Work Text:
Lena loathed press conference. People assumed just because she projected an air of confidence that sometimes passed for arrogance, that she enjoyed standing on a stage to talk about her work. Truth was, Lena Luthor would rather be in her lab, by herself, sciencing things up, than be standing in front of people in a too-tight dress and killer heels, ‘looking pretty’ as her publicist had said, trying to sell a new brand people had already made up their mind about just because her last name was Luthor.
"Ms. Luthor is now going to be answering some of your questions," the host announced cheerfully.
This was the moment Lena dreaded the most; when the idiocy of some people shone bright and left her soul writhing with second-hand embarrassment.
“Ms. Luthor, how does it feel, as a woman, to be the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company?”
“I would imagine it feels the same as it would for a man. It feels great.”
“Lena! Hi!” a red-haired woman shrilled, as if they were long-lost friends. “What are you wearing tonight?”
“Dry as hell contact lenses,” Lena replied, drawing a laugh from the crowd. She smiled sweetly all the while screaming inside.
Lena pointed at a young man in the front row, “Yes?”
“Jeffrey West, National City News. There’s a rumour that you fired an employee because he wouldn’t go out with you, is that true?”
“The employee in question was discharged for inappropriate conduct towards other employees. As you know, L-Corp has a zero-tolerance policy.”
“Are you seeing anyone, Ms. Luthor?” Jeffrey asked next.
“I fail to see how my dating life has to do with anything, here tonight,” Lena replied, doing her best to keep her cool.
“Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"
An awkward silence settled over the room.
‘Hard pass,’ Lena thought, rolling her eyes inwardly. God, he’d probably take her somewhere fancy, order the most expensive bottle of wine trying to impress her, and then pretend he forgot his wallet (or something equally as lame), leaving her with a bill he couldn’t afford in the first place.
Lena pondered how to gracefully turn him down, but then decided she gave no fucks about being polite. He certainly wasn’t. Choosing to pointedly ignore him, she took one look around the crowd and said, “Next, please! Yes, you, in the cute button-up shirt.”
“Hello, thank you. Kara Danvers for CatCo Magazine,” the blonde introduced herself, swallowing nervously. She pushed her glasses up her nose with the hand holding her pen, the plastic of her ballpoint clicking against the tortoise shell frame.
“What I’d like to ask is: in a recent television interview, you mentioned the desire to create more spaces to help empower young girls across the country. You said it was something you lacked growing up and I wholeheartedly agree with that. I think it's a brilliant idea! My sister and I-"
The reporter next to her sighed exasperatedly, and Kara realized with embarrassment that she was rambling. "Sorry," she apologized, her cheeks burning. "What kind of spaces did you have in mind? Is there anything we can do to help L-Corp bring these projects to life?”
"Everything is still pretty much all up in the air. We are in the midst of developing a free after school science program for children, boys and girls, from low-income families which we’re really excited about, but we’re open to all suggestions that would benefit our community," Lena answered, flashing her first genuine smile that evening. "Ms. Danvers, is it?"
The reporter nodded, "Kara."
"Kara," Lena repeated, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. "If you don't mind waiting for me to wrap this circus up, I would really like to give you an exclusive interview over dinner, if you are interested?"
"I. Uh. Yes! Yes, I would love that very much," Kara said, nodding, a blush creeping up her neck.
"Excellent! This conference is now over, thank you all for coming.” If the press was going to talk about her, might as well give them something good to talk about.