Chapter 38 — The Man

Zoey rolls her eyes as she searches the desk. Having to find out about board meetings from bribing the security officers of the Wayne Enterprises building was not something she thought she would ever have to stoop to. But she felt she had no choice. Earle was up to something and she was determined to find out what it was. "Can you tell me where Mr. Earle is?"

"I'm not his damn secretary," Zoey snaps, without looking up. She sighs, slamming the drawer shut and pulling open another one.

"Really? Since you are sitting at the desk right outside his office."

"I'm not his fucking secretary," Zoey repeats, finally looking up. She freezes. It had only been a little over a year since she had seen the man in front of her. They had spent a year in Nanda Parbat together. He had already been there. She had stayed there after somehow surviving an avalanche. She blinks. "You're not dead."

"No, I'm not."

"Must've been some vacation."

Bruce shoots her a small smile. "Wouldn't exactly call it a vacation."

"Ms. Queen!" They turn to see a young woman, with a tablet computer in her hands. "Can I help you?"

Bruce grins and holds out a hand. "Bruce Wayne. And you are?"

"Ashely Monroe. Mr. Earle's secretary," the young woman replies, shaking his hand. "What can I do for you, Mr. Wayne?"

"I was looking to speak with Mr. Earle," Bruce replies, easily charming the secretary.

"Of course, Mr. Wayne. I'll call him right now." She glances at Zoey, who slowly stands up.

"Tell your boss that I want to talk to him," Zoey says. "Sooner rather than later." She walks towards the elevator, pretending not to notice the footsteps behind her. The doors open and she steps inside. She fights to keep the smile off her face as Bruce steps in. The doors close, but she doesn't push a button. "I thought you had a meeting with Earle?"

"I asked him to give me five minutes," Bruce replies. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to figure out why Earle is not inviting me to board meetings."

"Why wouldn't Earle invite you to board meetings?"

Zoey rolls her eyes. "If I knew that then I wouldn't be going through his secretary's shit. When did you get back?"

"Couple of months."

"You couldn't pick up a fucking phone and call me?"

"I've been busy." Bruce hits the button for the floor and the elevator doors open up. "You should come over to the manor tonight. We'll have dinner."

"What time?"

Bruce smirks. "Whenever," he tells her, stepping off the elevator.

The elevator door starts to close. Zoey quickly hits the button to open them and pokes her head. "Just so that you're aware," she loudly begins. She knew that not only was Bruce looking at her but so was William Earle and many members of the board. "You'll have to actually work to make my panties come off." She steps back into the elevator and watches the door close.

Zoey turns her gaze to the roaring fire. Alfred had made an amazing dinner and afterwards she had retreated with Bruce to the library. The same library where years before they had taken those first steps towards being something else. "This makes no sense," Zoey says, leaning back against the couch. She takes a sip of Scotch. "So, the League of Shadows had been around for centuries, destroying major civilizations, and rebuilding them."

Bruce nods. "Yeah."

"And now the League of Shadows is dead, including Ra's Al Ghul, but you saved Ducard," Zoey continues. He nods once more. "And you're going to do what exactly?"

"Save Gotham."

Zoey stares at him, eyebrow raised. "Okay. Well, then, um, whatever you need, just let me know."

"Zoey, you don't have to be involved in this."

"Then why did you tell me? I mean, other than the obvious. You could've not told me and I still would've figured it out." Bruce lightly smiles at her. Zoey sighs. "Earle is taking the company public."

"I heard."

"I don't have enough to buy the stocks on my own."

"Why do you want Wayne Enterprises?"

Zoey remains silent. She wasn't sure she was ready to tell him the truth. "Undoing the merger would screw over too many innocent people. So, fifty-fifty ownership?"

"Fifty-fifty," Bruce agrees.

"I'll have my lawyer send over the paperwork for you to sign," Zoey tells him, standing up. "I'll see you later, Bruce."

Bruce silently watches as she walks away. "I am going to assume that you ran into Ms. York while you were away," Alfred says, slipping into the library. Bruce nods, silently confirming Alfred's theory. "Then I would tread very carefully, Master Wayne." Bruce shoots him a questioning look. "Need I remind you what Ms. York's ex-husband does for a living."

"Oliver Queen doesn't bother me. She's hiding something from me, Alfred."

"I believe Ms. York may be trying to protect herself, Master Wayne. From my understanding, since Ms. York has moved to Gotham, she's been keeping a low profile."

Zoey looks up when there's a knock on the door of her suite. She hadn't even placed her dinner order yet. News of a major mob boss in the city being arrested thanks to the help of the newly emerged Batman was everywhere. She sets her book down and walks over to the door. She glances through the peephole and frowns seeing Bruce, standing there. "Bruce," she greets, opening the door. "What are you doing here?"

"Earle and a couple of board members are having dinner," Bruce tells her. Zoey doesn't miss the tall lanky women behind him. "I'm gonna crash it. Wanna join?"

Zoey crosses her arms over her chest. There were very few times that she felt self-conscious. But being in her comfy pajamas while models stared at her was one of the times. She clears her throat. "Um, where exactly is this dinner taking place?"

"Downstairs."

Zoey lets out an annoyed breath. She opens the door wider and motions for them to enter. "Just give me like five minutes," she tells them, then disappears into her bedroom.

Bruce watches as the models distract themselves by digging through the ensuite bar. He slips into Zoey's bedroom and finds her looking through her closet. He flops down on her bed. "I'm surprised that you didn't already have plans," he says.

"I don't exactly have a vibrant social life," Zoey replies. She pulls out an emerald green dress that ends just above her knees. She pokes her head out of the door and finds the models still searching through cabinets. She quietly closes the door, before making her way to Bruce. She straddles his waist and leans down close; her lips hover above his. "You are going to tell me what is exactly is going on here," she whispers.

Bruce slides a hand under her oversize Stanford t-shirt. "Alfred says I need to show people what I do with my time and my money."

Zoey bites her lip, thinking. "That makes sense. People would wonder what it is exactly that you do and start to connect dots that don't need to be connected. And this could actually work in our favor."

Bruce raises an eyebrow. "Our?"

There's a knock on the bedroom door. "Bruce," a model calls out. "Bruce, there's nothing to drink in here."

Zoey rolls her eyes. "Oh, Bruce, don't stop," she loudly moans. He fights to keep the amused look off his face. "Fuck me harder." She starts to climb off of him, but he grips her hips and rolls them over. Her legs wrap around his waist.

"I think you need to explain the 'our.' And we need to make this look real," Bruce mutters, pressing open mouth kisses along her neck.

"I've worked too hard to turn Queen Industries around," Zoey answers. "I refuse to let some old fucker cut me out just because there was a merger. So, you get to help. And what exactly do you mean by make this look real? Make what—" He cuts her off by pressing his lips against hers. She lets out a gasp when he presses against her.

Bruce reaches between and yanks down her pajama pants. His thumb lightly presses against her clit. She lifts her hips, trying to relieve the pressure. "I can't help you, if you don't tell me the truth, Zoey."

Zoey wraps a hand around his wrist, stopping him from doing anything. This wasn't a game she was going to play. "I just…I need you to trust me on this, Bruce," she softly says. "Please."

In all the years they had known each other, Bruce couldn't recall any time when Zoey had begged him for anything. The only time she had ever asked for anything was when they were teenagers and she wanted clarity on their relationship.

"Bruce, I promise to tell you the truth when I'm ready. But please just trust me on this."

"I trust you."

Zoey takes a sip of the sparkling water as she listens to the conversation at the table. She had to keep the smile off her face at the resigned look on Earle's face when she had walked into the restaurant. She and Bruce had planned it to where she arrived after him. Bruce had even made an over-the-top show on waving her over to the table. "At least he's getting something done," a woman, sitting a couple of seats down from Zoey says.

"Bruce, help me out here," a man across the table says.

Bruce turns his attention from one of the models sitting on his right side. Zoey sat to his left. "A guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues," he says. Zoey keeps her face neutral when he places a hand on her inner thigh.

The woman picks up her drink. "But he put Falcone behind bars—"

"And now the cops are trying to bring him in, so what does that tell you," the man argues.

"They're jealous?"

One of the models that was accompanying Bruce stands up and walks over to the water feature that was in the middle of the restaurant. Zoey watches as the one model slips off her dress and climbs into the small pool. The other model stands up and joins her friend. Zoey watches as Bruce watches his dates for the night. "If he's so benevolent why does he hide his face," Bruce argues.

"Maybe he's protecting the people he cares about from reprisals. Isn't that why Oliver hid his identity for such a long time, Zoey?"

Zoey sits her sparkling water down. "Yes. But when his mistress leaves he publicly reveals his identity. So, I wouldn't exactly compare Green Arrow to this bat person."

Bruce smirks. "Talk about a guy with issues."

Zoey doesn't get a chance to reply when the Maitre D' walks up to the table. He had an annoyed look on his face. "Sir, the pool is for decoration and your friends do not have swimwear."

"Well, they're European."

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Bruce throws his arm over the back of Zoey's chair. The Maitre D' tenses when he recognizes Zoey. "Ms. Queen, I apologize. I didn't realize they were with you."

Zoey forces a smile. "It's fine. If they damage anything, just bill it to my room."

Bruce turns to her. "I think you should make some new rules for the pool area."

"I'll take it into consideration."

"Bruce," the models call out. Bruce shoots Zoey a smirk before standing up and walking over to join them. Zoey laughs when the models pull Bruce into the pool. One of the models jumps out of the pool and runs over to the table. The model grabs Zoey's arm and tugs her towards the pool. "Come join us!" Zoey allows the model to pull her into the pool.

A tabloid drops on the table causing Zoey to look up and meet the angry gaze of Max. She picks it up and drops it on the empty chair next to her, turning her attention back to the iPad in front of her. Max lets out an annoyed breath. "Zoey—"

"If you flew across the country to lecture me about making out with people in a water feature, then you're wasting your breath," Zoey coldly interrupts. She had seen the photos. They hadn't been hard to miss. Zoey, Bruce, and the models in the fountain. It had been innocent enough until one of the models had leaned over Bruce and kissed her. That had been photo splashed across the internet.

Max shakes his head. "You can't stay here anymore. You need to be out of the suite."

Zoey raises an eyebrow. "You're kicking me out?"

"We don't tolerate that kind of behavior here."

She stares at him. Their relationship hadn't improved over the years. In fact, it had gotten worse. "So, you're trying to kick me out of the hotel owned by the company that I own fifty percent of?"

"I am going to buy you out."

"When you're ready, just send the offer to my lawyer."

"I've already sent an offer to Specter Williams. You haven't responded."

"Well, it's a good thing you're here, Max, so I can tell you this in person." Max turns to see a tall man, a light brown-haired man standing behind her. "My client rejects your less than substantial offer."

"That offer was more than fair," Max snaps. He didn't like being caught off guard in public. He turns to Zoey. "Take the offer."

"You know exactly what my client wants. When an offer from you includes that, then we'll talk."

Max glares at the man, then at Zoey before walking away. "I don't think I've ever seen him that pissed before, Harvey," Zoey says, watching her once-beloved uncle storm through the restaurant.

Harvey Specter was the best corporate lawyer in Gotham. He had a reputation for getting his clients the deals they wanted. And for Zoey, he had been highly recommended by her other lawyers, Jessica Pearson and Samantha Wheeler. Harvey holds out a folder to Zoey and she takes it. "I figured you'd want to hear the good news without the raging hangover," he tells her. "Everything has been taken care of."

Zoey shoots him a smile while looking through the file. "Thank you, Harvey."

"You know I'm still pissed that you stole Donna."

"Oh, I didn't steal Donna. I just made her an offer she couldn't refuse."

Harvey smirks. "Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger."

"I don't like violence. I'm a businesswoman. Blood is a big expense," Zoey recites. She laughs. "We could be here for hours, quoting The Godfather. But I meant it, Harvey. Thank you."

Zoey frowns as she steps into the basement floor containing Applied Sciences. She had never met Lucius Fox before. And all she knew about the man was that he had been hired by Thomas Wayne. So when she received a phone call from Mr. Fox asking if she would stop by Applied Sciences when she had a moment, she had been intrigued. Applied Sciences was a large open space filled with black, heavy-duty crates everywhere. "Mr. Fox," she calls out, walking further onto the floor.

Footsteps echo and Zoey turns to see an older African-American man. "Ms. Queen," he brightly greets. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Zoey smiles. "It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Fox. In the time I've been here, I've never actually met the heads of any of the departments. Though I did try to meet some, everyone was always busy."

"Mr. Earle sent a memo telling everyone not to let you in their department or they would lose their job."

Zoey frowns. She wasn't surprised that Earle had done such a thing. "So, why did you call me? You're not worried that Mr. Earle will fire you?"

"Mr. Earle informed me this morning that he was merging Applied Sciences and Archives. I'll officially be out of a job when that happens, Ms. Queen."

"I'm confused, Mr. Fox."

Mr. Fox smiles and leads her over to a table with blueprints on them. At the bottom was the Queen Industries logo. Mr. Fox flips the top blueprint over. "I believe this was designed by Queen Industries R&D."

"I…when I took over I put a stop to all weapons research. Oliver had been using the R&D to design new weapons for Green Arrow. Some of the members of the board saw what R&D was designing and figured that maybe Oliver was looking into defense contracting. So, they started reaching out to defense contractors. A number of them convinced department heads to hire researchers to design weapons. When I took over as CEO, I immediately stopped all of it. I told R&D to focus on helping the planet, not destroying it. A lot of board members were pissed and kept saying we would lose out on a ton of money...but I didn't care. I didn't want to be part of killing people. I mean, it also gave me a chance to buy them out."

Mr. Fox shoots her a smile. He understood where she was coming from. "I believe Mr. Earle was a little eager to get his hands on these blueprints."

"Except I had all the digital versions destroyed. Or at least I was told they were destroyed. And the only physical copies were sealed in a biometric vault. I'm the only person who knows the exact location. Not even Oliver knows about it. Have any prototypes been made of anything?"

Mr. Fox pulls out a blueprint from the stack and sets it on top. Water Vaporizer was printed at the top. "This one," he informs her. "And it went missing from a cargo ship three days ago."

"What does it do?"

"It appears to have been designed for desert warfare. When activated, it vaporizers all the water in the air."

Zoey bites her lip. "Not that I'm ungrateful for you telling me this, Mr. Fox, because I'm am very grateful that you are. But, um, why are you telling me this?"

Mr. Fox takes off his reading glasses. "When I was looking at the digital records, I discovered some startling information. Either you authorized the production of it or someone used your name and signature to authorize production."

Zoey shakes her head. "I-I-I never authorized…" She trails off as a dreadful realization occurs. "I have to go. Thank you for telling me, Mr. Fox."

A soft knock causes Zoey to look up from the book she was reading. Mr. Ducard walks into the room with a file in hand. "The arrangements for you to go home have been finalized, Ms. Queen," he tells her. He holds out the file. "We just need your signature on a few things and you'll be able to head home tomorrow."

Zoey eagerly grabs the file and pen from Ducard. "Don't get me wrong, Mr. Ducard, I'm very grateful for the hospitality that you and the League of Shadows have shown me," she begins, quickly signing the papers where a yellow sticky indicted a signature was needed. "But I am more than ready to go home and have a cheeseburger."

Ducard smiles, taking the signed papers from her. "Well, on behalf of everyone. We've enjoyed having you here, Ms. Queen."

"Shit," Zoey mutters when the phone goes to voicemail once more. She had been trying in vain to get ahold of Bruce since leaving Wayne Enterprises. She had wanted to speak to him before his birthday party. She quickly dials another number and lets out a relieved breath when it's answered. "Alfred, I need to talk to Bruce. He's not picking up his cell."

"Have you seen the evening news, Ms. York," Alfred replies.

Zoey runs out of her bedroom and grabs the remote. She turns on the TV and watches as a large, black tank-like vehicle flies over some of the roofs of Gotham. "Shit. Okay. Um, well, when you see him can you tell him I really need to talk to him?"

"Of course, Ms. York. Is everything okay?"

"No, yeah, yeah. Everything is fine, Alfred. Yep. Um, I'll be a little late for the party. Which I have to get ready for. So, yeah." Zoey quickly hangs and runs back into her bedroom. She stares at the gold dress laying on her bed. Part of her currently had little desire to go to the party filled the whose who of Gotham society. Any kind of celebratory mood she had been, had quickly disappeared after meeting with Mr. Fox. But she knew it was at the moment, the only way she'd be able to talk to Bruce. "Shit."

Zoey groans as she opens her eyes. The last thing she remembered was stepping out of her suite, ready to make her way to Wayne Manor, and smelling something strange. She looks around and finds that she's on a moving train. She blinks. Her vision was fuzzy. A black-clad figure with blazing red eyes steps in front of her and Zoey scrambles to move away. Except she finds she's tied to a large device sitting in the middle of the train. She lets out a scream and another dark-clad figure with blazing red eyes slaps her. She can taste the copper on her lip.

Zoey closes her eyes. Her heart was racing. She needed to focus on getting out of the handcuffs. There's a thud. She presses her back into the hard plastic of the train's chairs. There are sounds of fighting. People groaning. People talking. She feels someone's hands on her wrists. There's a ripping sound. People are fighting once again. Suddenly, she's lifted up. Zoey doesn't dare open her eyes. There's nothing underneath her. A scream. From what she doesn't know. A crash.

"Zoey."

Zoey reluctantly opens her eyes. A horrible horned figure with blazing red eyes is in front of her. Smoke coming out of its face. She screams and starts to scramble away. The figure yanks her forward. She tries pushing him away, but it's to no avail. She feels a tiny prick on her neck.

"Breathe."

That voice is familiar, but she can't place it. Everything about the way the dark figure is holding her is familiar. Her pulse starts to slow down. Her senses come back to her. The blazing blue eyes stared into hers. Zoey nods, letting him know that she was gonna be okay. He releases her and she watches as he takes off into the night sky. Zoey looks around and finds that she's near Wayne Tower. There was a huge pile of rubble and fire in front of the building. She doesn't see the photographer, who had been taking pictures of the destruction of the city.

Zoey buries her hands in her coat as she makes her through the burnt rubble of Wayne Manor. She finds Bruce looking through the rubble of what once was the greenhouses. "I figured you might want your copy of the paperwork that says we're officially business partners," she greets, pulling out a file from her purse. "The only thing that's left to do is appoint someone to be CEO."

"You don't want it," Bruce asks, taking the folder from her.

"I'm happy with being a co-owner. As long as I get an office on the executive floor. Little tried of having a former janitor's closet as an office."

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine. Physically. My new therapist prescribed me a very strong anti-anxiety drug the first day I met with her. So there's that." A silence settles over them. He stares at her, waiting. "Let me know who want as CEO."

"Why were you on the mountain?"

Zoey sighs. He hadn't asked this question since they were in Nanda Parbat. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "Send me a text when you have your pick."

"I can't help if you won't—"

"All I need help with is picking a CEO," Zoey snaps. "Last time I checked I didn't need a damn reason to go on fucking vacation."

Bruce stares at her for a moment. Her reaction confirmed that she was keeping something from him. He knew that if he wanted to get to the bottom of what she was hiding, then it would take time. "You pick," he finally says. "I trust you."

Zoey lets out a relieved breath. "Okay."

"You know, Batman is a thousand times scarier than Green Arrow," Zoey comments, looking at real estate listings on her iPad. She was sitting in the back of a Rolls Royce with Bruce while Alfred was in the driver's seat. "I think Batman would even make the rest of the Justice League wet their pants if he ever met them."

"I doubt Batman would have anything to do with the Justice League," Bruce replies, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading.

"I hate house hunting. It's such a pain in the ass."

"I'm moving into the penthouse at the top of the Wayne Foundation building while the manor is rebuilt. You can move in with me."

Zoey looks up at him with an amused look. "Are you asking me to be your roommate?"

There's a bang on the window. Bruce rolls it down to find William Earle standing there with an angry look on his face. "You think you have authority to decide who runs this company, Bruce," Earle snaps.

"It is my—" Bruce begins. Zoey clears her throat. "Our company."

"Not anymore. Wayne Enterprises went public a week ago—"

"Yeah, we brought all the shares," Zoey interrupts, leaning over Bruce to give Earle a smirk. "It was done through charitable foundations, trusts, and so on."

"Look, it's all bit technical, but the important thing is...our company's future is secure," Bruce finishes. Alfred starts the Rolls' engine.

Zoey sarcastically waves as the car pulls away. "What a dick." Her phone beeps and she pulls it out.

Bruce bumps her shoulder with his. "You didn't give me an answer."

"Sure. It's easier than trying to find my own place."

"Good. I've already had your stuff moved in."

Zoey looks at him. "What would you have done if I said no?"

Bruce smirks at her. "I didn't think about it."

Zoey rolls her eyes and looks back at her phone. "You're an ass."

"So you've told me."

"An overconfident ass."

I'm so sick of running as fast as I can
Wondering if I'd get there quicker if I was a man
And I'm so sick of them coming at me again
'Cause if I was a man, then I'd be the man
I'd be the man
I'd be the man