The roads are clear as she drives out of Midvale. It's early, and she doesn't have to be in National City until two that afternoon. Her destination is the headquarters of Luthor's enterprise. It's a huge office building with a big LUTHOR written discreetly in steel over the glass front doors. It's a quarter to two when Kara arrives, greatly relieved that she's not late as she walks into the enormous—and frankly intimidating—glass, steel, and white sandstone lobby.
Behind the sandstone desk, a very attractive Asian young woman smiles pleasantly at her.
"I'm here to see Mr. Luthor. Kara Danvers for Alex Danvers."
"Excuse me one moment, Miss Danvers."
Kara was beginning to wish she'd borrowed one of Alex' formal blazers rather than worn her cardigan. She tucks one of the escaped tendrils of her hair behind her ear as she pretends the Asian woman doesn't intimidate her.
"Miss Danvers is expected. Please sign in here, Miss... Danvers. Last elevator on the right, press for the twentieth floor." She smiles kindly at Kara, amused no doubt, as the blonde signs in.
She hands Kara a security pass that has "visitor" very firmly stamped on the front. The young girl can't help her smirk. Surely it's obvious that she's just visiting. She doesn't fit there at all.
The doors slide open, and Kara's in another large lobby—again all glass, steel, and white sandstone. She's confronted by another desk of sandstone and another young Asian woman who rises to greet her.
"Miss Danvers, could you wait here, please?" She points to a seated area of white leather chairs.
The blonde sits down, cursing Alex in a very special way for not providing her with a brief biography. She knows nothing about this man she's about to interview. He could be ninety or he could be thirty. The uncertainty is galling, and Kara's nerves resurface, making her fidget.
She rolls her eyes at herself. Judging from the building, which is too clinical and modern, she guesses Luthor is in his forties: fit, tanned, and fair-haired.
The elegant, flawlessly dressed Asian comes out of a large door to the right. What is it with all the immaculate Asians?
Perhaps Mr. Luthor insists on all his employees being Asians. Kara was wondering idly if that's legal, when the office door opens and a tall, elegantly dressed man exits. Is that Mr. Luthor? She wonders.
Then, the man turns and says through the door, "Golf this week, Luthor?"
Kara doesn't hear a reply. The man turns again, sees her and smiles, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners.
"Good afternoon, ladies," he says as he departs through the sliding door.
"Miss Luthor will see you now, Ms. Danvers. Do go through," Asian Number Two says. Kara stands rather shakily, trying to suppress her nerves. Had she heard well? Did Asian Number Two said 'Miss' as in female?
Gathering up her backpack, Kara makes her way to the partially open door.
"You don't need to knock—just go in."
The blonde pushes open the door and stumbles through, tripping over her own feet and falling headfirst into the office.
Double crap—me and my two left feet! She's on her hands and knees in the doorway to Mr. —no, Ms. Luthor's office, and gentle hands are around her, helping her to stand. She's so embarrassed and has to steel herself to glance up. Holy cow—she's so young.
"Miss Danvers." She extends a long-fingered hand to Kara once the blonde is upright. "I'm Lena Luthor. Are you all right?"
So young—and attractive, very attractive. She's not too tall, but the heels make her look like she is, dressed in a fine black blazer, red shirt, and a black pen skirt. Bright green eyes. It takes a moment for Kara to find her own voice.
"Um, yes. And actually," She mutters. If this woman is over thirty, then I'm a monkey's uncle. In a daze, she places her hand in Miss Luthor's and they shake. As their fingers touch, Kara feels an odd exhilarating shiver run through her. Must be static. She blinks rapidly, eyelids matching her heart rate. "Miss Danvers—the Danvers you were supposed to see is indisposed, so she sent me. I hope you don't mind, Ms. Luthor."
"And who are you, exactly?" Her voice is warm, possibly amused, but it's difficult to tell from her impassive expression.
"Kara Danvers. I'm studying English literature with Alex, um… Alexandra… um… Miss Danvers."
"I see," she says simply. Kara thinks she sees the ghost of a smile in Lena's expression, but she's not sure. "Would you like to sit?" She waves toward an L-shaped white leather couch.
Everything is white—ceiling, floors, walls and desk. The office is cold, clean, and clinical. Kara wonders if it reflects the personality of the Goddess who sinks gracefully into one of the white leather chairs opposite her.
She shakes her head, disturbed at the direction of her thoughts, and retrieves Alex' questions from her backpack. Next, she sets up the digital recorder, dropping it twice on the coffee table in front of her.
"Um, do you mind if I record your answers?"
"After you've taken so much trouble to set up the recorder, you ask me now?"
She flushes. Is Lena Luthor teasing her? She blinks at her, unsure what to say, and apparently the businesswoman takes pity on her because she relents.
"No, I don't mind."
"Did Alex— I mean, Miss Danvers, explain what the interview was for?"
"Yes. To appear in the graduation issue of the student newspaper as I shall be conferring the degrees at this year's graduation ceremony."
Oh! This is news to Kara, and she's temporarily preoccupied by the thought that someone not much older than her—maybe even younger—is going to present her with her degree. She frowns, dragging her attention back to the task at hand.
"Good." she swallows nervously. "I have some questions, Ms. Luthor." She smooths a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"I thought you might," she says, deadpan.
Kara sits up and square her shoulders in an attempt to look taller and more intimidating. Pressing the start button on the recorder, she tries to look professional.
"You're very young. Why did you decided to take the reins of your family's company and how do you manage to keep it all working so successfully?" Kara glances up at Lena.
"I took the reins of this company because I believed then that L-Corp had too much potential to be wasted. I still believe it. And a company like this can only be ruled by a Luthor." She pauses and fixes Kara with her green stare. "After my father passed away, I began to employ an exceptional team that I knew would support me on my way up, and of course, I reward them well for it. Business is all about people, Miss Danvers. I work hard, very hard, so do they. I make decisions based on logic and facts. I have a natural gut instinct that can spot and nurture a good solid idea, and good people. The bottom line is it's always down to good people."
"Maybe you're just lucky." This isn't on Alex' list—but she's so arrogant. Lena's eyes flare momentarily in surprise.
"I don't subscribe to luck or chance, Miss Danvers. The harder I work the more luck I seem to have. It really is all about having the right people on your team and directing their energies accordingly. I think it was Harvey Firestone who said, 'The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.' "
"You sound like a control freak." The words are out of her mouth before she can stop them.
"Oh, I exercise control in all things, Miss Danvers," she says without a trace of humor in her smile. Kara looks at her, and she holds her gaze steadily, impassive. The blonde's heartbeat quickens, and her face flushes again.
Why does she have such an unnerving effect on me? Her overwhelming good looks maybe? The way her eyes blaze at me? The way she strokes her index finger against her chin? I wish she'd stop doing that.
"Besides, immense power is acquired by assuring yourself in your secret reveries that you were born to control things," she continues.
"Do you feel that you have immense power?" Control freak.
"I employ over forty thousand people, Miss Danvers. That gives me a certain sense of responsibility—power, if you will. If I were to decide I was no longer interested in the business and sell, twenty thousand people would struggle to make their mortgage payments after a month or so."
Kara's mouth drops open. She's staggered by her lack of humility.
"Don't you have a board to answer to?" She asks, disgusted.
"I own my company. I don't have to answer to a board." She raises a perfect eyebrow at Kara. Of course, she would know this if she had done some research. But holy crap, she's so arrogant.
"And do you have any interests outside your work?"
"I have varied interests, Miss Danvers." A ghost of a smile touches her lips. "Very varied." And for some reason, Kara is confounded and heated by Miss Luthor's steady gaze. Her eyes are alight with some wicked thought.
"But if you work so hard, what do you do to chill out?"
"Chill out?" She smiles, revealing perfect white teeth, and Kara stops breathing. Lena Luthor really is beautiful. No one should be this good-looking. "Well, to 'chill out,' as you put it—I sail, I drive, I indulge in various physical pursuits." She shifts in her chair and crosses a leg over the other. Kara notices, and gulps. "I'm a very wealthy woman, Miss Danvers, and I have expensive and absorbing hobbies."
The blonde glances quickly at Alex' questions, wanting to get off this subject.
"You invest in manufacturing. Why, specifically?" She asks. Why does she makes her so uncomfortable?
"I like to build things. I like to know how things work: what makes things tick, how to construct and deconstruct. And I have a love of ships. What can I say?"
"That sounds like your heart talking rather than logic and facts."
Her mouth quirks up, and she stares appraisingly at Kara.
"Possibly. Though there are people who'd say I don't have a heart."
"Why would they say that?"
"Because they know me well." Her lip curls in a wry smile.
"Would your friends say you're easy to get to know?" And Kara regrets the question as soon as she says it. It's not on Alex' list.
"I'm a very private person, Miss Danvers. I go a long way to protect my privacy. I don't often give interviews…"
"Why did you agree to do this one?"
"Because I'm a benefactor of the university, and for all intents and purposes, I couldn't get Miss Danvers off my back. She badgered and badgered my PR people, and I admire that kind of tenacity."
Kara knows how tenacious Alex can be. That's why she's sitting there, squirming uncomfortably under Lena Luthor's penetrating gaze, when she should be studying for exams.
"You also invest in farming technologies. Why are you interested in that area?"
"We can't eat money, Miss Danvers, and there are too many people on this planet who don't have enough to eat."
"That sounds very philanthropic. Is it something you feel passionately about? Feeding the world's poor?"
She shrugs noncommittally.
"It's shrewd business," she murmurs, though Kara thinks she's being disingenuous. It doesn't make sense—feeding the world's poor? Kara can't see the financial benefit of it, only the virtue of the ideal. She glances at the next question, confused by her attitude.
"Do you have a philosophy? If so, what is it?"
"I don't have a philosophy as such. Maybe a guiding principle—Carnegie's: 'A man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.' Change man to woman in this case. I'm very singular, driven. I like control—of myself and those around me."
"So you want to possess things?" Miss Luthor, you are a control freak.
"I want to deserve to possess them, but yes, bottom line, I do."
"You sound like the ultimate consumer."
"I am." She smiles, but the smile doesn't touch her eyes. Again, this is at odds with someone who wants to feed the world, so Kara can't help thinking that they're talking about something else. She swallows hard. The temperature in the room is rising, or maybe it's just her. She just wants the interview to be over.
"You were adopted. How much do you think that's shaped the way you are?" Oh, this is personal. Kara stares at her, hoping she's not offended. Her brow furrows.
"I have no way of knowing."
Kara's interest is piqued. "How old were you when you were adopted?"
"That's a matter of public record, Miss Danvers." Her tone is stern. Crap. Yes, of course—if I'd known I was doing this interview, I would have done some research. Flustered, she moves on quickly.
"You've had to sacrifice family life for your work."
"That's not a question." She's terse.
"Sorry." She has made her feel like an errant child. "Have you had to sacrifice family life for your work?"
"I have a family. I have a brother, a sister and two parents. I'm not interested in extending my family beyond that."
"Are you a lesbian, Miss Luthor?"
She inhales sharply, and Kara cringes, mortified. Crap. How can she tell Lena she's just reading the questions? Damn Alex and her curiosity!
"And why exactly would you want to know that, Kara?"
"I, um, I apologize. It's, um … written here." It's the first time she's said Kara's name. The blonde's heartbeat has accelerated and her cheeks are heating up again. Nervously, she tucks her loosened hair behind her ear.
Lena cocks her head to one side.
"These aren't your own questions?"
The blood drains from her head.
"Err … no. Alex—Miss Danvers—she compiled the questions."
"Are you colleagues on the student paper?"
"No. She's my roommate."
She rubs her chin in quiet deliberation, her green eyes appraising Kara.
"Did you volunteer to do this interview?" she asks, her voice deadly quiet.
Hang on, who's supposed to be interviewing whom? Her eyes burn into Kara, and she's compelled to answer with the truth.
"I was drafted. She's not well."
"That explains a great deal." Luthor's perfect eyebrow rose. "Did you even know who I was before this day?"
"I thought you were a man," Kara confesses, pink cheeks quickly turning to red ones.
"Why would you—"
There's a knock at the door, and Asian Number Two enters.
"Ms. Luthor, forgive me for interrupting, but your next meeting is in two minutes."
"We're not finished here. Please cancel my next meeting."
The woman hesitates, gaping at her. She appears lost. Lena turns her head slowly to face her and raises her eyebrows. The woman flushes bright pink. Oh, good. It's not just me.
"Very well, Ms. Luthor," she mutters, then exits. Lena frowns, and turns her attention back to Kara.
"Where were we, Miss Danvers?"
Oh, we're back to "Miss Danvers" now.
"Please, don't let me keep you from anything."
"I want to know about you. I think that's only fair." Her eyes are alight with curiosity. Double crap. Where's she going with this? Lena places her elbows on the arms of the chair and moisten her dark red lips.
Her lips are very … distracting.
"There's not much to know."
"What are your plans after you graduate?"
She shrugs. Move to National City with Alex, find a job. She haven't really thought beyond her finals.
"I haven't made any plans, Ms. Luthor. I just need to get through my final exams." Which I should be studying for right now, rather than sitting in your palatial, swanky, sterile office, feeling uncomfortable under your penetrating gaze.
"We run an excellent internship program here," she says quietly. Kara raises her eyebrows in surprise. Is Lena Luthor offering her a job?
"Oh. I'll bear that in mind," she murmurs, confounded. "Though I'm not sure I'd fit in here." Oh no. I'm musing out loud again.
"Why do you say that?" She tilts her head to one side, intrigued, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. Those damn lips.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" I'm uncoordinated, scruffy, and I'm not asian.
"Not to me." Her gaze is intense, all humor gone, and strange muscles deep in Kara's belly clench suddenly. She tears her eyes away from the businesswoman scrutiny and stares blindly down at her knotted fingers. What's going on? I have to go—now. Kara leans forward to retrieve the recorder.
"Would you like me to show you around?" Lena asks.
"I'm sure you're far too busy, Ms. Luthor, and I do have a long drive."
"You're driving back to Midvale?" She sounds surprised, anxious even. She glances out of the window. It's begun to rain. "Well, you'd better drive carefully." Her tone is stern, authoritative. Does she care? "Did you get everything you need?" she adds.
"Yes, ma'am," Kara replies, packing the recorder into her backpack. Green eyes narrowed, speculatively. "Thank you for the interview, Ms. Luthor."
"The pleasure's been all mine," she says, polite as ever as she stands and holds out her hand. "Until we meet again, Miss Danvers." And it sounds like a challenge, or a threat, Kara's not sure which. She frowns. When will they ever meet again?
She shakes her hand once more, astounded that that odd current between them is still there. It must be her nerves.
"Ms. Luthor." Kara nods at her. Moving with grace to the door, Lena opens it wide.
"Just ensuring you make it through the door, Miss Danvers." She gives a small smile. Obviously, she's referring to Kara's earlier less-than-elegant entry into her office.
"That's very considerate, Ms. Luthor," She snaps, and Lena's smile widens. I'm glad you find me entertaining.
The blonde is surprised when Lena follows her out. The women ouside both look up, equally surprised.
"Did you have a coat?" Luthor asks.
"A jacket."
Asian Number Two leaps up and retrieves the jacket, which Luthor takes from her before she can hand it to Kara. She holds it up and, feeling ridiculously self-conscious, Kara shrugs it on. Luthor places her hands for a moment on her shoulders, and Kara gasps at the contact. If Lena notices, she gives nothing away.
The doors of the elevator opens, Kara hurries in, desperate to escape. She really needs to get out of there.
When she turns to look at Lena Luthor, she's gazing at her and leaning against the doorway beside the elevator with one hand on the wall. She really is very, very good-looking. It's unnerving.
"Kara," she says as a farewell.
"Lena," the blonde replies.
And mercifully, the doors close.