AN: Thanks to reviewers, and even those readers who didn't review- although not as much. Maybe you can change your ways for this chapter? Anyway, enjoy!

"You see, Mr. Wayne, our experiments up to this point have been immensely successful, and are very promising. We can expect a finished, marketable product within the next several months."

Bruce leaned forward in his seat, directing his own question. "So you're saying that your company will be able to have created a cure for hemoplyxia in a timeline of a few weeks, Dr. Stuart?"

Smiling, the doctor nodded briefly. "Assuming that we can count on Wayne Enterprises to help fund my research, yes; that's exactly what I'm saying." Bruce sank back into his chair, staring off thoughtfully.

"Well, I'll have to see some of the details, but your proposal sounds fair. It seems-" Bruce was cut off by the opening of the office door, and a young brunette strode in. "Hey Dad. Here are those reports you asked fo-" She stopped midsentence, finally noticing another occupant. "Oh. Sorry, I didn't realize you were in a meeting. I'll come back later." She was flushed, and began sneaking out of the room, away from the inquisitive gaze of one billionaire. But before she could escape, Dr. Stuart rose from his chair.

"Nonsense! This is actually very lucky. Mr. Wayne, this is my daughter Katherine. Kate, Bruce Wayne." Bruce stood to grasp Katherine's hand in a firm shake. "Ah. The Bruce Wayne," she said with subtle disdain in her words. While her father hadn't noticed, Bruce certainly had, but said nothing, merely noting her tone with curiosity. "Yes. Mr. Wayne is considering funding additional research for the vaccine, Kate." She smiled at her father, "Well, don't let me interrupt you. I'm just going for lunch now Dad. I'll be back to talk to you about those reports later." With that, she excused herself, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Listening to the faint clacking of her heels, Bruce turned back to the doctor. "Actually, I think we're done. I'll give your proposal more thought, and get back to you within the week?" Stuart nodded, shook Bruce's hand, then opened the door for him. "I'll see you soon Mr. Wayne."

"Katherine! Hey, Kate!" Katherine Stuart, waiting for the elevator doors to open, turned upon hearing her name, but was surprised to see Bruce walking briskly to catch up to her. Sighing and shaking her head slightly, then strode into the elevator and waited for the doors to close. But before they could shut completely, a hand was stuck in, causing them to reopen. Kate rolled her eyes and stepped farther into the empty elevator, away from the entering billionaire.

Bruce stared at her as the doors reclosed, puzzlement evident on his face. "Is there any particular reason that you don't like me?" Katherine met his piercing brown eyes with her own crystal blue ones. Although she was wearing heels, he stood two or three inches taller. "I don't know what you mean Mr. Wayne. Who wouldn't like an arrogant, irresponsible playboy?" The surprise Bruce felt was obvious to her, as his eyes widened momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure. "You've just met me Kate, I don't-" She cut him off. "Only my father calls me that. You can address me as Katherine. And I read papers, Mister Wayne. I see the tabloids. Buy any hotels recently?"

With a ding, the elevator doors opened, and Katherine took Bruce's gaping as a chance to escape. But before she could leave the building, Bruce had caught up to her again. "That? That was weeks ago! I had had a little too much to drink, but- Hey!" Katherine had started walking away again, and Bruce cursed under his breath as he caught up to her again. When he carefully grabbed her arm to stop her, she whirled around, clearly annoyed. "Mr. Wayne, I have no interest in an explanation of your behaviors, nor do I think I'm entitled to one. Now, kindly get your hand off of me. I'm going to lunch." She shook herself free. "Thank you, and I hope that I have not jeopardized your consideration of funding our research. Good day."

Turning on her heel, she began swiftly walking away. Bruce stared after her. Thinking for a moment, he made a decision, and slowly followed her into the crowded streets of Gotham. He watched her walk into a small deli, sit down in a booth, and place an order with the waiter. Bruce took a deep breath, then entered the same shop. Standing next to Katherine's booth, he said thoughtfully, "You know, I should withdraw my support, after being so rudely treated by an important employee of the company that I would be funding. But, lucky for you, I need to know more information about the drug, and instead of reading pages and pages of boring reports, I'd much rather get them from someone closely invested in the project itself. Preferably without the sarcasm I've already gotten from you." Kate narrowed her eyes at him slightly, realizing her position. Sweet talk him, seal the deal. What could a business meeting hurt? She sighed, plastered on a fake smile, and motioned for him to sit down. He smiled sincerely and slid into the booth.

Looking around, he nodded appreciatively. "Nice décor. Never been in here, but I hear the sandwiches are great." Katherine rolled her eyes again, a habit that she couldn't quite kick. "Mr. Wayne-." "Please Katherine, call me Bruce. If we are having a business lunch, we should probably discuss business. So, what exactly is your role in the project? Your background?" "Well, I actually run more of the business aspects of things. I graduated from Emory University a few years ago, double major in business and biochemistry. I know what's going on with the science, but I've always like business more. So I leave the medical decisions to Dad." Bruce nodded, then asked about the drug itself. Katherine explained how the disease generates allosteric proteins that block certain receptors in the brain, but how their vaccine denatures those proteins, rendering the disease harmless.

They continued to talk about the technical aspects of the drug until they received their food. Between bites, Bruce decided to broach a topic that he'd been thinking about. "Is there any other reason that you dislike me? Besides the tabloid me, anyway." Katherine looked down at her food, took a deep breath, and asked, "My best friend's family owned that hotel you recently bought. She was about to take over the entire building, but you bought it out from under her." Then it was Bruce's turn to look down at his sandwich, leaving Katherine wondering about his thoughts. But when he looked up, she was almost glad to see regret all over his face. "Honestly, I didn't even think about that. It all happened so fast. I promise to do everything I can to give her at least close to the job she had before." Scoffing, Katherine shook her head. "You can't just throw money at a problem and expect it to go away, Bruce. The world doesn't always work like that. At least not in my experience. But," she paused, seeing Bruce open his mouth to protest, "it shows a lot that you're trying to make up for a mistake. Actually, Leigh's fine. Luckily, she had several great offers from other hotel chains, with higher salaries." The billionaire, so recently ashamed, now looked at Katherine with disbelief. "If everything worked out fine, why did you start out by making me feel so awful?! Here I am, truly upset that I ruined this poor woman's life, and-" Katherine smiled, her first genuine smile since walking into her father's office. "I just wanted to make sure that you had enough moral fiber to work with this company. No hard feelings?" Bruce just shook his head and laughed. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

The rest of the lunch passed with little discussion of their personal lives, focusing on the business at hand. Katherine reverted to her polite, but professional manner, the way she was earlier in the day. Almost an hour since arriving, lunch was over, and business was just wrapping up. "Assuming that the next several days' worth of research doesn't turn up any errors, we'll have a finished product available for commercial reproduction by next Thursday," Katherine finished, folding her hands on the table. "At which point my company can reproduce the drug and have it ready for release by the end of the month. I have to say, you've given this a lot of careful planning and thought, Katherine." She nodded and stood, gathering her coat. "This company is my life. It's my father's life. Besides him, this project is all I have. And I'm glad that I could convince you to stay with our program. I'm sure it'll profit you greatly."

Bruce also stood, then shook Katherine's hand firmly. "I guess I'll be seeing a bit more of you, then. Are you sure I can't call you Kate?" After picking up her coat, Katherine turned back to him before leaving. "I don't think so Bruce. But thank you for lunch. All in all, it wasn't too bad." With that, she strode out of the restaurant, leaving the billionaire grinning like an idiot. When he made to take his coat, Bruce noticed something on the floor. Picking it up, he saw that it was a pen, a beautiful fountain pen. Engraved in silver on the obsidian-black was:

Kate- You are my sunshine, and you'll never know how much I love you. Happy Graduation sweetheart

Bruce pocketed the item gently, realizing its sentimental value, then headed back to Wayne Manor. Once there, he called Dr. Stuart. "William? It's Bruce. Yes, I just had a very informative lunch with your daughter, and I would like to officially become a partner in the project."

AN: yeah, corny, I know. But I tried for something better than I love you

So anyway, that was probably the longest chapter that I've written for anything since 'The Girl all the Bad Guys Want', but I'm surprisingly happy with it. As always, any questions, comments, criticisms- REVIEW!!!

And I was reading a bunch of other batman fanfics, and realized that my idea really wasn't as original as I had thought when I started writing. So if you have read, or written, any ones similar to this, I promise, I did not steal the idea, and this is going to be a little different. If it wasn't, that'd be plagiarism. Which is bad.