Blindsided (DCAU)
Bruce Wayne left his office with a curt nod to his secretary as he buttoned his suit jacket. He was running late for a meeting as was usual for him, but he had a legitimate reason…or so he liked to tell himself. He'd been in his office looking into a case he was working on during his nighttime hours.
He smiled at several employees as he quickened his pace, knowing he was keeping several people waiting for him. It was some sort of meeting that had been arranged at the spur of the moment. He wasn't exactly clear on the details, but Lucius had assured him it was important and good for Wayne Enterprises.
He had decided that he'd make a brief appearance along with some excuse that would get him out of there in short order. He had too much on his plate right now to spend an hour or two in a meeting that he had no doubt Lucius could handle himself.
Reaching the conference room, Bruce opened the door and entered without meeting the looks of all of those gathered there, though he could feel them following his every movement. He made a beeline for the table holding the coffee as well as various other beverages.
It had been a very long night.
"Sorry for my tardiness," Bruce apologized as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Bringing the cup to his lips, he took a long sip before making his way to his seat at the head of the table. "I was in the middle of an important phone call."
"Understandable, Mister Wayne."
Bruce choked on his coffee with the unexpected voice that greeted his ears, coffee sputtering onto his tie as he coughed violently. Taking a napkin, he began to pat his tie as his eyes shot up, finding Diana sitting at the opposite end of the conference table. She was gazing at him as if it was completely normal for her to be here…in person…in his conference room…attending his business meeting.
"I assume you know Diana Prince, Mister Wayne," Lucius said with a knowing smile, "or you might know her better as Wonder Woman."
"Yes…of course…of course…it's a pleasure Wonder Woman," Bruce pleasantly replied, mildly embarrassed by his reaction to her surprising presence. It certainly wasn't one of his finer moments, but then again, Diana had a tendency to cause him to falter much to his consternation.
What was she doing here and why hadn't she warned him that she'd be coming to his office today?
Irritation immediately jabbed at his gut as suspicion flared, warning signals rapidly firing in his brain. She should have warned him that she was going to be coming here. She knew that he hated surprises, and this was undeniably a huge one. She was not only in Gotham, but she was invading his territory…his company He didn't appreciate it in the least. Hadn't he told her on many occasions to stay out of Gotham?
What was she up to by not alerting him to the fact that she had a meeting with him at Wayne Enterprises?
"Please, call me Diana," she encouraged him with a warm smile that helped diffuse a small measure of his annoyance, but not enough to completely calm him.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet the great Wonder Woman," he stated, allowing a touch of his displeasure to show through. "What brings you to Gotham or more importantly Wayne Enterprises? You're usually busy with important matters like saving the world and spreading your message of love."
"Well, Miss Prince has a proposal that she requested to personally present to Wayne Enterprises," Lucius interjected, giving Bruce a questioning look at his chilling demeanor. "Diana was just about to explain her proposal when you arrived."
"Yes, I am anxious to present my new endeavor to you," she continued, typing on her laptop before standing to her feet. "I created a PowerPoint presentation to explain what I'd like to do."
PowerPoint presentation? Bruce's trepidation was growing by the second with the numerous questions that besieged his mind. Diana didn't know how to make a PowerPoint presentation, so who had helped her create it? On top of that, what kind of "endeavor" had Diana come up with and why hadn't she discussed it with him beforehand?
He didn't like the fact that she had totally blindsided him with this, his ego feeling bruised.
Bruce's keen eyes narrowed slightly as he watched her pick up a remote and begin her presentation. She was dressed quite smartly in a navy blue suit jacket and skirt, a white dress shirt, and heels. Her long, raven curls were twisted into an elaborate braid that ended in a low ponytail.
Silver earrings dangled with whisps of curls, matching the impressive necklace around her neck. He finally forced himself to turn his attention away from her appearance and especially her long legs, forcing himself to focus instead on her red lips and the words that she was uttering.
"My hope is that the Wonder Woman Foundation would create opportunities for women to make a difference in this world through various scholarships to further their education as well as the guidance and support necessary to start their own businesses," Diana continued, feeling Bruce's piercing gaze boring into her.
Diana knew that he was angry with her, but she'd had her reasons for approaching her idea this way. Hopefully, he'd allow her a chance to explain her reasons to him…and if he didn't, she'd have to tie him up with her lasso and force him to listen to her.
Bruce unconsciously sat forward with growing interest in Diana's presentation. He thought that she had created an amazing initiative that would bring wonderful opportunities to women across the globe. It was in keeping with Diana's powerful belief in empowering women to be their best.
"I would also like to create a safe haven for women suffering abuse in all of its many forms," she added, turning to face her audience, and finding Bruce listening intently. She hoped that was a good sign.
"I love it," Bruce announced, sitting back in his chair, "but I think you're going to have to narrow down your purpose a little if you're going to be successful."
"How so?" Diana asked, anger flaring in her eyes.
"I think educating and enabling women to become successful should be your primary focus, to begin with," he explained. "I understand your desire to help battered and abused women, but I think that is something that can be pursued later. Once you've established your foundation, you can branch out with several other charities and organizations."
Diana thought about his suggestion for a moment, her eyes softening with understanding. He was right, of course, which was why she had come to him first with her initiative. "I agree," she confirmed to his surprise.
"Now, how can we help you get this off the ground?" Bruce asked her.
"Well, your company is the first one that I have presented this idea to," she began. "I'm looking for any support I can garner for the foundation, not just financial but also input and direction."
"Write up a proposal of what you need and send it to Lucius," Bruce told her. "We'd be happy to review it and support you in any way we can."
"That's…amazing, Mister Wayne," Diana replied with a grin she could hardly contain. "I will do that."
"Great," Bruce said, standing to his feet. "If there's nothing else, I'll see everyone later."
Everyone began to stand, gathering their things to leave. Bruce took the opportunity to make his way to Diana who was packing up her laptop. His hands slid into his pants pockets, a crooked smile adorning his face as he stopped before her.
He glanced over his shoulder to find a few employees lingering in the room to talk, forcing him to keep his voice low. "Hi," he softly said, suddenly feeling somewhat unsure.
Diana looked up at him, returning his smile. "Hi," she murmured, placing the straps of her handbag over her shoulder as she stood up.
"Do you want to get some lunch with me?" he asked, "maybe tell me a little more about your idea and how it came about?"
"I'd love to," she agreed.
"There's a diner down the street that I like to go to sometimes."
"Alfred doesn't pack your lunch?" she lightly teased as she began to walk with him towards the conference room door.
Bruce chuckled as he escorted her through the office. "No, he has enough to do without making my lunch too."
They walked towards the elevator in silence, both lost in thoughts of uncertainty. Entering the elevator, the doors closed, allowing them a couple of moments alone. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked as he stared straight ahead, a hint of hurt in his voice.
"I didn't want to take advantage of our friendship," she revealed, the elevator stopping and allowing more people to join them.
Diana ended up on one side of the elevator with Bruce on the other, separated by four people. She gazed at him with a silent apology dancing on her lips. He stared back at her, stunned by her response. He should have known that there had to be a legitimate reason behind her decision not to tell him. Diana was almost always forthright and honest. It was something that he'd always admired about her.
They shared a lingering look filled with so many unspoken words, confessions that had yet to be given a voice. The ding of the elevator arriving at the lobby sounded, the doors opening and breaking the attraction and tension that was nearly palpable.
Exiting the elevator, Bruce took Diana's hand, leading her out of the building and into the warmth of the sun. "So, you really liked my idea?" she ventured, savoring the feel of his hand surrounding hers.
"Very much," he confirmed. "I think it's a wonderful opportunity to share your Amazonian ideals. I just wish you would've talked to me about it when you were first considering it."
"Why?" she asked, her head tilting slightly as she looked at him with curiosity.
Bruce looked away, trying to pinpoint the reason why it bothered him. "I don't know…I guess I just would have liked to have helped you develop your idea."
"I worked on it all by myself," she proudly told him. "I needed to do it that way to make sure I was honoring my heritage."
"Who helped you put together your PowerPoint presentation?"
"Kal," she simply said.
"Oh…" he softly said, a prickle of irritation finding its way under his skin.
Reaching the diner, Diana pulled him to a stop, turning to face him. "I needed to do this myself to show you that I could," she explained. "I didn't want to use our friendship to guilt you into something that you might not be interested in being a part of. Kal only got me started with the presentation. I did everything myself.
"I also wanted to go about it through the proper channels…just like any other person would do when approaching Wayne Enterprises for support. I chose you to be my first presentation to practice on. I'm going to need the support of several more companies if I'm going to get the foundation off the ground."
His lips twitched with affection for this amazing woman. "You know I hate surprises," he reminded her with a smirk, his annoyance dissipating.
"I know, but I think this was a good surprise…don't you?"
"It did turn out to be a nice surprise," he reluctantly admitted.
Diana blindsided him again by kissing him quite passionately before retreating. "See? Not all surprises are bad, don't you agree?"
He did his best to get his brain jumpstarted once again after nearly short-circuiting with that sexy kiss. He decided that maybe not all surprises were bad. He surprised her by pulling her in for another kiss, his arms protectively around her waist.
"I agree," he murmured against her lips, reluctantly releasing his hold on her.
Diana smiled brightly, taking his hand in hers. "Come on," she told him. "I'm famished and you need to buy me lunch."
"Surprise, surprise…" he said with a chuckle as she led him into the diner, more than thrilled with how unexpectedly his day had gone. "We can discuss your proposal while we eat."
"You can help me write it," she teased him. "I want to make sure the head of Wayne Enterprises accepts it."
"I have no doubt that he will," he assured her.
