Drift

Others began to join. With Lucius Fox's presence, there was bound to be interference. He was like a black hole sucking in all the attention. The rich, the regular employees, the mobsters pretending not to be mobsters–there were many itching to talk to the billionaire. Aaron shifted away and ended up attaching himself to Hadiyah. She was quiet and articulate and limited her **** intake.

"You don't drink?" Hadiyah asked after a while of hanging around.

"Not really. I specifically asked for apple juice every time."

There was a flash of surprise on her face as well as approval. "Same." The yellow substance in her wine glass swished. Hadiyah asked, "Religious reasons or something else?"

"I think **** culture is weird, is all."

What he did for Riko and Izzy, for example, was an exception, not the norm. He would typically never leave his house to drink unless he really, really needed to, like if he was **** to do overtime for three weeks straight or his supervisor was begging him to come.

"Fair enough."

Again, they were identical in temperament. Conversation was natural and they began talking as if they were old friends. Hours passed and as the atmosphere of the charity event grew lighter and tipsier they became more and more isolated. Closer.

"You two look like you're having fun." A sudden appearance and comment from the well-dressed Jace. There was a strange discord in his voice. He stood beside Hadiyah, confident and assured.

Hadiyah rolled her eyes and nudged him back with her elbow. "Relax, Jace. We're just talking."

Jace raised a hand, smiling. "I know, I know. I invited you as my date so I don't want you straying too far."

"Date is a loose word," Hadiyah shot back. "I said I would accompany you."

"Same difference."

A cheeky smile from Jace. A half-laugh, half-sigh from Hadiyah. Aaron eyed the pair. 'Am I imagining it or is there romantic tension between the two?'

"You're impossible."

"Sorry, sorry, just joking." With a laugh and a graceful nod at Aaron, Jace went to refill his drink. Hadiyah sighed again.

"Don't worry about him," Hadiyah said. "We've known each other for a decade now, since boarding school. He gets overprotective sometimes."

"Oh. I see."

"He's a nice guy," Hadiyah said. "I could never hate him even if he does sometimes go a little far."

"I get it. He seems cool."

Inevitably, there came an announcement from Tanya. She thanked the employees from attending and her friends for coming despite the adjustments on the date. She listed some names, including Aaron's, her family's, and dozens of others. Then she said the name Ethan and the ambivalence of the room shifted.

"And of course, most of all, I'd like to thank Ethan. He was twenty-seven. He was young. He had a bright future." Tanya sighed wearily and placed a hand under her cheek. "He was more than an executive assistant. He was family. His name will not be forgotten in the walls of Wayne Enterprises."

Tanya was resolute and strong. The audience was convinced of her compassion. Aaron sipped quietly amongst them.

'Cheating on your husband while exchanging smiles and tragedies. You're more impressive than I thought, Tanya.'

There was a moment of silence.

"For Wayne Enterprises!" Tanya raised her glass high and proud. "For the future!"

The room burst into applause and clicks of glass. Aaron did it with his duo, Hadiyah, who was smiling thinly. She enjoyed the speech but not the gulps of wine going down people's throats.