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I. The Job Fair
“Harper, I have class in ten minutes. Can I go now?” Colin watched his friend dramatically flinch whenever a shoulder jostled him as students tried to get from table to table. He didn’t want to be here either, but whenever Harper dragged Cullen outside the apartment, Cullen tended to drag him.
“Cullen,” Harper snapped, “I memorized your class schedule, and I know for a fact that you don’t have class on Thursdays and you work the night shift. You’re going to go back to our apartment and play videogames for the next three hours.” Her brother huffed, but didn’t refute what she said.
“I see the Kent-Wayne table,” Colin told them. “Which one is Cass?”
“Obviously, the cool-looking chick!” Harper exclaimed, making a beeline for the table.
“Would you believe me if I told you that Harper became more annoying after she got this IT job?” Cullen joked.
“Yes.”
“Guys!” Harper was waving her hand in the air. When Colin and Cullen approached the table, Harper introduced them “This is my brother, Cullen, and his best friend Colin.”
Cass, who did look cool with shoulder length black hair, wispy bangs, and dark lipstick, held out a hand for them to shake. “Cassandra Cain, Public Relations Director.”
“Whoa,” Colin let slip without meaning to.
“I know. I look young,” Cass said with a small smile.
“Don’t be mad, but I sent Cass your resumes last week—”
“Harper, why—?”
“And she wants you to meet Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent—”
“Are you such an amazing sister?”
“I was once where you guys were,” Cass explained. “I was struggling through college with two jobs and debt to pay off, until I got an internship at Kent-Wayne Industries. The company has a special paid internship for kids fresh out of college.”
“That’s you guys!” Harper squealed.
“Bruce Wayne created the program so he could find kids who can think outside the box. He’s not looking for kids who just graduated with a degree and honors; he wants kids that can think outside the box that will help him build a new future for Gotham. So, what do you say boys? Do you think you’re good enough for Kent-Wayne Industries?”
Colin was shaking with anticipation. He could have his dream job. Growing up in an orphanage was not going to hold him back. This was happening.
“We get to go to work together!” Harper cheered.
II. The CEO's Hot Son
“Is it just me, or are some of these people really…?”
“Young and hot?” Harper finished for Colin. “Yeah, and I’m one of them. Soon you guys will be, too.”
It was intimidating being in the most pristine elevator Colin had ever seen, which was taking him and Cullen to meet the CEOs of Kent-Wayne Industries. He had gotten up early in the morning so he had enough time to shower and to eat a healthy breakfast. Maybe he practiced his introduction in the mirror. And while he was doing that he realized that he should have gotten a haircut. His hair wasn’t obnoxiously long, but the length made him look boyish. Harper attempted to slick it back that morning, but it only made it worse.
“Well, this is where I get off,” Harper said. “Good luck, guys.”
When the doors closed, Cullen unbuttoned the top three buttons on his work shirt and started to fan himself. “Shit,” he hissed. “I’m going to pass out.”
“I think it’s going to be okay,” Colin said weakly.
The elevator doors opened and they were greeted to the sight of a spotless, glass receptionist desk with two people dressed to perfection. The woman was tan with long red hair, a white blouse, and a black pencil skirt. She was speaking on the phone in a soft voice. The man had orange hair, freckles, and a perfectly tailored pantsuit who was typing something into the computer, but looked up at the sound of the elevator doors opening.
“You like?” the boy asked him. “Parts of this floor just got remodeled, and it came with a new desk. We were on the bottom floor for a while, but we’re back and better than ever! Oh, I’m Wally West.”
Colin shook his hand. “Colin Wilkes.”
“Cullen Row,” Cullen greeted.
The woman hung up the phone. “Hello, my name is Kori Ander. I just got off the phone with Mr. Wayne, and unfortunately he and Mr. Kent have been in a minor car accident and must handle the situation before coming into work. Would you gentlemen like any drinks while you wait?”
“No. Thank you,” Cullen said.
“In that case, Mr. Wayne has suggested that his sons entertain you for the time being. Wally, get a hold of Cass in case the press gets involved. I’ll call Conner and Damian.”
“Feel free to sit on the settee while you wait,” Wally told them before getting on his own white phone and saying, “Conner, bring Damian to the lobby, please, thank you, Darling.”
“What did he say?” Colin whispered to his friend.
“I think he called the couch sauté…and that’s a verb.”
Just when he and Cullen decided that their clothes were clean enough to not stain the white couch—everything was white—a man with broad shoulders and very strong looking arms strolled into the lobby followed by a man who was just as tall in height, but more slender and with a jaw line to boot. Colin did not think that last part with a goofy smile on his face.
“Hey,” the one with the muscles said, “I’m Conner Kent. It’s nice to meet you guys.” They shook his hand, but Colin’s eyes remained on the other man.
“Damian Wayne,” the man greeted a little more stiffly. It may have been Colin’s imagination, but he was sure that Damian’s gaze fell on him a little longer than it did on Cullen.
It seemed that Conner noticed this, too, because with a sly smile he said, “Dames, how about you show Colin your office? I bet he’ll love it.” Damian glared at his brother for half a second before complying with his request and gesturing for Colin to follow him.
If Colin was being honest with himself, Damian looked just as good from behind as he looked from the front. That suit was tailored very well, and he walked like a prince. Colin blushed and tried not to stare creepily at the CEO’s hot son. It was his first day interning and he was already acting too inappropriately for a professional working environment.
Damian abruptly halted and opened a door to their right. The office was definitely impressive. It was just as white as the rest of the building with glass windows so that he had a perfect view of Downtown Gotham. Next to the door was a huge aquarium with an assortment of fish in different colors. Next to Damian’s desk—which looked similar to the one in the Fifty Shades of Grey movie—was a Great Dane, already big but couldn’t yet be a year old.
At his entrance the puppy’s ears raised with interest. Pets weren’t allowed at the orphanage, so Colin didn’t have much experience with animals, but when that puppy stood up and ran at him Colin had to crouch and let it sniff his hand. Deciding that he loved what he smelled, the puppy placed its paws on Colin’s knees and started licking his hands.
“What’s your name?” Colin cooed.
“Titus.” Damian was watching them with interest. “Usually when people come in he hides behind my desk.” Colin thought he saw the beginning of a smile to form on Damian’s face, but he couldn’t be sure. “Do you like animals?”
“I was never allowed to have one.” Colin scratched behind Titus’ ears and smiled when the puppy’s tongue stuck out of his mouth in excitement. “But he’s super cute. Looks like I’ll have to pack some dog treats in my lunch. Um, if that’s okay with you…”
Colin looked nervously at Damian, afraid that he had overstepped, but Damian was finally smiling, even if it was just for a second.
III. The Day Planner
“You have lunch scheduled with your father in fifteen minutes, followed by a meeting with Lex Corp at two, and after that your schedule is open,” Kori read from her tablet. “Anything else I can do for you, Damian?"
Damian frowned. “Mr. Wayne,” he corrected.
“Your father is Mr. Wayne, and he’s the man I work for. I used to babysit you, brat.”
“That will be all, Kori.”
Colin laughed at the flush that appeared on his cheeks. When Kori left the office, he picked up Titus and held him up to Damian’s face so he could lick his owner. “Titus still loves you.”
“Of course he does,” Damian huffed. “I feed and shelter him.” He took Titus from him and sat him on his lap so he could pet him.
“I also still like you, Mr. Wayne.”
Damian made a strangled noise. “I told you not to call me that.”
“Dami.”
“That’s juvenile.”
Colin took out his phone and stood on the other side of Damian’s desk. “Mr. Wayne, CEO of Kent-Wayne Industries,” he pretended to read off his screen, “I believe that during lunch with your father you need to tell him it was Titus that peed on his settee and not an intoxicated Jason.” Damian grunted. “At one you need to pay a visit to PR because you owe Cass thirty dollars, followed by a trip downstairs to apologize to the receptionist in the lobby for criticizing her sweater.”
Damian scowled. “It was a horrid article of clothing.”
“After you sleep through the Lex Corp meeting, you are to return to your office promptly at four for a chess rematch against yours truly.”
“You always lose,” Damian pointed out.
“That doesn’t make it any less fun.”
“It should.”
Colin sighed. “You have a point. I guess I’ll just finish making those copies for Dick—”
“No!” Damian interjected. “I mean…you promised me that you would be here at four to play chess and to go back on your word would be rude and unprofessional. Besides, Conner is the only other person who will play with me, and he cheats.”
Colin beamed. That was as close as Damian would get to admitting that he enjoyed his company.
IV. The Gift Basket
"That’s for me?”
Colin’s mouth hung open as he stared at the gift basket that had been delivered to the intern cubicle he shared with Cullen. It was full of chocolates, strawberries, cheeses, and bottles of wine. The whole thing was embarrassing because it was the most expensive gift he had ever been given.
“Yes,” the secretary from the lobby said with impatience. “And if you ask a fourth time the answer will still be yes.” She checked her dress overalls to make sure that nothing from the basket ruined her outfit.
“That’ll be all, Super Mario,” Cullen dismissed her rudely. She stomped out of the cubicle. “Is that the best person to be greeting people in the lobby?”
At the moment Colin didn’t care because there had to be at least a few hundred dollars worth of delicacies on his desk. He was afraid to touch the basket in case his shaking clumsy fingers dropped anything, but he wanted to find the card and see who sent them. A small white card was attached to the red ribbon that was wrapped around the plastic wrapping.
“Who’s it from?” Cullen asked. “Wally is pretty chummy with you, but he has to be if he’s a secretary. Oh! I bet it’s that other intern, Maya. She always tries to partner up with you for exercises and group projects.”
It wasn’t any of them.
Colin,
Best wishes,
Damian
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Cullen asked.
“I…I don’t know….”
“If this is his best attempt to woo you, then he sucks. He’s Bruce Wayne’s son—this shouldn’t be that hard for him.”
Colin groaned when Cullen took out his cell phone and snapped a picture. “Why did you do that?”
“I’m showing Harper.”
“Please, don’t.”
“Too late.”
Colin was now confronted with a problem: what did the gift basket mean? Was it really Damian’s attempt at making advances toward him, or maybe he was just trying to joke around? Colin thought they had become good friends over the past two months that he had been interning, so he didn’t understand why Damian would try and hurt him with such a cruel joke. But there wasn’t any other explanation, because the hot and wealthy son of a CEO had better prospects than orphan ginger interns.
Much better.
Although Kent-Wayne Industries had the façade of a professional company with competent employees, Colin came to learn that this was somewhat false. The most polite way to describe some of the people Colin has met and become close was eccentric. A favorite pastime for these eccentric employees was gossiping, and the latest gossip was that Clark and Bruce were planning to marry their sons to each other to make sure that the company would pass on to only them if they were to retire or pass away. It was gross, but technically not illegal since Conner and Damian were not blood related.
It was with this misguided information and the gift basket, which he kept refrigerated for the past three days, that he marched up to the fifteenth floor. Ignoring Damian was obviously not working for Colin, so he decided to confront him.
“Hey, Colin,” Wally greeted. “Looking for Damian?” he asked with a sly wink.
“Yeah,” Colin replied, trying to keep a smile on his face.
“You just missed him. He’s in a meeting with corporate. Kori will take a message for you, if you want?” Kori nodded after hanging up her phone.
“That’s okay,” Colin said, not sure if seeing Damian would have been better or worse than this. He placed the gift basket on the desk in front of Kori. “Damian misplaced this and I was just returning it to him.”
“He misplaced a gift basket?” Wally asked in confusion.
“It’s addressed to you,” Kori said after reading the card.
Colin blushed. “It’s not mine,” he protested childishly, fleeing to the elevator before Kori and Wally could ask any more questions.
V. The Date
“Ah, Colin. Yes. Please, come in.”
Damian was seated awkwardly at his desk with his tablet in front of him, Titus asleep by his side. He was definitely making an effort to not look at Colin. He didn’t look angry—that was a good sign. But he definitely looked upset, and it was all Colin’s fault. He was the worst person. His friendship with Damian was good while it lasted.
“D—did you need help with those spreadsheets?” Colin asked. “Tim is probably more qualified for that than I am,” he said sheepishly. “If you want, I could go get Daryl—”
“If Gross Daryl sets one foot in this office I will have you shadow Todd for the rest of the week.”
“Okay. Sorry. No Gross Daryl.” Damian nodded and went back to his tablet. Colin leaned forward a little and saw that he was playing solitaire. “Damian, why am I here if you don’t need help?”
Damian locked his tablet and got up from his desk. He walked over to the refrigerator, which was next to his aquarium and, to Colin’s horror, opened it and took out the gift basket that was sent to him a few days prior. “This was supposed to be for you,” Damian explained. “You returned it.”
Colin became concerned at how upset Damian sounded. The likelihood of his gesture being a joke was looking more unlikely. “I didn’t understand what best wishes meant,” he said lamely.
“You did not understand the note, so instead of asking me for clarification you decided to return the gift?”
“Exactly.” Colin wanted to drown himself in Damian’s aquarium. He was such an idiot.
“Do you want…clarification?”
“Given the broad connotation of the expression ‘best wishes,’ that would be very helpful.”
Damian approached him with the gift basket and held it out to him. “My intention in giving you this gift basket was to express my desire to court you.”
“E…excuse me?”
“I would like to take you to dinner. I would also like you to accept the gift basket. Conner said you would find it pleasing.”
Colin almost laughed in relief. Damian still wanted to be his friend. Well, he wanted more than that, but Colin was completely fine with taking their relationship to the next level. Damian was intelligent, generous, witty, all dangerous qualities for a handsome, charming, and wealthy man.
“I find—pleasing—yes…” Colin covered his face in embarrassment at not being able to form a coherent response. He hoped he at least looked cute.
“How do you feel about accompanying me to Il Monarca for dinner tonight?” Colin wanted to say yes, but Il Monarca was way out of his price range. “Although Father is far from being the best parent, he managed to teach me what it means to be a gentleman, therefore I will, of course, be treating you.”
“Dami, you really don’t have to.”
“Of course I do. No more arguments. And could you please accept the gift basket.”
Colin chuckled and took the basket. “How about,” he suggested, setting the basket down on Damian’s desk, “we open this and have a little pre-party? Miss Kane won’t be expecting me for another half hour.”
“Make it twenty and you have a deal,” Damian said, taking a bottle of wine out of the basket and opening it smoothly with a corkscrew he pulled out of one of the desk drawers. “Kate Kane is a force to be reckoned with, and she will be calling me if I keep you too long.”
Colin giggled, but he didn’t care. Damian Wayne had asked him out on a date.
VI. The Interrogation
“So…”
Why did Mr. Wayne have to keep clicking his pen?
“It has been brought to my attention…”
Colin couldn’t tell if he was about to get reprimanded or praised.
“That you and my son have become intimate.”
It had to be Jason. He was always teasing Colin, usually all in good fun, but this was just…mean-spirited. He’d rather be having this discussion with Clark. He adopted Damian, so technically he was also his father, and the less intimidating one.
“M—Mr. Wayne…it isn’t like that, I swear.” Colin took Bruce’s silence to mean that he could continue. “Damian and I have gone out a few times. That’s it.”
Colin prided himself in his ability to be honest with others, and he thought that everyone at the company who knew him was aware of that, but Bruce was eyeing him like he was some kind of criminal.
“I do not know if you’re aware, but my son is not exactly the social type. Seeing him take a liking to someone after such a short period of time is a bit of a…concern.” Colin gulped. “I want to know what your intentions are with Damian.”
He may have peed a little.
“I…uh…we…”
He definitely peed.
“I like spending time with him.”
Bruce’s jaw twitched.
“I like when we go out…and get to know each other.”
“You think you know him?” It wasn’t an accusation, but a genuine question.
“I think the more I’m around him, the more I found out about him,” Colin began, the words rolling off his tongue naturally. “I like discovering Damian. He drinks his coffee black. The other day I bought him an air freshener for his car that smells like pine because the scent calms him. If his apartment was on fire and he only had time to save one item besides Titus it would be the photo of him and you, Clark, and Conner he says he keeps in his bedroom. That’s some of what I know, and I can’t wait to know more. I think it would be cool to never completely know Damian just so that for the rest of the time we know each other I keep discovering more about him—”
“Okay.” Bruce held up a hand to stop his ranting. “Just don’t hurt him, Colin. He may have a cold exterior, but he’s more sensitive than he’s letting on.”
“I know, Sir.”
The door to Bruce’s office opened and Kori entered. “Mr. Wayne, I have some tax forms that need to be initialed.”
“Thank you, Kori. You can leave them with me.” Kori handed him the papers before exiting. Bruce began reading the first page, but hadn’t dismissed Colin, so he patiently waited for Bruce to finish. Just as he initialed the bottom of the page he asked without looking up, “Is my son using his manners?”
“I—I’m sorry?”
“Has my son been acting like a gentleman?”
“Oh! Yes, Mr. Wayne. He pays for dinner then drops me off at my apartment. He’s very polite.”
“Good. You may go. If I keep you any longer, Diana will have my head.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wayne.”
When Colin made it to the elevator he had to place a hand against the wall to prevent himself from passing out.