The Shape of Things to Come

13

Kara couldn't help the ear-to-ear grin she was wearing as she crossed the bullpen carrying Cat's sushi tray, along with her own family platter. She was a little worried that Kal being in town might throw everything off, but honestly, she wasn't sure how that could happen unless he decided to jump in and help with some disaster or other. But seeing him, and better still, getting him on the trail of Cadmus while she dealt with Myriad, took a huge load off her shoulders.

If enough of the original timeline was still intact, they were still within the window where they could save Jeremiah. That was one of the reasons she was so willing to push things with Myriad far more quickly than they had progressed in the original timeline. But if Superman, Wonder Woman and the Bat Family could deal with Cadmus, not to mention this universe's version of Malcolm Merlyn, that would make her life easier. Having the help would also increase the chances that they could save Jeremiah before he became... the thing he ended up as.

She gave Winn a slight nod as she approached her desk, and she could tell by the look on his face, not to mention the way he was slightly bouncing in his seat, that he wanted to ask her about Kal, but that was a discussion for later once she could talk to him and Maggie together. She started to drop her own lunch on her desk, only to be stopped by the sound of Cat's voice.

"Keira, bring your lunch in here," Cat called, and Kara felt a subtle sense of dread spread up her spine. She'd almost let herself forget that Cat might be onto her secret. Still, there was no getting around it. She turned and carried both her and Cat's lunch into the office.

"Would you like to eat in here, Ms. Grant, or out on the the balcony?" she asked.

"In here will be fine," Cat said without looking up from her computer. "Go ahead and close the door."

That was definitely a bad sign. In the year Kara had worked here, Cat had closed the door exactly three times. One of those had resulted in security escorting a former department head from the building. The second had resulted in the police escorting someone from accounting out to face charges for embezzlement. The last one have been an ear-blistering screaming match between Cat and her mother regarding Carter.

Kara sat both of their trays on the coffee table between Cat's sofas, and closed the doors. Then she pulled a folding table top out of a carefully concealed recess by the bar and set it on the coffee table, providing an eating surface of the appropriate height. Cat kept working until Kara had finished laying out lunch, and poured Cat a cup of hot tea. Cat got up and walked over to the sofas as Kara sat down the tea pot, and took a seat. Kara, not entirely sure what to expect, sat down opposite of her.

"How long have you worked for me, Kara?" Cat asked as she poured soy sauce into her dish.

"Thirteen months, Ms. Grant," Kara replied.

"Hmm... Thirteen months. That doesn't sound like much, does it?" Cat observed as she carefully blended Wasabi into her soy sauce.

"Depends on the basis for comparison, I suppose," Kara said.

"Yes, it does at that. After all, before you arrived, the average length of employment for an executive assistant to Cat Grant was three weeks. The girl you replaced lasted barely a week, and the previous record holder was with me for a staggering ninety-three days." Cat picked up her tea cup and carefully took a sip. "What does that tell you, Kara?"

Kara picked up a piece of spider and dragon tempura roll. "They lacked commitment," she said before taking a bite.

"That's an interesting way of putting it," Cat said. "I'd say they were thin-skinned and lacked backbone."