Won't you?

It was the same old fight at every single meeting. Board members watched between tired and dismayed at the reaction from both sides of the argument.

"What's so hard to understand?" He slammed the table with his folder. Tim Drake was the company's project manager. At 23 years old, he was considered a genius by far more people than just the company. He had impressed both them and the media with the vast numbers he had achieved with the various websites they had launched over the past two years.

He was from a wealthy family, but anyone who thought that was the only reason he had this position was sorely mistaken. Just as they wouldn't recognize him if they saw him in person, probably. With the sleeves folded up, the somewhat off tie shows his wrists and the expensive watch on his right. Plus, those substantial dark circles that almost entirely framed his eyes. Seeing him without a coffee was worrying. Not because of his dependence on it, but because he looked like he would vanish without one.

"Nothing. My answer is simply this: No." On the other side of the ring was Ra's Al Ghul. He was the principal investor and CEO of this company that bore his last name. He had a long history in the business world, being one of the most successful men in several fields, with the power to rival that of Wayne Enterprises and Lex Corp. At 52 years old and with more than three decades of experience, his word was practicing law. The rest of the table was more of an ornament.

No one there dared to contradict him. First, because no matter how risky his decision was, he always managed to pull them out and grow the stocks. Secondly, because of his height and his look inspired enough fear to try, and not to mention his huge personal bodyguard. They still wondered how there were any suits in that guy's size.

"And why not?" Tim looked like he wanted to throw the folder again but in his boss's face. Drake was the only one with the guts to try.

"It's a bad investment. The market has been fluctuating too much, and it's a small company." Crossing his legs, he was undaunted by his young employee's fury.

"Yes, it's a small company, but the AI they've been developing is advanced enough to mean a breakthrough in our projects." Tim held up his papers, pointing to one of his graphs. "If we put our team to work on it, we could have a system that can really connect with people, learning about their interests and tastes, overwriting itself for each of the different accounts that interact with it."

"Engineer..." Ra's wanted to speak but was interrupted.

"I have had the opportunity to test the alpha version because Sebastian Ives has allowed me to take a look before anyone else. But if we give him a refusal, he can offer it to Bruce Wayne or Lex Luthor once he finishes developing it. We would lose a great opportunity."

"The answer is still no."

"Why not?" Tim's hair was already disheveled from getting so exalted.

"I'm not going to keep repeating myself just because you don't accept my decision, Timothy." This time, Ra's raised his voice a little more. That was a final no, and there was no more to be done.

Tim threw his folder back on the table and reluctantly sat down, grimacing, at the board table. The other members drank some more water, or arranged their notes, trying not to pay too much attention.

It was quite common for those two to get into arguments. Sometimes, because Ra's demanded productivity from Drake's already fast team, they would argue against measuringtheir time, and one of the two would end up patiently giving in or extending his workdays. Other times, Tim requested equipment or investment for a new project or those they already had underway. Ra's demanded every financial detail from him to make a decision, and even then they would argue for a while to come up with an answer. Most of the time, Ra's agreed. Tim wasn't just a great engineer, he was also very meticulous and wouldn't present just any nonsense to the board.