting with her immediately, half an hour later she was standing in his office; smiling at him. What was she smiling at? He didn't like it, it felt like she knew something he didn't. And he hated being left out of the loop.

Narrowing his eyes on her, he says, "You've been very busy Ms. Dupain-Chang."

"You got my report?" she smiles.

"Yes."

"Any questions?"

"Many," Damian says, stands up to walk around his desk with the pink folder she sent up to his office, "Explain this."

She looks at the folder he holds out to her with a curious expression, her eyes flick up to his and his heart stops for a moment as he stares at the facets of her sapphire blue eyes. He quickly looks away as she tilts her head to the side, looking confused.

"What do you mean," she asks.

"Explain how you did all this in one day," he clarifies.

"Oh," Dupain-Chang says, "I did most of the writing last night, Janet from the accounting department was really helpful. By the way, have you looked over my recommendations for the people I want for my department?"

"Yes," Damian grits out, "How did you know who to approach?"

"Approach?" she questions, "What do you mean?"

"All the people on your list are willing to jump ship and join you. How did you do it?"

"Umm.. Well, I wouldn't put it that way. They are staying with Wayne Enterprises, after all," Dupain-Chang says. "And I didn't go around accosting people and asking them to move to my department. The way you say 'Approach', you make it sound like I just went up to everyone asking them to join the fashion club."

"That's what you did," Damian barks back.

"I did not," she says, offended. Dupain-Chang looked adorable standing there with her little fists on her hips, her button nose all scrunched up with a fire in her eyes. She reminded him of a furious hamster; what she didn't realize was that she was going up against a Titan. Damian couldn't help but smile at the sight and at Dupain-Chang continued irritation.

"I talked to everyone on your list," Damian tells her, "They all say you approached them."

"I just talked to them and they all sounded like they wanted an opportunity. So, I asked and well they said yes," Dupain-Chang thunders, "You make it sound like I had inside information and that I am pouching your people."

"Were you?" Damian says.

"No!" Dupain-Chang says, shocked. "It all started after the elevator incident."

"What do you mean," he asks. "What incident?"

"With the man who asked if I would help him with his French," she says.

Damian lips turn down in a sneer at the reminder of the man who so clearly wanted this woman in front in him. He wasn't sure why he got so angry in that elevator that day or why he felt the need to get Dupain-Chang out of that elevator as fast as possible, but he did and he didn't regret it.

"Well, I didn't want to make enemies here at Wayne Enterprises, so I went to find him," she says, waving her hands around as she explains.

Grabbing her wrist, "You what," Damian snarls at her, invading her personal space, furious scowl on his face. She stops died and stares at him in confusion and fear. Seeing the fear in her eyes he quickly let's go of her wrist and backs away, saying, "Continue." He didn't like being the cause of her fear.

"Umm… I decided to smooth things over with him. I don't want to have enemies here at Wayne," She stops and looks at him pointedly. "I didn't find him but I did find Janet. She had just been passed over for a promotion by John, the guy in the elevator. I don't have any friends here in Gotham so I asked her if she wanted to get lunch together. And well it just worked out, you know. I asked if she wanted to because my Production Manager and she said yes. I also sweeten the deal by saying that she could have any of the prototype Gala looks."

"Those belong to Wayne," Damian states.

"Wow, Mr. Wayne I didn't take you for a cross dresser," Dupain-Chang laughs. At his glare she says, "Oh come on, no one keeps the prototypes. They are given away or reused in some other way."

"Fine," Damian says. "So how did you find the other four?"

"That was easy after meeting Janet. She really is great. She pointed me in the direction of Nathanael. He's the personal assistant to the charity director. He works really hard and is great at his job, but Janet thinks he is a little to good at his job. Because the director didn't like anyone looking over his books or looking to closely at what he's doing. Nathanael is so good at his job that he finishes so quickly that he can check over the books for errors but the director caught him once and nearly fired him for it. Nathanael was just trying to help. So, I asked him to join me, as my Strategic Manager. If the charity director isn't going to appreciate a hard worker like him, I will. And so, I got another to join me."

Her hands continued to fly through the air as she spoke, she was sweet in her own way. Sweet was not something Damian thought about a lot but it fit Dupain-Chang. She didn't look directly at him as she explained, he didn't like that.

He decided to draw her eyes by moving around the desk and gesturing saying, "Three?" Telling her to continue her explanation, he wanted every aspect of this story so he could decide if she was lying.

"Well, I didn't really seek out Amanda," Dupain-Chang says, with a blush and a quick look away. Why would she blush he didn't do anything to merit that? "She kind of found me. She is a big gossip and I think she hopes to get special treatment and fashionable clothes out of working for me. I'm sure she said it was an accident that we ran into each other but it didn't feel that way to me. I'm not really sure about her and her work ethic but as they say, beggars can't be choosers. I did need someone with marketing experiences, she's going to be my Marketing Officer. Although, I have to say the marketing department she is coming from doesn't impress me."

"Which marketing department is that?" he asks.

"Asia something or other department," she answers.

"I'm in charge of that marketing team," Damian narrows his eyes, not liking this development.

"Oh," Dupain-Chang's eyes widen with shock and dread. "I wouldn't hav-," she stops herself and looks down at the floor. But her tone says volumes, she thought that he wasn't managing his divisions properly. And he couldn't say that she was wrong; with how much she was able to get done in a mere day. She collected a skeleton crew of employees for her new department in hours and wrote an incredibly complete outline too.

It made him want to prove that he was just as good as her, better even. This was a competition now. He waved his hand telling her to continue.

"Jason and David were a packaged deal," she continues. "I had to find an Art director from the art department. So, I walked down there and David liked my blouse."

"He hit on you so you thought it was a good idea to hire him?" he says.

"No," Dupain-Chang says. "He complimented my shoes too. He clearly had good taste and was very friendly." Damian glares at her for that statement, which she doesn't notice because she was back to not looking at him. "He introduced me to his 'friend' Jason," she continues making air quotes with her hands at the word friend. "I loved them immediately. So, David will be my Fashion Director and Jason will be my Art Director."

"They don't seem qualified for those jobs," Damian points out.

"Oh, but they are," she defends. "David is a project manager for Wayne Tech at the moment. It would be an adjustment for him but I have faith in him and he is very enthusiastic. Which is a very important part of the job, at least in my opinion. He said he always dreamed of working in fashion."

Dupain-Chang walks around his office looking at the pictures and diplomas on his wall. "As for Jason, he is the Art Manager on a different project but he doesn't seem to like his work so I'm hoping to give him something he can get excited about and he would be in charge of his own team. I think he will like that. Plus, he and David get to work together which they have been trying to do for years, apparently."

"This is a business," Damian says. "This isn't about what people would like; it's not a place for dreamers."

"I disagree," she says. "Didn't your grandfather have a dream?"

Damian spins around suddenly to glare at her. How dare she bring up his grandfather, his grandfather was a sociopath and a murderer. His dream was to achieve balance in the world and to him that meant eliminating most of humanity. Murder a species to achieve balance, not the Damian had much faith in humanity but after meeting his real father and becoming apart of the Bat family, so to speak. He didn't feel that he could stand by and watch most of the human race die.

She stood next to an oak bookcase in his office skimming through the titles. Damian strides over to her on silent feet, he made not a sound as he glares at her back. Angry and rage marring his face, he wanted to ripe her to pieces. Not to mention his new suspicions about why she was here. Did his mother send her to tempt him, she was pretty enough? The arc of her neck in his view catches his eyes, soft porcelain skin; even as he thinks of ending her life with a quick flick of his wrist, he can't help the trill that want though his body at the thought of touching her skin.

His hand reaches for her neck, unknown to her, but her next words stay his hand. "Thomas Wayne had a dream for a better Gotham, didn't he?"

Fuck. Of course, she would be talking about his paternal grandfather. He quickly moves back a step so she wouldn't see him standing so close as she turns to him with a kind inviting smile. She has no idea how close she came to death a moment ago as she smiles at him; the innocents and kindness in her eyes make him feel even worse. To ease the tension in his body and hoping destract her from what he was about to do to her he says, "What does that have to do with fashion?"

"Well, honesty I can't say that it does," Dupain-Chang says. "He was your grandfather and I would never wish to assume that I know more about him than you." She looks shyly up at him through her lashes, bluebells peaking through the dark soil for the first time, so bright and vivid in the light of the new day. "I think Wayne Enterprises has been doing an amazing job of continuing his dream and I would like to make Gotham City a place know for it's beauty too."

A place of beauty? That phrase has never been applied to Gotham before and he didn't think this tiny woman could do anything of the sort here. But she did do all that work in one day, he thinks as he look at the pink folder in her hand. He wouldn't under estimate her abilities.

Damian decides to let her try at this, place of beauty thing, if that's what she wanted. He walks back over to his desk and takes his seat in a large leather chair and motions for her to sit opposite him in one of the two black chairs. She takes her seat and stares at him, waiting for his next question.

"Go over everything," he says as he sifts through the pile of forms and papers on his desk.

"Ok, I'll ju—" She starts to say, but he cut her off with a quick, "Now."

She looks up at him in confusion then down at the folder in her hand. She looks comical as she looks around for guidance, her eyes dart around the room but mostly jumping from him to the folder.

"Tell me in your own words everything in your proposal, now," Damian states not looking up from his work.

"Oh, Umm… Ok," and she starts running through the numbers and outline of the fashion department. She is very logical about the set up and layout of the production line and logistics. He is only half listening to her as she moves into the fashion and branding of the line, fashion was really pointless to him, not functional in his line of work.

He only marginally notices her switching to French in the middle of her explanation. Not that that was a problem, he spoke fluent French so he didn't see any reason to tell her to switch back. And he liked the way her voice swelled and dipped with the words of her native tongue, it sounded more like she was singing to him then reading through a business outline. It calmed him and after what he thought of doing to her by the bookcase, it helped him forget the killer instinct that her words evoked in him earlier.

Until the angel's voice started to say, "we'll be using the sixth floor as a base of operation for the drug deals and the import of weapons from El Salvador. And of course, we will be using Wayne Enterprises' accounts to launder the money after sales."

Damian head jerks up in shock for a moment until his face modifies into an irritated glare. She has the nerve to look into his eyes with such innocents like she has no idea why he would be upset. And then he knew, she was fucking with him.

"Just wanted to make sure you were listening," she says sweetly. "If I'm going to waste 45 minutes in this office reading this to you, when I'm sure you are capable of reading. Or are you?" The challenge in her eyes is unmistakable.

"Are you trying to say that I'm not worth your time?" he counters.

"Oh of course, not," she says. "But if you want someone to read to you, hire a secretary."

"But you have to voice of an Angel," Damian mumbles under his breath before saying louder, "Go then."

She puts the pink folder back on his desk and quickly turns to walk out of the office. Once at the door she turns and says, "Angel, you say?" She gives him a mischievous smile and steps out of sight.

Author's Note

So, I know I haven't updated in a long time and I'm sure a lot of you thought I had abandoned this story. I would like to apologize for leaving this story for so long. I'm sorry, if you were waiting on the next chapter.

As for why I was gone for so long. As you already know if you read my other author notes, I was pregnant a few months ago. And yes, the main word in that last sentence is WAS. Sadly, I lost the baby a few months ago. I have been having a hard time finding motivation to do anything, except the bare minimum (taking care of my kids and work). Even though my husband and I didn't plan on having a third child, we were still overjoyed at the thought. And the lose of the baby was hard on everyone here, especially after informing everyone of the new addition.

I do want to finish this story but I feel like I've lost the plot of this story in my head a little. Being creative at this moment isn't easy. I'm trying to continue but I'm just not sure anymore where this story is going.

Thank you again for reading. I really appreciate all the comments and support, you are not unnoticed thank you so much for liking my story.