Title: Skyscrapers and Shoes
Author: Superag
Rating: PG
Feedback: Of Course!
Synopsis: It's Chlex
Disclaimer: All characters are WB and Smallville owned; I own nothing here.
Dedication: To my dad for taking the time.
“Mr. Luthor, there’s a call on line 1 for you sir.” Lex looked around at the other men in dark suits sitting around the large table in the middle of the boardroom. Things were heated to say the least with all of the plants in Japan ready to be bought out from underneath him. The board members all looked flatly at the man sitting at the head of the table. They could have just as well be all holding guns in a firing line.
He knew they had felt the last years. Profits had plummeted after the last typhoon over Southeast Asia and the rising costs to keep the small unimportant plants running in the United States. The accident outside the plant in Metropolis had embroiled the company in a long court battle that ended in dozens of families getting multimillion dollar payouts for what the plantiffs called illegal dumping. He still saw it as a simple accident of shutting a valve off to keep the drainage from the lake.
There had been a vote only a few months ago that led to a no confidence ruling of his favor. He now had to prove that he was worthy of the same job that his father had created, tried to take away, give back, took away again, and ultimately left to him.
“I’ll have to call them back,” he answered gruffly as he clicked the button back off. “Now gentlemen, I think we can come to some sort of agreement on our Japanese counterparts.”
Another man stood up and closed the leather binder of information that laid in front of him on the table. “Mr. Luthor, in light of recent events at the executive level, Mr. Horoshi has insisted that I and Mr. Lamberg take over the project in Tokyo directly. We are actually leaving tomorrow morning directly to take care of the paperwork.” The man sat down as the other board members nodded and agreed in the move.
“The vote of no confidence is not effective until the executive committees return with their verdict. Until that moment, this company is still LUTHORCORP!” Lex threw the binder across the desk, having pages fly in different directions when it slammed against the overly thick glass planes on the top floor. He marched around to the other side of the boardroom, scowling at the members of his board all the while. “This has been my corporation for almost a decade. You don’t understand what you are planning to do will bury us!” Lex marched back to his head of the table and leaned on his fists.
“Sir, if you wouldn’t mind,” the youngest board member, would have been Julian’s age now handed him another binder,” page 22 goes over the restructuring. The companies’ profits are marginal at best. Your father’s sell off before his death caused irreparable damage to the foundation of the corporation and then the stock market dropped to the point that repurchasing those same companies back wasn’t worth the paper the contract was signed on the month before."
Lex twisted his neck out of joint at the point made by the young man. The stock market had hurt everyone in the room, including the billionaire. He had lost tens of millions more in all the overseas markets. “Hanson and Hickman are coming in to repair some of the damage. The chart on p. 50 explains the breakdown of the different conglomerates that will portioned out.” The man stopped as Lex looked at the multiple colored sheet seeing his trademark violet was one square of the thirty, thirty pieces that used to be all his.
Lex sat down again at the head of the table. Every name in the room was a in box of a different color. The board members fell silent as they watched Lex glide his hand over the small violet box and shut the binder. Getting up from his chair again, he buttoned one button on his suit jacket. “Good day gentleman,” he dropped as he silently exited the boardroom.
Slowing up his pace, he watched as the men started more deliberations in the room without him. He walked into his top floor office and stared out the window and remembered looking at the cars from the same spot as a child. It was surreal if he thought about it. He got his business know how from a corn factory in rural Kansas, his best friend was everyone’s favorite superhero, he literally lived through failed marriages one after another for what was before him, having the highest office in the city. And for what?
He thought about the small violet box in the binder. It was actually a good offer for the board to even share at all. The no confidence vote could have simply had him escorted from the building the afternoon of the vote. As much as he hated it at first, the Kansas plant had become a livelihood for most of the surrounding areas of Smallville and, personally, the reason he had even stuck it out after the market crash. People were there that meant something, more than just a suit and tie.
He sat down at his glass desk and brushed the small flakes of dust from the picture frame on his desk. He smiled thinking his father had never had pictures on his desk, just antiquated trinkets and gizmos. Looking at the bookshelves in the corner, more pictures meshed between binders of quarterly reports that held no value anymore. Pulling his pen out of his jacket, he paused before hand writing on the legal pad in front of him.
To Whom It May Concern –
I, Lex Luthor, tender my resignation effective immediately. My lawyers will draw up the transfer papers for the plant in Smallville to my current plant manager, one Gabe Sullivan.
He signed the simple note and ripped the piece of paper off the pad. He sat the pen down on the desk and straightened the few useless trinkets there. Grabbing the picture off the desk, he shoved it into his briefcase before grabbing the others off the shelf.
He walked out of the office as his secretary stopped him. “You are needed back in the board room. They thought you would be returning to discuss…”
“Here, and make sure you get a damn good severance package.” He handed her the note and her mouth dropped open as the older woman tried to say something back to him. He nodded sweetly and kissed her cheek. “Call me sometime and we’ll have you and Frank over.”
She watched Lex with arm full of pictures hit the elevator button and wave sadly to her. She walked into the boardroom and sat the letter down in front of the young man. She picked up her purse and waited for the next elevator to take her home; it was time to retire.
*********
Lex dropped his briefcase and the pictures under his arms next to the table and flipped through the bills. She must have cleaned, he said to himself, smelling the light jasmine in the air. He threw the bills down and walked through the main living room of the penthouse and could hear noises coming from down the hall. He walked carefully around the random objects in the floor and followed the noises.
Opening the door, he heard someone warn, “Watch it! Slowly.” He slowed his pace opening the door and barely missed the light auburn hair from behind the door. Looking down, Lovelia handed Lex a CareBear, CheerBear. How delightful, he thought. Am I that easy to read? “Thank you,” he squatted down and kissed her on top of the head.
“Daddy,” she pointed down at her feet and rolled on her back trying to point out the new socks and shoes. Lex ran a hand underneath her and sat her back up.
“Mom bought you some new shoes I see.” He felt the bottoms of the shoes and noticed the change in the material. The soft suede material had given way to a more rubberlike sole.
“Shoe!” Lex resigned himself to the floor and sat down cross legged next to her as she continued picking out other bears to drop in daddy’s lap. “Bear!”
“Bear, that’s right. Where mommy?” Lovelia looked over at the cracked door and pointed just as the toilet flushed. “Ahh, thank you.” He kissed her on the top of the head and sat all the toys neatly around her in a circle, not that they lasted like that for long.
Chloe walked across the playroom from the bathroom and greeted her husband with a kiss. “We were in town at the new mall across from Luthorcorp. I called, but you were in a meeting.” They sat down on the small couch and watched as Lovelia stacked the plush toys up on top of each other and tried to lay down.
“Let’s just say the meeting was brutal and I’m done with that.” Chloe wrapped her hand in his and saw his long lost look.
“What happened?” She spoke softly, hoping he wasn’t overly upset.
He glanced over in her direction and wrapped his arm around her, kissing her neck. He sat in silence and felt Chloe’s fingers graze over his hand longingly. He knew she had been worried about him since the vote. He sighed, never taking his eyes of Lovelia. She and Chloe were his pride and joy. A smile crept across his face as he looked back into Chloe’s eyes and started to giggle slightly, “I quit.”
Chloe stared at him silently. She closed her eyes and leaned into his shoulder and silently thanked the heavens however awful it was on him. He was finally free.
Lex felt her grip on his arm. Leaning down against her, she still smelled like the dusting products she had used in the main hall. She did it all. He still couldn’t believe he had become this lucky, and yet this destroyed. I just quit the only thing I’m capable of, he thought to himself and suddenly became distant again.
Chloe glanced over at him and grimaced at the sadness that exuded from his face. Letting go of his hand, she sat up on the couch as he relaxed further. “Well, in honor of Father’s Day weekend, we’ve got something for you.”
“Chloe, you know I…” She put out her hand and smiled at Lex. Sitting back into the couch again, rolled his eyes playfully.
“Lovelia,” Chloe called across to her. Lex sat up and looked over at Chloe before standing up. She grabbed his pants leg and pulled him back down into the couch. “No, stay.”
Lex watched as Lovelia pushed the pile of bears to the side and concentrated on slapping her hands on the floor. She set her feet up and pushed off with her legs and made Lex jump from his spot when she looked as she had put too much wait behind her push. Chloe put her hand on Lex’s thigh to reassure him. Pushing herself up, she wobbled slightly while leaning over for Cheerbear. “Come here baby,” Lex whispered barely audible as Chloe’s face beamed.
With several hard plods across the floor, she fell into Lex’s lap on the couch and handed him the bear again. “Daddy, bear!” Lex put the bear beside him and pulled her up into a hug. Chloe sat down next to the two of them and placed her arm around Lex. Through the strange happy tears, he thought, this is what it is truly all about.
THE END
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