Profession

New start

The first party of the season was the big one at Wayne Enterprises. Jon and I went, mostly to see the lay of the land. If people were talking about me in conjunction with the company, I wanted to know what was going on. Plus the pros and cons in relation to Derinoe: she'd be pleased that I showed up in public to a corporate event, something that could be spun to her advantage. Also: I showed up to a corporate event, which could make her seriously nuts. But if she exploded again, that would be it, all doubt about her fitness would be removed. It would be interesting to see if she even approached me or if her blood pressure would soar and take the top of her head off. One way or another, it would be an interesting couple of hours.

When we got to the Yale Club, where the party was traditionally held, we greeted our hosts in the chamber off the door. "How nice of you to come," Dad said in a voice that held a bit of an edge. I suppressed my eyeroll and hit back.

"Well, since I was being hustled by the board of directors, I thought it would be a good idea to show up this year," I said politely.

"What?" Mom asked, her glow making the movements that indicated her arms were crossing. There'd be no maternal hugs now, if that had ever been in the offing.

"Some of the directors felt it was a good idea to explore all our options," Ms Potts said briskly, coming up to us. "Lysippe has created quite a name for herself and Mutatis Mutandis. However, she explained why she declined our offer to explore a position at Wayne, and I think she's right to do so." Derinoe, who I hadn't seen behind the glow that was Mom, let out a strangled sound. Although Ms Potts had been discreet, she'd see the interview for what it was too.

"Ms Potts, how nice to see you again. May I present my boyfriend, Jon Kent?" There was a little chatter, and before we moved on, I told her that Uncle Tony wanted to invite her to lunch to catch up. She smiled indulgently.

"Tony. I'll be glad to hear from him; I'm pleased that things are working out so well for him this time around."

Dad couldn't do much with Ms Potts and a couple more board members who had come up right there, but his look was severe. I felt rueful; my desire to poke the bear had run whatever pleasure might have been in the greeting right on out.

"Thank you for inviting us," Jon said politely, and he gently moved me on before I could get into more trouble. We moved farther into the club, and I introduced Jon to the people I knew. There weren't a lot of relatives here tonight. Jon parked me in an unobtrusive place by a pillar and went to get us drinks.

"Buttercup," a warm voice said, and I turned to see my grandparents approaching with Grandpa Mark. There were greetings, during which time Jon returned with my drink, greeting my grandparents, then offering to get them drinks as well.

"He's a good boy," Grandpa Damian said approvingly. "There's quite a bit of buzz about your appearance tonight, Lys."

"I'm glad that you declined the offer to explore replacing your sister," Grandpa Mark said. I was kind of hurt by that, but he shook his head. "Not because I don't think you could do it with training and experience, but you wouldn't be happy. You'd miss your photography, and I'm betting that sooner or later you'll get that Pulitzer." He winked at me and I smiled.

"They've roped me into the reeducation of your sister," Grandpa Damian said moodily, accepting the glass from Jon with a pat to his shoulder. He had to reach up a ways to do that, which amused me. Grandpa is such a force of nature that I usually forget that he's only a couple inches taller than Grandma, who's not a tall woman herself. "Daniel and Deri convinced the committee that she understands that she was wrong and has a lot to learn, both about how the company should be run and how she needs to conduct herself. And I agreed, for the health of the company and Deri personally, to oversee her development as an executive. They are considering something you said, Buttercup. Something about perhaps Wayne being too big for one person to really run effectively, and they're commissioning a study to see if a reorganization of the executives of the company would be beneficial, see if adding a few positions to take some heat off the chairman would work. They might try to bring Tabby in if that is the way they go. It would be a rebuke to Deri, but she's got a lot of work to do to restore confidence in her abilities."