HERE'S SIX!

I'm SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY! My laptop shut down suddenly, and it didn't auto save this chapter (which was almost done, by the way) or the new one-shot I was almost done with also. I spent about half an hour blaming myself, and then I watched some cartoons, so I'm ok now. Cartoons give me inspiration, which is why I'm rewriting both this chap and the one-shot. :) And it didn't help that I wasn't sure which POV to write this chappie in, Kori's or Dick's. I had to rewrite this around four or five times, and I'm still kind of eh with it.

ANYWAYS, I say sorry again. And now for a little announcement:
PLEASE review! Chapter five only got two reviews. TWO. I feel like people don't like this story no more. :( That doesn't mean I'll stop writing it, though. This story is meh BABY (for now…). I won't abandon it or give up on it because of the poor reviews. But it would make me happy if there were more reviews. PWEASE?
I do appreciate the people who reviewed it, though. Thank you ohyouknow88 and Hey-wazup-stalker. You two are the best reviewers I have.:)

Ok, enough of that. There's a new chapter for you people to read! By the way, this is Dick's POV, since I thought it was enough of Kori's. And there will be no recap this time, although next chapter will(probably) have last chapter's last paragraph. If that makes sense. xD

Disclaimer: Do I really need to keep doing this?

On with it!

Chapter 6

The rest of the day passed by in a blur, thanks to Kori Anders, my new assistant. She was a little suspicious, and it confused me to no end. After fighting crime for so long, I just knew if someone was hiding something. And Kori was hiding something. Something big.

I just didn't know what.

I sighed as I got into my car after work, resolving to stop thinking about her. I had just met her this morning, and I was already thinking of her. I shook my head, trying in vain to think of something else.

After Kori had left, I answered the phone, made calls, listened in the meetings, gave my input on ideas, helped sort things out to make things in the company go smoother, and much more. But my mind was elsewhere, thinking about Kori.

Kori, Kori, Kori. That's all I'm thinking about now. I sighed in frustration and ran a hand through my hair, a habit I had kept due to stress.

I arrived at the mansion and parked my car in the humongous garage. I went straight to my room and asked Alfred to bring me my dinner, since I was too exhausted to go down and have dinner with Bruce. And I didn't need the questioning that was sure to follow as soon as I sat down about "what I thought about my new secretary." A person could only stand so much.

Gar and Wally had called me soon after Kori left the office, asking me if I liked her. I was still annoyed after the call with Vic, but I tried to tone it down, understanding why they were doing this. It doesn't mean I like it, though. I had told them as politely as I could that I had to work, and they both—reluctantly— hung up.

Now I was at home, lying down in my bed. I had taken a shower before eating, so I was already dressed to go to sleep. I felt nowhere near tired, though.

Today was the anniversary. The day Star disappeared, and the day the Teen Titans separated. A statue was presented in her honor today this morning and Rae had told our little circle of friends that she was going to talk about Starfire in the afternoon. Also, if something bothered me, I won't stop thinking about it until I figured it out. Thinking about Star somehow reminds me of Kori, and vice versa. Kori told me her daughter's name is Marie, which is what I had always wanted to name my daughter, she's the same age as me, she doesn't talk about her life in California at all, and she has similar gestures that Star has.

Of course, the evidence could just be a coincidence, and I'm probably jumping to conclusions. I'm probably not right, but if there were a small, infinite chance that what I'm thinking is true, I'd go for it one hundred percent. At the same time though, I don't want to lift my spirits, then be crushed when I find out it's not true.

I sighed, exhausted. I finally turned the lights off and tried to go to sleep. And I did, but it wasn't restful.

I groaned when I was woken up by my alarm clock, signaling it was time to get up and go to work. I reluctantly got out of bed and walked over to the shower, gathering my things on the way. About half an hour later, I was ready to go, dressed in a black suit with a light blue dress shirt underneath. I fixed up my dark gray tie and gathered my things to go to work.

I put on my wristwatch and noticed it was 8:17. I walked down to the kitchen to find something to eat. I made myself some coffee and some simple scrambled eggs. I finished quickly and walked out the door and to the garage. I found my black Corolla and drove to work. When I arrived it was around 9:24, so I was a bit early, since I usually come at around 10.

I ignored the receptionist and secretaries on my way to my office, knowing full well that not one of them dared to come into my office without my consent. As soon as I closed the door, I looked towards Kori's desk to find it empty. I sat down and was just about to review yesterday's work when she came in.

She was wearing a dark grey pencil skirt with a matching short sleeved button up dress shirt. She smiled at me once she saw me, and sat down in her chair. I smiled back, and looked at some papers for a few seconds until she talked.

"Hello and good morning Richard. I'm sorry that I had to leave on my first day, but my daughter got into trouble and I had to pick her up. I didn't have a babysitter available, so I had to stay with her. It won't happen again today, I assure you."

I smiled and responded, "Hello and good morning to you too Kori. It's fine, and from what you told me yesterday, she's a handful. I don't mind at all that you have to pick her up, actually, so it's ok."

She smiled gratefully, and she gestured to the paperwork already piling up on both our desks. "I think we should start working, don't you think?"

I chuckled and nodded. She started on answering calls and organizing the papers into neat piles, finishing one stack after another. I answered some calls and did my paperwork too, thankful for remembering to silence my phone, so if any of the guys tried to call me, I could easily ignore them.

Soon enough, lunch rolled around, and I stretched, stopping my work. It was around midday, and every day at lunch the guys and I meet up and talk. Sometimes they brought their wives/girlfriends, and I checked my phone to see if today was that kind of day.

Sure enough, I had gotten a text from Vic telling me that Rae, Jen, and Karen would be coming. I sent back an ok and looked up. Kori was still working, apparently not noticing it was noon already.

"Kori?" She looked up quickly, her eyes wide. It confused me, but I let it slide. "It's lunch time." She looked at her phone, which she had set right next to her, and nodded. She also stretched and stood up, gathering her things.

"Kori?" She looked up again, and I asked, "Do you want to come to eat lunch with me and some of my friends? Since you're new, I think it'd be good. There will also be my friend's wives/girlfriends there, so you won't be alone. How about it?" She thought about it for a bit, and then nodded.

"Ok. I'll go." I smiled at her, and then gestured to the door.

"Let us leave, then." She smiled, and we left the office. There were murmurs about us leaving the office together, as I knew there would be, but I didn't care. I was taking Kori out to eat lunch with me and my friends. We weren't going to be alone and we weren't in a relationship. Period.

We walked outside and I told her, "Let's go in my car. I'll take you to where my friends and I eat." She nodded again and I walked us over to my car. She got in and I did too. Before I started the engine, I sent a quick text to Vic, telling him that I was going to bring someone to eat with us. I put my phone in one of the inner pockets I had sown into every one of my jackets and began the drive to the Pizza Place, where the team and I would always go to eat.

I parked on the side of the road and got out, waiting for Kori to come out too. We walked inside and ordered our pizzas. I chose a pepperoni pizza and Kori chose a combination pizza. Once we had our orders ready, I led her up to the second floor to where everyone was sitting.

Rae, Gar, Vic, Jen, and Wally were all sitting at the table that my team and I always used to sit at, although there were some extra seats now because more people sat there now. We approached the table and they all turned to me.

"Hi guys. This is Kori Anders. She's new to the city, so I thought I'd invite her to come eat with us so she'd meet new people." All three guys waggled their eyebrows, and I just rolled my eyes at their childish antics.

"Ok, so Kori, meet Garfield and Rachel Logan, Victor and Karen Stone, Wally West, and Jennifer Terrington." I said, motioning to each person. Kori waved to all of them and said, "It's nice meeting you all."

"It's nice meeting you too, Kori," Karen said. She was always the kinder one of this group.

Kori smiled at her and I said, "Why don't we sit down instead of standing around? I'd like to eat my pizza." Kori and I sat down, and just when we were about to eat, Wally and Jen stood up.

"We have an announcement to make," Jen said. We all looked towards them both, wondering what it was. Jen took a deep breath and raised her left hand, showing a ring on her ring finger, and said, "Wally and I are getting married!"

It all erupted from there. Karen and Kori took Jen's hand and examined the ring, talking about how beautiful it was. All three women hugged and congratulated Jen, Rachel included, while the guys and I went over to Wally and patted his back.

"Congrats man. You finally got the courage to ask her?" Gar asked, smiling. Wally shook his head, smiling also.

"Nah, I've wanted to ask her for a long time now, but I didn't have the ring yet." I shook my head.

"Well, at least you finally proposed. So, when's the wedding?" Vic asked.

"Well, we decided around September."

"Who's the best man, eh Wall?" I asked. I knew who he'd pick, but I needed to hear it coming out of his mouth to confirm it.

"I don't know yet. I'm going to let Jenny pick her Maid of Honor, and then I'll pick the Best Man depending on who she picked." He shrugged.

"Ok, y'all. Let's sit down and enjoy our food, since we have to go to work after." Vic said. We all sat down, Kori next to the girls and the guys and I sitting opposite of them.

"Dick, what do you think of her? She's pretty beautiful, and just what you need." Wally whispered to me. I sighed.

"You three are never going to leave me alone, huh?" They shook their heads, and I sighed again.

"Guys, she's just a friend. I just met her yesterday, and there is no way I'm dating someone right now or in the near future." I whispered back. All three sighed, and I shook my head again.

"Let's just eat our pizzas, because we need to get back to work after this." They nodded and we turned to our food.

The rest of the time passed by pleasantly enough. The guys stopped pestering me and the girls were apparently bonding. Kori and Karen kept talking about the wedding with Jen, and Rae would just listen, talking every once in a while. Gar and Vic were arguing about the typical thing, vegetarians vs. carnivores. Wally and I were talking about our work, discussing how each of us was doing. By the time the end of lunch came around, the girls were practically best friends and Gar, Wally, Vic, and I were done talking.

I stood up and told them, "Well, it's time to go back to work." Gar and Wally groaned, and Vic, Karen, Kori, and Rae stood up too.

"Yeah, I think it's time to go back. Come on Wally, get up." Wally did as Jen said, and brushed off the crumbs on his shirt.

Gar also stood up and we all started to say our goodbyes. Kori hugged and said goodbye to Karen, Rae, and Jen, and then waved to Gar, Vic and Wally.

"It was a pleasure meeting all of you. When you're new and don't go out much, it's hard to meet people." Everyone smiled and nodded.

"The pleasure was ours, Kori. I think it's good I met you today, since now I have enough bridesmaids." Jen said, smiling.

Kori smiled back. "Yeah it is, isn't it? I'm glad I met you too, since now I know more people. And knowing more people is better than not knowing anyone." Jen nodded at that, and Rachel came over to her.

"I agree with Jennifer, it was great meeting you today. I hope to see you soon." She then turned to me. "Right, Dick?"

I shrugged. "If Kori wants to come, then ok. You have to ask her, not me." Rae smiled and told me, "That's what I wanted to hear. We already talked it over and yes, she's coming to eat with us every day at lunch." Kori nodded to confirm it.

"With just you girls or all of us as a group?" Gar asked her.

"Both. She'll eat with us, and when you four manage to ask us, we'll eat all together." Rae answered him.

"Well, how about this, from now on, we all eat together. When you four," he motioned to them, "want to eat without us," he gestured to us, "just tell us, and we'll be set. Sounds like a plan?" Everyone nodded, and after saying goodbye again, we went our separate ways to get back to work. While walking to the car, Kori started up a conversation.

"Thank you for this. The only people I know here are the ones that work at Marie's daycare and the waitresses at a diner close to my apartment. It was nice to meet new people, because everyone needs a social life." She smiled at saying this, and I smiled too. We were already in the car, and I was starting up the car.

"It's fine. I knew you'd get along with them. They're all very friendly and welcoming, especially Karen and Jen. The guys are goofballs, they always have been, but they actually have a serious side, believe it or not. Rachel, she's very quiet, but a good friend. All in all, they're good people."

'Most of the time,' I thought.

I drove us back to Wayne Enterprises, the whole time talking amiably about random topics. When we got back, we walked together up to the sixteenth floor, still chatting. We dutifully ignored the stares, whispers, and pointing about us walking together to and from lunch.

We sat down in our respectful desks after shutting the door to the office, and got down to work again.

Five o'clock finally came, signaling the workday was over. I began picking up my things, putting them away and standing up. I looked to Kori and saw that she was also doing the same thing, stuffing her belongings in her bag and standing up.

"Well, it's time to go home, huh?" I told her. She nodded and stretched.

"Yup. Time to go home and relax for a little while." She smiled.

We walked out the door and down to the lobby. After leaving the building, we went to our cars, saying goodbye. Driving home, I thought the same thing I had thought when I had first met Kori.

Who is she?

I say it again, I'm EXTREMELY sorry for not updating. Inspiration just didn't hit me. I was still a little brain dead from the CAHSEE, and then I had to do the CST's, which didn't help. All that stress kept my muse from giving me ideas for this, and how can I forget the assignments and projects I have to do now.-_-
I also was worried about the results for the CAHSEE thingie, so I kind of forgot to write this.:) But I'm back, and with this chapter!Yay!:D

Ok people, tell me which POV you like better, Kori's, Dick's, or both. Because the one with the most votes is the POV for next chapter. I already have Kori's POV for ch. 7 halfway written, and I already have an idea for Dick's POV.

PLEASE review! I can't stress it enough. Reviews brighten my day considerably, trust me. And they also give me inspiration to keep writing this.:) So click that new blue button that says "review this chapter" and review por favor! And don't hesitate to ask me any questions about the story if you don't get something. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you guys give me. PM me, ask the question in a review, whatever you want.:)

Until next time!(I feel my A/N are getting longer. Eh, oh well.:D)