Compromising Circumstances (R)- Final Update & PDF (July 19th,11)

[Snark]

Great update Lexie

Oh Lex, What are you doing *bangs head aginst the wall*
I have faith that you will have an ulterior motive to why Lex said thank you and excepted the shares and in the final chapter everything will work out.

Thank you

[superag]

Finally got to read this one through and have to say I can't imagine these two ever getting past their business differences to become anymore than they have. That whole business with pleasure adage comes to mind here.

[kcsgirl82]

Thanks for the wonderful update!!
Lex and Chloe need to get their act together and communicate instead of assuming things.
I hope that everything will work out for them because despite how things may have started out with them it's obvious that they love one another very much!
Can't wait to read more!!!

[lexie]

A/N: And here's the end. I know some of you expected more than a single chapter to wrap this up, but I've settled on a long one to tie everything up. Hopefully, there won't be any loose ends.

Thank you all for your continuing support. Enjoy!


Now I'll have to get down to finishing my other two WIPs.


CHAPTER TWELVE: The Deal of a Lifetime

LEX'S OFFICE- LEXCORP- TWO DAYS LATER

“As your attorney I have to ask again, sir. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“Have you made the changes I requested?” replied Lex, scanning the document; this was the deal of a lifetime and one he couldn't afford to ruin.

“Yes. There are two copies,” said the older man, handing his client the duplicate and accepting his answer as final.

“I'll keep both in my safe to avoid any leaks. I trust you'll keep your word,” Lex told his lawyer, punching the code and putting the papers away.

“Of course,” agreed the attorney, locking his briefcase. “So everything's set...”

“Sir, wait!” exclaimed Lex's assistant, trying to stop the irate intruder from barging into her boss' inner sanctum. “I'm sorry, Mr Luthor,” apologised the flustered brunette.

“It's all right, Jennifer. That'll be all, Jackson.”

Waiting for the counsellor to be shown the way out, Lex observed the third man in the room with cool composure.

“So, Teague. Why is it I get the impression you aren't here to let me know in person what time our lawyers are meeting tomorrow?”

“You bet I'm not.” gritted Jason, punching Lex squarely in the jaw. “Bastard!” he spat at the bald billionaire, who wiped off the trickle of blood pouring from his cut lip. “How could you do what you did to her?”

“You're one to hurl accusations when you lent yourself to play a sick man's game.”

“I was honouring a dead man's wish. What excuse did you have?”

“Honouring a dead man's wish?! I thought you cared about Chloe. I should have never trusted you'd stop sending those damn poems when I found out about the codicil. You'd given me your word.”

“That was before I came across the documents Oliver had left in a sealed envelope. I wanted to see how far you'd go.”

“My God, Jason! Wasn't it enough to see your best friend almost destroy her when he was alive?”

“You could have told her the truth.”

“What's done is done now.”

“That's very convenient now that you have what you've always been after.”

“Don't presume to know what I think or want, Teague.”

“What exactly was your business with Oliver?”

“That's between Queen Industries' CEO and me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have work to do,” he stated in a controlled voice. “Jennifer, please, would you be so kind as to escort Mr Teague to the elevator?” he added, speaking into the intercom.

“If you ever come close to Chloe again...”

“I don't react very well to threats. And, as regards the nature of my rapport with your employer in the future, it only concerns the parties involved. You underestimate her if you think she can't speak for herself, and you underestimate me if you believe I won't answer back the next time you dare raise a hand against me.”

“Sir?”

“Yes, Jennifer. Mr Teague and I are done. Would you be so kind as to tell security to make sure he arrives safely to his car?

“I hope your revenge was worth it,” said Jason through clenched teeth.

As the acid-etched doors closed behind his assistant and Oliver Queen's trusted friend and lawyer, Lex sat back on his swivel chair and, taking a deep breath, took his laptop out of hibernation and maximised the window to re-read the e-mail he'd been drafting before Jackson's arrival.


CHLOE'S APARTMENT- STAR CITY

Chloe was in her pyjamas, getting ready to shut down her computer to watch a rerun of Casablanca on TCM when her phone rang. She should have disconnected it; the truth of the matter was she hadn't been feeling up to talking with anyone for the last two days. In fact, her mood had been so despondent she'd been urged by Jason and her assistant to take some time off and, judging by the number displayed on the caller ID, it hadn't taken long for Genevieve's only son to share his worries with his wife.

“Hi, Lana!” exclaimed Chloe after a brief hesitation, infusing her voice with a dose of cheer as she grabbed the handset. “No, you aren't interrupting anything. I was about to finish checking my mail and sit in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn to watch Bogie ask Sam to play it again... I'm OK... Jason's turning into an Old Mother Hen...

How's the baby?... I'm not changing the subject... Lana... I know... I remember... I was there for your weekly Clark and Lana soap opera... but this is different... How do I know? Because... I just do... No, I'm not being stubborn... Well, Susan's a die-hard romantic and... Lex knows how to use his wiles to win over a woman... He fooled me and you know me; I've always been a cynic when it comes to love... It was never like that... It wasn't supposed to be like that. No, he didn't have to say it... He took what he wanted, accepted my offer and turned his back on me. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does... I don't have anything else to say to him... Lana...

That Jason did what? … I hope it hurt... I wished I could have been... a fly on the wall... No, I'm not... I'm not crying... I'm really happy for you and Jason... Lana, you don't need... I'm trying to make amends with the past... You didn't know about those poems, did you? No... I'm not mad... I'm... hurt... Well, I wish he'd told me sooner they were Oliver's... You did what? Threatened to have him sleep in the backyard? It would serve him right... He did?...Yes, I'm still here... Does Jason know you're spilling the beans? … Well, that doesn't change the fact Lex lied by omission... but it shows him in a slightly better light... You've seen him only once... It was at your baby's christening; how on earth would you know what he was feeling or thinking by just looking at him? That man is Fort Knox when it comes to his feelings and plans...

Lana, I know you're well-intentioned and that you'd like to see all your friends married with children and living happily ever after, but life isn't like that for everybody... Yes, I know how hard it was to get Jason to stand up to his parents and fight for what he wanted... but you both wanted the same thing... I sacrificed myself and my happiness at two men's altar in the past; I'm not going to do that again. I spent more than half my life surrounded by lies and secrets... If a man wants me, he'll have to speak clearly... I'm not a damn mind-reader! And if Lex has feelings for me... he'll have to make a hell of a grand gesture to get a second chance...

Yes... I know... I promise I'll visit you and the baby soon... Nothing's going to change... OK... Yeah... if that ever happens, you'll be the first one to know... I've got to go... the movie's about to start... Me too... Thanks for calling. Bye.”

Setting down the phone on the side table, she sighed and blinked away a couple of tears. If anyone had ever told her that her old competitor in Clark's affections would be her friend and even occasional confidante, Chloe would have laughed in their faces. But she was and, despite the blonde's original urge to curve up in a ball and spend a week away from the world, licking her wounds, her little chat with Lana had helped. Although the conversation mightn't have seem much to an outsider, it'd helped her breathe a little more easily; she'd needed to talk to someone and Lois- her usual sounding board-was half a world away, working on a story where there was no phone or internet coverage.

Who would have thought that Lana would become Lex Luthor's main advocate...? Chloe remembered how little love there had been between Jason's wife and Oliver... She'd gone even as far as trying to talk Chloe out of getting married minutes before the wedding ceremony... The brunette had often been judged as self-involved, and Chloe had been amongst her detractors once upon a time, but years and her marriage to Jason had changed her for the better... Granted, she still saw a lot of things through rose-tinted glasses; however, Lana'd always had an uncanny knack for noticing what made a man tick and what his weaknesses were... and that made Chloe think... Perhaps she'd been driven by her own insecurities the night she submitted Lex to that final test... Maybe she'd read him all wrong... maybe... she had hurt him with her offer...

Well, there was no use crying over spilled milk. She didn't have the energy to make a mole out of a molehill and keep her sanity. She'd take things as they came; she had more than enough to worry about the following day's meeting with him and their lawyers to spend a night awake playing 'he loves me, he loves me not.' and get to the interview with red eyes and bags under them.

You've got mail, dinged her messenger service before she had the chance to shut down the laptop and tune in on TCM to watch Casablanca for the umpteenth time.


LEXCORP BOARD ROOM- THE FOLLOWING MORNING

Chloe hadn't slept a wink the previous night and had resorted to eye concealer to mask the fact. Although Lex had been the culprit, the reason for her insomnia had had nothing to do with pulling the petals off the proverbial daisy but rather with spending hours ruminating over the information which had arrived in her inbox.

The content and tenor of the e-mail she'd read just as the opening credits of Casablanca were starting to roll had been too private to interpret as anything other than an olive branch. I think you deserve the truth had been the brief message introducing the attachments which had robbed her of sleep and helped her find peace after two years of agonising guilt. Now she could finally understand what had driven Oliver over the edge and why he'd been obsessed with Lionel Luthor, and- above all- why he'd approached Lex and become partners in a crusade which only now did she fully comprehend.

Discovering her late husband's infertility while cleaning his things had explained in part why he'd put an end to their marital life, but the final piece of the puzzle had escaped her and haunted her for months on end. Even though she wished she could have done something to pull him out of the downward spiral he'd fallen into, the documents attached to Lex's e-mail had been balm to her still open wounds. The answer to Oliver's obsession and fuel to his self-destruction, the real coup de grâce to their marriage, had a name- Lionel Luthor- and a seed- Robert and Laura Queen's murder at the hands of the late CEO's envoys.

Oliver had spent all of his adolescence and adult life investigating his parents' deaths, tracking down the man in the shadows, and the response to years of uncertainty had come from an unexpected source, the son of the man who'd had his parents killed. The transcripts of her late husband's testimony on the witness stand against Lionel Luthor revealed things he'd kept secret from Chloe.

She couldn't help but think it must have taken Lex a great deal to search his former Excelsior classmate. Only his need to prove himself better than the monster who'd sired him led him to seek out the man who had bullied and laughed at him as a child. Offering his old nemesis everything he'd come across on the Queens' fateful last day while digging up for ammunition to use as leverage against his father had also earned him an ally in his quest for revenge. And it'd been Oliver to present him with the perfect plan to destroy their common foe once Luthor Sr was put behind bars. All this had been planned a long time before Chloe and Oliver's paths had crossed; it'd consumed her late husband's life and proven Lex's inborn ability to strategise and lie down patiently awaiting the ripe moment to strike and seize what he wanted.

Had her relationship with Lex been at an earlier stage, Chloe would have probably interpreted the disclosure of this sensitive information in a different way. However, there was nothing for him to gain from it; he'd already got what he wanted... the necessary shares to get the control of LuthorCorp. Unless...

“Good morning, Mrs Queen, Dr Teague,” said Dr Jackson, taking Chloe out of her reveries.

“I'd rather you called me Ms Sullivan if you don't mind.”

“Of course, Ms Sullivan. Shall we sit down?” replied the middle-aged lawyer.

“Will it be just the two of us ravens and Ms Sullivan or will Luthor be joining us?” asked Jason surly.

“I'm afraid you'll have to put up with me for a little longer, Teague,” butted in Lex from the doorway. “I apologise for the delay; a business call I couldn't cut short,” he added, cocking an eyebrow as he pulled back a chair to sit across from Chloe and noticed the twitch of her lip when her eyes alighted on the purplish bruise near the left corner of his mouth. She was laughing at him.

“Here's the deed of transfer, Ms Sullivan. Please read the document carefully and then sign on the bottom line here. Sir, you sign to the right. And you, Dr Teague, can add your signature as a witness,” explained Lex's attorney, placing the legal paper in front of Chloe.

The procedure was done in silence- the only sound heard being that of the fountain pen tracing the paper- but the tension was palpable.

“Thanks,” said Jackson, grabbing the signed copies for a final once-over before handing one to each of the signatories. “Here's the other deed of transfer you asked me to draft, Mr Gr... Luthor. If you were so kind as to sign it, I'll make sure both documents get to the new principal shareholder.”

Chloe and Jason exchanged some clueless looks, wondering what the lawyer had implied. Being the owner of 50% percent of LuthorCorp for the last couple of minutes made Lex its major stockholder.

“Now Chloe, let's get down to the real reason we're both here this morning, shall we?” suggested LexCorp's CEO, opening the purple folder in front of him and removing a copy of the document he'd kept in his safe since the previous day.

“What is this?” she frowned, glancing at the second agreement. Was Lex now asking her to sign away her soul, too?

“A mere formality,” he drawled soothingly. “Please, read it through to make sure that I'm not taking unfair advantage of you.”

It only took her a few moments. It was very simple, very straightforward and very compromising... and it had a price, fifty percent of LexCorp.

The silver Montblanc dropped out of Chloe's shaky hand and rolled noisily across the polished table towards the handsome and enigmatic man facing her.

Slowly picking up his expensive fountain pen and not taking his eyes off her flushed face, Lex left his seat and walked around the conference table, holding out the elegantly engraved cylinder.

“Aren't the terms of the agreement favourable enough, Chloe? Do you want more? Give me a figure.” He leant over her shoulder to strike out the offending clause and she pushed the pen away.

“Chloe, what's he demanding now? Don't sign anything until I've had a chance to go over it first.” She was fuzzily aware of Jason's tensely outraged voice receding as Jackson shepherded him out of the board room with a low-voiced explanation.

“Is this some kind of cruel joke...?” she choked, and the bent head close to hers turned, only a kiss away.

“I've never been more serious in my life. Trust has to start somewhere-if not with you then with me. Marriage is a partnership. Fifty-fifty seemed a good starting point.”

“Ma.. marriage?” she stuttered.

“Well... that's where I hope this partnership will eventually lead to. I don't want to push you into taking a step you might not feel prepared for. When you take that step, I want you to be absolutely sure. I'll expect you to be as committed to us and this relationship as I am to you and our future together now.”

“You put me through hell, Lex! You made love to me and then... you turned your back on me, got dressed and... let me think that I was less important than your damned revenge.”


“That night, when you let me in your body again after those three long agonising weeks I was ready to pop the question. You didn't give me the chance,” he pointed out drily. “You were too busy putting my integrity to the test, waiting for me to reveal my true colours so that you could decide whether I was worthy of your love. How did you expect me to react when the person I loved thought so little of me when she had to know the way I felt for her? ”

“And how was I supposed to know, Lex? I'm not a mind-reader!”

“You had to know after the way I'd opened up to you when I told you in no uncertain terms that what I felt wasn't a teenage infatuation that I was going to outgrow. I wasn't going to beg; God knows I did that enough when the bastard was alive.”

“Nobody said anything about begging. I wasn't trying to...,” she faltered, seeing the stark pain that he'd concealed under the arrogant calm of the last few days. “I gave you the stock because I thought that was what you wanted.” Her voice wavered.

“Fortunately for both of us, I realised what you'd done just in time to stop us from making the stupidest decision in our lives. But God I was mad at you for not having faith in us, for not having faith in me! So I took what I didn't want just to punish you, although punishing you was the last thing I truly wanted.”

“We've been two fools, haven't we? Making reckless assumptions about each other from the moment our paths crossed on that damn elevator.”

“Yes, we have. I can't promise you miracles, Chloe. No matter how hard I've tried to deny my Luthor heritage, his blood runs through my veins as much as my mother's, and secrecy seems to be ingrained in my DNA. I can only promise I'll do my damn best to outgrow my tendency to bottle everything up, but I'll need you to help me learn how to. I know that if I leave this chance pass me by, I'll regret it for the rest of my life.”

Chloe took the legal document with her nerveless fingers and scanned it a second time.

“I can't let you do it, Lex. This must be worth millions.”

“If we are to have a second chance, Chloe, you'll have to sign. We have to agree that we'll share everything... the good as well as the bad.”

“Is it legal?”

“Of course it is! Jackson's still hoping it's just a grand gesture of mine that you'll lovingly turn down. He doesn't know it's not an option.”

“I don't want your money, Lex... I just want you,” she croaked, unaware of the tears jewelling her emerald eyes.

“Too bad. I've already made up my mind,” he smirked, handing her the fountain pen.

“What about LuthorCorp... your revenge?” she husked, locking her eyes with his.

“Revenge was just a substitute for what was really missing from my life. LuthorCorp and its fate's no longer my business. The documents transferring the ownership of my fifty percent are on their way to my half-brother Lucas. I met with him yesterday morning; we cleared the air between us... and I decided this course of action would be for the best.

He was a pawn in a game between his mother and me. As much as I resented him for years, he was an innocent victim of my father and Rachel's just as my mother and Pamela were.

My father's widow is in for a big surprise; she only has thirty percent of the stock, and Lucas has been dating in secret the daughter of a shareholder who owns a key ten percent- that will secure him a majority vote at the board meetings. The kid's got gambler instincts and isn't afraid of taking risks; those are assets in the corporative world. Now he's got the chance to prove to himself, if not to others, that he can be a person in his own right rather than a spoilt brat bearing the Luthor name.”

Chloe felt pride swelling in her chest and hope in the future... a future together. There had been no question in her mind that her feelings for Lex wouldn't have gone away even if their break-up had been final, but her ability to respect him as a man and a human being had been stripped away. Only a miracle would have restored her faith in him, and it had been granted. This Lex, this handsome, wounded and proud individual, was the kind of man she could love and respect, the kind of man she could imagine raising a family and growing old with.

“If I sign this paper now, it means you're allowing me to be on top,” she smiled mischievously.

“I wouldn't like to be labelled as heartlessly domineering.”

“Are you sure you won't mind my being the richest of the two of us?”

“That's debatable. I'd be getting you; that would tip the scales in my view.”

“You sure know how to win over a lady. In any case, I've never liked to be always on top... I think that it'd be fair if we both showed a similar degree of commitment to this partnership. Jason's been a wonderful friend and advisor to me... Oliver couldn't have had a more dedicated ally or faithful friend... I'm considering leaving him half my shares and using the other half to set up a foundation to help those who have problems with addictions.”

“I'm not doing this to have you sacrifice yourself on my account.”

“That isn't the reason. It's something I want to do. I need to go back to writing full time; it's always been my vocation and one I should have never renounced to. Would that be a problem for you?”

“I've read some of your work. You were more than just good... “

“So?”

“I won't stand in your way.“

“OK. So it's settled,” she replied, signing the document and handing it back to him.

Lex made a throaty sound of deep satisfaction and tucked the paper securely in the inside pocket of his Italian jacket.

“Now there's no way you can back out. If you ever try to leave me, we'll be tied up for decades trying to sort out the legal tangle.”

“Possessive, aren't we?” she cocked an eyebrow.

“You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Chloe. Everyone's that really mattered to me has been snatched away from my side...”

“Well, I'm not planning on going anywhere.”

“Aren't you? I was hoping you'd accompany me somewhere more private.” He helped her on with her trench coat and led her to the acid-etched double doors.

“Were you? And where would that be?” she asked curiously, wondering if he had a justice of the peace stashed in his office on the top floor.

“I think it's about time you conquered that problem you seem to have with elevators. There's nothing like a very powerful positive experience to replace a negative memory.” He slanted her a smile that made her knees wobble.

Chloe's skin began to tingle as he summoned his private elevator. Loosening his tie and undoing the first few buttons of his shirt, he looked at her with smouldering eyes. “You aren't wearing fur, but it'll have to do. Button it up. We have to get this re-enactment as accurate as possible...”

“You're a rogue, Mr Luthor,” she said with a wicked smile.

“But you love me,” he smirked.

“God help me... I do,” she said with a moan, stepping into the lift and getting lost in his masculine arms.


THE END

Check out my master list for a downloadable version: PDF

[justicea]

Awww I hate that is over but it was an AWESOME story. So happy everything worked out. I love a good happy ending.

[FarrahLea]

So sad that it's over but what a lovely way to end the story!

Can't wait to see how the others end. As always I'm in awe of your writting Lexie!

[superag]

Very nice ending. Glad that everything worked out for everyone.

[hfce]

That was wonderful. But I am so sad it is done. I am glad they made up.

[ChloeLovesLex]

Leave it to Lex to think of just about the only grand gesture to sway Chloe back into his arms. Smart man.
I'm glad everything finally got resolved...and came full circle back to the elevator. It is about time she got over that fear isn't it?

Excellent story Lexie. Thanks for taking the time to write it for us. Loved it

[Fouzia]

thank you!!!