Villains • Bruce Wayne

Chapter 3 - Billionaire Playboy

   Lex's event was well over the top, but it would have been an absolute insult if I'd expected anything less. More was more, and in Lex's opinion, even more was even more. The entirety of the Metropolis Museum had been rented out as the venue for Lex Corp's annual charity event and anyone who was anyone had received an invite. Surely the price of hosting such an event could have made for a sizeable donation to whichever organization Lex Corp had chosen this year, but Lex was all about the absurdity of it all. Spend money to get people to spend money. It wasn't exactly a philosophy I agreed with, but I would have been a dirty liar if I said his motto hadn't influenced how prestigious I'd made Health Bridge's facilities. 

   Walking inside, it was unsurprising to spot a famous face or two. Although it was a charity event, Lex wasn't afraid to showcase just how well-connected he was with local influencers, fellow billionaire CEOs, and philanthropists. Fair enough. After all, they were the ones who were capable of dropping thousands of dollars on art pieces they didn't understand to make up for the fact their carbon footprint was the reason it only snowed two days out of the entire year. But who was I to judge? I was wearing Dior. 

   I was embarrassed to say I kind of felt like a celebrity myself. Having been Lex's good friend and plus-one for many years, I oftentimes felt as though I had no real purpose at events like these. Despite Lex's kindness, it was easy to feel isolated around the one percent. But now with this published interview and my five seconds of fame, I felt like my presence served more of a purpose than just enjoying the refreshments. Sure, it might have been a little narcissistic of me to be thinking such things at a charity event, but the publishment of my interview with the Daily Planet felt like a massive achievement and huge step forward for Health Bridge. I'd been receiving calls and emails about follow-ups and further comments about the current justice and healthcare system, not to mention a growing interest in Health Bridge's facilities. We'd had at least a dozen calls for tours since the interview, more than we'd had in months. 

    Upon entry, I stopped in front of a mirror and fixed my dress. Dior may not have been the most eco-friendly pick for tonight's occasion of climate-change awareness, but they sure as hell could put together one heck of a dress. I looked and I felt good, and I had a really great feeling about tonight. 

   Scanning the room, I found Lex immersed in a group of black-suited men, one of whom I recognized to be the CEO of Space X. Was it dumb of me to hope someone like Elon Musk might feel pity and invest in my recovery center? Probably. If only I'd decided to open Health Bridge in space. 

   I considered joining Lex and his conversation, but I'd made that mistake before - I would be walking in on a pissing contest about jet size or whatever massive success they'd managed to achieve since last year, and I was not ashamed to say my success did not compare. Lex noticed me staring and shot me an apologetic look, before reaching into his coat pocket and retrieving his phone. He typed out a message as the men around him continued speaking to him and my phone buzzed shortly after. 

Lex: Give me 5. I'm considering telling Musk that I'm starting a competing company called Space LeX. 

   I shook my head at him with a smile and watched him struggle to hold back one of his own. That almost made me want to join in on the conversation, but something caught my eye instead - a distant painting hung between two pillars. Whoever put it there did not consider the poor placement or the dim lighting that concealed it from the other spectators. Moving towards it, I realized it wasn't anything special compared to the extravagance of some of the other pieces, but it was reminiscent of Monet's Water Lilies, my favorite piece of art.  

   Coming to stand before it, I took in the details and genuinely considered placing a bid for it. I didn't think my offer would win, but if no one else was paying attention to it then I might just stand a chance.