Iman Avesta

A woman with a WayneTech tablet and a nametag: Iman Avesta. Short dark brown hair, green eyes, black earrings, and a navy blue business attire, she was a high-value woman and someone whom he would never interact with on a normal day. Yet there was sharp recognition in her eyes.

'Oh. It's her.'

He remembered Iman Avesta. She used to come to his university campus as a guest speaker on behalf of the Gotham municipality–talking about the GCPD, the American government, and other nonsense. Essentially, she was a Special Agent whose job was to explain to students her work and to potentially recruit them. Since many of his classes involved the government, she came in once or twice a semester to fill in the holes of the curriculum. Aaron, though quiet, would be **** to converse with her and they became small-time acquaintances. Not friends or lovers or anything remotely resembling an intimate relationship but professional and cordial. Aaron had known she worked at Wayne Technologies as a manager but the exact details eluded him since he had only caught glimpses of her in the building. This was the first time he had ever gotten this close to her.

An awkward silence fell. Iman was going to the foyer as well and since they were near the top it would take a while to make the journey. Even so, they weren't in college anymore and they could break the atmosphere without being weird about it. Of course, Aaron wasn't going to be the one to do that. He rather liked the silence.

"Hey there. Aaron, right? From Gotham University? It's been a long, long time," Iman greeted, smiling. "You look like you've had better days."

He was pretty sure that was just his normal face. "Overtime," he said without elaborating.

Iman chuckled and held the tablet to her abdomen. "I work twelve hours a day everyday. I know the feeling."

Standing side-by-side, they weren't making eye contact and Aaron side-glanced her. "Judging from that tablet you're holding, I'm guessing you're a manager?"

"Much higher," she corrected. "Director of HR and Director of Analytics."

Aaron blinked. "For Wayne Technologies?"

"For Wayne Technologies," Iman confirmed, smiling widely despite her professional composure. "Exciting, huh?"

"It's amazing," Aaron admitted.

'She's in her early thirties and already a director? That's beyond amazing. It usually takes decades to get that high up.'

"Last I heard you were in the secret services or whatever," Aaron said, leading her on. He recalled vividly how she worked as a Special Agent. She was in her twenties then. To retire so soon and come to Wayne Enterprises was strange. There had to be more to the story–something that **** her out of that lucrative job.

"Not exactly." Iman frowned. "I was…involved in a specific program and found myself disliking it. I left and Mr. Wayne granted me a place here."

"Mr. Wayne?" Aaron repeated. The puzzle pieces started to fit. "I didn't know you were in that upper circle."

Iman shook her head. "I merely helped with an investigation involving Mr. Wayne and he thought he owed me. Nothing more."

Aaron's deductive mind worked fast.

'So it was Batman related. Interesting.'

"Well–"