Natalia strode with purpose through Wayne Enterprises, knowing that Bruce would want to get his meeting underway. Being one of only a handful of people who knew exactly what he was up to, she wasn't surprised at how late this meeting was. Indeed, almost everyone had left the office building, making it the perfect location for this. Knocking on his office door, she waited only a moment before entering, spying him at his desk looking over what appeared to be files.
"Mr. Wayne, I believe the first of your guests is here. Shall I escort him to the conference room?" He looked up, brow furrowed with concentration and frustration as was usual, and gave a nod. Giving her own single nod, she stepped back out, shutting the door behind herself. Likely, he would wait until the rest had arrived before going to greet them. As she exited the elevator into the lobby, she took a deep breath, hoping these people he had found were as friendly as their profiles had suggested. It appeared the first arrival was Diana Prince; with a smile, Natalia greeted the woman, who knew exact where she was going and headed up on her own. Not long after, a tall man in glasses and a dress shirt entered, looking around uncertainly.
"Mr. Kent?" His gaze snapped to her, and she put on her best professional smile. "Mr. Wayne was expecting you. If you'll please follow me." She turned and headed back into the elevator, being sure to keep a respectful distance from the man.
"Thank you, Miss...?" He looked down at her with a small smile.
"Natalia Steele. Lovely to meet you." She offered a hand and he took it gently, giving a shake. He nodded, turning to face forward again. As they entered the board room, he seemed to give pause at the sight of Diana, who gave the man a knowing smile. "Can I get you anything, Mr. Kent? Coffee, water?"
"Uh, coffee. Thanks." It appeared as though Diana had helped herself to some coffee, which made her job easier. In a few short minutes, she'd returned with a cup of coffee and some cream and sugar, setting it all in front of him with a small smile. Her watch gave a single vibration, letting her know someone else had arrived. Hurrying back down, she came face to face with young Barry Allen, who gave her an adorably shy smile and easily followed her up. He asked for coffee as well, looking around at the other two in the room with the same shy, excited look. Natalia ended up waiting downstairs for some time for their last guest, though Bruce had warned her he may not immediately arrive, or even at all. After a few minutes, she made her way to the security desk, chatting politely with the officer on duty for tonight.
"Excuse me. I'm looking for Wayne." A deep voice sounded behind her, and she spun around quickly. Light eyes offset by dark hair, with a devilish grin to match. This must be the mysterious Arthur Curry, though the name didn't quite give the full impression of the man himself. She cleared her throat and straightened, giving her usual smile.
"You must be Mr. Curry. If you'll follow me, Mr. Wayne has been expecting you." She moved to walk past him, flinching just a bit when their arms brushed, and headed for the elevator.
"And you are?" His voice was gruff, and she wondered if he'd even really wanted to come. Then again, judging by the look of him, there was likely not much that could be forced upon him. The elevator felt more crowded than usual as they climbed in.
"Natalia Steele. I've been assigned to assist you all in your endeavors." She could feel him staring down at her, and she busied herself with notifying Bruce of everyone's arrival. As they stepped off and headed to the conference room, she chanced a glance at the man. "Would you care for anything? Coffee, water?" She opened the door, waving him in ahead of her.
"Whiskey." His voice, still gruff, had somehow become more cold as he took in the rest of the people in the room. Natalia hesitated, automatically looking to Diana as the other woman had helped her to prepare for everyone else. At Diana's tiny nod, Natalia immediately went to the liquor cabinet, bringing out a bottle of Bruce's best and a glass. She set both in front of Arthur, barely catching his murmured thanks, before Bruce breezed into the room and took control. Natalia moved to the back corner of the room to settle in for the meeting.
"I hate to be rude, but why is she still here?" Clark was gesturing to her, and her gaze met Bruce's. She knew they all wouldn't let it go without the truth, especially not a reporter, but that didn't mean she was comfortable. As though sensing this, Bruce turned his attention to Clark.
"I trust her. She's more than welcome to stay, since she'll be helping us anyway."
"This is no situation for a civilian, Mr. Wayne. No matter how much you trust her." There was an imperious quality to Clark's tone, and it wiped any smile she may have held from her face.
"Then I suppose it's good that I'm no civilian." Her voice was a bit colder than she'd intended, but it managed to catch all their attention. Diana and Bruce both seemed sympathetic to her, Clark and Barry looked confused, and Arthur just seemed...proud. Shaking off her confusion for the last one, she stood a bit taller. "Suffice it to say, I'm just as qualified as any of you to be here. In some cases, more so." Silence reigned over the room as they all seemed to consider that. With a clearing of his throat, Bruce took command again, drawing all eyes but Arthur's, who continued to stare at her as he took swigs from the bottle. She ignored him, focusing on what Bruce had to say. The meeting seemed to drag, with Clark and Barry asking endless questions and Natalia refilling coffee several times. Arthur had finished the bottle long ago and was just twirling now. Finally, Diana suggested they all get some rest and continue tomorrow, much to Bruce's relief, and they began to file out. Natalia stayed to clean, knowing it would lead to too many questions by the cleaning staff. As she turned to leave, she collided with Arthur, giving a gasp as her hands moved up to defend herself. He gave a small smirk.
"Natalia. I figured I could walk you out, keep you safe and all that." She stepped back a bit, taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart before something she regretted happened. Putting her professional smile back in place, she nodded.
"That's kind of you, Mr. Curry. Thank you." They headed to the elevator together in comfortable silence, and she moved to flag down a cab once they exited. He took her wrist gently, lowering it before anyone could stop.
"Come on, I can give you a lift." He was already pulling her gently towards the parking garage and she allowed it for a time. If this was someone Bruce wanted to work with, then he obviously trusted the man, and it was enough for her not to fight back. He led her to a simple enough looking truck, unlocking and opening the door for her. It didn't take long for him to drive her home, given how close she lived to her place of employment, and he even insisted on walking her to her door.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Curry. It was kind of you to bring me home." He stuffed his hands in his pockets as he nodded. She turned to head inside, stopped by a hand on her own. Turning, she watched as he dropped a kiss on her hand and gave a wink before returning to his truck, leaving to wonder just what sort of people Bruce had cobbled together.