Ever since the night I followed Linda, I haven't seen or heard from her. I would occasionally send her a text or call her. She has yet to reply. It has been a week since I last talked with her. I was beginning to think she was avoiding me to make it easier when she leaves for London.
"Hey Kate, what do you think?" I look up from the book I'm reading at Bette spinning around in another dress.
"You'll knock all the boys dead."
"I could say the same of you… kind of." I laugh and look down at the black dress I'm wearing. Bette picked it out for me this morning.
Tonight, is the charity event my father hosts every year. The proceeds go to shelters for battered women and homes for veterans. This year he decided to do a silent auction to raise the money. The main event is held in the ballrooms on the top floor of Wayne Towers. The same building Linda lives in. I let out a sigh as soon as I think of her. Luckily, Bette is too involved with getting ready to notice.
"Alright, I'm ready to leave now. But we need to hurry, or we'll be late." Bette grabs her coat and purse and I grab mine.
"And whose fault would that be?" Bette smacks me in the arm as we walk out. "O-ow." She locks her apartment and we head for the elevators. To be honest I was excited for the gala, Maggie said she would be there… maybe.
XXX
Bette and I arrive five minutes before the Colonel and I give the beginning speech. He gives me a look while I walk on stage.
"You're late."
"Don't blame me, I was ready hours ago. It was Bette who was taking so long." He rolls his eyes, figuring it was Bette who was the real hold up. I watch as he straightens his back and walks up to the microphone. Everyone in the room quiets down as he begins his speech.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining me tonight. As you all know, this night is not about us here in this room, it's about those who desperately need our help. Women who have been abused and fear for their life and the lives of their children. Veterans who have been…" I immediately tune him out. He gives the same speech every year. I've got the timing to when I need to step in and say my part down to a science. "…and here she is now. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce my daughter Katherine Kane." Bingo.
I thank my father for his introduction and go on with my part of the speech. As I near the end of it, my father hands me a card with the names of the people who gave donations. The people who gave the most are at the very end.
"…and thanks go out to Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries for their large donations to the auction tonight and to the shelters themselves." Right on cue, Oliver Queen with his steady girlfriend Dinah Lance step on the stage. They are followed by Bruce Wayne who usually has some random date attached to his arm, but surprisingly he's going stag. I step back from the microphone as Queen thanks those who have arrived for the auction in his usual flamboyant manner.
"…and of course, Bruce I'm glad you're here. But it looks like this year I beat you in the amount of money I donated." The people laugh, and Bruce shrugs his shoulders and smiles as if it's no big deal. Oliver Queen hands Bruce the microphone.
"Thank you, Mister Queen. And thank you all for being here. This is our chance to help those in lower society the best way we can." I resist the urge to roll my eyes at his comment. Leave it to Bruce to perfect his façade by insulting parts of society while still being sweet. He hands me the microphone and I wrap up by thanking the news teams for being here.
"Thank you for joining us as well, Cat Grant of PGN news and her cameraman Dave Winters," Cat waves her perfectly manicured hand at the audience along with her camera man. "Vicki Vale of Gotham News and her cameraman Charlie Gray," Vicki ends her conversation with a random man and waves to the audience. "And thanks also go out to the Daily Planet, who by the way failed to tell us who they were sending." The audience laughs as they look around for the Planet's reporters. I first spot a young ginger-haired man waving his hand to the audience.
"The name is James Olsen, but you can call me Jimmy." The audience laughs again. I can tell he's the photographer because of the camera hanging around his neck. "I would tell you where my partner is, but she's seemed to have disappeared."
"Relax Jimmy, I'm right here." I blink a couple times to make sure I'm correctly seeing this. In a long and form fitting, dark-blue dress is Linda. Her usual mess of brown hair has been neatly curled and styled to be half up and half down. There's a recorder in the hand she's waving and a glass of champagne in the other. She looks good.
"Well," I jump as soon as my father takes the microphone from my hand, "now that the mystery has been solved, let's enjoy the night." The people clap, and the string quartet plays their music. Bruce along with Oliver Queen and his date walk off the stage. My father follows right behind them. Bette passes them as she comes on stage and grabs my arm.
"Come on, there are a few people who want to meet you, Kate." I let Bette drag me off the stage, but while she's occupied with getting me to these people my mind is occupied with thoughts of Linda. I desperately want to talk with her about what she's been up to this past week, but when I look around for her I can't find her. I easily spot Jimmy. Sadly, a journalist doesn't have to always stay with her photographer. I guess I'll have to speak with her another time.
XXX
Once I get away from Bette and her group of giggling friends, I go in search of Linda. I look in every room, but she is nowhere to be found. I notice Bruce is missing too. If I remember correctly, Bruce has a habit of disappearing at least once during every event he attends. I have a theory as to where he is hiding and go to test it out. Technically, the ballrooms are on the very top floor, but there's a large alcove hidden above the ballroom. This floor is always off limits when galas and charities are held but I'm sure Bruce never cared to follow that rule.
As soon as I'm positive no one is watching me, I make a break for the back stairwell. In no time I'm upstairs and walking around. The architecture for this floor is weird. It's designed like a gothic belfry. The placement of large stone columns is also odd considering how modern Wayne Towers is. I take my heels off to keep from making any noise and search the floor for Linda. When I pass one of the columns I hear laughter. I move on the balls of my feet to hide behind an adjacent column. I recognize the laugh as Linda's. I peek around the stone and see her sitting on a window ledge talking to none other than Bruce.
"Did he really do that?" he asks.
"You think I'm kidding and I'm not. I've never seen a grown man turn so many shades of red in my life." Bruce laughs then sits on the sill across from Linda.
"I wish I could have been there." Linda pushes her glasses up her nose and smiles at him.
"I know. But you were busy, and we both know that comes first." I can't see Bruce's face because of how he's sitting, but from Linda's face I can tell he's not happy.
"Speaking of things coming first, how are you and Wally?" asks Bruce.
"We broke up."
Hold on! Linda was dating someone?
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Linda smiles and hits Bruce in the arm. "No, you're not, but thank you anyway. It needed to be done. Wally and I do love each other but not that way. Also, he and I both realized we were moving at lightning speed."
"Was that the problem?"
"No, we just realized we were moving in opposite directions. We needed certain things from the relationship and we weren't able to offer that to each other. In the end, it was mutual."
"Is that how you and Jimmy ended things?"
Jimmy… Wait, the photographer? He's her ex?
"No, no that was different. Jimmy and I dated and… and I think we just went out because it seemed right."
"Emphasis on seemed?" Linda slips her heels off and crosses her legs while getting comfortable on the window sill.
"Exactly, he and I… we… I don't know." Linda stares out the window at the star-lit sky and sighs.
"Do you regret breaking up with Jimmy?" There's something in Bruce's voice I can't place. It sounds like sadness almost but not quite. Linda speaks without looking at him.
"Sometimes." Her eyes fall back on Bruce and she gives him a sheepish smile. "I don't even know why. I guess," Linda takes a breath before continuing, "I guess my relationship with Jimmy was safe. It was the only thing in my life that was constant. But my traveling put strain on it. It was then we realized if we weren't willing to fight for our relationship perhaps we weren't meant to have one at all."
Bruce leans forward and takes Linda's hands in his. "Who are you okay with having a serious relationship with?" I recognize that voice. It's a voice inquiring about a topic so deep and so scary that you're afraid of getting hurt. This is the question that can make or break him. Linda smiles and lifts one of her hands to push her fingers through his hair. Her eyes follow her own movements.
"I think you know." Her eyes meet his and I'm waiting for the moment that will make Bruce and break me. Linda leans forward but surprisingly to whisper something in his ear. They quickly stand. What the he-
"Linda, are you up here?" I shove my feet back in my heels and lean against the column casually in case I'm discovered. "Linda, are you-"
"Over here, Lucy!" I peek from behind my column at this Lucy Lane. What I get is not what I expect.
Lucy Lane is a petite brunette with short-cropped hair. From the way she walks and moves, I can tell she has a bubbly personality and is quite the perky person. Someone I don't exactly see Linda's calm and mature personality being close friends with. But as Linda said before, she's not exactly what she seems.
"Hey, Luce, I was just finishing up here." Linda turns to Bruce and holds out her hand. "Thank you for your time, Mister Wayne. The Daily Planet greatly appreciates it." Bruce takes her hand in his and kisses her knuckles.
"It was my pleasure, Miss Danvers." He lets go of Linda's hand, takes a few steps, and then stops and turns around. "By the way, tell Lois I said hello and congratulations on her engagement to your cousin."
Linda smiles. "I will."
When Bruce disappears out of sight, Lucy speaks to Linda. "I think he likes you." Linda laughs and picks her recorder off the window ledge.
"Lucy, he's a playboy millionaire and is friendly with everything female."
"I'm just saying."
Linda rolls her eyes. "Uh-huh." She crosses her arms and leans on one leg.
"Look, I came up here because Jimmy is looking for you. The auction closes in another half hour and you two still haven't spoken with either Colonel Kane or his daughter, who has disappeared by the way." Linda tilts her head and the corners of her mouth curl up.
"Has she really?"
Uh-oh.
"Yes, now come downstairs please."
"I will, just give me a moment, okay?" Lucy shrugs and walks off. As soon as she disappears, I press my shoulders into my pillar and hope Linda doesn't know I'm here.
"You can come out of hiding now, Katherine." I don't reply. "I know you're behind that column. Your red hair is a little hard to hide when peeking from behind it." I stay in my state of denial and twist my body to look out the window at the bright moon shining. "Kate…" I jump at Linda's voice coming directly behind me. This causes me to lose my balance and almost fall on my face. Before I can blink, Linda grabs a hold of my arm and pulls me close to her. "Hello, Miss Kane," she says, mere inches from my face. "And how long have you been hiding here?"
Busted.