THE BAT & THE BUTTERFLY | b.wayne

chapter: 2

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MARIE LIFTED a newly shaven leg over the other newly shaven leg in a poised manner, practicing the seating position she will use for bruce to reconsider his opinions about her. her hands were folded neatly on her knees and her back straight as a board against the comfy guest chair across mr. wayne's desk. she would have known before how tall it was if her first impression of this room wasn't when she burst into it.

when mr. wayne requested a meeting with marie he never specified why he needed her to come in. could be a reprimand, could be a permanent banning of her from anything related to the company.

but interviews were all she knows. god knows she hasn't had a true conversation in quite some time save for the random hi's and hellos,  grunts,  pushing and shoving of her own neighborhood of gotham.

so this was a chance to give a better first impression than what she offered yesterday no matter what his intentions are. she was even wearing her mother's fancy skirt.

marie is suddenly startled when the door bursts open and the man himself enters, prompting her to abandon her posture and rise to her feet.

"mr. wayne!"

he raises a hand at her and offers a tight lipped smile before moving to his own chair. "call me bruce. mr.wayne was my father."

what a line, marie swoons.

"of course," she simply says and takes a seat. as bruce angled his computer screen closer to him, marie attempted to return to her practiced pose. constantly adjusting her position while his eyes were turned away.

"are you not comfortable?" he asks, eyes still on the computer darting across it.

"oh well thank you for asking. i feel okay, actually."

"i meant the chair is one of the comfiest office chairs money can buy or so i'm told and you seem..." he drawled as he searched for the right word. "fidgety."

marie suppresses a scream with a sheepish laugh, "oh. it's really comfy. just  a little nervous. but i'm sure you got a lot of that from me since yesterday."

bruce tears his eyes away finally and calmly leans across his desk, his hands clasped. he looks to the side as though contemplating his next words, his lips quietly mimicking the words. it was so faint and subtle, marie wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't already staring at his lips. dang it. did i really think i can work under an attractive man? i'm too much of a romantic for this.

when he brings his attention back to marie he still avoids her shining eyes under her raised brows.

"first," he starts, "i...apologize for how yesterday went. you had interrupted me and did not give me or yourself a proper chance at an interview. i know that probably would have taken weeks but i still strongly believe that i can handle without an assistant regardless. not that it is any of your business but i have also been without a butler for a week and have been managing fine."

marie nods firmly as though she understands where he was going with this but she was lost.

"i asked you back here to apologize as well as to consider something you mentioned before," bruce pauses, hoping to see some sort of recognition flash over her but she seemed just as lost as he was finding himself getting lost in her somehow annoying big eyes. he resists the urge to roll his own. "something about how i should rebrand my image?"

"oh!" marie exclaims. her face then falls. "oh."

"no, it's not a bad thing. it was honest and i appreciate that. and i agree. i was looking for something to bring more attention to the company and to myself," bruce explains, watching as she nods along. she seemed a little odd, stuck in that proper pose. "i think changing how i'm perceived is exactly the right idea."