Chapter Two

Bruce barely registered the ding on the elevator as the door opened to his floor. The upper levels of Wayne Enterprise's Tower were often quiet. The industrial fans in the ventilation system hummed. Meanwhile, the clacking of the keys on his secretary's keyboard often gave him a sense that he was not alone.

As Bruce neared his secretary's desk he overheard her state, "right… on it." The receiver clicked into place. A frown crossed Bruce's lips as he stopped short of rounding the corner. He could not place her voice. It was turning out to be a fairly bad day. But even when he was at his worst, he was still able to identify his secretary's voice.

The click clacks of someone heading his way caused Bruce to narrow his eyes. He hesitated as he fixed his coat while composing himself. Then he rounded the corner, and nearly collided with a young woman.

"Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, Mr. Wayne! Are you alright?" As she took a step back, she gave Bruce the impression of a deer in headlights. A weak smile crossed her glossed lips. "Mr. Wayne?"

He shifted his gaze toward his secretary's desk. The potted plants that cluttered its corners were missing. "Where's Mrs. Johnson?"

If her bright blue eyes couldn't get larger, Bruce was mistaken. "Mrs. Johnson left for her maternity leave. Granted, she's not that far along, but her doctor insisted that she go on bed rest." She held up a painted fingernail. She then proudly stated, "I took the initiative to send her a get-well basket from you and the Board."

The longer he studied her, the more she reminded him of someone. Although he could not put his finger on it. There was nothing notable about her besides her bright blue eyes. She brushed her dark hair off of her shoulders as she waited for him to respond. With a nod, he started to walk around her, "thank you. Please keep me updated if her condition worsens."

"Of course!" She pivoted on her white heels to keep pace with him. "Would you like me to take your dictation of your lunch meeting?"

"That won't be necessary, they canceled." He stopped. The feeling of knowing her from someone was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. Had he saved her from some criminal as Batman? Was she one of the board members' daughters? Was she related to one of their competitors? He'd have to ask Barbra to look into her the next time they spoke.

"Oh… Is that normal for investors to cancel without contacting the office?" She sounded confused. Then her tone changed, "I'll go back into Mary's e-mails to see if they contacted her. Do you want me to reach out to them to see if they will change their minds?" She lifted up a tablet and started to open a screen as they walked.

"Find out what's going on. For all we know there might have been some miscommunication along the way." He left her to enter his office only to stop short. Bruce never felt that this office was truly his. And as far as he could recall his father felt the same way. This was his grandfather's domain. There were attempts made to make it feel more like his. For example, the technology was updated. There were also several changes made to the room to accommodate being Batman. But those things were all hidden. And now the few things that he did have that were of a personal nature, were out of place.

"Miss…" He turned on his heels, to stare down at his new secretary. Hardening his tone of voice he asked, "Who used my office?"

The deer in the headlights look returned to her face before she jumped into action. Placing the tablet on her desk, she joined him. Another weak smile crossed her lips, "Miss. Bianca Paige, don't worry, I am not offended that you don't remember my name." She extended her hand. "You hired me last week. Granted you were in the room for about thirty seconds, and were on your cell phone, but you gave HR the go ahead to sign me on." A wince crossed her face as she waited for him to take her hand. "Mary told me to digitize the files in your office. I thought it made more sense to do that in there, than to bring those files out here. I won't do that again if you don't want me to touch your things."

Bruce released a breath that he had not realized that he had been holding. That was probably where he knew her from. As he took her hand, he noticed a small broach on her suit jacket that was in the shape of a starburst. "That's fine, remember to put my things back where you found them. next time."

She dropped her hand, "Will do!" A bright smile crossed her lips.

Bre-El

Thom cut the engine to their Jeep as the garage door closed behind them. Construction supplies and equipment lay piled to either side of the car. This made it difficult to get out of the Jeep if Thom pulled up to far or not far enough. However, Thom never failed to park the same exact way every time they used this vehicle.

As the twins left the Jeep the door that led to the house's interior opened. Magellan, one of their loyal robots, floated out. "You're home early!" It exclaimed with its flat tenor tones.

"By a whole five minutes," Thom smirked. "How was your day?"

The robot's sliver featureless face shifted as if it were studying both of them. "It was productive. I accomplished everything that you requested. In addition, I supervised several purchases of stocks. You should also know that there are rumors floating around the social media websites. These rumors are about Wayne Enterprises."

A somewhat bored expression crossed Thom's face. Bre tended to feel the same way when it came to talking about their investments, but this was different. This was Wayne Enterprises. What happened at that company affected her patients' parents. "Rumors? What rumors?" She asked as she drew the attention of the robot. Out of the corner of her eye she saw her brother sneak away.

"Well…" Magellan spoke at great length of all that it had learned. After about fifteen minutes, Bre regretted engaging with the robot. But she knew that it had spent about thirty years aimlessly wandering the Tower of El. And once they rescued it and its companions, they all jumped at any opportunity to serve them.

Another twenty minutes passed before a second robot floated out to the garage to join them. "What are you going on about?" Gama's more feminine tones overtook Magellan's endless wealth of gossip. "You are going to make Bre late!" The second robot pushed itself in front of the first, then motioned for Bre to enter the house.

Holding back her grin, Bre followed Gama's lead. Behind her, the two robots continued their exchange. Not able to focus on their nonsense, Bre entered the kitchen to find her brother eating a sub sandwich. "You owe me." She signed so that the robots would not overhear her.

Thom shook his head as he placed his sandwich down. He signed back, "you're the one who altered their programming."

That was always his comeback when it came to the Krytonian robots. "I need to get ready." She grabbed his sandwich and broke off half of it. Stuffing it into her mouth, she gave him a wave, before skipping toward the stairs.

"Then get ready!" He laughed, "you owe me a sandwich!"

Bruce

Each time the Gotham Elites threw a party it was an open invitation for the Gotham underworld to come out and play.

"...I know! We already went over this before you left." Damien grumbled in Bruce's earpiece. "I'll stay on the roof of the building to the west of the ball." He then added, "Barbra just texted me. All the usual suspects are still in their cells in Arkham." He then laughed, "It doesn't look like you're going to get out of this one."

"Don't let your guard down." Bruce sat back in his seat. His eyes scanned the rooftops as Alfred came to a stop in front of the venue. It wasn't the most impressive sight. There was a token red carpet, and some fancy decorations. But the lack of paparazzi signaled that this event wasn't up to the caliber that caused Gotham's Elite to salivate.

Several couples stood socializing at various points leading inside. Meanwhile, a solo photographer stood against the building in front of a backdrop. A short line waited to get their picture taken.

"Do try to have some fun, Master Wayne." Alfred encouraged him from the front seat as Bruce's door opened. A young man in a valet vest stood to the side of the door.

Ignoring what Alfred said, Bruce stepped out of his black town car. The valet waited a moment before glancing into the vehicle. When he saw that Bruce was alone, he closed the door.

The occasional nod was given to anyone who noticed him as Bruce strutted down the red carpet. By passing the line in front of the photographer, he decided to head inside since he did not bring a date.

Soft classical music filled the foyer. But the further inside he walked the louder the chatter from the ballroom became. Bruce checked his coat before heading over to present his invitation at the top of the stairs to the Emcee. As he waited to descend into the ballroom, he scanned the room for all the exits. From this point of view, there were at least two adjacent hallways to either side of the main floor. At the back of the ballroom was a wall of panes of glass. The golden glow of the setting sun highlighted Gotham Harbor.

"Bruce Waye, is that you?"

The familiar pitch of Veronica Vreeland's voice caused him to turn. "Ronie, good to see you!" A smile touched his lips as he caught her hanging off of a man who looked like he was twice her age.

"It's good to see you too." She kissed the cheek of the man she was with. "This is Doctor Steven Jefferies." Bruce shook the other man's hand. "Steven is a cardiac surgeon at Gotham General Hospital." She proudly announced before she peered to either side of him, "Are you here solo?" A frown touched her lips. "Bruce, you should have said something to me. I know several women who would love to meet you."

The elderly man cleared his throat. He then states with a slight snobbish tone to his voice, "perhaps he prefers to be here alone, Dearest. Not every gentleman likes attending these functions with a date. I know I didn't until I met you." He gave her a meaningful look.

Veronica playfully batted his arm. "My point exactly. He won't be able to find someone who makes him happy unless he is looking for someone." Her gaze turned back toward Bruce. Raising her left hand, she brushed several strains of hair behind her ear. It was a clear attempt to display an impressive diamond ring, in the shape of a starburst, on her ring finger.

Bruce's gaze shifted between the two of them, "are congratulations in order?" He motioned toward her hand.

"Oh, this little thing." She pursed her lips as her date raised a brow. "Yes, congratulations are indeed in order. You are invited of course. But under one condition."

"Dearest, a condition?" He gave Bruce's arm a pat as if he knew what was coming.

Ronnie's eyelashes fluttered, "yes, a condition. Bruce, you have to bring a date. And not just any date. Someone whom you have been seeing for a while. No blind dates or friends. I don't want any strangers at my wedding." She reached around Bruce to hand the Emcee her invitation. "You have two months." With that last statement, the couple passed Bruce leaving him momentarily speechless.

Chuckling to himself, he knew that Ronnie would never hold him to that stipulation.