After their arrangement of becoming friends, the pair didn't see each other until Thursday. During those five days, Skylar tried to catch up on her lessons and attended some more courses voluntarily. She had already so many things to tell Bruce, wanting to know his opinions and take on various things.
Meanwhile, she never missed the news. Every morning the newscast would talk about how many criminals Batman and Robin caught the night before. Commissioner Gordon has also released a statement, about Arkham Asylum and the improvement they had made on making sure no one could escape again.
Skylar was now more sure, Gotham had way more action than Metropolis. Somehow, she wasn't concerned. Maybe it was experiencing everything back in Metropolis, coming face to face with death a couple of times while Superman was handling whoever attacked the city, but she continued her life normally. A lot of people seemed to do that.
Another reason she watched the news was to see whether Hawkins and his boss, Mandragora had been captured. Bruce told her over text that it'd be public, no major media outlet would miss that kind of news. However, so far nothing was on.
Meanwhile, Skylar had also finally gathered her courage to call her family. She told them she moved to Gotham and also transferred schools because of more possible job opportunities there. As expected her parents were surprised but quickly adapted. They also haven't mentioned anything out of the ordinary which really gave her relief on Hawkins wasn't going after them.
Around Thursday noon Bruce texted Skylar. He asked whether 8 PM was a good time for her and if she could find the restaurant on her own. Skylar typed the restaurant's name and saw that it was a real fancy one.
It was in one of the skyscrapers, with a view of the whole city. It was also close to her apartment, about a fifteen-minute walking distance. She quickly texted him back saying the time was good and she'd manage on her own.
After that, she watched a movie, took a shower and started getting ready. It was a fancy restaurant and she didn't want to seem either underdressed or overdressed for it. It took her a while to choose a dress that fit for it.
Around seven-thirty she walked out of the apartment. It wasn't a long walk and she was at the entrance of the skyscraper shortly. Skylar went in and walked to the elevator. She had no idea which floor the restaurant was in but she hoped the buttons in the elevator would help her.
When she stepped out she was greeted with an amazing view of the city. All the tables were distant from each other, meaning people would easily be able to have private conversations. The light was a bit dim but the candles in the middle of the tables helped the brightness enough.
A woman greeted her. " Hello, welcome to the Hillstone, your name please?" she asked. Skylar didn't know what to answer. This didn't seem like a place you could just walk in without reservations. Did Bruce made one?
" Miss?" the woman asked again. Skylar gulped. " Skylar Jones," she said. The woman smiled and started looking down at her chart. After a minute she looked up again. "Yes, reservation for two, follow me please,"
Then she took Skylar to a table, farthest away from the others and with possibly the best view in there. " Your waiter will be with you any moment," she said then left. Right after she did a man dressed in a professional outfit came.
" Good evening Miss, I will be your waiter for the night. While you are waiting for your guest may I offer you a beverage?" he asked. " Uh, sure, water please," she replied and the waiter nodded.
While she was waiting Skylar took out her phone and sent Bruce a text saying she was there. Then she started to go through her social media to spend the time. She was so invested in a flood she was reading on Twitter when she heard a cough.
" Oh, hi," she said with a smile. " Hi, you're early," Bruce said as he was sitting down. Skylar shrugged. "Yeah, the apartment was close to here and I thought I'd walk," she said. The waiter approached the table again.
" Mr.Wayne, welcome, what would you like to drink?" he asked him. Bruce looked over and saw that Skylar was having water. " I'll join my friend and stick to water," he answered. Skylar gave him a look. " You can drink if you want, I have a 9 AM class," she said.
Bruce tilted his head. "No, it's better if I don't drink, tomorrow's going to be a busy day," he answered. "How so?" Skylar asked him. Bruce pouted as he opened the menu. " It's going down tonight, I'll probably have to fly to Metropolis for a testimony," he answered.
" Oh," Skylar said, opening the other menu and looking at the food. " You know, I'm so glad you didn't pick a fancy-ass European restaurant where I wouldn't be able to understand what the title meant and order something I didn't know," she said with a smile.
He looked up to her from the menu with a smile. " Good job for me then," he chuckled. For a few seconds Skylar just gazed at him, focused on his face, his eyes, the way they looked at her. She got lost in the moment.
" Skylar, what do you think?" Bruce asked her. That's when she snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry, what?" she apologized. " Do you prefer chicken or fish?" Bruce asked again. "Chicken, definitely," she answered.
After that Bruce quickly gave the order. " Trust me, you'll love it," he said after the waiter left. Skylar bit her lip. "We'll see," she joked.
Then Bruce coughed. " I suppose I should start telling you about the thing," he started. Skylar nodded. " Hawkins sent over the company's files to me, which kind of proves they're a shell company and I've turned them over to the police department. There will be two simultaneous raids, one in Metropolis and one in Gotham since Mandragora is here," he explained.
Skylar was drinking water when Bruce was telling her about the last part. " Wait, what do you mean he's here, in Gotham?" she asked, fear coming out on her tone. " Is there any way he knows I'm here? Am I in danger?" she quickly followed up.
Bruce shook his head. "No, Skylar, I told you I'd protect you, as far as he's aware you paid your debt," he said. Skylar furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" she asked. Bruce shrugged. " I told you I'd take care of it, I told Hawkins if he wanted the deal to work he should let go of you, get his money and forget about it or he could kiss the deal goodbye,"
She looked at him in disbelief. " You potentially jeopardized the deal that would put away a lot of bad men just for me?" she asked. Bruce took a sip from his water. " Skylar, as a business student, you should know, all the other in Metropolis were fighting over for a deal with me, I was the one who picked. It doesn't really matter what I asked for because they would give it to me, they had to, they needed this deal. So, using that in your benefit was just a bonus. But if you'd like a proper answer, yes, I did," he explained.
Skylar looked at him trying to make up a sentence in her mind. " When you put it like that, it does make sense, yeah, I think I even remember something like asking whatever you want in a negotiation if you know you have the upper hand from one of my past courses, it just surprised me, that's all,"
Bruce shrugged. " Anyway, even with just one look I could tell the numbers they put in the file were fake and after some calls and digging, it wasn't hard to prove they were illegitimate. That gave the DA's office enough proof to take action. You know, actually," he said looking at his watch, " It should go down in a few minutes," he continued.
" Amazing," Skylar said. " Although, I have one question," she said. Bruce nodded gesturing her to continue. " You said you could understand the numbers were fake with one look. How did you do it?"
Bruce smiled. " Easy, if you know where to properly check and if you have the right knowledge. You check the other companies they've worked with, where they put their money into and how much they gained back. For example if they do a business or an investment as Hawkins likes to do with a small company, let's say with a yearly income of two hundred thousand it doesn't make sense he invests fifty thousand there and gains seven hundred thousand back. Something's completely missing," he explained.
Then the waiter came back with the food. Skylar took a bite out of it. "That's amazing," she commented. " The food or my business mind? My answer is I know for both," Bruce joked. Skylar giggled in response. " The chicken's pretty good too, you were right,"
They talked for a little more and right after they were finished with the food Bruce's phone vibrated. He quickly took a look at it. " The raid in Metropolis was successful, they got Hawkins," he mumbled. " Great, what about the boss?"
Bruce sighed. "They haven't informed me yet but I'm sure they'll get him too," he said. Then he asked for the check. He paid without letting Skylar even try to pay. " Don't, I invited you out tonight so I pay," he said.
Skylar rolled her eyes. " Fine, but that just means the next one is on me, alright mister?" she asked. Bruce chuckled. " Sure," he answered. Then they got up. " Good evening Mr.Wayne," the woman at the entrance said as they passed by.
When they got out of the building Bruce turned to her. " Can I walk you back to the apartment?" he asked. Skylar shrugged. "Sure, if you've got time to spare," she said. Bruce nodded and they started walking.
" By the way, Skylar, from a friend's point of view, you look amazing tonight," he said. Obviously, she immediately blushed at his words. "Thank you," she let out. " I was worried I'd look out of place when I looked up the place online,"
" Nonsense, I'm sure you'd still look good," he replied. Skylar nodded and smiled as a response.