NS Advent Calendar 2008 - Two Dozen and One Holiday Lies - Reviews/Feedback here!

[somethingeasy]

Chapter Fifteen

Chloe barely managed to contain a squeal of delight at the fact that Lex was finally accepting her help; finally accepting that she wanted to keep him safe with the same determination he dedicated to her well being.

LOL! I liked seeing Chloe is as delighted as I am about FINALLY being accepted by Lex as an equal partner in this alliance of theirs. NOW they can finally get cooking on solving this mystery.

And I was very amused by the way that Lex observed Chloe’s ‘casual hacking’ into ALL of his business dealings, and happily showing all the work off to him. I like that he was more bemused and chagrined rather than angry. Although, he would have had no right to be angry considering how very useful all of this hacking was proving to be to him.

“MK trucking does a lot of the local transport for LuthorCorp. Since you have a copy of the secondary records I found buried in their system last night, you’re aware of the fact that they’ve been diverting some of their shipments and then fencing them through an organization that deals with moving corporate merchandise.

“By the way,” she briefly halted her explanation to comment, “You should probably do something about that.”

“Thank you for that savvy business advice.”

ROTFL! Don’t you LOVE the patronizing tone Chloe took over here… not to mention Lex’s sarcastic comeback, which was hiding his embarrassment about relying on Chloe to find out about these shady thefts of his business rather than uncovering them himself. This evening is going to go a LONG way to proving to Lex how he should bring Chloe on as a full-time partner and consultant on LuthorCorp activities.

“Which means,” Lex concluded, “that, rather than stealing something on their own, it appears that they’ve been hired to steal something for someone else.”

oooh, well that was an interesting twist. So they’re not using Lex as the course of merchandise… but they ARE using his transportation channels for a smuggling operation…? I really like how you’re building up the diabolical complications in this scheme against LuthorCorp, Skauble. It was very intricate, and quite easy to see how it had been MISSED for so long.

Looking down at the LuthorCorp logo marked on all the papers, Lex looked back up at Chloe. “You know, when this is all over we’re going to have a long talk about you wandering through my databases.”

“Yeah,” Chloe agreed. “I’m sure we’ll discuss it just as soon as it stops being useful to you.”

ROTFLMAO! Best. Comeback. Ever!!!

“One hundred and seven crates for the toy drive and nine empty crates. So, one hundred and sixteen in total. The empty crates weren’t meant to stay there at all.”

Lex smiled at her, remembering just how nice it felt to have a partner whose mind worked so like his own. “Which tells us that they must have changed the shipping orders that night, before we arrived, and then were unable to change them back when their plan fell through because I’ve had men investigating non-stop.”

“So,” Chloe mused aloud, “we just need to figure out where the extra crates were supposed to end up.”

omigosh! I didn’t imagine that following a paper trail could be as exciting as midnight operations at a warehouse… but it WAS exciting and thrilling seeing all the pieces finally falling into place. I loved seeing that it was only through Lex and Chloe putting their separate bits of knowledge together that they were finally able to arrive at a proper picture of what was happening.

“Henderson is on the LuthorCorp board,” he explained. “He’s been attempting to exploit the weaknesses left by my father’s displacement and my subsequent appointment as CEO. He’s been trying to make headway in takeover attempts by going after some of our subsidiaries instead of the corporation directly. I managed to forestall the attempts, which cost him millions. With my father’s release from prison, he must have assumed we’d be occupied with trying to kill one another and decided to recoup his losses and make his final move on the company.”

AWESOME! Now we finally have a clear picture of what the heck is going on!!! It was great getting all the details of this baffling mystery, and I loved, LOVED seeing how all the pieces came together right in front of me. Seriously, I never imagined that something as cold and dry as a ‘paper investigation’ could be so damned exciting!

Chloe almost laughed at the fact that this plan was going to be foiled because Lionel Luthor actually seemed to be playing nice for once in his miserable life. By not making the predictable move towards revenge against Lex, neither Luthor’s attention had been diverted from business. It seemed almost fitting that Lionel could screw someone over by attempting to be good.

ROTFLMAO! That is a perfect ironic twist to the situation. LOL! Henderson picked the wrong time to try and screw over the two Luthors. Now he’s not only ‘not’ going to get away with it, but he’s going to have both the Luthors, as well as a pissed off Sullivan allying together for the sole purpose of making him PAY for him presumptuous, opportunistic mistakes.

Heee! I’m already looking forward to seeing how our team flays this man (business wise) now that they’re onto him.

Lex shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Chloe. If he managed to get a hold of the prototypes for any one project, he could sell them for tens of millions of dollars on the weapons black market. But more importantly, it would endanger every defense contract we have. That, in conjunction with his new influx of cash could definitely mean a viable takeover attempt.”

Sneaky bastard! And he’s not even sneaky in the sexy way that Lex, Lionel and even Chloe manage to pull off being sneaky. He’s more like a weasel like form of sneaky. Ick!

“Thank you,” he said softly.

And then he kissed her.

ROTFL! Quite honestly, my first reaction was to laugh! It’s just such a deliciously VAST improvement over Lex’s expression of gratitude as compared to before. He used to just yell at Chloe to stop interfering, and assign guards to lock her into a safe room. This is a HUGE improvement over that form of ‘gratitude’, LOL!

And once I finished laughing, I started squealing in delight! He kissed her! Her kissed her!! I can’t wait to read the next update to see where it goes from here. *raises leering eyebrow* perhaps it goes to a NC-17 rating?

[Ultra]

I am now all caught up with this fic, and omg I love it still! Finally we have kissage, which its what we've been wating for this whole time so yay for that. Lex opening his present, remembering the game he played with Chloe, and figuring out she bought the lighter was just lovely. Such a shame he didn't get to talk to her at the Talon and all because of Lana - oh how we hate her! Yay for Chloe and Lex working together, and macking on each other! And also for Lionel being nice still, though I can't help but be suspiscious about that even now. Oh well, loving this fic and can't wait to read more!

[hfce]

Part 16:

Oh my goodness I think I am going to cry. I have said it from the get go they are each other's soulmate. This chapter confirmed it for me. I love how they both said home. It really hits to the heart how much they care and feel for one another. This update really touched my heart.

[Kit Merlot]

Part 16:

Oh my goodness I think I am going to cry. I have said it from the get go they are each other's soulmate. This chapter confirmed it for me. I love how they both said home. It really hits to the heart how much they care and feel for one another. This update really touched my heart.

Hope, I am quoting your whole post because I agree with everything you said

[somethingeasy]

Chapter Sixteen

squeee! What an awesome chapter! I loved, LOVED how you managed to stretch out a description of a beautiful first kiss along four pages, Skauble! It was breathtaking and amazing! And a wonderful read!

But they’d been wrong. Each suggestion, every rumor had been incorrect and Chloe was so very, very glad. Not that he was clumsy or awkward. She wasn’t sure those words could ever be used in conjunction with Lex. It was just that nothing about him seemed remote or practiced. She didn’t feel played or seduced; used or cheapened. She felt…

Like she was home.

I loved how Chloe showed a great deal of wisdom beyond her years (and her peers) during the description of the disdain and scepticism she felt hearing about the ‘well practiced playboy’ when Lex first came to Smallville. I liked that she sniffed contemptuously while the other girls sighed. It shows how Chloe has a REALLY good head on her shoulders, and enough sense to know the difference between expertise from cold calculated skills and expertise inspired from real passion.

I loved, LOVED the way that Chloe felt the genuine passion in Lex through this kiss, and knew that their mutual enjoyment came from a place of real feelings rather than cleverly orchestrated and practiced ‘playboy moves’.

For the most part, Chloe had believed him, but there was always the doubt. What she’d never told her father, though, was that not all of the changes had been about her mother. There was a very small place, way down inside, that had worried that he would leave her, too.

wow! That was devastating, Skauble! But also written so well that I felt it all to be completely true. It was heartbreaking hearing about Chloe building up her drive to succeed and excel from such tragic beginnings. But it seems like she turned out a stronger and amazing person because of the heartbreaking fear she suffered in her earlier years.

Granted, there were some VERY hard times described over here… such as how Chloe’s fear of being abandoned for not being ‘good enough’ was augmented by that idiot, Clark’s rejection. That was quite painful to read. But it was ALL worth it hearing about how Chloe wasn’t broken by any of the heartbreak, and has now finally found her soul-mate.

However, her heart was so certain, so steadfast in it’s acceptance of Lex. There were so many ways in which he knew her that no one else ever had. He understood the pain she carried because he, too, had been left by those he loved. He could soothe the fears she held because, beneath his stoic exterior, he harbored them also.

I loved seeing how Chloe felt so certain, so SURE that Lex felt the same way as she did. Despite how she’s seen some tentative evidence of Lex’s stirring interesting in Lana, Chloe still manages to trust in Lex’s feelings right here and right now. I’m not sure how she’ll feel a few seconds after the kiss is finished, but it’s beautiful to see the level of connection and trust between them during these crucial, exciting, thrilling seconds.

What a BEAUTIFUL description of a first Chlex kiss, Skauble! I was awed by your writing… and that was merely from Chloe’s point of view… Lex’s was even BETTER!

For years Lex had been searching for love. But time and experience had been slowly teaching him that such an emotion was either a poet’s dream or for people better than him, and he’d begun to divide the women around him into two categories – those waiting to hurt him, and those waiting to leave.

But he’d been mistaken, and never in his life had he been so incredibly grateful to be wrong. No matter what she said, Chloe had found more danger and pain since the Luthors had come into her life than she had before his family, and yet she didn’t want to punish him for that fact. And, even more miraculously, she didn’t want to leave him for it either. Never once did he feel unsafe or uncared for with Chloe. In fact, he felt…

Like he was home.

Wow! WOW!!! First of all, I loved getting the short and tragic description on how Lex has ALSO suffered more heartbreak, rejection and betrayal than anyone should fairly experience. It was painful, but it also meant that Lex can now fully appreciate what he’s got right now with Chloe.

It was amazing to hear that Chloe is so FAR off in behaviour and attitude in the women from his past, that Lex can regard her as an awed miracle in his life. And I loved, LOVED that Lex’s thoughts about feeling ‘home’ was a perfect mirror of Chloe’s feelings at this moment. Perfect!

I really liked the description on how Lex has been trained to expect betrayal, deceit and self-serving dishonesty from everyone… which includes people from whom betrayal would NEVER have been expected… such as his mother, father and an adorable bumbling, dorky farmboy and his wholesome family.

He’s had some truly horrible experiences in trust and loyalty from others… and it’s really no surprise that he turned out such a paranoid wreck of a person.

Until Chloe.

Chloe, who had made her mistakes and then shown that she didn’t have to be defined by them forever; that she could make new choices, be better than before. At any time during her struggle with Lionel she could have given in. He knew that his father would have been more than pleased to welcome her back with open arms, even after she’d begun working against him.

But she’d held strong. Done what was right, instead of what was easy or safe, and it had given him back a sense of faith that he’d thought lost forever.

This was beautiful, Skauble! I loved the idea that it was seeing Chloe’s integrity working from a purely outside, objective point of view that won Lex’s undying respect and trust. It wasn’t specifically because she was useful or nice to Lex, but because she proved herself to be so strong, valiant, honourable and faithful in the face of horrible adversity. It was MUCH better hearing about how Chloe managed to sneak her way into Lex’s heart, not through an offer of friendship, but through her actions JUST prior to the beginning of that friendship.

Yet now he could see what he’d forgotten in his fear and uncertainty. Being with Chloe didn’t make her less; it made him more. The fact that she knew him on such a deep level; the fact that she understood the pain that drove him and the fears that haunted him, and wanted to be with him still - to be so completely accepted…it meant the world, and he was home.

Beautiful! I loved how Lex thoughts mirrored Chloe’s exactly in the knowledge that they both are perfect soul-mates because their past experiences with betrayal and heartbreak have shaped them to be perfect for each other. They know that the other won’t be careless with a relationship, because they both know what it feels like to be devastated after betrayal and/or callous rejection.

Heeee!!! It’s just the first kiss, and you can already see the sheer strength of this relationship. Best of all, you can see them both acknowledging it’s strength and depth; so they know this is for the long haul! Awesome!

Chapter Seventeen

ROTFL! I was amused to see that intense kiss so rudely interrupted by the ‘ringing bells’ of Lex’s phone. LOL! Oh, the frustrations of dating a CEO, LOL!

As she turned to face Lex, her expression must have conveyed her sense of urgency because he immediately wrapped up his phone call with a terse promise to call back.

heh… it’s FUN to see how Chloe cannot shut her brain off, even for the time it takes for Lex to finish up a terse phone call. I loved that she caught an important connection on the paperwork, AND that Lex was able to read her and see the moment she found something important.

Yikes! It’s almost a pity that she found it though, because it pushed a major deadline on them… which cut into their smooching time!!! Damn Henderson!!! He’d better pay BIG TIME for this!

He turned towards the door, but stopped abruptly. Swinging back to face Chloe, he reached out and caught her hand. With one swift tug she was back in his arms.

And then he was kissing her once more. It was hard and hot and they were both short of breath as they parted. Raising a hand to gently cup her cheek, Lex trailed a finger down to run across her slightly swollen lips before promising her, “We will talk about this when I get back.”

ROTFL! I’ll admit, I laughed and ALSO swooned meltingly at this part. I loved seeing how Lex abruptly turned back to give Chloe a sudden, hard, intense and needy kiss… as if making sure that she won’t run off and fall in love with someone else before he gets to return ‘home’. LOL! I could see it was pure paranoia that drove him back to Chloe’s arms and kiss her one final time to MAKE SURE that she’d still be there waiting for him. The dear, sweet, ridiculously paranoid man! LOL!

She’d called him Prancer. One of the members of Lex’s security team that she’d met the day of the carriage chase.

oh CRAP! It sounds like Chloe’s found out which of Lex’s security team members is the compromised threat. This would have been a good thing to know, if only Chloe had some damned way of telling Lex that he was in danger.

Damn, you turned the tone of this fic from swooning and melting to dangerous and exciting within a single chapter, Skauble! Awesome! I loved seeing Chloe’s mounting panic as she realized that she cannot get in touch with Lex to WARN him that one of the men closest to him RIGHT NOW is dangerous.

Heeee!!! But it’s during emergencies like this that Chloe’s brain jumps into a hyperdrive mode that surpasses even Lex’s cognitive skills. I loved seeing her listing through the option of calling the police (idea rejected) and then falling on a VERY good (and fun) plan.

One, the security detail he’d left with her would definitely be safe to trust. Lex had said that, even though he couldn’t pinpoint the traitors among his staff, he knew which of his men were absolutely trustworthy. He would never have left her safety in the hands of anyone other than those on that short list.

Can I say I love, LOVE what this paragraph says about the level of trust Chloe has in Lex… AND how well she understands the way he thinks!

Which left her with only one option. Grabbing her keys, she ran outside and climbed into her car. She pulled out of her driveway slowly to give her tail time to get to their own vehicles. She knew that they wouldn’t risk losing her, even if they had to reveal their presence, and so she was confident that they’d be right behind her as she hit the gas and sped down the road at a speed she was sure would turn her father’s hair white.

ROTFLMAO! I have no idea how Chloe’s going to force the security guards to ‘show themselves’ to her. Is she going to drive at a break-neck speed to a cliff, then run to edge and pretend to throw herself off? Or is she going to call Clark and order him to ‘attack her’ in order to flush out her stalkers?

LOL! Whatever scheme Chloe chooses, I’m sure it’s something that will make Lex’s teeth grit in frustration when he learns about it.

These were a fantastic couple of chapters, Skauble. I loved them both, and I look forward to seeing what happens in following updates.

On a new note, I’m also so PLEASED and IMPRESSED, Skauble to see that you’ve managed to keep up with your daily updates. It’s seriously awe-inspiring, and I applaud you for your diligence in keeping up the writing!

[hfce]

Part 17:

I was hoping for a little sex but a race to save Lex is good as well. LOL! I can't wait to see if they make it in time.

[Julie]

Part 17:

I was hoping for a little sex but a race to save Lex is good as well. LOL! I can't wait to see if they make it in time.

I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you hope This story is supposed to be PG, to suit everyone on the board

[hfce]

I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you hope This story is supposed to be PG, to suit everyone on the board

I know that is why I said hope.

[hfce]

Part 18:

Oh no Chloe now you have done it. How is she going to get out of this one? Yo should have listened and ran.

[somethingeasy]

Chapter Eighteen

This was a REALLY fun chapter, Skauble. I loved how it began with Chloe finally getting her bodyguards to show themselves to her. It was really funny that they finally revealed themselves obviously sick and tired of the ridiculous and reckless chase scene, and they got out of the car to give her an exasperated lecture about her driving, LOL!

I can VERY easily imagine these guards shaking their heads in sympathy and disbelief that their boss has fallen madly in love with this insane woman, ROTFL!

She rolled her eyes as she walked towards them.

“I didn’t want to lose you. I wanted to get you here.”

To her amazement and their credit, they had their weapons drawn almost instantly, focused on determining if they’d been led into an ambush.

ROTFLMAO! Oh dear me… I was howling with laughter over this reaction from the guards. I didn’t know whether to shake my head in disbelief about how they were so paranoid about what this adorable, cute, little blonde was capable of doing… OR commend them for acknowledging that Chloe is not ‘quite’ the harmless kitten she appears at first glance. It’s heartening and disturbing to see that they KNOW that if she had made plans to have them incapacitated, then there’s very little they can do to stop that, LOL!

There was a great deal of swearing as the paper went from one set of hands to the next and they realized who had been the Judas amongst them.

heee! I suspect there was a considerable amount of anger from these guards. Let’s hope that they are the ones to find Merrickson and make their formerly trusted colleague pay properly for this betrayal.

“I knew you wouldn’t have left Smallville while I was there,” she regained their attention as she explained her mad dash to Metropolis. “But I don’t know anyone other than you four that I can absolutely trust with Lex’s safety. After all, he trusted you with mine so I know that he has faith in you. So I got you here the only way I could. Now go do your thing and make sure that Lex is okay.”

ROTFL! Pretty bossy, isn’t she? She’s already behaving like a perfect Luthor, and ordering the employees around to do important tasks like an old pro. LOL! I was in giggled seeing her finishing off her orders with a ‘shooing’ motion too, ROTFLMAO!

I think this is a promising sign that Chloe CAN make some ‘good use’ of those annoying bodyguards hired to follow her around everywhere. The tricky part would be arranging for them to be answerable to HER first, and Lex second. Hmmm, can she manage to do that somehow…? I wonder…?

“Yes. In fact,” he informed her, “you and I are leaving the immediate vicinity. We’re going to pull back and rendezvous with the local and federal law enforcement agencies.”

heh… it seems like the bodyguards can ALSO be a bossy bunch. But it was good to see that he was giving practical advice that Chloe was willing to follow up on. Too bad they didn’t get the chance to do so.

She watched as Blitzen’s hand moved, almost imperceptibly, to the gun concealed by his jacket, before turning to face the men approaching them. But whatever tale he’d been planning to spin was destined to remain unknown as a cry of “He’s one of Luthor’s men” split the air, followed closely by the sounds of gunfire.

“Run!” He ordered her, and Chloe wasted no time questioning him as she dashed towards the street. There was nothing she could do in the middle of a gunfight other than be a target for the bad guys and a distraction for the good ones.

squeee!!! Exciting turn of events! Isn’t it GREAT to see Chloe practical, sensible side coming out in full force. She is reckless a considerable amount of the time, but she’s ALSO smart, savvy and sensible with great survival instincts… so she knows the time to stand her ground, and the time to RUN as if hell hounds were on her heels.

“We’ve been compromised. Boss wants us to go check on Luthor.”

While Chloe may have been willing to leave when everything seemed under control, there was no way that she was going to do so, knowing for certain that Lex was being held somewhere close by. Giving the men a good head start, she peaked around the corner of the crate and then silently trailed behind them.

Woah! Are you kidding? During the brief time away from Chloe, Lex managed to get himself diverted form his mission and then captured and tied up in a warehouse?? And he has the nerve to accuse Chloe of being prone to attacks and trouble? ROTFLMAO! I look forward to seeing Chloe giving Lex a good, mocking scolding about hot accusing HER of being ‘unsafe’ when he clearly can’t manage to go for any given week without being kidnapped. LOL!

Unsure of what to do next, Chloe’s musings were interrupted by what she was fairly certain was the barrel of a gun pressing into her back.

“Don’t worry, my dear,” said a smarmy and obnoxious voice, “I’d be more than happy to unlock that for you.”

ugh! That smarmy ‘my dear’ made me HATE this guy instantly. And the gun to Chloe’s back certainly didn’t help make him endearing either, LOL! But it was mostly the smarmy tone of voice.

ROTFL! Ok, so it seems like Chloe has also managed to get herself captured, huh? I guess she loses the ‘higher scores’ she had on Lex earlier. Now they BOTH are even in terms of being ‘kidnappee magnets’, LOL!

I can already imagine Lex GLARING at Chloe for being shoved into a confined warehouse with him. Who wants to bet that his first words to her will be a variation of ‘Can’t you just sit safely still just ONCE where I’ve put you?!’ ROTFLMAO!

I look forward to the next chapter. Squeee! And check it out, I’m finally caught up on the updates