Being the youngest CEO in a city as crime-ridden as Gotham was no easy task.

Timothy Drake had coveted the post at the absurdly young age of fifteen a few years after the sinister attack on his parents that killed Janet and left Jack in a coma. He took over Drake Corporate, a company facing bankruptcy, at a time when the majority of the people thought that he too would perish along with his father's company.

But he managed to turn the tables around, bringing Drake Corporate back to its former power and establishing a stronghold in the city's commercial sector. Rising from the ashes, Drake Corporate became a threat to those already established in the field, including but not limited to Wayne Enterprises.

From a bankrupt company to a worthy business rival, Timothy had ascended those steps in a surprisingly short amount of time.

Therefore, Bruce Wayne could not underestimate the young new face in Gotham's corporate world. And he certainly couldn't overlook the suspicion that a lot was going on behind the facade of Drake Corporate. It wasn't possible for companies fallen to that level of desperation to rise and establish their name again in just a few years.

He couldn't be sure but he had an instinctive feeling that the genius CEO was hiding a lot of secrets behind his clear-as-glass eyes. And he was right.

Timothy Drake had vowed to do all he could to survive, it did not matter to him whether his approach to ensuring his survival was right or wrong.

***

NOTE: This is an AU story in which Timothy Drake never got adopted by Bruce Wayne. As a result, he never became a vigilante, he inherited Drake Corporate and became the CEO at a very young age. As this is set in an alternate universe, the canon events and timelines have also been altered. For more details, check out my Profile Guide.