Playing with Fire
Chapter 1 – Dragon's Evil ClutchesLex closed his study door behind him and then, for no good reason, stopped to listen to the person he'd just ushered out. There was no sound. Lex felt his throat tighten and he swallowed quickly. Then he heard rustles of clothing being arranged and the footsteps started, slowly at first, and then more and more quickly down the hallway. Away from him. Out of the dragon's evil clutches. Lex felt weak, as if he'd been holding his breath for too long, so he sat back down on his chair and stared straight ahead. What was going on with him anyway? Even at the height of his rashest business plan – creating Lex Corp – Lex hadn't felt this way. Sure, he'd been somewhat anxious, but that had only been the first spurt of adrenaline. He'd quickly returned to what he called his "business persona." Controlled, calculating, impersonal, and always ruled by reason.
But now, after what could only be described as a paltry business deal, he was feeling, well, he wasn't quite sure. But he was definitely bothered. Or perturbed, Lex mentally corrected himself. And, he couldn't explain why.
His eyes gradually unfocused, and he thought he could see her sitting in front of him again. He'd trained himself to size up his opponents, to pinpoint their weaknesses. He'd seen hers the second she entered the room, his eyes training coldly up her body. She'd been sweating slightly and breathing too quickly. Desperate. In that instant, he'd known that she would do anything in exchange for his help.
He had entered his study confident that he already knew the basic outline of her relationship with his father. He'd seen it many times before, after all. Obviously, Lionel was using her for some sort of information, most likely about Clark and the meteor rocks. And, no doubt, they were also sleeping together. As a boy, he remembered Lionel saying, "You want control over women, Lex? If you want it, you're going to have to make them lose control. Make them rely on you for the best moments of their life. Easiest way to do that? It's simple, you have sex with them." Here Lionel had laughed slightly. "Works like a charm every time." Except that for Lex, it hadn't. He'd found out the hard way that sex made him lose control, made him lose all power. Victoria, Desiree...Helen. They'd all had him in the palm of their hand.
But in any case, Chloe had probably revealed one too many secrets and her conscience was finally catching up with her. He couldn't say he was surprised with what she had done. He'd known from the beginning that she didn't fit in here in Smallville. The brand that said "city girl" was in every pore of her body. She moved too quickly, too decisively, had too many opinions, was too driven and too ambitious. Submerged within the slow-paced life of Smallville, she fit in about as much as a butterfly in a room full of flies.
So when she stood in front of him and told him what had happened, he didn't believe her. Yes, she admitted, she was supposed to feed information about Clark to Lionel, but no, she hadn't revealed anything because Clark was "her friend." Inwardly, Lex had scoffed and quickly suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. But then, in what he could only describe now as a truly bad move, he'd looked down into her eyes. They were big and round. Frightened. He felt himself drawn into their blackness.
Suddenly, he was giving her his word that he would protect her. And actually meaning it.
At the last moment, he'd finally grabbed hold of himself quickly enough to spit out the obvious terms. Anything she had on his father now belonged to him. She had no choice but to agree, and both of them knew that he now as good as owned her.
In one fell swoop, he had managed to control the one wild card in the town of Smallville and also find real dirt on his father.
Then why wasn't he elated, thrilled? Concocting his next mastermind against good old dad?
Why was it that he was sitting here alone, pretending he was staring into Chloe's dark eyes?