Chapter 6
Rachel POV
The rest of the weekend was uneventful. When Rachel woke up Sunday morning the news was reporting on the surviving women. There was also talk about who Huntress was. Thankfully none of the women or the guards were able to give a description of her. She was just a ghost in the night. Perfect. Jim Gordon did come forward and say that the new vigilante had nothing to do with Batman. Rachel knew she needed to lay low for a few days because Batman now would be aware.
Rachel spent Sunday studying. Kate went home to see her parents, so Rachel was left alone. Fine by her. She got more work done that way.
Monday Rachel went to class as normal. That morning she also called the coffee house and told them she quit there. While she was nervous about the internship, she was also excited. This would open so many doors for her career as a Dr.
After class Rachel went to the library to print out her paper work for the internship since she didn't own a printer at home. She then walked to Wayne Tower. It was less than a mile from school.
Wayne Tower towered over its neighboring sky scrapers. How could one man own this? Rachel walked into the lobby and immediately felt intimidated. The floors were all marble and everything seemed to have a clean reflective surface. There was 4 women at the front desk and they were all answering phones, and trying to multitask. Rachel stood in front of them and waited patiently.
After a few minutes the woman in front of her hung up the phone. She was gorgeous and looked like a model. In fact, all of the women were good looking. She definitely did not belong here.
"How can I help you" she said smiling an obviously fake smile.
"My name is Rachel Grey, I'm here to start my internship at 3:30" she explained. The woman nodded and pointed to the elevator.
"You'll want to take the elevator to ground floor 2. Dr. Ning is expecting you" the woman said. Rachel nodded thanks and walked to the elevator. She pushed the down button and waited. When the door opened she got inside, but had to squeeze between other people.
The door closed, and Rachel held her breath until it was her turn to get off. She was never good with tight spaces.
Rachel walked down a long white hall way. It looked like a hospital wing, except there were only a couple of patient rooms, and there wasn't a nurses station.
"You must be Rachel Grey. Nice to meet you" said an Asian man holding out his hand to her. Rachel grasped it tightly and smiled.
"Thank you for this opportunity. I'm excited to work with you. I've read up on some of your research" Rachel said.
"Mr. Wayne said you were a terrific student. I looked at your transcripts; a 4.0 isn't easy to achieve" he said. Rachel blushed and wasn't sure what else to say.
"Did you bring your paper work? I'll get that to HR for you" he asked. Rachel opened her purse and handed him her paper work.
"Perfect, so before I give you a tour, I was asked by HR to give you some information since they are really backed up. This position pays $32 an hour and your health insurance is covered by Wayne Corp. If you work here for two years after graduation, your tuition will be covered 100%. You can also pick your schedule. I tend to be here until 9pm most nights" he explained.
Rachel couldn't believe it. She had no idea she would be making that much, let alone having insurance. And she owed well over $100,000 in tuition. This was incredible.
"Now lets begin the tour. Your main tasks will be making sure all the equipment is clean and working. Not much happens down here, but co-workers do come down for free vaccines, and sometimes if they are sick. Once in a great while we do have emergency situations like heart attacks, or blood sugar issues. Moms will also bring their children in for physicals down here" Dr. Ning explained.
"Mr. Wayne also requested he take you out for dinner today. He tends to do that with new staff, but it's not normally in person. You must have made an impression on him" he said.
It took everything in Rachel not to scowl. Not again. But she guessed she owed him a thank you at least. He did help her out after all. But the thought of being with him again made her palms sweat.
After the tour Rachel set up shop at her desk. She was even given a white coat to wear. No patients came down and when she was finished checking the medical equipment, Dr. Ning said it was perfectly ok for her to study during down time. Before she knew it, it was nearly 8pm.
Rachel was engrossed in reading about rare genetic diseases when she heard someone clear their throat. She peered up from her book and nearly choked on her own spit when she saw Bruce Wayne.
He was wearing a white shirt and a patterned grey vest with matching grey dress pants. His hair was neatly combed, and the sides were gelled back. She could smell him from behind her desk. She guessed it was designer cologne, but whatever it was; it was intoxicating.
"I'm happy you showed today. That coat suits you better than an apron" he said flashing his pearly whites. How was she going to handle round two of this?
"Thank you for the opportunity Mr. Wayne. I'm really enjoying it so far" Rachel said nervously.
"Are you ready to go to dinner? I picked out a vegan restaurant, since I know you don't eat meat" he said.
Rachel nodded, words suddenly escaping her. She had to get it together! Rachel pulled off her white coat and hung it on the wall. She suddenly became hyper aware of her choice of dress today. Thank God she wore her nicest pair of clothing. She had on simple black dress pants, and a red blouse with matching red flats.
"So where are you taking me?" she asked. Rachel went for her coat, but Bruce grabbed it first and held it open for her. Rachel didn't know what to do. No one's done this before, except maybe her mom when she was small.
Rachel shrugged into the coat awkwardly and did her best to hold her breath. She didn't want to smell him anymore.
"It's called Day Lilly" he said motioning for her to follow him. Rachel walked in silence next to him. When they got into the elevator, she hoped it would be crowded. Nope, just the two of them.
Rachels heart was pounding. Once again she couldn't tell what he was thinking. Her skin was like a live wire, and sudden thoughts of reaching over and touching him came to her mind. Rachel had to admit it, she was very much attracted to him. It had nothing to do with money either, she wanted Bruce Wayne!
"We'll take my car. Trying to get a driver takes a while" he said holding the door open for her.
Rachel nodded again, feeling like a mute. Bruce walked over to a what Rachel assumed was a race car. She had no idea what model it was, but she recognized the Audi symbol. It was silver and had more curves then she did. He pressed a button and the doors opened outwards.
"I'm sorry, but I can't get in that" Rachel said. Bruce eyed her suspiciously.
"Do you not trust my driving?" he asked confused. Rachel shook her head and sighed.
"Look no offense, but this is my first day here. And it might look bad for me to get in that thing with you. I want everyone to respect me here" she explained.
"Rachel I take people out to business dinners all the time. Now get in. I promise no one will say anything" he said. Rachel wanted to stand her ground but gave in. She climbed into the passenger seat and fiddled with her purse strap. Bruce joined her on the other side and closed the doors to the space ship.
"Jesus these seats are more comfortable than anything I've sat on before" she thought. She didn't even hear the engine come to life.
Bruce drove out the garage and into Gotham traffic. She would not have a car like this in the city. Too many criminals.
"So how was your weekend" he asked. "Is he trying to make small talk now?"
"Just stayed in and studied" she said. The car was already hot and her seat was warm to. Rachel never handled heat well and without thinking leaned forward to lower the heat. Bruce happened to have the same thought and touched the dial at the same time. Their hands touched, and Rachel pulled back as if she was burned.
"Sorry" Bruce apologized. "No I'm sorry, I'm a bit nervous" Rachel confessed. Why did she just tell him that!
Bruce looked at her from the corner of his eye. "There's no need to be nervous. I'm sorry if I over stepped my boundaries at the coffee shop. That was not my intention at all. Sometimes I have a hard time trusting new people" he said watching her face.
Rachel couldn't help but feel Bruce and herself shared some similarities. Aside from the fact that they both lost their parents. But he didn't know that yet.
Bruce pulled up to the front of the restaurant and handed a valet his keys and what looked like $100 bill. "Oh my" Rachel thought. Was she really having lunch with Gotham's most eligible bachelor? Over the weekend she had read up on him, and discovered he was quite the playboy. But this was a business dinner, so hopefully nothing would happen.
They followed the waiter to a table and Rachel was glad there were other people sitting near them. She didn't want to be entirely alone with him. Or did she?
"I have to admit. I'm a carnivore. So you might have to help me a little" he said looking at the menu. Rachel smiled at the thought of her ordering his food for him.
"Well eggplant parmesan is really good. Or if Italian isn't your thing, any kind of stir fry is great" she explained. Bruce nodded.
"What will you be having Ms. Grey" Bruce asked. "I think I'll have the cauliflower kung pow pad tai" she said. The menu looked so good, but there were no prices on it, which gave her anxiety. She didn't like people paying for her no matter how well off they were. The waiter came back to take their order, but before Rachel could say anything, Bruce did.
"The lady will have the cauliflower kung pow pad tai, and I will have the eggplant parmesan. And please bring water and whatever she would like to drink" he said motioning to Rachel.
Once again, her voice was gone. Did he really order for her? "Water is fine with me to please" she said handing the waiter her menu. Rachel had never had a man order for her. If he wasn't her boss, she would have told him off.
"So where do you live" Rachel asked him. Bruce seemed caught off guard by her question.
"Wayne Manor which is on the West edge of the city. It's on about 20 acres My family has lived there for generations." he said. "And you? Where do you live?" he asked.
"About 11 blocks from school. On Broadway Drive" Rachel told him.
"What made you become vegetarian" he asked her. Rachel bit her lip, which Bruce seemed to notice. She couldn't tell him that she studied with monks for 5 years and she had just adopted their diet and enjoyed it.
"Research shows that meat has a lot of antibiotics and cancer causing agents. I guess you could say being a med student ruined it for me" she said. "There, that was believable and actually true."
"That is true. I just can't turn down a good steak" he explained. "How did you meet your friend from the auction" he asked. "Here we go again. Mr. 20 questions."
I just moved here and needed a roommate, so I put up a listing. We just got along really well from the start" explained Rachel.
Finally, their food was here. Rachel was starving, she had skipped lunch. She watched Bruce eerily as he tried his food. He seemed to like it which was good.
They were silent for awhile as they ate. Rachel finished her food in less than 10 minutes. She was always a quick eater.
"You must have been hungry. Do you want to order something else?" he asked. Rachel shook her head.
"Did your parents help you through school at all" he asked her watching her carefully. Rachel suddenly regretted eating so quick.
"My parents… died when I was a kid" Rachel said staring down at her feet. Oddly, she felt comfortable with him.
"I'm sorry to hear that. As you know my parents were killed."
"I bounced around in foster homes for awhile… but I made it through and I'm doing ok now. It was… an experience to say the least" she admitted. She learned to fight back when multiple foster fathers tried to abuse her. She never let them.
"I'm glad to hear that. It's a rough system. My ward Damian, just lost his mother. Rachel heard he had taken in a teenager a few years back and now had a young child. It occurred to Rachel that Bruce didn't seem like a play boy. He seemed like a decent man. Why else would he take in children?
"I have a close friend who is struggling with one of her horses. I know you train and ride, and I was wondering if you would take a look at her horse?" Bruce asked.
"Um sure. But she doesn't know me. Normally horse people are very careful with trainers working with their horse. What kind of horse is it?" Rachel asked.
"Dressage I believe. She spent almost $80,000 on him and she doesn't think he is living up to her expectations" Bruce explained.
Rachel almost spit out her water. The most expensive horse she had ever ridden was $5000 and that was a barrel racer.
"I think I can mange it" Rachel explained. She didn't want to say she was a horse whisperer, but her abilities helped her to communicate with animals. Horses were especially drawn to her more than any other animal.
Just then the waiter brought the bill and Bruce snatched it before Rachel could even try.
"How about I drive you there Friday after work. We can go out to dinner after if you want. Oh, and this would not be a business dinner" he said his eyes twinkling. Rachels heart was pounding. She should say no, but she didn't want to. Something about him made her feel…safe. She hadn't felt safe since her parents died.
"Ok" was all she could muster.
"Is this a… date then?" she asked him. Her face was on fire.
"I believe it is Ms. Grey" he responded. Rachel sat there in silence. When the waiter returned with Bruce's card, Bruce tipped him and they left the restaurant.
When they got into the car Bruce asked where she lived. "Don't I need to go back to work" Rachel asked. Bruce shook his head.
"I told Dr. Ning that I would drive you home after. He needed to spend some time with his family anyway. The man works way too hard" Bruce explained.
Rachel told him her address and they drove there in silence. Rachel was too nervous to say anything else. She had just agreed to go on a date with Bruce.
Bruce pulled up next to her building and hurried to the other side of the car. He held out his hand and she took it hoping her hands weren't sweaty.
"Well Ms. Grey. Thank you for joining me for dinner. He said walking her to the front of the building. She was suddenly even more nervous. He was standing very close to her, and she felt the sudden urge to lean forward and...
"Would you agree that our business dinner is over" he asked her. Rachel looked confused at his questions but nodded agreeing with him.
Not a second later Bruce began to lean forward, and Rachel followed him. His lips were mere centimeters from hers. She could smell his after shave and feel his breath on her.
"I should go" Rachel said breathing hard. Bruce's arm was around her waist and she was nearly pressed up against him. He was not only tall, but Rachel could feel his hard muscles underneath his dress clothes.
"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I'll see you later" she said opening her door and closed it immediately. She slowly slid to the floor. She could hear her pulse in her ears. And there was a throbbing sensation between her legs.
"What did I just do" she said to herself. She almost kissed him! And he clearly wanted to kiss her. She stopped it. She was scared.
Rachel stood up on shaky legs and started the climb to her apartment. "I like Bruce Wayne."
Thank you everyone for reading! Finally Rachel is starting to let her guard down, and admits that she is attracted to Bruce! There will be more action coming up soon, so stay tuned! And please review. I really appreciate feed back