Ends and Means - R *Now Complete* w/ PDF Posted

[bluebrise]

Great chapter, I especially loved the fast flowing dialogue and how Chloe's making herself at home now. Oh and that little tension between Chloe and Lex - wonderful!

[fussy_wuzzy]

Excellent! My favorite parts were Chloe being mad because she wants to look good for her meeting and the men's reaction to learning about the terms of the insurance policy.

[Tehzo]

This is very interesting so far.

I really like the way you're handling the relationship between Lex and Bruce. In other fics I've read, Bruce is usually the more confident and loose one. I never really pictured Bruce as being that way. But here, their characters and the interaction between them seem very right and well written.

Chloe looked up, smiling brightly. “So it looks like you guys are stuck with me for the foreseeable future. Cooperate and this will be pretty painless. I will warn you, though, ‘stalling’ me just makes me irritable and then nobody has any fun.”

I liked how you had Chloe feeling slightly nervous in the elevator. The moment she entered Bruce's office, she was straight-forward and confident. But her feelings right before showed that she wasn't overly arrogant. And then in the office, the confidence she displayed spoke of her experience and how much she had grown.

Great chapter. Can't wait for more.

[kimmie]

Loved how stunned Lex was at seeing Chloe and i'm really looking forward to them working together!!!

Can't wait for another brilliant update!

Kimmie

[June]

I know I said I was hooked after the last chapter, but I am officially done in for now.

Chloe's insurance jargon was amusing and itriguing at most. I really, really like what you've done with her character in terms of maturation and the way she fits into her job and the people she works with. I've never doubted that Chloe was a smart girl, but everyone you write her with in her work place (Ted, Danny) seems to relate and react to her so well it is almost as if she has them wrapped around her finger. The Chloe you write gives off an aurua of power and I love it.

Slipping on her sunglasses, Chloe got into her car, threw it into gear and proceeded to drive herself out of Smallville.


Five months early, alone, and heading in the opposite direction of Metropolis.

Something about these last two lines of the flashback stuck with me. I love your take on what happened, and the way you explained it. It's what I see having happend almost to a T.

“Mr. Fox doesn’t see anyone without an appointment. He’s a very busy man.”

“I am very happy for him. You can tell ‘Mr. Fox’s’ assistant to tell ‘Mr. Fox’ that I’m here about their recent claim to Allied Insurance. The claim involving that big building of yours that blew sky-high a few weeks ago? The claim that won’t be paid until I talk to him, ‘Mr. Wayne’ and ‘Mr. Luthor.’”

The young receptionist blinked at her.

“I can write that down for you if you want,” added Chloe.

The receptionist scowled at her almost imperceptibly and went back to whispering into the telephone.

She raised her head again, “Mr. Fox will be out in a moment.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Super.” God, she hated receptionists who thought they were the Gestapo.

So do I, Babe. So do I. I had to quote this entire thing because I loved every word of it-- especially the take charge Chloe who put the damn receptionist in her place.

A knock on the door interrupted their ‘discussion’ which by now had gotten quite loud.

“Not now!” shouted Bruce. He turned his attention back to Lex. “No way, you aren’t going to try to blame this mess on me again. We both know how we got here. If you had stayed focused on getting this done instead of acting like you were trying to get elected…”

“Stop being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous? I was there, Lex! The only things missing were the American flags and a campaign bus. You want to run for office, you do it on your own dime, not on mine. Between that and your secret deals…”

“You are the last person on earth allowed to talk to me about secrets, Bruce…”

Another long quote, but I had to cause I loved it so much. Bruce and Lex's little tat was hilarious in a way that reminded me of two brothers arguring over something pointless only this wasn't really a pointless issue, yet it was still amusing. In the last comment I can just hear Lex's scoff... I really like them-- alone and together-- especially in this story.

“Get back there and what?” asked a clear female voice from the doorway. “Stall her? I think the ship has sailed on that option, gentlemen.”

Oh, how I love Chloe Sullivan. Loved her entrance there-- definitely made a lasting impact.

“And I can’t believe how many people still don’t read the fine print,” said Chloe, leaning against Bruce’s desk. All three men frowned at her. “The devil is in the details, after all. So…” she looked around the enormous office. “Mr. Wayne? Care to show me where I’ll be working for the next few weeks?”

Love it, Love it, love it. I love how you write the three of them in a room together. Where Chloe should most definitely be the odd one out and less powerful one in the situation, you write her as the leader and I love it.

(have I mentioned that my muses are insane?). Anyway, after I switched it, I realized the TWW reference and then I totally had to keep it that way. No Joshes or Donnas will show up, though. Sorry.

I know all about insane muses, trust me. Although I can't say i'm not the tinisest bit disappoited that J/D and their refreshing loving banter won't be showing up any time soon.. I can live with the gentle reminder of the once favorite show with the CJ/Danny reference. I swear it just makes me love this story even more.

BTW, how do you see your Fox? Cause after seeing the movie, all I can see is Morgan Freeman...

[hfce]

Great update.

[lexchloe]

Excellent update. I am so loving badass Chloe. Love how she held her own against Bruce and Lex and wouldn't let them intimidate her.

“Mr. Fox’s assistant says you don’t have an appointment,” said the receptionist loftily, interrupting Chloe’s thoughts.

‘No shit, you think I would have warned them that I was coming?’

“Mr. Fox doesn’t see anyone without an appointment. He’s a very busy man.”

“I am very happy for him. You can tell ‘Mr. Fox’s’ assistant to tell ‘Mr. Fox’ that I’m here about their recent claim to Allied Insurance. The claim involving that big building of yours that blew sky-high a few weeks ago? The claim that won’t be paid until I talk to him, ‘Mr. Wayne’ and ‘Mr. Luthor.’”

The young receptionist blinked at her.

“I can write that down for you if you want,” added Chloe

“What?” exclaimed Bruce.

“That’s $20 million!” said Lex.

“You did that all in your head? I’m impressed,” Chloe replied dryly and smiled faintly when Lex glared at her

hee hee. I especially liked these parts. Gotta love snarky Chloe. It will be interesting to see Lex's explanation to Bruce about Chloe. Also can't wait for a one on one reunion between Chloe and Lex given how long its been since they've seen eachother and the abrupt ending of their friendship. Can't wait for the next one.

[Kit Merlot]

This was excellent!

Chloe was beautifully snarky, and I loved that Lex was stunned to see who the investigator was

But I hate the way their friendship ended in Smallville, but I'm glad that Chloe is as successful as she is.

Can't wait for more!

[welshy]

That was a lovely update

[dreamerjules]

Will happily wait patiently for this story and Chloe's backstory. Especially if the updates continue on a regular basis.

Loved the glimpse of it. I can see her getting so fed up with everything in Smallville, the bald dumb billionaire being top of the list. It also explains some of the animosity Chloe showed toward Lex this past season. I like that.

Julie