20 YEARS EARLIER
Meredith hated waiting.
She was a woman of efficiency and timeliness. She needed answers, and she needed them right when she asked the questions.
Hospitals, for lack of a better word, totally sucked in regard to efficiency and timeliness.
She stared at the small TV sitting in the waiting room across from her. It was fuzzy and sad, which also seemed to be the theme throughout the rest of the building. Though, somehow, the words on the screen were clear as day.
ELIAS INC. CLOSES NEW 20M FACILITY DEAL IN TAIWAN!
Meredith scoffed, shoving her hands into the long pocket of the only hoodie she owned, used solely for when she needed to be incognito.
"Idiots..." she muttered.
A phone ringing caught her attention. She watched the snobby hospital receptionist answer it, which had Meredith immediately out of her chair and at the desk once again.
"Hey," Meredith snapped.
The man paused speaking, looking perpetually annoyed.
"When I say I need to see my father now, I mean now, not in three hours."
"Hold, please," the man spoke into the phone before setting it down. "Listen, Kid. I told you no one was available to take you up."
"And I told you I don't care. I'm Meredith Elias and I don't wait around."
"I don't care who you—"
Meredith spun around and marched past the desk towards the elevators.
"Hey!" The man yelled. "Don't let her up! She has no clearance!"
Just when a nearby security guard was about to grab her arm, Meredith glared at the receptionist. "Do you like your job?"
The man was silent, save for a dirty look.
"I'll take that as a yes," Meredith seethed. "Let's keep it that way."
The guard slowly released her arm, and Meredith huffed, straightening herself out. She walked into the elevator, giving the glaring receptionist a smug look as the doors slid shut.
When they opened, Meredith stepped into a starch-white hallway, littered with a few nurses milling around in pale blue scrubs. It smelled stale and unnaturally clean, as a hospital did, and she walked to a room with the label 214 on the wooden door.
Meredith pushed the doorknob with one hand and tugged down the hood of her sweatshirt with the other.
In the middle of the room, surrounded by wires and cords and IV lines, two blue eyes peeled open.
She slid into the room, closing the door behind her as her father's lips pulled into a small smile.
Gregory looked weak. Frail. Little tufts of hair starting to fall out on the sides of his head and withered skin. Meredith twisted her brows and ignored the pain in her chest at the sight.
She tried desperately to hold herself together, as she always did, flippantly waving her hand and striding across the room to the window. "Can you believe those idiots? Twenty million to Taiwan? We care sooo much about what's best for the company—" Meredith mocked, turning around with her hands resting on the sill. "Such bull! That lousy excuse for a board of directors only cares about themselves!"
Gregory stared at her with what she took as sympathy, except it couldn't be sympathy because Gregory Elias didn't sympathize with people, especially when talking about the trajectory of his own business—
She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "God, I can't wait until this is all over and you can get back to the office. Then somebody can finally put those losers in their rightful place—"
"They're moving me to a different facility."
"—and, wait, what?"
The room went silent and Meredith stared at her father.
"A better one. More equipment and better doctors and—"
"Why do you need something better? I thought they said you'd be done after another three sessions of radiation."
Gregory licked his lips. "The cancer's gotten worse, Meredith."
There was a sudden stillness in the air between them.
Meredith narrowed her eyes, slowly crossing her arms. "How much worse?"
There was no response.
"And what facility gets better than this? This is the best hospital in Gotham! And you can't leave the city, especially with this dumpster fire of a board running the company—"
"It's called the CRIJ."
"And what does that stand for?"
"Cancer Research Insitute of Japan."
"Ja— Japan?! What do you mean, Japan?"
"They have a clinical trial starting next week, and the doctors here managed to get me on the list."
"Clinical trial? You don't need a clinical trial. Those are only for patients who've run out of options."
Her father stared at her in a certain way that nearly brought tears to her eyes once again.
"Are you saying there's nothing else they can do for you?!" Meredith raged, stomping towards the door. "Because there definitely is and I can go get the doctors and we can discuss—!"
"Meredith."
"—There has to be! What, are they not board-certified or something? Are they incompetent?"
"Meredith—"
"Because if they are bad at their jobs I can get them fired right now—!"
"Meredith!"
She paused.
"I'm leaving next week. Nobody needs to be fired. Nobody's incompetent. The cancer is just aggressive and you know that."
Meredith stared at him in disbelief. "Wha— I—"
She had no words, running her hands through her hair. "How are you going to go to Japan?! What about the company? What about mom?"
"Your mother is going to come with me."
"W— well, what the hell am I supposed to do?!"
"You go back to school."
"School?! You want me to go back to school while you're across the world dying, mom's sobbing at your bedside, and the company is in shambles?"
Silence.
"Yes."
"What do you mean, yes?! Get— Jesus— get... I don't know... Devin, or something, to get his ass back here from Oxford and control this thing before the board runs it into the ground!"
He gave her a pointed stare. "You want Devin to be in charge?"
"I—!" She hesitated. Then sighed. "I... I don't know. I don't know, okay?! All I know is I can't just go back to school and sit through business-for-dummies three times a week while everything is falling apart!"
"It's Harvard, Meredith."
"I don't give a damn! You have to do something! You can't just give up!"
"I am dying!"
Her voice fell flat in her throat.
"I won't sugarcoat it for you— you're not a child anymore. I am dying. And if there's a slim chance something out there can prevent that, I'm going to try it. I'm sorry about the company, Meredith. I am. But right now, I'm more concerned about being able to make it to your wedding, rather than the state of Elias Incorporated."
She tightly crossed her arms over her body, biting her lip.
"So, I need you to try and understand—"
"No." Meredith looked at her father fiercely. "Give me three months."
Gregory tilted his head.
"As CEO," she clarified. "Three months, to try and turn things around. And if I can't do it, then screw it, throw the business to the wolves for all I care. But you need to let me try."
She could immediately tell he didn't agree.
"Meredith, I appreciate—"
"No." She pointed a finger at him. "You don't get to give me the I appreciate your enthusiasm speech. I'm losing everything. You're dying, mom's going to go across the world with you, Devin's in England, and Oliver and— and Bruce—"
Her voice cracked at the last name.
She blinked furiously. "This is all I have, okay? And, let's be honest, I'm the best candidate. I know how the company works, I know how you work, I've been preparing for years—"
"You're nineteen, Meredith."
"So?"
"I can't possibly burden you with the weight of running a business of this caliber, especially with no guidance."
"What, you don't think I'm capable?"
"No, I— it's not that, I—"
"Please," Meredith begged, short of only getting on her knees. "Please, Dad. Please. You have to let me try."
She didn't think she'd ever stared at the man the way she did now.
Gregory pursed his lips. He scoffed. "And school, Meredith? What are you going to do with the ninety grand a year I'm putting towards your education?"
"Oh, please. I have straight A's— I might as well teach my Econ 103 class."
There was a long silence.
"I just... don't know, Meredith."
"Dad."
"The plan was for you to possibly be CEO by thirty, and that's if you were lucky—"
"Fuck the plan!" Meredith spread her hands and raised her brows in expectancy. "Because it also didn't involve you being terminally ill, so who gives a shit about the plan? You've gotta let me try. This is my legacy. This is your legacy. You have to."
Gregory scowled.
"Fine. Ninety days. That's all you get."
Meredith, for the first time in a long time, jumped up in the air with joy. She wrapped her arms around her father's neck, laughing.
"You will not regret it. I promise you."
* * *
Meredith stared at her reflection in the large window.
She had on her best navy blue pantsuit, freshly pressed and cleaned, with a pair of matching flats. Red lips, dyed black hair, pearl earrings. A journal she had stayed up all night filling out with notes on foreign acquisitions and equitable market entry modes in one hand, and a coffee in the other.
Newly CEO of a billionaire-dollar conglomerate, Meredith Elias suddenly felt like an imposter.
Her face fell.
It had been easy being her father's right hand for all these years, just simply following him into the board room with a smug look on her face. But now, with him off in Japan as some lab rat who she may never even see again, things seemed a lot more daunting. He wouldn't be there to fill in the gaps of her almost-fully-formed-but-not-quite ideas, or to take some of the pressure off of her when she faltered.
Everyone was going now to turn to her, the CEO, for answers, and Meredith wasn't entirely sure she had them.
"Ms. Elias."
Meredith turned around to see Janette at her desk.
"They're ready for you."
Meredith cleared her throat. "Of course."
She strode down the hall and into the usual board room, where a panel of eleven men all looked up at the same time, going dead silent. Meredith's heart sunk just a little.
"Gentlemen." She nodded curtly, briskly walking to the opposite end of the long table and taking her usual seat.
As she set down her coffee, someone else cleared their throat. She glanced up.
Blake Windward, current COO, glared at her. Her father had warned her that Blake most likely wouldn't be happy, seeing as she was taking the job that he was next in line for.
"Can I help you, Windward?" she asked.
"That's not your seat, Elias."
She began to open her mouth, wondering what he meant, when suddenly she turned to the empty seat at the head of the table. Her father's— or formerly her father's, now hers, she supposed.
Meredith nodded once more. "Right. Have to get used to that still."
Windward muttered something under his breath along the lines of "don't get too used to it," "my seat," and "stupid kid." Several others at the table chuckled quietly. Meredith opted to ignore all of them. Despite the pounding of her blood, she reminded herself that she had expected backlash.
"So," she began. "I figured we'd start off by discussing your recent decision on Taiwan—"
"We don't need to discuss that," Windward interjected. "The papers are being processed as we speak and everything is almost finalized. I've been in contact with some Taiwanese intermediaries—"
"I think it's a stupid decision," Meredith said flatly. "We don't need to be allocating more resources outside of Gotham City, especially when we could put roughly fifteen million into the city's new public transportation initiative."
"The mayor's just blowing smoke with that," another man added.
"Yeah," another voice agreed. "Wayne Enterprises already finished that project twenty years ago."
"Exactly," Meredith said. "Which is why it needs revamping immediately. At least twenty-five percent of those tracks are broken or run down, especially in lower-income areas. Not to mention, possibly working in conjunction with Wayne Enterprises would be—"
"Irrelevant," Windward finished. "If WE wants to finish that crapshoot then that's their prerogative. Taiwan is a major up-and-coming innovation hub and we need to get there before them or anyone else."
There was a chorus of agreement around the room.
Meredith scowled. "Our loyalty is to Gotham City before any others—"
"And that's how I know you're incapable of filling this position, Baby Elias." Windward jeered. "This city is doomed— it's already gone to hell. All I pray for is that we've realized it before any other of the big hitters here so we can get out first."
Meredith blinked for a moment, looking around at all other eyes in the room, who stared back at her like she was the biggest idiot in the world.
"Are... are you saying that you're trying to move our HQ to Taiwan?"
"The first intelligent thing you've said all meeting," Windward confirmed.
"But... why? That is the last thing my dad wants."
The elderly man rolled his eyes. "Your father's an optimist. I'm a realist. I understand this hellhole of a city can't be saved, and we need to care about the well-being of our company first. Which is why that seat should be mine, not his inexperienced, nepotist kid's."
And suddenly Meredith was faltering. This is usually where her father would've jumped in and said something intelligent, but she was met with nothing but silence.
Windward sneered. "So, if we're done with your stupid little questions, let's talk about something important, like..."
His voice faded into the background and Meredith just stared blankly at her notebook. She slowly sat down in her father's seat with a long exhale, biting the inside of her lip and avoiding eye contact with the other figures in the room.
Embarrassment boiled in her blood, clutching her chest and wrapping around her heart like a vice.
Perhaps she wasn't cut out for this like she had thought.
* * *
Sigh.
Meredith reached up gently and rapped her knuckles on the door.
A few moments later, the lock clicked open and she was greeted with a familiar, kind smile.
"Well, if it isn't the youngest CEO of our century."
Meredith smiled softly. "Hi, Lucius."
He stepped back and gestured for her to come inside. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?"
She playfully rolled her eyes. "Stop."
The door shut behind her. She glanced around at his apartment— for the position he had at Wayne Enterprises, by the looks of the small living room, she would've assumed he was nothing more than the average, middle-class Gothamite.
"How's your father, Meredith?" Lucius asked as he guided her towards the couch. It was worn leather with large throw blankets covering the back. She sunk into it and sighed again.
"Alive," she said. "Which is saying a lot these days."
"Ah."
They sat in silence.
"Can I offer you a drink? Tea? Coffee? Although I mean it in the nicest possible way, you look exhausted."
It had been a long time since someone had made a drink for Meredith— she'd basically been living at the office for the last month and a half, surviving on only coffee she brewed herself and plain bagels.
"Tea would be nice. I don't care what kind."
He nodded, moving over to the kitchen which she could see from her spot on the couch.
"I heard you had your big semi-annual meeting recently," he said. "How'd it go?"
Meredith almost instinctually launched into a spiel about how great it had been and how everything had been so wonderful— she'd been putting in the effort to come off as confident and reassuring 24/7— it was exhausting.
"Awful," she admitted. "Blake Windward is such a jerk and nobody takes me seriously and I haven't slept in weeks."
A pause.
"I'm sorry to hear that. I remember your father mentioning quite a few times that he's always had some... reservations about Windward."
"Yeah, well, now I know why. He was always a little oppositional at the meetings, but, now? He's gone completely off the rails— he's trying to move the company out of Gotham to Taiwan!"
Lucius walked with a red mug in his hand and sat it down on the coffee table in front of her. "I suspected as much once I saw it on the news. From what I've heard about Wayne Enterprises, they are trying to do the same."
She scoffed, watching him sit down in a large armchair. "Seems to be the trend nowadays. How are things over there?"
"I wouldn't know. I was... released about a month ago, just around the time you became CEO."
"Released?" Her eyes widened. "Like... what, they fired you?"
"I'm afraid."
"Why?!"
"I was promoting pushing more efforts into city infrastructure. The current CEO decided that I didn't align with their company trajectory anymore."
Her mouth was wide open. "That's ridiculous! You're the backbone of WE, Thomas would've never stood for this! Neither would Br—"
She hesitated. It felt as if a heavy shadow cast across her whole body. "Neither would Bruce."
Lucius smiled sympathetically. "I know. It's alright. My loyalty to the Wayne's is what got me involved in the company. Perhaps, since there are none left, my time in the corporate world has come to an end."
Meredith exhaled in shock, staring at him in disbelief. She was silent for a long while.
"Meredith, are you—?"
"You know, I always knew that the career I wanted to pursue was... ambitious. But that's also because I knew— or I thought— I'd have support!" She deeply creased her brow. "But now my father is dying and Oliver is dead and Bruce is—"
Her voice broke off and Meredith wiped at her eyes, exhausted and stressed and in disbelief of her current situation. She pulled her knees up to her chest and tugged one of the fuzzy throw blankets over her.
"Bruce is dead, Lucius. And I never got to say goodbye and... and—" She choked on her words. "I loved him. Yeah, he was annoying and stupid and careless— but I know, at the very least, he would've had my back, I know he would've!"
Lucius reached under the coffee table and handed her a box of tissues.
She accepted one gingerly and wiped at the tears pooling by her jawline. "And now I'm alone, with this billion-dollar company which is crumbling to the ground and so is Wayne Enterprises and my brother is hiding from his problems somewhere in England and even Alfred left, too!" Meredith sobbed. "And I have two months to turn this all around before Gotham falls apart and now I show up here and find out you're fired?!"
"I can't do it, Lucius." She crumpled her tissue and tossed it in the metal trash can next to the couch. "I've been trying so hard, I only take naps now— I never even fully sleep— but I'm just not prepared and maybe Windward is right, I'm just some nepotist kid and Gotham is unsalvageable—"
"Meredith."
She sniffled quietly.
"What?"
"You are exemplary. I agree, you're the only one left. But even just the fact that you are here, fighting the good fight, proves to me that you are just as capable as I believe."
Lucius' eyes were always warm. "I'll let you in on a secret, Meredith. Even though it may have seemed like your father had it all figured out, he didn't. No leader does. Leadership isn't about having all the answers, it's about inspiring those around you so they can help you figure it out together. No one man— or woman— can do it all on their own."
"But—" Meredith cleared her throat. "I don't think my board is capable of helping me figure anything out."
"Well, then." Lucius smiled. "It seems you've found your problem."
Meredith furrowed her brows. "You think I should... replace my board?"
"You are the boss, Meredith. You tell me."
She tilted her head, reaching to pick up the steaming mug of tea in front of her.
"Hm."
Meredith sipped in silence for a long while. By the time she spoke again, she looked up to find Lucius reading the newspaper.
"There has to be a way to help Wayne Enterprises, too."
He glanced at her from behind his rimless glasses. "What?"
"Besides that boarded-up mansion on the hill, this is the last real piece of the Wayne legacy," she explained. "I can't let it all go to shit now— I won't let it."
Lucius' features turned puzzled quickly. She could see the gears turning in his mind. "I'm always in support of your endeavors, Meredith, but that is awfully ambitious. And probably not in the best interest of your own company."
"Having a nineteen-year-old as CEO is probably not in the best interest of my company, either. You know... I actually was proposing to my board that we invest in the Wayne Enterprises public transportation initiative... do you think there's anything to chase after there?"
"Hm... there could be, although Henshaw, the CEO, isn't even on board with the transportation initiative, and it's their own project. I feel that he could be... persuaded, though."
"Persuaded?"
"Again, it's not in the best interest of your company. But theoretically speaking, WE is losing profit and they could benefit from the publicity of being seen in conjunction with Elias Incorporated."
"So, you think I should propose we pay for the renovations to the track lines, and Wayne Enterprises just takes the credit?"
"Not in your best interests, Meredith."
"I know, I know. But that's... like fifteen, what, almost sixteen million? That's a lotta cash just for Henshaw to write his name on my finished paper."
"Well, you did want to pull that money out of Taiwan. Might as well put it to good use."
"True. And you really think that would help WE?"
"It would be good publicity, and they'd make a lot of money back after the renovations are completed from people using the train tracks again."
"And I'd... make nothing, essentially."
"Pretty much."
Meredith sighed.
"Fine. I'll do it."
Lucius scrunched his brows. "You don't need to be a hero, Meredith. You taking on your father's role so early and putting your education— your life— on the back burner, is heroic enough."
"But I do." She set down her mug on the table. "Because if I don't, who will?"
"I... am not saying you shouldn't— it's entirely your decision. I'll support you in whatever way I can, whichever way you decide to go."
The businesswoman groaned, wiping her hands down her face, makeup be damned. Meredith tilted her head and stared out of the window to her left, where rain gently pattered against the sill.
"I don't want to make these decisions, Lucius."
"That's the job, I'm afraid."
"Yeah, I know." She pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I know."
* * *
The pager on her desk buzzed.
Meredith clicked the answer button.
"Ms. Elias, they're ready for you," Janette's voice came over the phone.
"Thank you, Janette, I'll be right there."
Meredith grabbed her steaming espresso and strode out of her office. The outfit today was all black— blazer and fitted pants— and black stilettos. Her mother had always told her she was too young to be wearing those to the office, but her mother wasn't here anymore. And, besides, as CEO, Meredith figured she could do what she damn well pleased.
As she rounded the corner and passed Janette's desk, the redhead gave a slight look towards Meredith's choice of clothing, but said nothing else.
The usual sounds of rustling paper and chatter echoed from the boardroom.
She entered the space and Windward glanced at her. "Elias, whatever it is you want to talk about, we have more important things—"
"Shut up," Meredith spat.
The chatter went dead silent and the only sound was her heels clicking on the tile floor as she walked up to the front of the table.
She cleared her throat. "Bozzelli, Williams, Hanley, Cromwell, Gonzales, and Windward."
All eleven men stared at her in confusion.
"If I just said your name, you're fired."
The room burst into discussion.
"What?"
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"She can't really—"
"Elias!" Windward spun towards her.
Meredith sipped her espresso.
"What the hell are you saying?" he yelled.
"Unfortunately—" Meredith licked her lips. "You six don't align with the trajectory of our company anymore. I want to thank you all for your tenure and work here at Elias Incorporated and wish you all the best in—"
"Are you out of your mind?!" Windward roared.
The young woman tilted her head. "Actually, Windward, I am extremely sound. Eye-opened, if you will. It's nothing personal."
He glared at her, deep and nasty with his wrinkled eyes and faded hair. "You bit—"
"This is wrongful termination!" Another man, Hanley, shouted.
The rest clamored in agreement.
Meredith hummed. "Does the rest of the table agree with that?"
For the first time, the other five men were dead silent as she eyed them.
"Didn't think so." She smiled. "Besides, New Jersey law dictates that employers have the right to at-will employment, so I can, in fact, fire you at any time, for any reason. You're all lucky I'm giving you one."
Windward stepped forward. "You can't do this, Elias, you need m—"
"I am the boss, Windward," she snapped. "I can do whatever I want. I would tell you to know your place, but you no longer have one at this company."
He opened his mouth, most likely to retort, but she cut him off again.
"As I was saying before, thank you all for your work here at Elias Incorporated, and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors. For the rest of you, that's all I have for today. I'll see you five next week."
And with that, Meredith spun around on her heel and exited the room, a barrage of insults being thrown behind her.
As she passed Janette's desk, Meredith noticed a smile on the secretary's face.
"Well done, Ms. Elias."
Meredith smirked.
"Thank you, Janette."
* * *
"...we here at Wayne Enterprises are, first and foremost, dedicated to the well-being of Gotham City, and are incredibly proud of our work on our electronic railway reconstruction project!"
The crowd burst into applause, and while Meredith wanted to roll her eyes, she just politely smiled instead. Brian Henshaw, CEO of Wayne Enterprises, was doing what he did best— taking credit for someone else's work and lying out of his ass to the public.
Meredith had gone ahead and proposed her idea to him a few months back, and the man eagerly agreed. (As she knew he would've, because he'd have to be the biggest idiot on planet Earth not to). Her company coughed up about sixteen million, Gotham got a newly rebuilt railway, and Henshaw took most of the credit— everything had gone according to plan.
"However," Henshaw said. "This obviously couldn't have been done alone— I'd now like to hand the floor over to my wonderful business partner during this endeavor, Elias Incorporated's CEO, Meredith Elias!"
There was another round of applause as Henshaw moved away from the podium and gestured to her.
Meredith smiled again, waving a polite hand. She stepped up onto the stage in her white stilettos and adjusted the microphone slightly.
"Thank you, Brian." She nodded at the man who had stepped back to her left. "And thank you all so much, as well."
Meredith cleared her throat, and before she could start to speak, she noticed a figure in the front row of the audience. Lucius Fox, in a dark jacket and black slacks, smiled at her with twinkling eyes.
Meredith's chest welled with joy for the first time in months.
She turned her attention back to the audience. "As you all know, my sudden role as CEO was a little... unconventional. My father, unfortunately, is currently unable to be here due to health complications, and after a lot of careful deliberation, he asked me to fill his shoes for the foreseeable future. Now, as I'm sure you also all know, my father's shoes are some pretty big shoes to fill—"
That got her a few chuckles from the crowd.
"—But I was willing to take that challenge in stride. I'll be very transparent— it was a hard adjustment at first, because it all had to happen so quickly, and I suddenly didn't have the support of my father by my side like I had previously thought I would've. It's also scary— being so young— albeit capable— and having what feels like the weight of the world thrust upon your shoulders."
Her eyes flashed to Lucius again. She smiled slightly. "I was given a lot of guidance, and a lot of different opinions, all of which I deeply appreciated. But, quickly, I realized that the person I really had to sit down with was myself, and I had to ask, what do I value?" She paused. "What do I care about?
And I came to the conclusion that the answer was, and always has been, very clear: this city, its people, and its success, are what I care about most. I understand a lot of you probably have a few... preconceived notions, about me, because of my age and inexperience. But I do want to promise the people of Gotham that, during my time as CEO of Elias Incorporated, however long that may be, my first priority is to you above all else.
This electronic railway initiative with Wayne Enterprises is only the beginning of a long line of projects and innovations to benefit Gotham City, and on behalf of Elias Incorporated, I want to thank you all again for your support and consideration. Have a great night."
The audience exploded into applause once more.
FIVE YEARS LATER
"... in our EliasTech division, we've always had a solid hand in private security on a more corporate scale, but I'm truly excited that we are beginning to delve into more private security for the average consumer as well," Meredith finished.
After a moment of silence, the room of reporters began to barrage her with a thousand questions and camera flashes all at once.
She was currently speaking at a press conference for EliasTech's newest security software launch and was starting to grow tired. It was only two in the afternoon, but she still had a full schedule ahead of her, filled with luncheons, meetings, and paperwork.
Another reporter stood out to her.
"Ms. Elias, Ms. Elias!"
Meredith gestured towards the woman.
"Angela Wilkinson, Gotham Gazette. Any comments from your father on the new product?"
Meredith nodded curtly. "No. As you all know, my father is currently in remission from cancer—"
The room broke into a soft applause.
Meredith smiled. "Thank you. And has decided to take some much-needed vacation away from the corporate world to spend time with family. That being said, I do have somewhat of another exciting announcement— after going back and forth with him for the past few weeks, I believe we are officially going to be moving forward with changing my title from interim CEO of Elias Incorporated to full-time CEO."
The room exploded into another chorus of aggressive questions.
It was going to be a long time before Meredith could even think about her head hitting a pillow.
Angela from the Gotham Gazette somehow got to the front again. "Going off of that, Ms. Elias— firstly, congratulations on the well-deserved title— secondly, social media and media outlets alike are starting to coin you as the 'Businesswoman of the Century.' How do you feel about that?"
Meredith blew a short breath from between her lips. "Well, that's certainly a major label. And while I'm honored, I definitely wouldn't consider myself the best. I am obviously proud of my achievements in the last five years, and if that's what they want to call me online, then I can only hope I'll continue to live up to it in the future."
"Other questions..." she hummed.
The businesswoman scanned the crowd, finally landing on a male reporter— African, probably in his thirties, wearing a collared shirt so tightly buttoned it looked stifling and a thick-rimmed pair of black glasses.
She locked eyes with him and nodded. "Yes, you."
The room quickly hushed into silence as the man cleared his throat, repeatedly glancing up and down at his notepad multiple times. Meredith smiled kindly, even though she was starting to grow irritated. She needed to get out of here, and he seemed new at this.
"Perry White, Daily Planet," he introduced himself. "And, again, congratulations on the title, Ms. Elias. What are your thoughts on the new, so-called "Bat Vigilante" rumors starting up in Gotham City?"
Meredith hesitated. She'd heard bits and pieces on the news— some man, or... whatever it was— dressed in all black, going around at night and allegedly beating the crap out of lowlife thugs. She figured it was just another crackhead-gone-wild story that would make its way through the news cycle in about three-to-five days, give or take— she didn't realize it was still going on.
"I..." She paused. "Am not sure I know enough about the situation to make a true comment. But, whatever it is, I have faith that the GCPD is handling it and will deal with it appropriately. I do, however, know that people are starting to get scared, and to that I say, do what we always do when a psychopath like this is on the loose— lock your doors and your windows, and stay out of trouble, especially at night."
Meredith thought about what she was saying and chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. "Or, hey. Try to go find this... Bat Man, and see what happens. I'm no cop, but I'm sure they'd appreciate the help."
The room of reporters all chuckled lightly.
"Let's keep that last part off the record," she teased.
"Bat...man," Perry from the Daily Planet hummed, tilting his head and scribbling in his notebook. "That's catchy."
Meredith smirked. "I try."
She stacked the pile of papers in front of her and tucked them under her arm. "And on that note, I want to thank you all for your time. Any other follow-up questions can be sent to my publicist, you know the drill."
Meredith walked off of the podium and out of the conference room, into the lobby of Elias Tower. She was immediately greeted by her usual team, all waiting with a million more questions, as they fell into stride alongside her.
"That was great, Meredith—"
"Thank you."
"—So, we really need to get an answer on this Kord Industries joint venture—"
"Tell Ted I'll speak to him personally."
"And the marketing proposal for aerospace in Brazil?"
"Leave it on my desk, I'll have it back to you by Sunday."
"When are we going to talk about the Lowdersky account?"
"Check with Janette, I think I have time tomorrow at six."
"How about the—?"
Her personal phone suddenly started to vibrate in her jacket pocket. Meredith stopped walking, and the group paused with her. She held up a hand as she pulled out her phone, checking the caller ID.
"Can you all excuse me for one moment?" she asked. "It's my mother."
They all nodded, dispersing to elsewhere in the large lobby.
Meredith walked closer to a seating area in the corner, holding the phone up to her ear. "Hey, if Dad is freaking out about my press conference, you can tell him that it went great, as I said it wou—"
Sniffling came through the other line, and Meredith's heart dropped. She immediately sat down in one of the leather chairs, knitting her brows. "Mom?"
It sounded like the woman was sobbing.
Meredith started to panic. "Mom? Hey— what— what's going on? What happened?"
"Marrie," her mother's voice came across as broken. A sob tore through the line again.
Suddenly her father was speaking. "Meredith."
"Dad?"
"I... am not entirely sure if it's true."
"If what? If what's true?"
A pause.
"Have you seen the news?"
"The news?" Meredith repeated. "No, I haven't seen the news! I just got out of an hour-long press conference and I'm about to get into a car to go to my luncheon with—"
"He's back, Meredith."
"Wh—" she paused, then furrowed her brows deeply. "Who's back?"
* * *
Meredith slammed open the door of her Ferrari and practically flew out of it. The October wind ripped at her hair, prickling her skin.
Ahead of her, at the gates of Wayne Manor, arguably of the largest groups of reporters and media trucks she had ever seen.
And inside of the Manor itself?
A light was on.
Her heart stopped.
The gates were closed— perhaps she could go around back? She remembered the passcode.
Before she could give it a second thought, she was in her car again and pushing seventy up the backroad. When she got there, she pressed the code into the small keypad.
"Please, please, please..." she muttered.
The light turned green.
She grinned.
The gate, albeit rusted and cracked, squeaked open.
Meredith drove to the parking pad and hit the brakes, barely remembering to shove the car key into the pocket of her white blazer. She sprinted as fast as she possibly could in stilettos, nearly stumbling over the overgrown weeds sprouting from in between the worn cobblestone.
She turned the corner to the back patio, and there stood a figure.
Tall, wearing a blue crewneck and dark jeans. Messy black hair and broad shoulders— his back was turned to her. He was on the phone.
Meredith almost burst into tears. She actually might've— she couldn't tell.
She was scared to say his name as if it would make him disappear again.
But she did, nonetheless.
"Bruce?" she whispered silently, like some sort of prayer, like he was some sort of angel.
He went rigid.
The boy— man, now— turned to her. Stormy blue eyes and strong brow, pink lips and pale skin.
Meredith's cheeks felt wet. She was too stunned to move.
"Bruce?" she tried again.
He looked older. He looked scared. He looked... dark.
And then it's like the world reset, and time started to move once again. He shrugged flippantly, putting the phone to his ear once again. "Hey, let me put you on hold for a sec."
He dropped his hand to his side and stared at her as if he was looking right through her. "Listen, you can't be back here. If you've got questions, you can go get in line at the front with everyone else."
Meredith blinked. A million words wanted to come out of her mouth but none did.
He simply held up the phone again and turned around to start walking inside. "Sorry, just the media. You know how it is. Anyway—"
"Do you not know who I am?" Was the only rational conclusion Meredith could come to. She found her feet moving by themselves. "I'm—"
Bruce glanced back over his shoulder. "I know who you are."
"Well— o- oh." Meredith faltered. "Well, I'm... sorry, for showing up unannounced, but..."
He just kept talking to whoever was on the other line, continuing to walk into the house.
"Oliver's dead," Meredith suddenly blurted out.
Bruce went still.
"Yacht accident. Him and his parents... no survivors. I helped fund search-and-rescues for almost two years, but no signs of anything. Only the hull of the boat found in the Atlantic."
There was no response.
"My dad had cancer. Bad. He's in remission now. He and my mom have been in the French countryside for the last few years. Devin lives in Florida. Miami. He met a girl, he likes her a lot."
Silence.
"They're, uh... we had a funeral for you. My dad spoke at it. He cried. That's the second time I've ever seen him cry in my entire life, and the last."
The trees rustled around them. Reporters clamored in the distance.
"Devin told me he met up with Alfred a few times in England when he was at Oxford, so he's also doing well—"
"Meredith," Bruce spun around, brow creased angrily.
She stared at him.
"Don't you see I'm busy?" he gestured to the device in his hand. "Go away."
Now, she was the silent one.
"Sorry about that..." Bruce spoke into the phone again. He practically waltzed back into the Manor and closed the sliding doors behind him, disappearing into the house.
And with that, her heart froze, fell out of her chest, and shattered onto the ground.
* * *
Hi everyone! It's great to be back— life has been really tough lately, with school, work, and also my health— I've been super sick on and off for the last few weeks, but I'm now back at home for xmas break and am starting to feel a lot better! I think this is the last flashback chapter, and I'm so sad to be done with young Bruce/Mare :( Sorry this chapter might've been a little lackluster, but I think it's important to see more of why she hates Bruce lol. Also, please don't hate Bruce too much! I promise he'll have a redemption arc lmao ;) Thank you all so much for 150k+ and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter!
xo Alexa