Buyouts, Hostile Takeovers & Matchmaking (PG-13/R)

[sylvia]

Smooth moves, Lex! And I loved Chloe's comment about Lex's raised eyebrows. Can't wait to see how Gabe delivers this juicy new piece of gossip to Lionel, and the MB's post-squash (literally) reactions to his son. Also glad that Lex hasn't forgotten the kitty and the model car; that ought to make for a couple of interesting chapters later on. This story really makes my day- nothing else makes me grin so much for so long. Hope you guys update soon!

[kcsgirl82]

Great update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please update again as soon as possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Louie]

loved it, the subconsious stuff was the best.

[SinnerSaint]

Wonderful update . I love how at ease with Gabe Lex is.

[arkakitty]

Loved the update He 'bought' the dress for her *yay*. Can hardly wait for the next.

[The_Purple_Ghost]

Oh, pish...After sending the better part of 3 days reading this story whenever humanly possible you can't tell me that I'm at the end of the up-dates?

This is bad...it could quite possible scar me for life...and theropy bills aren't cheap....

I wonder if there's some kind of speical insurance that fic writes can get to cover such things in the advent of a law suit....

Okay, thoughts like those mean that it's officaly to late for me to be up...I'm going to go feret out some "z"'s now...

[hellinean]

I love this fic!! I hope there will be a new part soon!
I cant wait to read the new date certainly with the new dress lol
I really like your idea about chloe and lex met again in the futur and their fathers tried to make them hook up !
Please give us more soon!!

[tigroon]

update !
please ?

[BlueSabby]

A/N: Blue: Here's a mondo huge update cause you got nothing last week. Enjoy and let us know what you think.

A/N Sab: yeah, what she said. And don't forget to give feedback, cuz really that's about all that keeps us writing.





The earrings were just not cooperating. But, Chloe shouldn’t have been surprised by that. Her whole day had been going that way so why would it change now? Work had called her four times, asking her the same question. It had taken her two hours to find the right type of shoes for tonight. Her shower had had a small fit where it thought it couldn’t give her any hot water. And, now her earrings wouldn’t close properly.

The rage was starting to build up in Chloe but she knew that it was irrational and brought on by the fact that she was nervous. Which made her even more upset. There was no reason to be nervous. Her friend Lex was coming to pick her up, not her date.

She gave a victorious sound when the earring finally slid into the catch and then Chloe stood back from the mirror. Even though she was always critical of herself, she had to admit that she looked good.

Her makeup was muted but played up her green eyes and full lips, the strappy shoes gave her some much needed height and the green, silk dress hugged her in all of the right spots. Sure, it was hard to take full strides in the dress but it was a small price to pay.

Taking a surveying glance around the apartment, Chloe realized that she hadn’t seen it this spotless in a long while. She had used up all of her anxious energy after returning home from shopping by scrubbing each and every room in her place and putting everything back to where it properly belonged.

She was on her way to straighten out an errant pillow when the doorbell rang. She took a deep breath and then waited a moment before crossing the apartment to open the door.

Lex smoothed down his shirt before shoving his hands in the pockets of his coat once more. When he'd passed a flower shop on the way, he'd briefly spared a thought if he should bring Chloe a bouquet, but then he'd reminded himself it would be ridiculous. This wasn't a date. And friends didn't bring friends flowers, except in cases of hospitalization or birthdays.

He heard some rummaging on the other side of the door and waited patiently, wondering what Chloe was doing in there. When the door finally opened, he took a step back, thoughts catching for a moment at the surface of his brain as she stepped into the threshold.

“You look gorgeous,” he commented, suitably awed by the entire assemble.

Chloe could feel the small blush color her cheeks but there was nothing that she could do about it. “Thank you,” she stepped aside and gestured for Lex to come in.

As always, he was dressed impeccably to the nines. “You’re looking very well yourself,” she commented as she shut the door. Now that Lex was here, she was feeling all the more nervous but she would just have to soldier through it. She wasn’t about to mess up their friendship because she had a crush on the man.

“Do you want something to drink,” Chloe offered as she started towards the kitchen.

“No thank you,” Lex answered. “I'll wait with that until we're at the bar.”

He cast a glance around the apartment, noting that it was much tidier than the last time he'd been there. No clothes strewn about and everything in its place. Lex wondered what had motivated Chloe to such a thorough clean up.

She saw Lex looking around the apartment and knew that he would notice the difference between the way it was now and how it had looked the last time that he was here. “I had some free time on my hands so I figured I’d make the place look less like a hovel,” she explained.

Chloe walked over to the small table that had her answering machine on it, she knew that she should switch over to voicemail but liked wandering around her apartment as she listened to her messages, and turned it on. “I’m ready whenever you are,” she said as she took her coat out of the closet.

Lex nodded and walked over to take the coat from her, shaking it out and holding it up.

”Let's just hope we won't have to deal with the press this time around,” he commented as he looked down her dress to her feet. “I see you chosen comfortable shoes. Smart woman.” He looked up and quirked a grin.

The bar wasn't known to let paparazzi in, but one could never be too careful. Even though a part of him was already debating that if this friendship continued, they'd be bound to be on the society pages eventually. He just didn't want it to be in a sordid and completely mistaken way. Lex would have to arrange that somehow, but he'd think on it later.

Chloe laughed as she threaded her arms through the coat. “There was no way that I was going to go through that pain again. I’ll have you know that I did a few wind sprints before you got here and they should hold up well if we have to run again.”

She grabbed her keys off of the small table and slid them into her pocket. “At least nothing came of our last outing.” Chloe had checked the papers the next day and had not seen one mention of Lex out with an unidentified female. They had gotten extremely lucky.

Lex followed her out of the door, waiting for her to lock up. He'd cast another glance at the dress, noting that it didn't exactly give much space for long strides, but chose not to comment on that.

“Well, if you word it that way, that's not true,” he said as Chloe turned around from the door. “After all, there's quite a few things that came of it.”

Among them the realization that Chloe could stun him on a moment's notice with an action as simple as a peck on his lips. Lex had wisely chosen not to think too much on that between then and now. He'd decided to chalk it off to the element of surprise.

“Oh, really,” Chloe drawled. She wanted to know what Lex thought had come of their time together last week. “I suppose you’re right,” she said as she started to walk towards the elevator. “I learned that you like rigging everything in your house to ensnare innocent guests to make fools of themselves.”

She pushed the button to call the elevator and continued, “There is also the little tidbit that you are a barely closeted geek that I would wager is now in the beginning stages of building a car for a cat.”

Stepping back from the elevator bank, she cast a glance up at Lex, “Anything I’m missing?” The elevator arrived and Lex gestured that Chloe should enter first.

Lex leaned casually back against the wall of the cubicle and smirked. “No, that's about it. Aside from the fact that I'm still contemplating acquiring the cat for said car,” he said.

The easy way conversation flowed between them went a long way of relieving the stress he'd had earlier on in the day, getting a last minute call from Russia. His knowledge of vocabulary and grammar in that language was detrimental which had made the business even harder to accomplish, but he'd muddled through somehow.

Now he would have a nice evening out with a friend and put business behind him. He vaguely remembered an article in one of the science magazines he read frequently that had stated the importance of a balance to work, especially if said work was mainly intellectually focused. Back then he'd snorted at it, but now it didn't seem so ridiculous anymore.

Chloe smiled up at Lex, “I’m sure that little Thor will be happy when he sees what his Daddy made for him with his own two hands. It really does warm the cockles of the heart.” She knew that Lex wasn’t used to being teased but he didn’t seem to mind.

The elevator made its way down to the lobby and Chloe said, “When you make him race the Martinsen kids on their bikes, you do know that it’s required by law that you call me so I can be there, right?” The numbers on the display quickly descended and Chloe said, “It would be evil of you if you didn’t let me see the spoils of my brilliant idea.”

Lex's brow quirked. “But what good would an evil cat in an Aston Martin be, if I wasn't an accordingly evil master?”

The elevator arrived on the ground level and the doors opened with a soft chiming. Lex stepped outside and started pulling his keys out of the coat pocket.

“Joking aside, the Martinsen kids aren't that bad.” He shrugged a shoulder. “They're just a bit wild, but not enough to require chasing them around the block and shooting them.”

Mrs. Martinsen was actually a pretty tough mom from what he'd been able to glean, not in a bad way, though. Sometimes he envied those kids.

Chloe nodded sagely along with Lex’s words. “Fair enough.” He gestured to a silver Porsche and Chloe started on her way across the street…without looking. She heard a horn and felt Lex’s arm grab her by the waist. A car zoomed by them and Chloe looked at Lex sheepishly, “Thanks.”

He kept his arm around her as they crossed the street and she asked, “So, do you have any evil kids on your street who would deserve to go one on one with Thor and his magic car?” Chloe knew that her tone of voice was totally inappropriate. It was full of hope. She really thought watching a cat in a car chase around little kids would be a good time. Maybe therapy wasn’t too far off in her future.

Lex shook his head, disbelieving that Chloe could be so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn't even watch the streets. He'd definitely have to watch out for her. Self defense wouldn't be any use when she was going up against a Mac truck.

“I'm still not going to call my cat Thor,” he replied as he opened the passenger side door for her. “And well, I'm not sure. There's a quite a few kids in the neighborhood, but I don't think any of them are particularly evil.”

Seeing the pout on Chloe's face as she settled in to the car, he shook his head before adding: “But the mailman did forget to deliver the Planet a few times.”

“Oh, well, then he’s clearly up to something nefarious. I mean, just check out the shorts that he wears. It probably messes with the circulation to his brain, affecting his moral center and making him all kinds of evil.” Chloe settled back in the plush seats of the car and jumped a little when she felt heat on the back of her thighs.

It was logical that Lex would have gotten all of the bells and whistles on his toy but he could have at least warned her. She pitched her hips up a little to get her coat under her bare skin, the heat was nice, but a little too warm. Plus, she didn’t want to stick to the leather.

Switching gears, Chloe said, “Going back to our earlier conversation, if you’re worried about the press, we could always go somewhere less in the public eye.” The Palladium was supposed to be amazing and Chloe was looking forward to going but she also wanted to enjoy being with Lex. She didn’t want him to have to look over his shoulder the whole night.

Shifting gears, Lex sped up to make it through a yellow light. He was trying to be considerate with his driving but that didn't mean he'd act like a little old lady behind the wheel.

“It's not a problem, Chloe. Even if there are paparazzi at The Palladium, they wouldn't get into the V.I.P. lounge.”

He let off the gas a little, leaving a bit of space between them and the car ahead. If all else failed, he'd simply take her back to his house again. She'd have to visit him soon anyway, if she really wanted to see the car.

Of course he wasn't sure if he should really show her. Cracking jokes about him being a geek was quite a bit different from actually seeing the full extent in front of her own eyes. He'd have to decide that later.

“Ok,” Chloe said. She felt reassured by Lex’s words. Besides if he didn’t want to go there, he would have taken the out. And, she was sure if any photos of them were snapped between the two of them they’d be able to get them back. Lex had money and connections but those in journalistic circles were both scared and impressed by Chloe.

“I wonder if there will be any of Forbes’ wealthiest men there tonight,” Chloe commented. “Maybe I can find some investors for my kitty car idea.” She turned as much towards Lex as her seatbelt would allow and said, “I mean, after your prototype is unveiled everyone will want them for their own Pookie, Mr. Whiskers or whatever people are naming their cats these days.”

A frown flashed over his face as he pulled into the park house of the Palladium. He slowed down to a crawl, looking for a space.

“You know you could actually do that here,” he stated.

Lex knew she'd just been kidding and now he really wanted her to see the blue prints and his own ideas that he'd cooked up just last night. But on the other hand, the notion that she'd try to make profit of the idea rankled him. He didn't build those toys to gain anything of them. They were his hobby, not another form of business.

“Probably,” Chloe commented as they pulled into the parking lot, “but then it wouldn’t be our little secret. I think that would take some of the fun out of it.” She was not about to tell anyone of their little plan. First of all, she might get checked into a mental ward. And, second of all, it was nice to have something that was just between herself and Lex.

That way, it was almost as if she had some small part of him that no one else got to see. ‘That thought has been brought to you by Lifetime, Television for Women,’ Chloe thought, sarcastically.

Lex smirked as he pulled into a space inside the underground garage and killed the engine.

“Good,” he said and then got out of the car, jogging around the front to help Chloe out of her seat.

Lex hadn't been to this place in a while, but as it turned out, the security that greeted them as they came out into the main level from the elevator did still remember him. Without much fuss, a colleague was informed via head set and they were lead to the VIP area.

That hadn't changed much and was still comfortable and decorated with lush upholstery. Lex motioned for Chloe to sit down then slid fluently down next to her on the low sofa.

“I hope this is okay, or did you actually want seats at the bar?”

Chloe smiled over at Lex and said, “No, this is perfect.” She found it, she wouldn’t use the word cute because Lex was not cute, endearing how he was always concerned with her comfort wherever they went. She had the urge to kiss him again but she had already had a little talk with herself earlier about that.

She had tried not to think about the fact that she had kissed him. True, the kiss hadn’t been anything monumental. Hell, she had given Clark a hotter kiss back in Smallville. But, she still knew that doing that to Lex wasn’t the best idea for either of them.

He was too much of a gentleman to tell her that it wasn’t appropriate and she was too honest with herself to not realize that if she kept at things like that she’d royally screw herself.

Chloe looked around the lounge and snapped her fingers while shaking her head. “Drat, no billionaires checking me out this time.” She leaned back on the couch and became aware that Lex’s arm was draped over the back of it. She also noticed that Lex was sitting close enough that their thighs were brushing up against each others. Chloe felt a hard jolt of desire course through her out of nowhere.

God, she needed to get laid. And soon, before she did something that would wreck her friendship with Lex.

The line was just too good to pass up, even though technically, Lex hadn't checked her out. As soon as Chloe looked back at him, he let his eyes slowly rake up along her body, making sure she caught the blatant gaze until their eyes met.

“Anything else on your list that I could help taking care of,” he lowered his voice to the appropriate flirtatious level and stopped just short of letting his hand brush over the back of her neck. He didn't want to give her the wrong ideas.

Even though she knew that Lex was putting on an act for her….try telling her body that. She felt her heart rate pick up. The beat of the organ became louder in her ears and she felt her skin start to turn a redder hue as she blushed. Her whole body was a little hotter…and tingly.

She knew that Lex could see that she had turned a different color but he didn’t need to know that it affected her in any other way. Chloe shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe you can buy me a pony later,” she offered. She crossed her right leg over her left, unconsciously angling her body towards Lex.

Her eyes continued to scan the room as she placed some of the figures that she saw. A slow smile made its way onto her face as she recognized Nigel Hawthorne, the forward on Manchester United. Teddy had been his biggest fan and Chloe hadn’t minded watching the matches because of the man’s fine ass. “Or, you could introduce me to him.”

For a moment, Chloe thought that that might be rude of her. Then she remembered that she and Lex were not on a date, nor were they dating. They were friends, and friends helped each other out. It wasn’t as if she was going to go home with the soccer player….at least not tonight, that was.

Lex let his gaze roam over the crowd until it landed on the man Chloe's finger was pointing at. His brows rose. He had no idea who that person was. He cocked his head to the side, trying to figure out if he'd seen him anywhere before.

“As much as I'd love to help you with that,” Lex admitted, “I'm afraid I don't know this guy. In fact, I don't even know who that is.”

For a moment, his thoughts galloped away in a strange direction, telling him he wouldn't have introduced her even if he knew the man, but he cut that thought off and returned safely to the conversation at hand. Hopefully Chloe wouldn't be too disappointed.

Chloe threw up her hands and feigned annoyance. “Oh, Lex, what good are you to me then?” She crossed her arms over her chest and said, “If you’re not going to introduce me to eligible bachelors then we’re really going to have to talk about where this relationship is going.” Chloe couldn’t help it, she just loved to tease Lex. Especially because he always took it in stride.

She ran her tongue over her bottom lip a few times as she thought. She couldn’t pass up this chance. Nigel was all hot and standing over there. His suit was of a light color that set off his black skin. He stood a good head over the other man that he was with and she watched as he good naturedly let some woman rub his bald head.

He said something to her and she laughed. Her date looked worried and quickly too her away from the Brit. “Well, if you don’t know him, then we’ll just have to come up with a plan, won’t we?”

Lex's brows rose as he looked at Chloe, then back at the man. The stranger was basically a negative copy of himself, which made him chuckle. He shook his head and signaled for a waiter, then ordered drinks. He really didn't want to introduce Chloe to that man for some reason, but if that was what she wished.

Turning back around, he braced his head on the hand that had rested behind Chloe's back before and gave her a scrutinizing look. “Very well, then. What do you know about that guy? I have to know his weaknesses to exploit them, after all.”

He knew that the crack about what their relationship was worth if she couldn't use him hadn't been serious, but it had stung non the less. Lex wasn't above using people himself, but he had been used a little too often for his tastes when it came to relationships of any kind. However, if she'd been serious on some level, then it wouldn't hurt to indulge her. He was loathe to loose her company for any reason, yet.

Chloe laughed at Lex’s choice of words and the dry way in which he delivered them. He sounded very much like the cold hearted evil genius out to rule the word that everyone thought he was. “Well, I know that he’s weak on the right side of the pitch,” she shook her head, thinking about a few of the matches that had been close calls because of his play, “but not much else other than that.”

Lex looked back over at the man, studying him once more. She could only imagine what types of strategies were playing out in his head in order to get her introduced to Nigel. One more fantastic than the next, no doubt. She followed his gaze and noticed that the other man was now seated at the bar and a handful of women had already made their way over to him.

The other women probably didn’t know who he was, just that he was good looking and clearly had money. She noticed that the men they were with had tense looks on their faces, almost as if they were waiting to be ditched for Nigel.

She looked over at Lex and watched him as he watched the action over at the bar. Lex was confident and self assured and would never react in the way that the women’s’ dates were. He seemed more than happy to help Chloe.

But…

“Hey, Lex,” she said, putting her hand on his leg, “don’t worry about it. I’ve already got one handsome bald man at my disposal. What more could a girl need?”

Lex's head swiveled back around, automatically zoning in on the point of contact first, looking at Chloe's hand on his thigh before his eyes traveled up to Chloe's face. She was chewing on her bottom lip and Lex would've paid a tidy sum to anyone who'd be able to tell him what was going on in her head at that moment.

“I appreciate the compliment,” he answered smoothly, “But if you really want to meet him, I'm sure I could arrange it,” he prodded.

She'd really seemed keen on getting her hands on that guy for her to all of a sudden change her mind like that. Speaking of, her hand was still on his thigh. Peculiar. More peculiar, he didn't mind it being there.

Their drinks arrived and it effectively shattered the moment, Chloe's hand leaving his leg to reach out and take her martini as Lex turned around to pick up his glass of scotch.

The first sip of her drink slid down her throat smoothly and caused a slight warming in her belly. She was already feeling more relaxed in good company and with a very fine drink in her hand. Sparing another glance in Nigel’s direction, she noticed a few more women in his immediate vicinity.

She shook her head, “There’s really no need,” she explained, “I don’t want to be another one of the groupies. Besides,” she said, the thought striking her just at that moment, “I’m sure he’d like some peace as well.”

Again, she thought of Lex. The way that men and women both usually accosted him at work and during his personal time. Yes, she definitely didn’t want to go over there. Besides, Lex looked so relaxed sipping on his Scotch, she didn’t want to make him have to put on his game face again.

“Alright.” Lex let it go at that.

Unfortunately, now he found himself at a lack of conversation. What do you say to a woman who'd just outright ogled another guy in front of you then turned around and shrugged it off as if it wasn't important.

“I don't think that peace is something that can be found in a place like this,” he answered to her last comment.

If you wanted peace, you had to get yourself a place away from the bustling of the city, lock the doors and make sure nobody knows where you are. That's how it worked for him. Granted, he wasn't a celebrity in the usual sense of the term, but people did have a tendency to bother him, especially the press.

Chloe shrugged one shoulder and said, “I suppose you’re right. But, I think that it’s the best that can be done while out in public.” She looked around the room again and finally saw some bouncers discreetly shooing away the women from Nigel.

“If you wanted true peace and quiet,” she commented, her gaze settling back to Lex, “you’d have to retire and hole yourself away in your house.”

Chloe took another sip of her drink adding, “From a purely selfish point of view I cannot allow you to do that. I’ve become accustomed to our conversations about semi-maniac children and our top secret project. Can’t let you get all reclusive scientist guy on me.”

Lex had the decency not to snort into his drink at that comment. Without knowing it, Chloe had hit the nail on the spot. Well, she'd find out soon enough.

“And what if there was a position open for demented personal assistant?” he asked offhandedly.

He might actually have a second lab coat somewhere and it would be a perfect opportunity to get back at her for the glasses jibe. Plus, he did really want to show her the blueprints and computer graphics he'd accumulated.

At the visual image of her cackling like a loon at Lex’s side, her hair standing straight up ala the Bride of Frankenstein, as they attempted to strap a hissing cat into a toy car, Chloe’s body started to shake with laughter. She spilled a little of her drink, but thankfully it only hit the exposed skin above the V of the shirt she was wearing. She flicked away the droplet of moisture and put her drink down.

Turning back to Lex, she said, “I suppose that it would depend on how good the fringe benefits were.” Not again.

Only once the words were out of her mouth did Chloe realize that she had dropped her voice slightly and that she had stressed the last two words. Her statement couldn’t be taken as anything else but a sexual innuendo.

Thankfully, his glass hadn't made it all the way to his mouth yet, or there would have been an accident. Instead, his gaze slowly went up to meet Chloe's, one eyebrow arched in question. She was flirting with him. Again. And he wasn't sure how serious she was being, considering that she always seemed to want to hit herself after it happened. Or at least that's what her expression indicated at the moment.

“Well, I suppose we could work out the details later, but for starters I was thinking unrestricted access to my material and the joy of being an evil genius sidekick? Insurance would of course be provided,” he answered smoothly as if she hadn't just made a blatant sexual innuendo.

Bless Lex and his ability to ignore her when she made an ass out of herself. Things could have quickly gotten very sticky after her last comment. She tilted her head to the side as if considering his offer.

“If you throw in dental, you’ve got yourself an evil sidekick.” She made a hmming sound in the back of her throat. “Then again, we’d have to come up with another title.”

“Sidekick,” she said, making a face. “It just doesn’t have a scary ring to it. And, really, when I’m doing your nefarious bidding, who is going to be scared of a women who answers to sidekick?”

Lex pondered for a moment, trying to think of a title that would suit her. She obviously wanted something special. “Well usually, people get scared when they hear the phrase 'Mr. Luthor's personal assistant', but since that one is already taken,” he trailed off.

Why was he thinking about this anyway? Because he really had nothing better to think of at the moment and he rather enjoyed being silly for a change. Even though his facial muscles weren't used to the work out of smiling so much.

“How about Ms. Malicient?”

Chloe stroked her chin in what she hoped was an appropriate facsimile of someone up to no good as she considered her new title. “Hmmm,” she glanced over at Lex and said, “just couldn’t stay away from the alliteration, could you?”

“But,” she continued on, “it’s much better than sidekick so I’ll take it.” She picked up her glass and then clinked it with Lex’s before taking a drink. Considering their conversation, she asked, “Lex, have you been working on this already and have taken this long to share it with your lovely, evil assistant?”

If that were true, Chloe didn’t know what they were doing here when she could be laughing at him in the privacy of his own home.

Lex glanced away as he finished the rest of his drink, before looking back at Chloe.

“Well, I actually got the blue prints a couple of days ago and started brain storming on the special features, nothing too major happened yet,” he answered modestly.

All of a sudden, he was a bit nervous. Lex hadn't been nervous since his first international conference. He ground his molars for a second trying to examine this feeling closer and figured it had to be because he really wanted to impress Chloe.

“A couple of days ago,” Chloe asked, her voice rising a little. She couldn’t believe that Lex had held out her this long. “I can’t believe that you held out on me this long,” she said, incredulously.

“How am I supposed to be a proper assistant if I don’t even know what stage we’re at?” She plunked her glass back down on the table and said, “What if some evil investors came my way and asked for an update while twirling their handlebar mustaches?”

She looked over at him and could tell that he was thoroughly amused by her display. Playing it up, Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and said, “I bet you left the blue prints at home, too, didn’t you?” She sighed loudly when he nodded. “Useless, utterly useless.”

Lex chuckled, his nervousness gone once more at Chloe's little act. “Well, if it's any consolation, I locked them up in my lab,” he offered.

He discretely waved the waiter over to pay for their drinks, having a feeling that it wouldn't take long before Chloe's curiosity got the better of her and she'd start bodily dragging him out of his seat and back to his car.

Her head shook slowly and Chloe pinched the bridge of her nose before she took a deep breath and spoke. “How would that be any consolation to me? Did you invent a teleporter that will magically make them appear here?” Lex shook his head and Chloe made a disgusted noise. “You are so lucky that I haven’t had a better offer to work with another evil genius.”

The waiter approached them and Chloe spoke up before Lex could say anything. “Please add our drinks to Mr. Luthor’s tab.” The man nodded once, smiled at both of them and then promptly disappeared.

Chloe wasn’t worried about Lex’s reaction because she was certain that he was on the same page as she was. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go.”

Lex smirked and shook his head slightly, but got up from his seat anyway and closed the button on his jacket before offering Chloe his arm.

“Alright, Ms. Malicient, let's get back to the secret laboratory then.”

He had a strange feeling that if he really had been an evil genius, Chloe would be able to drive him towards total world domination with in a few months through sheer stubbornness.

Chloe smiled when Lex pronounced ‘laboratory’ in the British way that made the word sound devious. She took his arm and said, “Damn straight.”

As they made their way out of the Palladium, she couldn’t help but notice that she and Lex were being watched rather closely. By the next day, she was sure that word that Lex had a blonde on his arm would be all over the gossip pages. Thankfully, there wouldn’t be any pictures.

But, she knew that she was going to have a conversation with her editor sooner rather than later. If she and Lex were going to be seen around town, she needed to ease him into the idea slowly.

As they made their way back to Lex’s place it occurred to Chloe that she hadn’t considered, not even for a moment, taking things down a notch with Lex. It had great professional ramifications for her but she had brushed them aside. Again, she decided not to think too deeply on that. She had better things to think about.

Like where she was going to find a cat for Lex.

[kimmie]

You finally update...I was getting worried their for a while and thats not to mention the withdrawl symptoms!!! I loved this update and i get a feeling that we're getting nearer and nearer to some chlex smoochies!!! Am I right? Please say I'm right!!!

Update again really, really, really soon...PLEASE before I drive myself totally crazy!!!

Kimmie