A/N : Okay, so now that my life is settling down some and back into a routine, albeit a new routine, I want and need to get back to my writing. I had this idea for a Chlex fic, a little different to anything I did before, and completey AU. I don't know how often I'll update this or even if I'll figure out how to get to the end, but here goes... Hope you like
Chapter 1
Present Day - 15th December 2007
Chloe burst through the doors into the office from the hall, attempting to stop the tears that still wanted to roll down her flushed cheeks. It was ridiculous, the pain and sadness ought to have been faked and yet it all felt terribly real as she stood here in this room, taking in the familiar surroundings that it was now time to leave behind. Two years ago today she had stood here in her wedding dress, shaking with nerves as she contemplated what she was about to do, what she was getting herself into. Now, she realised she’d completely misjudged the situation, now she hated the agreement she had made back then. Things could have been so different, but it was too late and too much had happened now.
Taking a deep breath, Chloe wiped her face with both hands to remove the tear stains from her cheeks, and moved across the room to where her bag was secretly hidden. Her watch told her that her performance had been timed to perfection, the driver would have the car ready in the garage beneath the mansion, but Chloe couldn’t just leave.
This room, this house, it held too many memories, each one as beautiful and painful as the one before. It was strange and almost agonising to realise there would be no more. It shouldn’t matter of course, she should be perfectly happy to walk out of here, proud of her achievements, proud of how she’d helped a friend out of a fix, but she couldn’t concentrate on those things. That friend, as he had once been, no longer held that title, and Chloe had to concentrate to keep her breathing even and the tears away at the very thought of how her losses in this far out-weighed the gain.
Turning towards the door by which she’d entered, making to leave with her head held high, she didn’t quite make it. Chloe’s breath caught in her throat as she realised her exit was now blocked, and by the very man she was trying to find a way to walk out on.
“You were impressive in there” he told her, removing one hand from his pocket to gesture vaguely down the hall, “You played the wronged woman to perfection” he half-smiled as he walked towards her.
“I’ve had some practice” she reminded him, with a sniff, “Anyway, it’s done now. Time for me to go” she said, with a faked grin that broke the moment she’d stepped past him.
“Chloe...” he called behind her and though she stopped walking she daren’t turn back, “How did we come to this?” he asked her.
“We committed the worst kind of sin, Lex” she said flatly, sparing him but one second glance before continuing on her way, “We mixed business with pleasure”
Two Years Earlier - 20th November 2005
Surrounded by the rich and famous, amongst the hustle and bustle of some crazy party atmosphere, this was the last place that Lex Luthor wanted to be. He ought to feel right at home, and was sure he would tonight, if not for the fact he had other things on his mind. Vivanta was normally his favourite place just to go and chill out for a while, though lately business and family matters had taken him away from his hang out that he liked so much.
It was all his fathers fault, though even Lex couldn’t find it in his somewhat cold heart to blame the man in question. Lionel Luthor had been far from the perfect Dad whilst Alexander was growing up, and yet his illness and subsequent death was not something Lex had coped hugely well with. It meant he was actually alone in the world now, very literally. Friends and girlfriends had come and gone from his life, some more than others by his own fault. Nevertheless, with his mother having passed away years ago when he was just a child, and his father having now followed the same path, that left only Lex, with an apartment in Metropolis that he already found too vast, and now a mansion in Smallville that would be even moreso.
It seemed that his father had foreseen the problem of Lex being alone and wanted something done about it. Lex physically winced as he played over the words he’d had read to him from Lionel’s will. Whilst the part stating that everything was to be left to Lex came as no big surprise, the conditions on his keeping everything he had inherited had brought on a fit of first stunned laughter and then cursing that would make a sailor blush!
“Lex” he suddenly heard his name and glanced up at the familiar eyes and smile of his favourite bartender, “For a while there I wondered if you were ever coming back to us”
“Come on, Chloe” he rolled his eyes at the pretty blonde, “You know your charm will always lure me back here eventually” he teased.
“And you know that flattery gets you nowhere with me, Mr Luthor” she told him, but was smiling none the less as she got him his usual drink on automatic and placed it on the bar in front of him, “Y’know I am sorry about your Dad” she said suddenly, her smile faltering, “I wasn’t going to mention but...”
“Thank you, Chloe” he said, putting his hand over hers on the bar, “You might just be the first person to mean those words so genuinely, but then I suppose it is helped by the fact you spent so little time in my fathers company” he smirked.
“I know what it is to lose a parent” she reminded him, “Okay, so my Mom isn’t gone in the same way but... well, you know” she shrugged, knowing he’d understand without further explanation that would only upset her if she had to give it.
He nodded that he understood as she excused herself to go serve other patrons waiting for drinks but promised to be back to talk with him later.
Alone once again, Lex let out a long breath and watched Chloe working. Guys whose best friend, or only friend, was a bar-tender were not often the most stable of men, and yet his connection with Chloe Sullivan wasn’t fuelled by the alcohol he drank here at the cocktail bar that was Vivanta. No, he and Chloe were real friends, in the truest sense, in that they knew every little thing about each other, more-or-less anyway.
It was crazy, they were from such different words, they shouldn’t get along so well, he one of the worlds few billionaire businessmen, and she a lowly bartender and waitress. Of course, Chloe aspired to more than that, and Lex had happily listened to her ramble on for hours about the career she was sure she was destined to have at the Daily Planet as the best reporter Metropolis, hell, even the world had ever seen. Right now she was studying hard at college, and paying her way quite easily via the top-end lower class wage she earnt at Vivanta. It wasn’t all about serving drinks and smiling politely, secret meetings took place here, which led to Chloe and her fellow staff earning a pretty penny for keeping their mouths shut about what they heard within these walls. If not for the crush a certain Mr Queen had on Chloe’s cousin, Lois Lane, Miss Sullivan knew she never even would have scored the job here. It was one of the luckiest events in her young life and she only hoped that particular luck did not run out.
Glancing down the bar, Chloe saw Lex staring into his drink as if he hoped it held the answer to his problems. Of course it didn’t, but Chloe hoped she might. She seemed to be the only one that could raise a smile in her favourite billionaire and made it her business to do just that each and every time he’d had a bad day. It might’ve been just another part of her job but not where the young Mr Luthor was concerned. He and Chloe were the strangest pair of best friends, nothing more, nothing less, at least not until tonight.
Heading back down the bar, she told her fellow bartender she was going on her break, drew off a shot of vodka and moved onto the other side of the bar, taking a seat beside a glum looking Lex Luthor.
“Okay, spill” she said, giving him a look, and he gazed back at her, “Come on, Luthor, something’s on your mind, and I don’t believe it’s all about your father”
“For once, Chloe, I’m afraid you’re wrong” Lex sighed, sipping at his scotch, “Though it’s not my fathers passing that is my real problem, the issue I have is almost completely his doing”
“Okay, explain” Chloe said with a frown, taking a mouthful of her own drink as she listened and he told her all.
“My father has put certain conditions on my inheritance, including the mansion in Smallville, his shares in all the businesses, and every asset” Lex sighed.
“What kind of conditions?” the blonde wanted to know, “I mean there’s no way you haven’t totally proved yourself as the model businessman...”
“Unfortunately, my father wasn’t only interested in my business acumen” Lex smirked, “He was very interested, however, in ensuring the family line is continued” he said, with a look as the cogs in Chloe’s head turned enough that she figured out what he was saying.
“Wait a second” she shook her head in disbelief, “You’re saying you can’t inherit any of your fathers money or anything until you, what? Have a son?”
“Not quite” Lex told her, finishing off his drink, “but I do have to guarantee the stability of the Luthor family tree by marrying a woman of certain specification within the next month, or else allow everything I’ve been working towards all my life to fall into the hands of God only knows who” he said with a humourless laugh as Chloe’s eyes widened.
“Lex, that’s... How could our father put you in that position?” she asked, though the question was pointless, since she already knew the answer.
Lionel was so twisted he could make a double helix look straight, and even now he was determined to make Lex’s life difficult from beyond the grave. Unfortunately, before Chloe had a chance to talk to her friend about his problem further her boss appeared and summoned her back behind the bar. Her protests that she was just taking her break fell on deaf ears as he pressed his point, telling her he needed to talk to her in the office right now.
With a sigh and apology to Lex, Chloe promised to be right back and headed off behind the bar with her boss. When securely in the office out of everyone’s ear shot, Chloe folded her arms across her chest and looked somewhat peeved.
“What’s up, Matt?” she asked him, since she couldn’t imagine what had been so important as to pull her away from her friend during her break.
“Chloe” Matt sighed, sitting down behind his desk and running both hands back through is hair, “God, how do I say this?” he asked himself.
“How about you open your mouth and just let the words come out before we use up my entire break here?” Chloe suggested in her usual forward manner that Matt was well accustomed to.
He smiled at her phrasing but the look was fleeting before he turned serious again and leaned forward with his elbows on the desk.
“You know you’re a great worker, right, Chloe?” he told her, “And with or without the favour we both know helped you land a job here, I would hire you now without question on your work ethic alone” he told her firmly.
“Why do I think there’s a but coming here?” Chloe said, looking equal parts angry and concerned, after all this was starting to look like a speech that ended with her losing her job, though she wasn’t sure she understood why yet.
“The fact is the great reference you got courtesy of Mr Queen has been... revoked” he offered as his own suggested word and Chloe turned her eyes heavenward.
“Damn you, Lois!” she yelled, stamping a foot in frustration, “He found out about her and Clark didn’t he?” she asked Matt who shook his head.
“Mr Queen didn’t tell me why, he just said he’d take his business and a lot of other peoples business elsewhere if I didn’t keep Lois Lane and any of her associates out of Vivanta” Matt said, looking terribly guilty about even having to say this to her.
Chloe was one of the best workers he’d ever had, and if it was up to him he would not be firing her, in fact he’d be promoting her instead. As it was, he couldn’t afford to lose half or more of his clientele, and Oliver Queen had enough pull to make it happen, in much the same way that he made certain the woman he adored, Lois Lane, got everything she wanted, including a favour for her cousin who was desperate for a job that paid well.
If what Chloe said was true, it would seem Miss Lane had happily taken all that her admirer would offer, without giving anything in return. In fact, it seemed she had another admirer who’s advances she found much less questionable. Finding out he’d been taken for a ride wasn’t going to thrill any man, but one so powerful as Oliver Queen would doubtless be doubly pissed.
Chloe was hardly less angry as she muttered something about getting her stuff together, before storming from the office. Sometimes she hated guys with money and power. In a lot of ways she had to respect them, and she couldn’t exactly blame Oliver Queen for all this, Lois was as much to blame for playing two guys off against each other the way she had.
The look on Chloe’s face when she emerged into the bar area told Lex she was far from happy, and that her talk with the manager had gone far from well.
“What happened?” he asked, looking genuinely concerned as she approached him.
“Not here” she said with a shake of her head, “Can we go somewhere?” she asked, and he agreed immediately, getting up from his stool and walking with her to the exit.
It suddenly occurred to both of them as they stepped out onto the street and the cold night air hit them that this was a little odd. They were practically best friends, and yet they had never seen each other purposefully outside of the bar. Their meetings and conversations were always there, with Chloe working and Lex either de-stressing after a tough day or meeting some fellow rich and powerful businessman to cut a deal. They didn’t spend time together outside of the bubble that was Vivanta, until now. Without a word the pair just started walking, down the street, around the corner and across into the park on the opposite side of the road, where Chloe dropped down onto a bench and Lex joined her, still in silence.
“I was fired” she said flatly then.
“Chloe, if this has something to do with our friendship...” Lex said guilty, hating to think he might be the cause of her problems.
“No, Lex, it has nothing to do to you” she smiled slightly at his concern, as she put a hand to his arm, reassuring him that this was really not his fault, “No, the hand up I got from Lois’ admirer, Oliver Queen, has just been taken away and left me to fall flat on my face” she sighed, “Oliver found out Lois has a new boyfriend, and he’s not happy with anybody associated with her, especially the cousin he helped get a job, be anywhere near his favourite hang out”
“You know I never did like that Queen” Lex said seriously, “I can deal with this, Chloe, if you want me to”
“Hey, whoa on the white charger routine, Luthor” Chloe laughed lightly, “I already had one rich guy mess with my employment, I think this time I’ll go it alone” she told him with a good-natured smile, “I appreciate the offer though” she said definitely, after all she was going to need cash from somewhere and fast if she was going to keep her place in college and the life to which she was accustomed.
“Come on, Chloe” Lex urged her, “Let me do something to help you” he practically begged as he turned sideways on the wooden seat and looked at her with almost pleading eyes, “What’s the point in my being one of the richest guys in the world if I can’t use what I have to help those I care about most?”
“Lex” she sighed, “If I was your friend just because I wanted your money I’d’ve seduced you and married you by now” she said rolling her eyes as she got to her feet once again.
Considering she was often famed for having an answer to everything, Lex ought to have been proud that his next question rendered Chloe speechless, and yet that wasn’t really the first thing that came to mind. In fact, he was almost as shocked as she was that he’d said it just moments after the words had left his lips.
“Then why don’t you?” he said as she turned wide eyes upon him, “Chloe, why don’t you marry me?”
To Be Continued...
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I only hope that this and future chapters of the story live up to the expectations of all the fabulous people reading it 
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