Standard disclaimers apply. Thanks for the reviews and keep 'em coming!
Chapter 2
Chloe's heart almost stopped beating. This could not be happening. Her father had not just uncovered the secret that she had tried desperately to keep a secret, from him and from the rest of Smallville. Maybe thing would seem a little better if her father would blink...once....twice.....or at all.
Gabe Sullivan rarely got mad. He was a good natured guy, easy going, he really didn't like to raise his voice. With one tiny exception. Anything involving his daughter, his princess, his baby girl, and anything he didn't approve of, and he blew his top. Totally. Completely. Blew. His. Top.
"What the hell?! You are not dating Lex Luthor! There is just no way I can allow it." Gabe paced the room, ranting and raving.
"Dad.....Daddy," Chloe turned on her little girl voice. It worked best when her dad got like this. "Lex, um, Lex and I, we aren't dating." Okay, maybe not technically, but almost, and if Lex was having the same thoughts that she was having......well, soon enough......
Gabe continued yelling, ignoring his daughter. "....not to mention he's my boss! Dear Lord, while all the other men at work can brag about their daughter's good grades, or cheerleading competitions I can blow them out of the water by telling them my fifteen year old daughter is dating my boss!"
"Dad....Dad...." Chloe sighed. She sucked in a deep breath. "DAD!"
Gabe finally stopped. "What?" He snapped.
Chloe chose her next words very carefully. "Look, Daddy, Lex and I are just friends. We're not dating." 'Nice touch throwing in that Daddy thing,' her inner voice praised her.
"Sweetheart, just read the letter." Gabe decided to bring his voice down to a normal tone. If he continued yelling like that Chloe would probably just want Lex more. "He wants you to be his escort? And your meeting last week? What meeting? Why didn't you tell me?" Gabe looked at her, slightly hurt.
"People can take friends as their escorts, and last week, last week was nothing." Chloe scrambled to come up with a good excuse. "The Torch! Yeah, see the computers Lex bought for the office weren't working well and, um, he came to check out the problem, but the problem just got worse." 'One of your worse lies.' It seemed that her inner voice was now turning on her.
Gabe shook his head. He put his hand gently to Chloe's cheek. "Look, honey, you know you can never lie to me. I used to change your diapers."
'I don't see what that has to do with anything,' Chloe thought rolling her eyes.
"I know what you may think about Lex. He's rich, he's got a fast car, and you may think he loves you. But.....he's a man. And a lot of men, well, they only have one thing on the mind."
Both father and daughter blushed. Gabe, remembering the hideously embarrassing "birds and the bees" talk he'd stumbled through with her, and Chloe, knowing her dad was thinking about that talk.
"And Chloe.....you know it's not really....legal."
"Dad, nothing about my friendship with Lex is illegal. We're friends. That's it. Nothing more. Now can I go to the benefit tomorrow?" Chloe paused, seeing 'No way in hell,' written all over her father's face. "Look, I promise you, I'll be careful...." still the same look. "You can even come too. You can meet Lex, get to know him."
"I don't like this Chloe. You're only fifteen, and Lex Luthor is my boss. You know about his past." Gabe sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Why couldn't you date Pete? Or Clark? Or anybody but my boss? This is insane! This is completely insane! No! You can't go! I will not allow my baby girl to go out with a man who can buy booze! Nononononono."
"Dad, please, you don't want to have a heart attack here," Chloe tried to keep her voice calm. Gabe stopped. "Look, I'm a very responsible woman." Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Young woman," she corrected herself without missing a beat.
"But you're still my little girl," Gabe interjected, in an almost whiny way.
"Ah, ah, ah, wait until I'm done." Chloe held up a hand. "I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I've never been arrested, I get all my homework in on time, I've made the honor roll since the fourth grade, and we've already had a talk and I've stated clearly that there's no way in hell I'm having premarital sex." Chloe took another deep breath. "Now I think you should give me a chance here, and just trust me. Lex and I are only friends, nothing more. I promise."
Gabe sighed. There was no way out of this. If he forbid her to see him, that would make him all the more attractive to her. There was only one thing he could do.
"Fine, you can go." Before Chloe could thank him, he stopped her. "On a few conditions." Chloe nodded. "One, I'm coming also. Two, you swear you're not dating him and you never will be. Three, if you two try and sneak away somewhere, so help me God I will break his neck and I don't care how many of your friends are watching! Four, all your outfits must be pre-approved by me. And no whining about it." Gabe sighed. What was he doing? He just had to pray that Chloe realized how wrong Lex was for her.
Chloe nodded, all the while a little pissed. A pre-approved outfit from her dad meant basically, she had to show up in a suit of armor, or dress like a bee keeper. But what could she do, really?
"Okay," she finally responded. "I promise you Dad, you can trust me. You won't regret this."
"Whatever," Gabe mumbled. "But if you two get married I better be getting a raise," he added dryly. He did not like it. Not one bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lex Luthor scanned the crowd, looking for Chloe. He had bumped into her a few time but hadn't really had the chance to talk to her. Gabe was glued to her side, shooting him dirty glares whenever they came near him. So technically, Chloe wasn't quite his escort.
So Lex did what he was expected to do. He mixed. He mingled. Laughed at stupid jokes he'd heard before. Sipped a martini. Made business plans. But all he truly wanted was to see her.
Lex regretted sending the rose. He should've taken Gabe into account. Obviously no single father wanted his only daughter being hit on by his boss.
Across the room, he finally spotted her, talking with her dad at the punch bowl. She was dressed rather modestly, in a dress that reached the floor and her jacket buttoned up all the way.
Yet still, she looked gorgeous, even is she did appear to be arguing with her father. He watched, amused as she stalked off, and Gabe looked frustrated, running a hand through his hair angrily.
Lex feigned a laugh as one of the most annoying people he'd ever met wrapped up a supposedly funny story. He shoved his martini glass in the annoying guy's hand.
"I gotta go," he mumbled in their direction, moving swiftly, dodging some couples who were dancing, weaving his way in and out, needing to find her.....
And there she appeared. Looking shy and vulnerable, a change from her usual high on coffee, don't-mess-with-me-I'm-got-PMS attitude that he loved so much. Chloe stood there, showing Lex the other side she'd always kept hidden from the world, the scared little girl.
Chloe swallowed, looking Lex up and down. Nothing extraordinary about his clothes. Blue silk shirt, probably soft as a baby's ass, black dress pants, black jacket, silk tie, a slightly darker color than the shirt. It wasn't the clothes that made her feel weak at the knees. It was those eyes, that burned with fire, and the intensity of his gaze that made her legs wobble like they were made of Jell-O. There was something about his eyes that drew her to him. That capture her, wrapped her up, and made her want more. No matter how much she saw him, she always wanted, no, needed more of him. She needed him to look at her like that all the time. All the time.
"Shall we dance?" Lex asked, pulling her close to his body.
"I'd love to," she breathed. The feeling between them....it was electric. The sparks flew as he twirled her, spun her around, and stopped short of kissing her. There was only one way to describe it.
Magic.
TBC
Chapter 2
Chloe's heart almost stopped beating. This could not be happening. Her father had not just uncovered the secret that she had tried desperately to keep a secret, from him and from the rest of Smallville. Maybe thing would seem a little better if her father would blink...once....twice.....or at all.
Gabe Sullivan rarely got mad. He was a good natured guy, easy going, he really didn't like to raise his voice. With one tiny exception. Anything involving his daughter, his princess, his baby girl, and anything he didn't approve of, and he blew his top. Totally. Completely. Blew. His. Top.
"What the hell?! You are not dating Lex Luthor! There is just no way I can allow it." Gabe paced the room, ranting and raving.
"Dad.....Daddy," Chloe turned on her little girl voice. It worked best when her dad got like this. "Lex, um, Lex and I, we aren't dating." Okay, maybe not technically, but almost, and if Lex was having the same thoughts that she was having......well, soon enough......
Gabe continued yelling, ignoring his daughter. "....not to mention he's my boss! Dear Lord, while all the other men at work can brag about their daughter's good grades, or cheerleading competitions I can blow them out of the water by telling them my fifteen year old daughter is dating my boss!"
"Dad....Dad...." Chloe sighed. She sucked in a deep breath. "DAD!"
Gabe finally stopped. "What?" He snapped.
Chloe chose her next words very carefully. "Look, Daddy, Lex and I are just friends. We're not dating." 'Nice touch throwing in that Daddy thing,' her inner voice praised her.
"Sweetheart, just read the letter." Gabe decided to bring his voice down to a normal tone. If he continued yelling like that Chloe would probably just want Lex more. "He wants you to be his escort? And your meeting last week? What meeting? Why didn't you tell me?" Gabe looked at her, slightly hurt.
"People can take friends as their escorts, and last week, last week was nothing." Chloe scrambled to come up with a good excuse. "The Torch! Yeah, see the computers Lex bought for the office weren't working well and, um, he came to check out the problem, but the problem just got worse." 'One of your worse lies.' It seemed that her inner voice was now turning on her.
Gabe shook his head. He put his hand gently to Chloe's cheek. "Look, honey, you know you can never lie to me. I used to change your diapers."
'I don't see what that has to do with anything,' Chloe thought rolling her eyes.
"I know what you may think about Lex. He's rich, he's got a fast car, and you may think he loves you. But.....he's a man. And a lot of men, well, they only have one thing on the mind."
Both father and daughter blushed. Gabe, remembering the hideously embarrassing "birds and the bees" talk he'd stumbled through with her, and Chloe, knowing her dad was thinking about that talk.
"And Chloe.....you know it's not really....legal."
"Dad, nothing about my friendship with Lex is illegal. We're friends. That's it. Nothing more. Now can I go to the benefit tomorrow?" Chloe paused, seeing 'No way in hell,' written all over her father's face. "Look, I promise you, I'll be careful...." still the same look. "You can even come too. You can meet Lex, get to know him."
"I don't like this Chloe. You're only fifteen, and Lex Luthor is my boss. You know about his past." Gabe sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Why couldn't you date Pete? Or Clark? Or anybody but my boss? This is insane! This is completely insane! No! You can't go! I will not allow my baby girl to go out with a man who can buy booze! Nononononono."
"Dad, please, you don't want to have a heart attack here," Chloe tried to keep her voice calm. Gabe stopped. "Look, I'm a very responsible woman." Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Young woman," she corrected herself without missing a beat.
"But you're still my little girl," Gabe interjected, in an almost whiny way.
"Ah, ah, ah, wait until I'm done." Chloe held up a hand. "I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I've never been arrested, I get all my homework in on time, I've made the honor roll since the fourth grade, and we've already had a talk and I've stated clearly that there's no way in hell I'm having premarital sex." Chloe took another deep breath. "Now I think you should give me a chance here, and just trust me. Lex and I are only friends, nothing more. I promise."
Gabe sighed. There was no way out of this. If he forbid her to see him, that would make him all the more attractive to her. There was only one thing he could do.
"Fine, you can go." Before Chloe could thank him, he stopped her. "On a few conditions." Chloe nodded. "One, I'm coming also. Two, you swear you're not dating him and you never will be. Three, if you two try and sneak away somewhere, so help me God I will break his neck and I don't care how many of your friends are watching! Four, all your outfits must be pre-approved by me. And no whining about it." Gabe sighed. What was he doing? He just had to pray that Chloe realized how wrong Lex was for her.
Chloe nodded, all the while a little pissed. A pre-approved outfit from her dad meant basically, she had to show up in a suit of armor, or dress like a bee keeper. But what could she do, really?
"Okay," she finally responded. "I promise you Dad, you can trust me. You won't regret this."
"Whatever," Gabe mumbled. "But if you two get married I better be getting a raise," he added dryly. He did not like it. Not one bit.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lex Luthor scanned the crowd, looking for Chloe. He had bumped into her a few time but hadn't really had the chance to talk to her. Gabe was glued to her side, shooting him dirty glares whenever they came near him. So technically, Chloe wasn't quite his escort.
So Lex did what he was expected to do. He mixed. He mingled. Laughed at stupid jokes he'd heard before. Sipped a martini. Made business plans. But all he truly wanted was to see her.
Lex regretted sending the rose. He should've taken Gabe into account. Obviously no single father wanted his only daughter being hit on by his boss.
Across the room, he finally spotted her, talking with her dad at the punch bowl. She was dressed rather modestly, in a dress that reached the floor and her jacket buttoned up all the way.
Yet still, she looked gorgeous, even is she did appear to be arguing with her father. He watched, amused as she stalked off, and Gabe looked frustrated, running a hand through his hair angrily.
Lex feigned a laugh as one of the most annoying people he'd ever met wrapped up a supposedly funny story. He shoved his martini glass in the annoying guy's hand.
"I gotta go," he mumbled in their direction, moving swiftly, dodging some couples who were dancing, weaving his way in and out, needing to find her.....
And there she appeared. Looking shy and vulnerable, a change from her usual high on coffee, don't-mess-with-me-I'm-got-PMS attitude that he loved so much. Chloe stood there, showing Lex the other side she'd always kept hidden from the world, the scared little girl.
Chloe swallowed, looking Lex up and down. Nothing extraordinary about his clothes. Blue silk shirt, probably soft as a baby's ass, black dress pants, black jacket, silk tie, a slightly darker color than the shirt. It wasn't the clothes that made her feel weak at the knees. It was those eyes, that burned with fire, and the intensity of his gaze that made her legs wobble like they were made of Jell-O. There was something about his eyes that drew her to him. That capture her, wrapped her up, and made her want more. No matter how much she saw him, she always wanted, no, needed more of him. She needed him to look at her like that all the time. All the time.
"Shall we dance?" Lex asked, pulling her close to his body.
"I'd love to," she breathed. The feeling between them....it was electric. The sparks flew as he twirled her, spun her around, and stopped short of kissing her. There was only one way to describe it.
Magic.
TBC