Disclaimer: I own nothing.
AN: Here's another chapter of It falls Apart.
Chapter 7
She has been gone for the last two weeks.
He missed her. Terribly.
Outwardly he tried to remain as impassive as always. But somehow it was as if his employees were clued in on his mood. All of them were behaving as if he was some rabid dog on the prowl.
So he wasn't exactly Mr. Congeniality but there is no reason for his secretary to act as if he would eat her for breakfast.
He stared out the window. He's been unable to focus on his work. He constantly stared at the surveillance photographs that her bodyguards have taken. Most of them were pictures of her taking a tour of Star City.
Lex had photos of Chloe in front of the Star Bridge, looking very much in awe of the architectural wonder, and there were a couple of her with Oliver outside the Grell Museum and the Papp Stadium.
He threw the photographs down on the desk and ran his hand over his scalp in frustration.
It's not like his life became far less complicated since she left with Queen. After she left Smallville with the other billionaire Lex had to pretend that nothing in his life had changed. That the woman he really loved did not just tell him that she's given up.
He'd had to deal with so many things all at once and that makes for one crabby Lex Luthor.
First was of course with his father, who expressed regret over the loss of his grandchild. He had to endure an hour long talk with Lionel, who was spouting off supposed words of condolence. Lex felt the overwhelming need to toss him out of the mansion but held back. These days their relationship seemed to be in a much better place. Still he couldn't exactly tell his dad that the loss he was currently feeling was not just because he lost his child. Somehow the night he spent in Chloe's arms healed him. No, his hurt had more to do with the fact that he lost Chloe.
And then there was Lana. He wasn't entirely sure how to handle the Lana situation. On one hand there is no point in staying with her. The only reason he was going to make an honest woman out of Lana Lang was because he had no intention of having a bastard child.
But he knew if he had married Lana he would never get a chance to be with Chloe. So before he got her phone call he decided to forgo the marriage and dump the insipid brunette. He was willing to share custody of the child if it came to that. But there was no doubt that any judge from Metropolis to Gotham would hand over full custody to him. After all he is an established business man, as opposed to the unemployed, still in college Lana Lang.
He was at a loss on what to do now. He had visited her over the course of two weeks that Chloe's been gone. He just no longer bothered acting like he felt more than a touch of disdain for the girl. He inquired about her health and asked if she needed anything else. For the most part he felt more like a benefactor rather than a fiancé.
It won't be long now before she started to accuse him of abandoning her. Not physically but emotionally. And she would be right, only that he was never really tied to her emotionally; she was merely a means to an end, a way to hurt Clark Kent.
He had a feeling that Clark would be dropping by some time soon if the glares directed at him every time that they see each other were any indication.
The doors to his study opened just as if he willed them to.
"You need to work on your entrance because this barging in of yours is seriously getting old." Lex calmly stated as he gathered the pictures and set them aside.
"Chloe's coming home today." Clark blurted out.
"And why exactly would Ms. Sullivan's comings and goings be any of my concerns?" Lex raised his brow at Clark. He will have to call her security detail and ask why they haven't informed him of that fact.
Clark frowned at him and crossed his arms across his chest, "Do you think I'm blind Lex? I saw the way you were looking at her at the hospital."
"How exactly do I look at her?" He was really curious.
"You look at her the way you used to look at Lana"
"Do I?" he shot him a sardonic look. He of course had no idea how he looked at Chloe, but the way he looked at Lana was a practiced expression.
"Stay away from her." Clark looked at him threateningly.
"I think you know me well enough to realize that I don't take orders, least of all from you." He shot back.
"If you think that Chloe would even express the slightest interest in you then you are crazy. She's better than that. So whatever scheme that you are devising I'm warning you if you even come five feet near her you'll be answering to me."
"This is new. Am I correct in assuming that you now hold Ms. Sullivan in higher esteem than Lana?" Lex looked at him in amusement.
"You and I both know that the only reason you would go after Chloe is because of how I feel about her." The farm boy glared at him.
"Such a sudden change of heart Clark, a few months ago you were so hopeful that Lana would take you back." Lex couldn't help but point out.
"This has nothing to do with my feelings for Lana. This is about Chloe and I know you're plotting something." He looked at him through narrowed eyes.
"It must be killing you, knowing that I am completely capable of stealing the woman you love. Is that Chloe's current position? Has she finally been promoted to being the love of your life? It's too bad Oliver Queen got to her first." Lex finished condescendingly.
"Shut up." Clark took a step forward.
"It must have been torture for you, seeing them together at the hospital. Watching Queen put his arms around her while you have to stand by and watch." Lex continued but somehow, in the middle of baiting Clark, he couldn't tell if he was talking about Clark or him.
"Shut up!" Clark repeated with more force this time.
"And then she goes away for two weeks with him. It must be pure agony, knowing that she's lain in bed with another man. Unless of course you are deluding yourself of her virtue." He sneered at the younger man.
"I told you to shut up." Clark finally crossed the distance between them and was just about ready to punch him.
'Saved by the bell,' Lex thought to himself when Clark's phone rang.
Clark took a step back at the interruption. He glared at Lex as he took out his phone from his pocket. His expression softened as he answered the call.
"You're back?" Clark grinned as he listened to the person on the line. Lex knew then it was Chloe. "Okay, I'll see you soon."
Lex remained quiet. Chloe's back. Now all he had to do is come up with a plan to get rid of Lana once and for all and win back Chloe's love.
"You would never win her over." Clark broke through his reverie. He looked at Clark impassively but a part of him felt like Clark was reading his mind.
"Lana may have fallen for your act but Chloe never will. She'll know that you are going after her because she means so much to me." Clark added arrogantly.
"Are you sure about that?" Lex countered bitingly.
"I am." Clark replied confidently.
"Do you really think so little of her that you'd think my interest in her is just to spite you?" Lex was positively glacial as he asked the question. He had no idea how Chloe could continue being the farm boy's friend, given that he seem to constantly underestimate Chloe's value.
"I know you Lex. Besides you ignored her for a year. Do you actually expect me to believe that you have an honest interest in her? The only reason why you would want her now is because I want her too." Clark replied arrogantly.
"Ever heard of the phrase too little too late Clark? For all you know she is already in love with Queen." Lex knew for a fact that she wasn't but he saw no harm in using it to take Clark down a notch.
Clark's expression hardened at his words, "Chloe loves me. She's loved me before him and she will love me after him."
"Such startling resolve for a man who has broken her heart too many times to count. Face it Clark, you wouldn't be here if you're not at least worried that I am fully capable of winning Chloe over." Lex finished sardonically.
"You won't. You forget that Chloe is a reporter. Her knowledge of you is vast and she'd never associate with someone with so much darkness in them."
Clark was walking out of the study but Lex was not about to let the farm boy have the last word, "A Luthor is not one to back down from a challenge, consider it accepted." He smirked at Clark's retreating back.
Kent stopped in his tracks and his shoulders stiffened at Lex' words but then he kept on walking.
His smirk widened as he realized that Clark just gave him the perfect excuse to publicly pursue Chloe.
He told her that he wasn't giving up on her. On them. He couldn't believe that he had Clark Kent to thank for giving him the opportunity to win her back.
TBC
