"Good evening, gentlemen. I hope I haven't kept you waiting."
Kieran entered the conference room with a gentle smile, one hand resting casually in the pocket of his immaculate suit. The four men seated around the polished table immediately turned toward him, each offering a greeting as he crossed the room. Kieran knew all of them by reputation, though only one or two had ever crossed paths with him personally.
"Not at all, Mr. Everleigh," said Harold Whitmore, a silver-haired real-estate developer whose family had owned property in Gotham for three generations. He rose to shake Kieran's hand. "It's good to finally meet with you. I heard you only just returned from Star City."
"Please, Harold, Kieran is fine." Kieran shook his hand warmly before moving to the next man.
Richard Bellamy was the youngest of the group, a technology entrepreneur in his early forties whose company had recently begun making serious money in Gotham. He gave Kieran a firm handshake and smiled. "I was beginning to wonder if Star City had convinced you to stay."
"Tempting, but no. The weather is lovely, but Gotham has its charms."
Victor Halden, an older banker with a carefully trimmed mustache and the reserved demeanor of a man who had spent his entire life deciding whether people were worth his time, gave Kieran a polite nod.
"I've heard quite a bit about you, Mr. Everleigh."
"Hopefully nothing too terrible."
Halden's mouth twitched with amusement. "Nothing I couldn't repeat in polite company."
The last man, Samuel Crane, laughed as he stood. He was a port investor with broad shoulders and an expensive watch, the sort of man who seemed incapable of entering a room without making sure everyone noticed him.
Kieran briefly wondered when he first saw his last name if he was related to another crane he once knew.
"Sam Crane. We spoke briefly at the Wintergreen fundraiser last year."
"Of course." Kieran's smile widened. "You were arguing with a councilman about the city's harbor redevelopment."
"Because he was wrong."
"And I remember thinking you were remarkably confident for a man who hadn't yet convinced anyone else."
Crane laughed loudly. "And now we're sitting here talking about charity. Life's strange."
"Indeed it is."
Kieran took his seat at the head of the table, and the men gradually settled around him. Marcy had arranged everything beautifully. Four folders sat neatly in front of each businessman, each containing the preliminary plans for the charitable foundations they had discussed. Kieran rested his hands atop his own folder and looked around the room.
"Now," he said pleasantly, "let's get down to business, shall we?"
"Yes," Halden replied. "Let's."
"As mentioned when you first spoke with my assistant, there's nothing quite like Gotham. This is where I made my fortune, where the Continental became what it is today, and where my roots truly lie. I've had opportunities to invest elsewhere, but I believe there's something particularly valuable about investing in the city that gave you your start."
He opened his folder and glanced down at the documents inside.
"Which brings us to this."
Whitmore leaned forward.
"You're serious about funding these?"
"Very."
Kieran's answer came without hesitation.
"I haven't spoken with each of you individually but I've heard good things, and I've looked over the work you've already done. You have the resources, the connections, and, more importantly, the interest in actually doing something useful with both. I understand you've each been considering establishing your own foundations."
"We have," Whitmore admitted. "The problem is that establishing one properly isn't cheap."
"I know."
"We're talking offices, staff, legal representation, accounting, publicity, grants…" Bellamy began counting on his fingers before giving up. "It adds up quickly."
"Which is why I thought we should approach it differently."
Kieran leaned back in his chair.
"Rather than four men independently trying to build four organizations from scratch, we present a united front. Four separate foundations, each with its own focus and leadership, operating under one larger charitable initiative."
Crane frowned thoughtfully.
"So we'd be partners?"
"Partners in the public initiative, yes. The foundations themselves remain separate. That gives each of you control over your own organization while allowing us to share resources where it makes sense."
Halden tapped a finger against his folder.
"And the locations?"
Kieran smiled.
"Already identified."
Whitmore opened his folder and glanced through the preliminary property reports.
"These are the buildings you mentioned?"
"Several possibilities. Marcy's team has been scouting them for some time. They're in neighborhoods where the foundations could actually have an impact, rather than simply placing an expensive sign in a fashionable district and calling it philanthropy."
Bellamy nodded slowly.
"I like that."
"So do I," Crane said. "But again, the money is the issue."
Kieran's smile brightened.
"I think giving something back to Gotham is reason enough, but you know…" He paused deliberately, glancing from one man to the next. "Since we're discussing four separate charitable foundations, there are perfectly legitimate ways to structure donations, investments, and operating expenses. We're all businessmen here. I don't think I need to explain the benefits of charitable giving and the tax deductions associated with it."
Bellamy's eyebrows rose.
"I see where your head is."
"My head is in Gotham," Kieran replied with a soft laugh. "The tax benefits are simply one of the advantages of doing something useful with money we'd otherwise be spending elsewhere."
Halden finally opened his folder fully.
"You've already had lawyers look over this?"
"Preliminary work only. Nothing has been finalized, and I wouldn't expect any of you to sign anything today. Your attorneys should examine every agreement, every property, every donation structure, and every liability before we proceed."
That answer appeared to satisfy him.
"Good."
Kieran smiled.
"I'd rather have four lawyers tell us we're being overly cautious than one tell us afterward that we weren't cautious enough."
The men chuckled.
Kieran allowed the moment to settle before continuing.
"There is, however, one more thing I'd like to propose."
Crane looked up.
"What's that?"
"The launch."
Kieran closed his folder and folded his hands together.
"If we're going to do this, I don't want a press release buried on page fourteen of the Gotham Gazette. I want Gotham to know exactly what we're doing. I want the initiative introduced properly, with representatives from each foundation present, members of the city's business community, journalists, philanthropists, and anyone else who might contribute to the work."
Whitmore smiled.
"A gala."
"Exactly."
"And where were you thinking?"
Kieran's smile became almost playful.
"I have a rather nice hotel."
Crane laughed.
"The Continental?"
"The original Continental."
That caught their attention it was the most expensive location to try and book for events, not to mention the strict overview.
Kieran continued before anyone could interrupt.
"It would give us an elegant setting without forcing us to spend half the budget renting some ballroom for the evening. The hotel can handle the catering, security, staff, and accommodations for anyone coming from outside Gotham. We could invite city officials, donors, business leaders and members of the press. More importantly, the four of you would be able to introduce your respective foundations to Gotham as part of something larger."
Bellamy nodded.
"I'd be interested."
"So would I," Whitmore said.
Halden remained thoughtful, but he was already flipping through the proposed schedule.
"I'd like my attorneys to review the structure before I commit."
"As they should."
Halden looked up.
"But assuming they approve?"
Kieran smiled.
"Then I believe we could have something quite successful."
Crane leaned back in his chair, looking between the other men.
"I'll admit, I came here expecting a sales pitch."
Kieran laughed softly.
"And?"
"I think you already sold us."
"Excellent."
Kieran stood and extended his hand across the table.
"Then let's do this properly. Have your lawyers go through everything. If they have concerns, send them to Marcy and we'll address them. Once everyone is comfortable with the agreements, we'll finalize the properties, establish the foundations, and begin planning the gala."
One by one, the men stood.
Whitmore shook Kieran's hand first.
"I think this could be good for Gotham."
"I believe it can be."
Bellamy followed.
"And profitable."
Kieran gave him an amused look.
"Charitable."
"Charitable and profitable."
"Now you're speaking my language."
The room filled with laughter, and Kieran joined them easily, his smile never wavering.
As the four men gathered their folders and began discussing dates, lawyers, and possible names for their foundations, Kieran stepped toward the window and looked down at Gotham.
The city stretched beneath him, dark and enormous, its streets glowing beneath the evening sky.
Behind him, the businessmen continued talking about charity, philanthropy, and the good they intended to do.
Kieran listened with a pleasant smile.
Everything was coming together exactly as he had hoped.
****
"Listen Brock." Nolan said while he inspected the cane before him, "They don't actually like doing charity work no matter how hard they try to sell it."
"It's all about money." He continued, "The staffing isn't an issue; with the donations we will receive it will barely even dent anyone's wallets."
Brock nodded, "so, what's all of this for then. I know you're charitable but really four at one time?"
Kieran smiled, "It's a nice thing to do they are real charities after all but; Bruce won't even fathom the idea of stopping the land acquisitions."
"So all of this was just to stop Bruce from blocking your land purchases?" Brock inquired with a silly look on his face
Nolan clicked his tongue, "it wasn't the only reason, it's all apart of the big picture Brock. You know we still hide people right?"
"It's what we started on." Brock said with a grin
Nolan smiled, "Well it's getting harder to find clients not everyone needs to be hidden you know? So we have to expand our thinking."
"Hiding groups?"
Nolan laughed, "Not quite."