Chapter 4: The Words and What they Meant

Tess grinned at me as she slammed the Daily Planet on my desk. "I thought I told you no charm."

"Good morning to you too."

"You just can't listen to instructions, can you?" She was clearly holding back her anger.

"Regarding the charm thing. Could you narrow that down a little?"

"I thought the paper would give you a clue, but apparently your Ivy League education neglected to teach you about symbolism."

I turned around to face her. "We danced, we talked, we parted. If my memory serves me correct, I'm also pretty sure I saw Chloe Sullivan leaving early." Then I looked down at the photo and realized where Tess was coming from. "But... you probably don't believe me."

"Come on Oliver, you know better than me that she's sent numerous bullets towards the company." She squinted her eyes at me. "Don't tell me you sweet-talked your way into some good publicity."

I stood up and stared Tess into the eyes, "Come on Mercy, you've been praying for me to smarten up and deliver a decent interview. Sullivan is one of the Planet strictest reporters; if she wanted to fire a bullet, she would have. Besides, she told me that her photographer left before she could get the photo she wanted."

She raised her eyebrows at me. "That's the best you can give me?"

"Nothing happened."

"You better be right because it's not just the photo that worries me," she said as she stormed out.

I proceeded to read the article and remembered the dance with Ms. Sullivan. She was so embarrassed about this picture, but she looked good.

However, Tess wasn't kidding. I'm not sure I would have believed myself. I had a collection of the pieces Chloe Sullivan has done in the past and she had never been this sympathetic towards me or Queen Industries. Mercy said she was sent to cover the pressures upon the company, but instead it was an analysis of me. She talked to my employees and shareholders about my recent struggles. However, most of them didn't see it like that.

Some saw a vision of my father in me, and my "speech" at last month's shareholders meeting showed that I was taking my position CEO more seriously. Apparently, I showed maturity in admitting my faults and they were convinced the evacuation notice interrupted the positive part where I resolve to turn around the company. I never would have thought Toyman's confession would have a positive effect on my image. However, it wasn't just their opinion that was changing, hers was different too. The way she wrote about me, it was almost like she was a different person. Usually she was quick to pull punches and question statements like that, but she didn't. She agreed with them.

However, like Tess, I thought something didn't feel right. Not that I didn't appreciate the positive publicity, it felt that she was hiding something, and that's why she wrote the article this way. Unfortunately, I had no way of getting in contact with her. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I dialled the one person I knew who could help me.

Clark had followed me home since I was avoiding him at the Planet. I thought Lois would hold him up there, but he sped to the Talon and didn't give me a chance to avoid the conversation any longer. I knew that he was trying to protect me, but this was getting ridiculous.

"Listen to me, Chloe. I just think that you should have talked to me before submitting this. You're asking for trouble by publishing something like this."

"Clark, I'll be fine." I walked in and tried to shut the door, but Clark prevented it from closing. Knowing that it was a losing battle, I let go and said, "You can come in and hang around, but I have a lot of stuff to do. Make sure to close the door behind you before Lois gets here."

I tried to walk away, but Clark caught up to me and grabbed my arm. "You know these people, Chloe. They'll think you're getting soft."

I pulled my arm back and turned around to face him. "Talk to your girlfriend then. What else was I supposed to do with that photo?"

"Lois and I aren't..."

I cocked my head to the side. "Oh please Clark. Don't give me that."

Looking down, he said, "That's not the point. I just don't want you to get hurt."

Having enough, I snapped. "Why doesn't anyone think I can handle anything since Jimmy? I can take care of myself." I took a moment to regain my composure and then continued. "Look Clark, he showed me courtesy last night and I wanted to return the favour. Besides, what kind of trouble can I get into for a positive article?" I didn't want to tell Clark that I felt sorry for Oliver Queen because I saw something that I wasn't supposed to.

Then something hit me. "A month ago, you had me give an evacuation notice as he was giving a speech, along with re-routing and deleting camera footage from that night. It looked like he had more confessions up his sleeve before I cut off the footage, so if he's so terrible, why not expose him for who he is?"

Before Clark could answer, my phone rang. Saved by the bell again Clark. I wish I had your luck, you don't even need luck.

"Sullivan."

"Hi, Ms Sullivan. It's Oliver Queen."

"Oh." I looked at Clark and realized that talking in front of him wouldn't be the best choice. I slipped outside hoping that he wouldn't eavesdrop.

"I got your number from Perry, I hope that's okay. I wanted to talk to you about the article."

"Before you say anything, I know it's not what Perry sent me for, but with the photo, I had to improvise."

"I'll be sure to let Tess Mercer know. She thinks I did something to you in return for some good publicity."

I laughed, thinking about Clark. "While I bet she has a good reason to assume that, I've been getting that a lot too. I usually try not to kick a man while he's down."

"Really?"

He was right; I usually didn't miss an opportunity to do exactly that. "Okay, so maybe I've been harsh in the past. It's just that... I've been where you are. I thought you deserved a little positivity in your life." Why did I say that? It was the truth, but the press hadn't found out where he was during his hiatus, and the while confessional sprung some questionable articles, none of them expressed concern for the billionaire CEO.

There was a pause for about a minute where neither of us said anything, which felt nice after arguing with Clark, but it worried me that he was thinking the same thing I was.

He broke out of it first. "For what it's worth, thank you. It hasn't been easy."

"If you ever need someone to talk to without judgment, feel free to call me."

"I should be going."

"Of course. It's been a pleasure, Mr. Queen."

"Oliver."

"Bye."

Why did I offer to help him? He probably has someone for that. More importantly, if he took me up on my offer, he would find out about me watching the footage.

On the positive side, I was glad I was off the phone because Lois was pulling up and I didn't want to explain myself to her. Of course, that wasn't going to explain Clark waiting for me inside the Talon.

"Chloe, everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just getting some fresh air."

She stared at me funny for a moment, but she snapped out it as she grabbed two bags out of her car. "Well... I've got dinner."

"Lois, we have to stop eating take-out."

"Hey, it's Chinese. You can never have enough Chinese take-out." We walked into the Talon together and I noticed that Clark had left. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, until I saw his coat lying in plain sight.

Lois saw it too and turned towards me. "Was Clark here? I could have sworn that I left him at the Planet."

"I haven't seen him since work, Lois."

"That is his jacket, though."

I shrugged. "He must have forgotten it last night."

She shook her head in disbelief. "I don't remember seeing it this morning." Then she pulled out her phone and started fumbling with it. "Crap," she muttered. That reminded me that I needed to call Mark to ensure he knew I wasn't mad at him, but before I could do anything, Lois ripped my phone from my hand. "Chloe, can I use your phone? Mine's dead."

I sighed. "Sure Lois, although you didn't have to steal it away from me." I left the room for a moment, but I rushed back when I heard a whoosh stop at the door. Clark, be careful. He's going to get caught one of these days. Then I noticed Lois wasn't talking on my phone.

"It doesn't that long to dial a number. What are you doing Lois?"

While hitting buttons, she replied, "Nothing."

The Clark intervention turned out working in my favour as he grabbed the phone from Lois. "I believe this is yours." He handed me my phone.

"Thanks Clark. What brings you here?" I figured I would try to return the favour.

"What, I need a reason to see both of you? Besides, I left my jacket here last night."

Lois had that smug look on her face. I riffled through my phone when I reached my inbox and a message from Oliver Queen. "It wasn't Perry, was it? You gave him my number."

That caught Clark's attention. "Who?"

"No one Clark. Answer the question, Lois."

"How about I answer both?" Lois smirked at me. "Oliver called me, asking me how he could contact you regarding the article. I figured you wouldn't give it to him, so I helped him out. "

Clark turned to Lois. "How did he contact you?" My thoughts exactly.

Lois hesitated for a moment and answered, "Didn't I tell you? I interviewed him way back, and I left him my contact information if he needed a follow up."

It sounded too convenient, but I needed to know what she sent him. His message read: I was thinking about your offer. How about coffee tomorrow? OQ

"What did you text back?"

"What was your offer?"

Clark and I said at the same time, "Lois!"

Looking at Clark, she said, "You're a lousy boyfriend – you're supposed to be on my side." She turned back to me and replied, "I said you'd meet him at Metro after work."

I looked at Clark after she used the word 'boyfriend,' but that's when I realized he had never stopped glaring at me. I could tell he didn't approve, but he abandoned me when I needed him. Furthermore, he wasn't being honest with me. He knew what Mr. Queen was doing that night, why did Clark want to save him?

But that wasn't why I had offered to help him. I went through Jimmy's death alone; I wasn't going to do the same thing Clark did when someone asked me for help. No matter how awkward this is going to be.

A/N: This chapter was hard... Tollie banter was more difficult than I thought, and I'm not sure I gave it justice. I've also been watching Veronica Mars on DVD and I'm think elements of Logan Echolls have slipped into Oliver's persona in this chapter...hopefully by Chapter 5 that phase will be out of my system.

I had up until the next chapter planned, and then I got side-tracked and started writing later chapters. Unfortunately, I'm at a bit of a crossroad right now on where to take this story, so bear with me; I'm hoping the wait will be worth it.

Next up: coffee and questions followed by (once I write them) two chapters of confusion, confessions, and answers. After that I need to figure out how to connect the two parts I've written together.