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Thread: Power Play NC17*Completed*

  1. #31
    Fic Tease Senior Member Blaire023's Avatar
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    great update

  2. #32
    NS Senior Member Senior Member autumngold's Avatar
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    I'm glad that Chloe didn't give Clark all of the details on her employment with Lex!! Clark might not of liked Chloe being Lex's conscience!! Great update!! I can't wait to read more!! :chlexsign4:

  3. #33
    NS Full Member zelda's Avatar
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    Author's note: Okay I am using wordpad and have no spell-check. Forgive any errors please. If anyone wants to do a spell check for me, please PM me

    Monday was tougher that Chloe had expected. The tension was nearly tangible. There were a few tears from some of the staff who'd been working there a long time. The business of a takeover really wasn't fair. The employees were given a decent severance package and the option to work until the building was closed and the Baxters had moved out. Most opted to take the money and use their time finding other jobs. Chloe was called into the president's office at around nine AM.

    Andrew Baxter was in his fifties with silvering blonde hair. Both of his son's were present, Michael and Andy. Andy was older and by far the most unpleasant man with whom Chloe had worked with at Baxter. He was condescending and had a habit of placing blame for little mistakes on other people. Overall, he was a competent business man, but not very well-liked.

    "Sullivan, I'll need you to drop whatever other projects you're working on and write a new relese for this business with Lexcorp." Andrew said, keeping his voice even. He'd always been pretty straightforward and fair with her, and she liked him.

    "Would you like me to arrange something with the press? or would you prefer a solid statement to the business community?"

    "You can start by calling Lex Luthor a devious snake." Andy mumbled from his father's chair. Michael smacked him in the shoulder. Andy gave him an irritated look.

    "Actually we were thinking of something along the lines of 'We've enjoyed serving the software needs of our clients, and though we would have chosen to keep doing so, the situation dictated that we should take the offer that Lexcorp made." Michael said, crossing to her and handing her a few notes that he'd made.

    "A situation called Jillian."

    "Shut up, Andy." He said over his shoulder. "And I'd like you to find a way to put in there that our most profound regret is that Lexcorp doesn't have placement for our staff members."

    "Good call," Chloe said, honestly. "Makes Lexcorp look heartless and ruthless for putting hundreds of people out of work overnight."

    "Well, I can't say that Lex doesn't make that impression."

    "No kidding."

    Michael paused and tilted his head. "Do you know Mr. Luthor?" His father was on the phone, and Andy was chewing an eraser and making himself as useless as possible. "I noticed him talking to you at the luncheon, but I didn't think about it much when the takeover came up."

    "Yes, I've known Lex since highschool. My father worked for him in Smallville when he was running a plant out there." Chloe decided that honesty was the best solution right now. Besides, what were they going to do? Fire her?

    "Were you friends, back then?"

    "We were friendly," she replied. "My best friend pulled him out of a river after a car accident. They started hanging out and it was a small town. He was always pretty nice to me, but then I had a few run-ins with his father and tried to avoid the Luthors after that."

    "You had problems with Lionel when you were in highschool?" That got Andy's attention and he sat forward. "What kind of problems?"

    "I ran the school newspaper for a couple of years, and Lionel offered to donate some equipment after my office was mysteriously trashed beyond repair. Then when I wouldn't give him information on someone I'd been researching, he promptly took back everything." She knew this conversation might be a little hazardous, but it didn't matter much, now. "Lex tried to make things right by giving me new stuff, no strings. He and his father didn't see eye-to-eye." She kept her gaze from darting to Andy.

    "That was very kind of him." Chloe just shrugged. "He ever contact you about Baxter?"

    "He offered me a job at Lexcorp shortly after his father's death, but I was working for the Daily Planet then and I didn't want to switch jobs. After that we didn't really talk business if we saw each other. Just catching up every few months or so."

    "Catching up on what?" Andy called from his chair. "And how recently?" Chloe knew she had nothing to hide about the takeover, she hadn't helped in any way, but she resented Andy's tone. Her jaw tightened and she looked Andy in the face.

    "I haven't been around Lex very often in the past few years. The Luncheon was the first time I'd actually seen him in three months. Now, any other comments concerning my presonal life, and what I do on my own time, are currently, and will continue to be...none of your business." She'd paused purely for dramatic purposes because Andy usually couldn't keep up with her snarky comments. "I'll get to work on this right away and have it back to you before release within the hour," she said to Michael before turning on her heel and walking away.

    Chloe had several messages on her phone, one was from Clark, in his official 'reporter voice' asking for a statement about the takeover. There was a call from her father about whether or not she could make it to Smallville for his birthday. And one from Lois. She ranted at Chloe for letting Clark scoop her on the Lexcorp takeover. The rant was fairly light, but she did insist on knowing what was going on since she wouldn't be writing the story.

    Chloe got to work on the press release, writing it exactly as instructed. A few of her friends stopped by to thank her discreetly for the head's up and ask if she had any job leads. She shrugged and said that a reporter friend had told her about a possible position in the arts section of a newspaper. She just didn't say that she had no intention of taking it. Her phone rang at around nine-thirty and she answered it.

    "Thought about my offer?" Hearing Lex's voice surprised her. She wasn't expecting him to call her here.

    "Well, I've been a little busy here. I've got to write a press release for the takeover right now, Lex. But why don't you just have it dropped off to me later and I'll look it over."

    "I'll do that." He hung up and she replaced the reciever on the cradle. A heavy and dropped down onto hers, startling her.

    "Were you just talking to Luthor?" Andy was standing behind her chair.

    "Yeah, he just called to offer me a job, she said, pulling her hand out from under his. "He obviously knows that I'll be unemployed pretty soon." She turned back to her computer screen and tried to ignore Andy's hostile presence behind her. When he didn't move, she turned around and gave him an annoyed look. "Are you planning to try and eavesdrop on me all day?" she asked. "I can tell you it is a wasted effort and I'm certain that your father can use your help." She was feeling more than bold. She was empowered. Lex had been right, she had been underappreciated and underpaid here, now that the company was buckling, she saw no reason why she needed to be nice to jerks like Andy.

    "Yeah, well why don't you just take your things and leave now." Andy was speaking in a loud voice and drew the attention of everyone who was in the office. He was trying to make a scene for a last chance at looking powerful. Chloe hit the print button on her computer and picked up her purse. Then she turned and faced Andy.

    "I'll leave if you want me to, Andy, but there's no reason to shout. I understand how helpless you must feel, but you don't need to take it out on me. It's not my fault you lost the company." Michael watching them through the window to his father's office. When he saw Chloe picking up her coat, he came rushing out.

    "What's going on?"

    "Here, Michael," she said, handing him the unfinished press release. "It's almost done, but I'm afraid that someone else will need to finish it since Andy feels like you don't need me anymore." She grabbed her personal items and stuffed them in her purse, she'd already packed most of her stuff in a small box, and just paused long enough to take a framed photograph she had of her, and Pete Ross, and Clark, sitting in the Torch office from Freshman year.

    "Chloe, wait." Michael reached out for her arm.

    "Michael, you have enough stuff to worry about right now without putting up a fight for me," she said. "But if I get anything but a fair job reference from you, I'll be really upset." she paused and looked at Andy for a moment. "I didn't deserve this kind of scene just to make you feel better." She walked out and said goodbye to a few of her friends. At the elevator, Michael caught up with her.

    "It is really busy, Chloe, but can I call you tonight about the release? I'm really sorry about this. Andy's just looking for someone to blame."

    "I know, Michael, but it isn't me." She smiled at him. He took after his father with thick blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He'd be much better-looking if he didn't always have such a serious expression on his face. "Take care."

    "You too."

    As Chloe rode down the elevator, she regretted not making an effort to get to know Michael a little better. She chuckled to herself. It was like the Corleone family. The oldest son with the brash temper, and the younger, cooler son, Michael, having what it takes to run a business. She sincerly hoped that he'd land on his feet. As she walked into the chilly winter wind, Chloe let the doors of Baxter Software close behind her. A cab was parked beside the curb and she held out a hand, the driver hopped out and opened the door for her. She put her box and purse in the back seat and gave the driver her address. He drove there and she didn't look back. She knew, then, that she would probably take the job from Lex, mainly because he would probably pay well, and because she didn't want to go back to reporting.

    Chloe walked into her building. It was oddly quiet. She was never home before noon on a workday. She went up the ancient elevator to her apartment. She had a loft-style place at the edge of the not-so-nice-but-not-that-bad-part of town. She'd had a decent enough salary and since she hadn't built up a lot of debt, she could afford to live here on her savings for at least another month. The severance package would keep her for a month after that if necessary, but she planned to have a job before then.

    Chloe called her father and assured him that she'd make it back to Smallville for his birthday. Then she turned on some music to soothe her while she ran a bath. She had a mixed cd that conatined some of her favorite female singers: Natalie Merchant, Tina Turner, Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, and others. She debated ordering some delivery and opened her fridge. It was pretty bare except for half a bottle of Dom with a spoon handle stuck in it to keep it fizzy, some cold chicken breast, slimy baby carrots, condiments, and her gel eye mask. She unwrapped the chicken breast and ate it while she pulled out a wineglass and poured it full of champagne. She didn't own flutes.

    Chloe kicked off her shoes and put on her sherpa slippers. It was a rare treat to be walking around in slippers at ten AM after being sort-of fired. She called Clark and told him that officially she no longer represented the firm, but gave him the general contents of the press release anyway so he could have his story written ahead of time. Then she called Lois and left her a message, telling her that Karma came back for letting Clark scoop her because the jerk VP had had a tantrum and fired her. She was out of a job anyway so a few hours didn't matter much. Once her bubble bath was ready, she finished off the last bite of chicken and took her champagne and the phone into the bathroom.

    The scent of the bubbles soothed and the music was mellow, and Chloe put on the chilled eye mask. The hot water and the cold mask made her skin tingle. She sipped the champagne and enjoyed her soak. She thought about where to post her resume. She should at least look around rather than counting on Lex. His offer might not be that good, and she'd probably hate working for him. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She pulled up the mask and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was too early for the courier service. And Clark would call first. It was probably one of her neighbors so she just replaced her mask and continued to soak.

    The phone beeped next, and Chloe groaned. There was a conspiracy out to get her today. She picked it up and answered it.

    "Yes?"

    "Open the door." Lex's voice was impatient. "I know you're in there, I can hear the angry chick music from here."

    "I'm in the bathtub and chick music doesn't have to be angry to be effective." Silence. "I like that the artists show their emotions and move their listeners without screaming. That's real power. Not just rage."

    "Sounds like Alanis Morrisette to me."

    "Okay, well maybe just that one song. Hold on a minute, I need to find my robe."

    "Don't bother on my-" She hung up on him.

    Chloe rubbed a towel over herself briskly and grabbed her kimono from her closet door. She hastily tied the belt and went to the door. Looking through the peephole, she saw the back of Lex's head. As soon as she opened the door, he turned and smiled at her.

    "You couldn't send me a hot delivery guy could you?"

    "No, but I come bearing gifts." Lex handed her an envelope and reached down beside the door to pick up a large, paper sack. "Sushi, chocolate and a little alcohol to make you more biddable."

    "Go put it in the fridge, I'll be out in a second." She dressed in her bedroom and came out a few moments later. Lex was sitting on her couch, holding her laptop. "What are you doing?"

    "You've pdated your resume." He didn't take his eyes from the screen.

    "Generally that's what people do when they've lost their jobs." She put her fists on her hips and glared at him. "I know you're not used to people refusing your offers, Lex, but I'd be a fool just to blindly jump into another job without exploring my options."

    "What other offers have you been made?"

    "Clark told me about an opening in the arts section at the Planet."

    "We both know you won't take it."

    "I just officialy lost my job today so I haven't looked much yet."

    "Well, look over my proposal while I arrange the sushi." She picked up the envelope again and agreed. Lex got up, took off his jacket and went to work in her little kitchen. Chloe almost forgot he was there. She was more than startled at his proposal. Everything was written in a businesslike, technical manner, and very official. The salary got her attention first. It was huge. If she worked for Lex, she could buy her dad a house in Smallville. Since her salary included living accommodations at her choice of five of Lex's apartment buildings, she wouldn't have to pay rent, as he'd promised.

    Under the heading of 'Job Description' he'd listed 'Personal Conduct Advisor and Supervisor'. He really wanted to hire her to be his conscience. There was a clause that indicated she needed to give six-weeks notice if she was leaving the company, and that under Lexcorp's privacy guidelines, if she used her position to pass corporate secrets, she would forfeit one year's salary back to the company. Wow. he was serious about his privacy.

    More coming soon, I promise there will be smut, but I want to build a strong plot to support it.
    Last edited by zelda; 20th May 2005 at 07:25. Reason: grammar

  4. #34
    Na-No-Wri-Mo-ing!
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    Lex Luthor's showing up at her apartment now . . . what a strange job interview.

    Forget the job, it sounds like foreplay.
    Her soul is senstive like a finely made tuning fork. It vibrates and resonates with every little hint of trauma, evil and monstrosity that might be humming in the air, and channels it into expressions of fiction... or recomended websites - somethingeasy

  5. #35
    Spunky Chick Senior Member hfce's Avatar
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    Please more... :worship2:


    Hope :chlexsign4:
    "Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. "

  6. #36
    Insane Troll logic girl lexchloe's Avatar
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    Great chapter. Chloe should really take the job offer. Lex seems to have done her a favour by taking over Baxter's. Is it wierd that I wish Michael would also get given a job??? Eagerly awaiting the next update, smut or no smut.
    I tried to drown my sorrows, but the little buggers learned how to swim.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




  7. #37
    NS Junior Member
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    Great story! If I were Chloe I would take the job. Come on, hot billionaire boss, what more could you want? Scratch that I could think of things that I'd like to do with the hot billionaire boss. Keep up the great work.

    ~Michelle

  8. #38
    NS Senior Member Senior Member Béatrice's Avatar
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    Take the job, Chloe. Take it!!!


    Please come back and update. :yay:

  9. #39
    I am soooo not an addict tiger04's Avatar
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    Great work. I can't wait for more.

    Update soon please

    AT

  10. #40
    lexodus
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    Lex showed up at her apartment. Now how did he know she would be there?

    Great update. I can't wait for what comes next.

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