Sweet Surrender ~ Chapter 4

"Wow," Chloe exclaimed after entering the Talon, looking around with an expression of awe. "You've really changed this around since Lana sold her half to Gina."

"Gina handled most of the changes herself, I merely financed the renovations," he replied casually.

"And I'll be in debt with him for the next two years," Gina half laughed, stepping from around the counter to greet them. "Chloe, I thought you went back to Gotham, until I saw your car at Lex's this morning," she added, hinting at being curious.

"My plans changed suddenly," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "But I really 'do' like what you've done to this place!" she reiterated, walking around, taking everything in. "And there's not one drop of pink anywhere," she added cheekily.

"That was Lex's decision. He didn't hinder me with much of anything of what I wanted to do, but he put his foot down in that regard. Is that an inside joke between you or something?" she asked, glancing from one to the other.

"Or something," Chloe smiled, dropping her shoulder bag onto a table and slid into a chair.

"I'll be in the office," Lex mentioned, walking away without waiting for anyone to acknowledge him.

"There's an office now?" Chloe asked, sounding impressed.

"There's always been an office," Gina replied, noticing how they had both reacted to a simple question.

"Oh," Chloe shrugged. "Well, I was always more into the being served aspect of coming in here anyway. I guess I just didn't notice it."

"Chloe," Gina addressed tentatively, sitting down across from her. "I'm not exactly sure what happened yesterday, but, are you mad at me? I feel like I've done something wrong, and I don't know what it was."

"Besides no one telling me about my dad's involvement with... someone? Or the fact that everyone seems to feel that I am out of line because I'm concerned about it? No, why would I possibly be mad at you?"

"Chloe, I didn't know that he hadn't told you," she explained. "None of us realized that you didn't know."

"Didn't the fact that I never came back to meet this woman occur to anyone?!" she asked with exasperation.

"Chloe, you never came back for anything," she said, her own tone full of hurt. "You didn't come to me and Pete's wedding, you didn't come to the reopening of the Talon when I took it over, you didn't even come to our baby's baptism. So why would we think anything was wrong for you not coming to meet Nancy?"

"You know why I left, Gina, and if not you personally then Pete knows," Chloe replied matter of factly. "I have a normal life in Gotham," she stressed, pleading for the woman to understand. "I didn't have that here, I was always trying to find my nitch. I never felt at home here."

"So no one in Smallville ever meant anything to you? It was really that easy for you to just pack up and leave and not look back. Gee, thanks, Chloe, you just made calling you a friend a waste of time." Gina pushed away from the table to walk away.

"Gina, wait," she said, rushing around the table to get in front of her. "How could you possibly think that way? I've always kept in touch with you and Pete. I love getting the baby's pictures, and all the family videos that you send."

"But you were never 'here' Chloe," she said, her eyes brimming with how hurt she felt. "Shauna is going to be five this year, and you've never seen her. Sending money in a card doesn't make you a part of our lives."

"I never thought of it that way," she said softly, Gina's words sinking in full force. "I guess I was so intent on staying away, that I didn't realize I was hurting my friends who were still here. I'm surprised you talked to me at all, you must hate me."

"No, we don't hate you, that's why it hurts."

Lex appeared from the office, strode over to where they stood, and placed his hand gently on Chloe's shoulder. "I have something I need to check on at the bank, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Is everything ok?" Gina asked, sounding worried.

"Nothing that you've done. I'll have it taken care of," he answered Gina, then turned his gaze back to Chloe. "You'll be alright here until I get back?"

"I'll be fine," she reassured him with a smile. Nodding, he walked away and left the Talon.

The gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by Gina. Lex touching Chloe at all was a brow raiser, but the concerned tone of his voice, and the way Chloe obviously relaxed with him near her meant only one thing. There was definitely something between them.

Lex glanced back towards the Talon after getting in his car. He wasn't going to make any headway with pulling Chloe out of her shell, and he knew it. She was after one thing and one thing only, Nancy Garret. Trying to convince her that she was being irrational were Nancy was concerned would only end in him pushing her away further. He needed someone to mediate, and Pete's wife, Gina, had come to mind.

Gina Ross had a good sense of business. She was level headed and very good with handling people. The fact that she was also a friend of Chloe's made her the only person in Lex's mind to be able to make a difference, and from what he just heard of their conversation, she was off to a good start.

He pulled into the flow of traffic to head back to the mansion. Making up a bogus dilemma to get Chloe into town, then pooling on that dilemma to have the excuse to leave her with Gina, was priceless. He just hoped it turned out for the better.

After Lex had left, Chloe turned worried eyes back to Gina, focusing once more on the matter at hand.

"It was never my intention to hurt anyone, I just couldn't take it anymore. I needed to get out, and be as far from here as possible."

"And we understand that, Chloe, but it's been seven years. You have a life in Gotham, and that's great, but would it really hurt that much to visit once in a while knowing that you have somewhere else to return to?"

"No, It wouldn't hurt to see my friends," she said, stepping forward. "I'm so sorry, Gina." She opened her arms to hug her friend, Gina returning the gesture, both women sniffling slightly.

"Would you like some coffee?" Gina asked after a moment.

"I thought you would never ask!" Chloe smiled, stepping back to let Gina go around to the counter. "A latte would be even better," she smirked suggestively.

"One latte, coming right up!" Gina smiled back.

After taking care of a couple of things behind the counter, Gina returned to Chloe's table.

"You seem to have a lot more time away from serving customers than Lana did," Chloe observed after Gina sat down.

"Maybe I just have better management skills," she shrugged, her eyes dancing with humor. "But seriously, I have a few more people on the payroll than she did. I've also been able to keep a steady crowd by changing the hours, having a live band every Friday night, and I turned the apartment upstairs into a study area with computer terminals and encyclopedia references. Keeping this place open until ten on a Sunday night has proven more beneficial than I had projected."

"Wow, no wonder Lex financed the extra cash to renovate this place," she said with awe. "I never realized you were so business suave."

"Neither did I until Lex approached me one night and suggested that I may have a career in business management if I took the right college courses. He made me think about it. And, well, he was right."

"Don't you just love how he's able to do that?" she asked rhetorically. "Pulling something out of the blue like that, then be right about it. I swear, one of these days I will prove him so wrong it'll make the front page."

Gina laughed at Chloe's light ranting. Then asked the question that had peaked her curiosity since earlier that morning. "So, how did you end up staying with Lex anyway?"

"Lex and I are friends. I stopped by the mansion to say hi and he offered for me to stay there while I was in Smallville."

"Friends..., oh, ok," Gina replied with obvious skepticism. There was more to that explanation, and Gina knew it. She knew damn well that Lex didn't invite 'anyone' to stay with him. In fact, even she had her appointed times of when she was allowed at the mansion.

"You sound like you don't believe me," Chloe accused lightly, sipping from her cup.

"For someone who is good at investigating everyone else, you don't see things right under your nose very well, do you?" Gina stated with a knowing grin, and leaned back in her chair while sipping her coffee. She hadn't meant it in a malicious way, nor did Chloe take it as such.

"I don't know what you mean, there's nothing there to see."

"You're telling me that there's nothing going on between you?"

"Of course there's nothing between us. Where did you get that idea?"

"Lex," Gina announced, seeing him approach their table. "Is everything ok with the bank?"

"Everything is fine now," he answered matter of factly, then turned his eyes to Chloe. "Are you ready to leave, or is this a bad time?"

Chloe heard the undertone gruffness in his voice, but disregarded it to whatever had happened at the bank being the cause. "Yea, I'm ready," she said, getting to her feet, and grabbed her bag. "Gina, I'll catch up with you later."

"You know where to find me!" she said with a big smile, getting up to give Chloe a brief hug.

"Of course I do, and keep that suspicion of yours to yourself for me, ok?" she warned playfully, returning the brief contact.

"Whatever you say, Chloe," she laughed in response. "Bye, Lex."

He jutted his chin in response, and turned with Chloe, staying by her side, as they headed for the exit. Watching them leave, Gina wondered if Chloe realized that Lex had placed his hand at the small of her back as they walked out.

'Nah, there's nothing between them at all.' Gina thought cynically. 'I can't imagine why I thought there was.' She glanced around to assess how things were running, and saw that she wasn't the only one who had noticed the couple as eyes stared towards the doors well after they had walked out.

XxXxX

"I can't do this," Chloe announced suddenly, pushing back from the dining room table. "This is too fancy," she explained, picking up her plate as she stood up. "Eating at a table with silverware that could pay off a small mortgage is ok once in a while, other than that, I'm going to eat in the pantry."

Lex picked up his plate to follow her with an amused smirk. She had been in a much better mood since talking with Gina, it seemed the guilt trip scenario worked best when dealing with Chloe. All she talked about on the way back to the mansion was how awful she felt for ignoring her friends.

He had remained silent, letting her hold the conversation all on her own. Which suited him just fine considering his own thoughts were in turmoil at the time. He had approached their table in the Talon to catch Chloe telling Gina in no uncertain terms that there was nothing between them. For some reason, that bothered him more than he thought it should.

"I rarely eat in the dining room, myself," he admitted from behind her. "I just thought it would be more appropriate while you were here."

"You eat in the pantry?" she asked disbelievingly.

"No, I usually have something brought to me at my desk."

She nodded, accepting that answer as feasible. Reaching the pantry, she placed her plate on the table, then went to the counter to make a fresh pot of coffee.

"You're making more coffee?"

"Yea, would you like some?"

"I was thinking of having a nice chardonnay to compliment the meal."

"Oh," she voiced, biting the inside of her lip indecisively. She hadn't sat at the dining table long enough to see what else was going to be served. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were trying to do something special for dinner."

"I'm not going to any special means," he lied with ease. "I just thought the wine would be a nice change. All I've seen you drink so far is coffee."

"Oh, uhm...," she glanced back at the coffee maker then to Lex again. "You know what?" she asked rhetorically, smiling brightly. "Now that you mention it, a glass of chardonnay sounds very nice," she agreed, sitting down at the table.

"If you'd rather have coffee, Chloe...,"

"No, I'll have some wine. I can have coffee later."

He knew she was humoring him, but allowed it without any further argument. She was barely reseated when the maid found them, carrying the bottle of chardonnay. The woman looked fairly perplexed, but took the change of dining arrangements in stride, and went to retrieve two wine glasses from the china cabinet.

"I was thinking about going over to Pete and Gina's tomorrow," Chloe announced, watching him closely to gauge his reaction. She didn't think he would mind, but he never specified if this deal of his included her spending time elsewhere, especially where he wouldn't be completely welcome to go with her.

"Chloe," he chuckled. "I've already told you, you're not a prisoner under my thumb," he stated, noticing her slight discomfort. "It's good that you've reestablished your friendship with Gina and Pete. They are both important people in your life."

"I wasn't one hundred percent sure you would actually feel that way," she admitted. "Especially considering the deal we have. I mean, they will most likely invite me to stay for dinner. Which means I won't be here for part of the day and well into the evening."

"You don't have to explain anything to me," he said. "I have a ten o'clock conference tomorrow, but, maybe we could have lunch together before you leave?"

"I won't be leaving 'that' early," she half laughed, sitting back in her chair. "Gina will be at the Talon until three. So I'm not planning on arriving at their house until almost four." She lightly stabbed at some greens in her salad with her fork, holding it in mid-air while she finished talking. "This way I get there after Gina, but before Pete," she added, putting the food in her mouth.

The maid returned with the wine glasses, opened the bottle and poured for each of them. Setting the bottle on the table between them, she left to retrieve something else from the main kitchen.

"Why not simply call them and have them invite you to dinner? Wouldn't that be easier?"

"No," she answered, trying to chew and swallow her food quickly. "Because then I wouldn't have to be there until later, and I want to have some time to talk to Gina."

"I didn't realize that there was a problem between you and Pete."

"There's not," she defended firmly. "There's just some things that women like to talk about without men being around."

The serving staff came in with the main meal, asking if they were finished with their salads before whisking the plates away to be quickly replaced. Chloe stared at her plate of clam fettuccini in a creamy white sauce.

"Is something wrong?" he asked calmly, noticing how she stared at her meal.

"Actually, no," she quipped with a smile. "It's nice to have someone know what my favorite foods are, it takes the guess work out of wondering if I'll enjoy my meal or not."

"Chloe, I already said I would stop the reports. In fact it's already been taken care of."

"I should hope so considering I'm here with you personally. But I didn't necessarily mean that as a complaint." She took her fork and stirred the noodles with the sauce before twisting the prongs around to catch a mouthful on the fork. "Maybe you knowing things about me isn't so bad after all," she smiled at him before putting the food in her mouth.

He wasn't certain if she was facetiously appeasing him, or if she actually meant that statement. He glanced at his own plate, picking up his fork to begin eating, when she emitted a very guttural, seductive sound from her throat.

"Mmm. Lex, this is delicious. You better make sure to tell your cook to make this again while I'm here," she said after swallowing her mouthful. She reached for her wine and took a sip. "And the wine definitely goes better with this than coffee would."

He watched her as she nearly shoveled another forkful into her mouth. She chewed slowly though, her eyes half closed, her tongue slowly licking at some sauce on her bottom lip. He almost found himself licking his own lips in response to her action, but caught himself just as she opened her eyes and looked fully at him.

"I will personally hold you accountable if I gain too much weight while staying here," she remarked, glancing at her plate for the next bite. "I've never had clam fettuccini this good, and I've eaten in some very eloquent restaurants."

"I'm glad you like it," he smirked, pleased that she was impressed with 'something' he'd done for a change.

"Mmm, I'm going to have another plate of this," she said with her mouth still half full, gesturing with her fork at the food. "And eat nothing but salads all day tomorrow." She wiped at her mouth with her napkin, then took another sip of wine. "I really wasn't kidding about gaining too much weight, you know."

"I didn't think you were," he replied seriously. A small smile formed on his lips just before he placed his own forkful into his mouth.

XxXxX

"Oh no," she exclaimed as the maid served the desserts. "I can't possibly eat this!"

"That'll be all," he stated to the servant, motioning for her to take the dessert dishes back to the main kitchen.

"I do have room for something else though," she hinted suggestively.

"Coffee?" he asked with raised brows.

"I guess you don't need a report to figure that out by now, huh?"

"Not by a long shot," he smirked back at her. "When did you become such the caffeine addict?"

"Are you kidding me?" she laughed. "I've had a caffeine fetish for as long as I can remember," she started saying, rising from the chair to go over to the counter. "It just got a lot worse during my first year of college."

Chloe found the coffee maker already prepared for the next pot, all she had to do was turn it on. After pushing the 'on' button, she sat back down at the table. "What about you?" she asked with elbows on the table. "What made you finally give up the scotch?"

He held her gaze steadily, contemplating how he could answer that question. "I got to a point where I couldn't remember why I drank it so much," he answered, his smirk still in place, his eyes lit with amusement.

"I wouldn't think you would even joke about that," she replied, slightly uncomfortably.

"It doesn't matter," he said casually. "No one knows what I remember and what I don't from that experience. But I'm sure you didn't ask to re-hatch old memories."

"No, I didn't," she said in a low voice. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." She pushed from the table to go to the cabinets, and retrieved two coffee mugs.

"Chloe, it's alright," he reassured her, getting to his feet to stand off to the side of her shoulder. He hadn't meant to make her uncomfortable. "It was a long time ago."

She glanced up at him, her eyes full of curiosity. "How much 'do' you remember from back then?"

He stared at her, working his jaw thoughtfully. He also hadn't meant for the conversation to take this turn, but then he should have expected her to ask. He reached out his hand and gently cupped the side of her face, running his thumb over her cheek. "Let's just say that I got four out of the seven weeks back, but not in sequential order."

She met his eyes, her breath catching in her throat. "Do you remember your promise?" she asked barely above a whisper.

"Oh yes," he answered readily. "That was one of the first things I remembered."

She looked up at him, feeling mesmerized by his eyes, his gentle touch, his truthful admission. "That's why you had me followed," she said softly, understanding his motives just a little better now. He nodded slightly, the motion barely detectable. "Why didn't you just tell me that? Why would you let me believe that you were up to something?"

He silently held her gaze as she looked at him with wonder, waiting for him to answer her. He wasn't ready to answer that question, his motives hadn't been as chivalrous as that. He moved his thumb to caress over the roundness of her cheek bone, his eyes shifted to focus on her lips. With a subtle movement of his head, he leaned ever so slightly towards her.

She felt him draw closer more so than saw the motion. His hand at her face, his thumb on her skin, was alluring. She let her own gaze drop to his lips, her mind remembering this same scene from seven years ago. How his lips felt on hers, how she had responded to him back then. How she was responding to him now. She blinked, pulling herself out of the fantasy, and slightly swayed back from him, her own motion as subtle as his.

He felt her withdraw. Despite the heat he saw in her eyes, the way her breathing had changed, and the slight flush on her face, she pulled back from him. He let his hand drop from her face, and straightened to his full height. He was certain that she would allow him to kiss her, that it could possibly lead to more, but he didn't want to have to convince her that she wanted him, he wanted her to come to him willingly, and without any doubt.

Chloe cleared her throat, and gave a nervous chuckle, pulling back from him further. "Uhm," she voiced, glancing toward the counter. "Oh! The coffee's done!" she said, grateful for the distraction. "You wanted some, right?" she asked, glancing at him, then cringed visibly at her choice of words.

"Two sugars, leveled off," he replied informatively, keeping his tone neutral. He knew she had chosen her words carelessly, but smirked none the less as he walked over to the table to sit down.

Chloe stood with her back toward Lex, fixing two cups of coffee. She was unnerved about what had 'almost' just happened. 'That was too close,' she thought, shoveling sugar into her mug. ''He got too close.' She closed her eyes briefly before starting to stir the liquid in her cup.

She couldn't deny being attracted to Lex, that revelation came to her way back in high school. She had come to admire him in so many ways while they helped each other by sharing information. But he was Lex Luthor, there was a reason he wanted her close to him. Unfortunately, whatever that reason could be, it wouldn't have anything to do with him having feelings for her.

"Are you alright?" he asked from the table.

"Yea," she answered quickly, snapping out of her thoughts, realizing she was still stirring the spoon in the cup. "There was a lump in the sugar," she said lamely. "I was just making sure it dissolved." She took the cups from the counter and placed one in front of Lex, then sat across from him with hers still in her hand.

"Chloe, that promise I made to you long ago, wasn't the only reason..."

"This is decaf," she stated bluntly after taking a sip, not paying attention to what Lex was saying, and stared into the cup. She took another tentative sip, and wrinkled her nose with distaste. "Yep, this is definitely decaf," she reiterated, looking over at Lex. "This tastes horrible!"

She turned her attention to the counter while leaving her chair. Getting the container of coffee from the cabinet she examined it closely. "Is that man insane? He's trying to switch me to decaf!"

Lex watched impassively as Chloe dumped the entire container of coffee into the garbage. She came back to the table, picked up her cup, took his right out of his hand, without even asking him first, and dumped their contents down the drain. Turning on her heel, she disappeared into the side storage area. He could hear her rummaging around back there, before a satisfied, "ah-hah!" came to his ears.

She reappeared with another container of coffee, holding it up for him to see it. "This is 'real' coffee," she stated factually, and proceeded to make a fresh pot. Once the water and coffee grinds were starting to brew, she rinsed out the mugs, then returned to the table, and looked at Lex. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

"It's not important."

XxXxX

(later that evening)

Chloe found Lex in his study, and stepped into the room with an exaggerated stride to get his attention. "I thought the dinner was really nice, Lex," she complimented in a sincere tone.

After the fiasco with the decaf, their conversation had been strained. She felt it, and knew he had, too. She had tried again to get him to repeat what he had started to tell her, but he clammed up, refusing to say much of anything at that point. She asked him if he was up to a rematch in a game of pool, but he politely declined, then excused himself. She had messed up, and she wasn't sure how to fix it.

He nodded slightly in acceptance of her compliment and turned his attention to the paperwork on his desk. "I hope I didn't say anything that would change your mind about our having lunch together tomorrow," Lex stated without looking at her.

"No, of course you didn't. I'll even have breakfast with you if I can have a ham and cheese omelet," she added with a little smile.

He raised his head and met her gaze before picking up a thick folder from his desk. "This contains all there is to know concerning Nancy Garret."

Her expression sobered instantly as she stepped closer to the desk. She took the file from him, and thumbed through the first few pages briefly before reestablishing their eye contact. "You had this all along didn't you?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for, Chloe," he said, ignoring her question. "But I think you should prepare yourself not to find it."

"Just because you didn't see anything peculiar about her in all this," holding up the thick file folder as emphasis. "Doesn't mean there isn't anything to find."

Her tone had been cordial enough, but the strong set of her jaw, and the determination in her eyes belied that cordialness. "Come to me if you find anything," he stated in a business tone. "I'd be interested in anything that I personally overlooked."

"Believe me, you'll be the first person to know when I find something," she replied evenly. With the folder in her hands, she headed out of the room. "Good night, Lex," she called over her shoulder as an afterthought.

He watched her walk out with her shoulders squared, her stride confident. She was so sure she was going to find something wayward about Nancy. The truth of the matter was that there was nothing to find. Lex had went over his extensive report on the woman five times since Chloe had arrived, and there wasn't anything about her that could remotely be construed as wayward. Chloe would, however, have some questions about Nancy's past, but he was more than prepared to answer those. That was going to be one confrontation Lex didn't look forward to at all.