Everything In This World
By Viv
*~*~ Part Thirteen ~*~*
Chloe yawned, wiggling her toes under her comforter as she enjoyed the delightfully relaxing feel of her soft bed after a long, hot shower. All the anxiety she had been feeling about a certain raven haired couple had been drained out of her along with the scorchingly hot shower she had just taken.
Pete had been right, although she would probably go to her grave before annexing that little addendum to his already large ego. Chloe should just butt out of business that didn't concern her, although technically it actually did. If Clark or Lana came to her to talk, then she would talk. Until then she should just sit tight and worry about her upcoming job interview in Metropolis.
Thinking about Metropolis inevitably led to thinking about a certain bald though devilishly handsome individual, so she quickly powered up her notebook and tried to forget her current train of thought. He hadn't called all week because granted, he was the head of a fertiliser plant and probably had a ton of actual non-school work to do, but still - Chloe promised herself she wouldn't think about it. So she didn't.
"Chloe." Her dad called, his voice strangely perturbed. "You have a visitor."
Chloe frowned. While it may have been late for Clark or Pete to call, Lana had sometimes dropped by after closing up at the Talon for a quick chat. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise to her dad.
She caught her fleeting reflection in the mirror as she ran past it, unconcerned about the fact that she was currently dressed for bed. Her friends had seen her in her tatty Wonder Woman pyjamas before and if she looked a little tired, who was going to notice? It wasn't as if Chloe was going to win any beauty contests ever.
Her casual attitude came around to bite her in the ass big time a moment later, because standing in the middle of the pathetic excuse for a foyer in her house was - she gulped - Lex Luthor.
Chloe swallowed down the urgent need to run out of the house and drown herself in the nearest pond. The utter perverseness of Life she had previously ranted about had guaranteed that while she was dressed in the worst possible outfit for a meeting with Lex, he was dressed in a stylish ensemble of grey on black - black fitted pants, grey shirt and black leather duster.
Maybe she shouldn't have given Life such a harsh review. The universe seemed to be making a concerted effort to make her the biggest laughing stock in the history of woman kind.
"Lex." She gulped in surprise, trying desperately to maintain some tiny shred of dignity. "What are you doing here?"
He smiled infuriatingly, clearly enjoying her discomfort. "I was in the neighbourhood. Thought I might drop by and see you about Metropolis." His eyes roved slowly up and down the length of her body, taking in her tattered ensemble. "Sorry if it's a bit late, I didn't know you went to bed so early."
Chloe was incensed at herself for feeling so insignificant, and incensed at him for making her feel so small. Did he have to time everything perfectly so that he could maximise her humiliation? First he had seen her in her crappiest working outfit ever, covered in mud no less - and now this?
"You were in the neighbourhood?" She asked derisively, not even bothering to hide her disbelief. "You could've just called. You know, use the scary handset thing I like to call a phone."
He smirked, ignoring her jibe. Chloe had the uncomfortable sensation that he was meditating on the significance of Wonder Woman to her not so hidden journalistic ambitions. Either that, or he was trying very hard not to burst out laughing at her immaturity.
She scratched her shoulder, irritated by the intensity of his gaze.
"Chloe." Her dad said in the background. Chloe had forgotten that her father was still standing there, disapproval and awkwardness clearly written on his face. She guessed she should have realised the out-of-this-world awkwardness of the situation. Add to that the fact that she had just insulted his boss. Big whoops. "I ah -" he hastily glanced at Lex as he made to retreat, "don't go to bed too late sweetie."
"Don't worry Dad." To Lex, she said much more forcefully, "We'll talk outside."
She glared at him, hoping that the uncontrolled fury in her steely gaze would prompt him to do something foolish or silly or stupid, so she could feel slightly better about herself by comparison. Instead, he remained infuriatingly calm and controlled. It was all Chloe could do to not claw his eyes out.
Finally she couldn't stand the silence any longer. "Okay, so you're here. You've seen my," she looked down at her pyjamas, rolling her eyes in derision, "my unique bed wear. You've probably had a good inner laugh about it, so I'd appreciate it if you just come out and say what you want to say so I could go inside and feel humiliated in the comfort of my own room."
He laughed, warmth diffusing over his entire face. "I didn't know you liked Wonder Woman."
She was determined to ignore the hilarity in his voice. "What was so important you had to say to me to involve you coming all the way out here, out of the comfort of your ancestral mansion, and talk to me on my front lawn?"
His brows creased in amusement at her obvious discomfort. "You know, I'm a fan of Wonder Woman myself." Chloe crossed her arms when he seemed determined to continue. "She's strong and sassy. I kind of find that sexy in a woman."
Chloe blinked, clearly thrown. He continued, "Of course, she is brunette, while I've always been partial to blondes." Chloe swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. This was ridiculous. She actually wanted to squirm away from the intense vibe that she was getting from him now.
Think of her dad, she chanted to herself. He who was probably hiding indiscreetly just behind the door, listening in on their conversation and oh my god, did Lex actually say what he had just said to her?
Chloe cleared her throat. "Really?"
Lex smiled hungrily in response.
Chloe bit her lip, trying to swallow down the rising tide of excitement that was building up within her. Every fibre of her being was alive as tension knotted her muscles into an increasingly taut ball of anticipation. She had to remind herself again that she was standing outside on her front lawn in her tattered pyjamas, just to keep her heart from imploding with excitement.
Calm down Chloe, she chided herself. For all she knew, this was the way Lex talked to every girl he came across. No wonder Clark had warned her against him - he was right. Lex was dangerous and flirty and skilled and really very, very sexy.
That jerked her back to reality. She simply could not go around feeling this way about her father's boss.
Lex suddenly shifted gears as he went from flirty to friendly, leaving Chloe to wonder whether she had just imagined the preceding five seconds. "Anyway, the reason I came up here was to ask you when you needed to head to Metropolis. You still need to go, right?"
It took Chloe a moment to adjust to the change in temperature. Did he have to do that? Did he go to some rich elitist school for the criminally flirty that taught him how to tease and taunt a girl, only to leave her quivering with tension in his wake? The nerve of him. She should never speak to him again.
She would make that promise to herself if only she knew that she could keep it, which unfortunately, she knew she couldn't.
"Yeah." She bit her lip. She couldn't believe it - she was actually feeling disappointed that Lex hadn't tried to make a move. Although the still functioning part of Chloe's brain conceded that his non-move may have had something to do with the distinctive Gabe Sullivan shaped shadow lurking behind the window.
"You still need that lift?" He asked charmingly.
"Well, it's on Friday." Chloe hesitated. Did she really want to spend three hours alone in the car with him, given the roller coaster ride of emotions he had just put her through in the last few minutes?
"Good." He started walking towards his car as if the decision had been made. When had she said anything about going with him? "I'll pick you up at 8. Nice and early." He winked at her as he made to leave.
"Hey." She protested, finding her voice at last. "I didn't say I'll go."
He waved her objections away without bothering to turn around, as he got into his car. "8am Chloe."
Chloe was left to scream her objections to thin air as Lex sped quickly away in his shiny black Ferrari.
Author's Note: Just a quick note to say thanks for all the super cool feedback I've gotten for this story so far! (You guys know who you are) Thanks!
Also, I might not be able to update for the next 1-2 days - blame that crazy stupid thing in my life called work. However I love writing this story, so who knows how fast I can get things done so I can go back to writing it again? ;-D
(c) August 2002