Chapter Three

A/N: The rest of this episode is going to be kindof angsty. I'll try to have the final chapter up before Monday...scratch that, I WILL have it up by Monday. No Clark in this one, I really just sent him to hang with Pete so that he would have something to do. Episode 8 will probably not be up until next weekend...but I'm going home on Wednesday to watch "Gone" so maybe that'll inspire me to update sooner. Here's hoping!

When the Maitre D announced dinner at eight o'clock, Chloe was famished. She and Lex found their places at a table near the front of the room, beside the podium. She noted with an eye roll that all of the most successful politicians and business people were seated in that general area.

Lex held her chair for her and she took her seat next to a sweet looking older woman. "Hello dear," the woman greeted her kindly.

"Hi," Chloe returned with a grin, glad to have a nice companion at the table...one that wouldn't try to grab her ass anyways. She held her hand out. "I'm Chloe Sullivan."

The woman smiled back. "Evelyn Fryor," she shook the offered hand. Chloe's eyes widened at the name and Evelyn laughed. "Yes, I suppose if you're a friend of Mr. Luthor's you would know the name."

"I'm a friend of Lex Luthor's," Chloe corrected. "Mr. Luthor and I don't get on very well." Evelyn smiled.

"I like you already," she whispered with a wink.

"Chloe," Lex touched her elbow to get her attention. She turned around. "Have you met the others?"

Chloe shook hand with the other people at the table and tried in vain to remember the names. She had no problem with some of them though...

"Alden Fryor and his wife, Evelyn," Lex finished with the couple beside them. "Whom I think you've already met."

"Yes dear," Evelyn smiled at him. "We're old friends." Chloe smiled again. She could already tell who she'd spend this dinner talking to.


Luthor Corp donated two million dollars to the Metropolis Philanthropist Society to Benefit Orphaned Children. Chloe wasn't terribly surprised, Lex could be very generous when he wanted to be, but Evelyn Fryor seemed to be.

"Two million dollars?" she whispered to Chloe in shock once the speeches were done and the crowd was applauding the donators.

"Lex seems to have a soft spot for kids without parents," Chloe told her, feeling oddly proud of the bald billionaire. He'd made a lot of money off of the Fryor deal – or at least he would—and she was glad to see him giving some of it away to a good cause.

Evelyn shrugged. "It would seem that Alden was right to hold out for the son."

"Excuse me?" Chloe frowned.

Evelyn blanched, realizing that she'd said too much. "Mrs. Fryor it's okay," Chloe reassured her quickly. "I won't say anything. To be honest I knew that there was something more to this merger than Lex had let on. I just didn't know what. He was so excited about it..."

Evelyn lowered her voice even more and Chloe had to lean closer to hear her. "Luthor Corp has been trying to negotiate a takeover of my husband's company for years," Evelyn confessed. "Long before Lex Luthor even finished school."

"What? Why was Lionel Luthor so interested in your company?" Chloe asked, whispering too.

"Fryor Pharmaceuticals was one of the first American corporations to produce Viagra," Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Lionel Luthor was all over that from the start. He offered obscene amounts of money at the time, but Alden was younger then and not ready to retire."

"So then why does Luthor Corp want the company now? And why did your husband agree to sell?"

"The company is up for a huge contract in Florida," Evelyn explained. "It would make anyone in charge a lot of money, but will take several years to fulfill the terms. My husband just doesn't have it in him anymore to keep up the long hours, I'm afraid."

"So if Lionel was interested then why didn't you sell to him?" Chloe wondered.

"Lionel Luthor started making new offers last year," Evelyn told her. "Before the contract even came into the picture. The company was worth far less than what it is now. He'd wanted to do some sort of experimental testing...I'm not sure of the exact details. But Alden refused to sell to Lionel Luthor."

"Why?" Chloe asked her. "Besides the fact that he's..."

Evelyn laughed and Chloe didn't feel the need to finish that sentence. "He didn't trust him," the older woman smirked slightly. "Alden's main concern was that Lionel would make life too difficult for Fryor employees when he took over. We were concerned about their job security."

"So why sell to Lex?"

"Alden was impressed with the way he handled the Smallville situation, organizing an employee led buy out," Evelyn told her. "Lex also agreed to a notwithstanding clause to protect the employees—a clause which Lionel Luthor flat out refused. All in all, we were ready to sell the company but we were just waiting until a more suitable CEO came along."

"Lex definitely is the lesser of two evils," Chloe nodded. She returned to her desert and couldn't help but replay Lex's drunken words from the night before, over and over in her mind. I beat him...

"Are you okay?" his voice whispered in her ear. Chloe jumped slightly and looked over at him in surprise, staring into his stormy eyes. She must have spaced for a minute because his gaze was full of concern. She smiled at him and nodded.


Though it pained her to admit it, Chloe loved ballroom dancing. She wasn't extremely graceful on her feet, no Lana Lang, but her father had taught her how to dance properly when she was younger. So at least she could keep up.

The myriad of dance partners made sure of that. For every woman that Lex danced with – whether for business or pleasure – she had to dance with their dates...at least when they asked. So far, they'd all asked. Not everyone in the room excelled at it though. Her latest partner, Governor Averman, number seventeen, kept stepping on the toes of her new stilettos. He was leaving footprints on not only her skin but also on the white silk fabric of her shoes. Stupid man. Between that and his roving hands, Chloe was almost too distracted to pay attention to what he was saying.

"...and of course I told the mayor that as important as Metropolis is, it isn't the only city in the state. I had to decline his invitation to the city council's gala next weekend because there's an important benefit dinner in Edge City on the same night and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to show an obvious preference for one city over the other..."

"Oh, of course not," Chloe nodded solemnly, knowing that he didn't really require a comment from her, and mentally rolled her eyes.

"...and then there is also the approaching Ms. Kansas pageant..."

"Right," she nodded again...and then flinched as he trod on her baby toe again.

"...sorry dear, I'm not as light on my feet as I would like to be. I'm afraid my ballroom dancing isn't as graceful as my golf swing..."

"You're doing fine," Chloe lied through gritted teeth. He seemed to take her reassurance as a come on though, because his hand began to slowly creep its way lower down her waist.

"...speaking of golf, I was lucky enough to get the much sought after tee time at the Metropolis Country Club on Sunday morning. Do you golf?"

"No," Chloe shook her head gratefully, quelling down the urge to vomit as his hand creeped even lower.

"Pity, you could have joined us on Sunday. The mayor will be there, and young Luthor..."

"Really? Lex is excellent at golf," she lied through her teeth. 'Lex hates golf,' she thought to herself with a smirk.

"But enough about me," he chuckled as if he'd said something hilarious. "Let's talk about you now, shall we?" Chloe didn't like the look in his eyes now, and she had a feeling that it didn't have anything to do with the way his hand was sliding down past her hipbone. "If I recall you used to write a column for the Daily Planet."

Here we go.

"Yes, I did," she nodded wistfully, almost longing for the days that she wrote for the paper by day and was threatened by Lionel Luthor by night. It beat being mauled and trampled by the Governor...almost.

"You specialized in exposing the dirtier deeds of local business tycoons, did you not? I must confess that I find it a little ironic then that you spend so much time with the likes of Lex Luthor."

"Excuse me?" she asked him petulantly, staring up at the mocking expression on his face, daring him to flat out get to his point. He smirked quickly, so quickly that she almost didn't see it.

"I suppose Lex Luthor must not be the type of businessman that you like to expose," he said unconvincingly, as if he were humoring her. "Wouldn't want to hurt your chances...in the journalism world of course."

"My articles exposed unsavory and illegal practices Governor," she clarified, stressing the title mockingly.

"It is convenient then that the people your articles targeted were all members of companies with no connection to Luthor Corp or any of it's subsidiaries."

"Perhaps Luthor Corp executives simply aren't currently conducting any illegal business practices," she suggested, not believing it herself.

"Or perhaps you have an unprofessional connection to members of the Luthor family," he returned. Chloe bristled.

"Are you questioning my journalistic integrity or my loose morals?"

"Neither," he lied unconvincingly, a well-practiced oily smile on his lips.

"Then you're simply questioning the lengths that they would go to for positive press," she suggested instead.

He laughed. "I've been friends with Lionel Luthor for years, so let's not beat around the bush here. I know how you got that article and I know why you're staying with Lex Luthor."

"You do?" she asked doubtfully.

"I do," he nodded, another of those oily smiles on his face. "Why would you print harmful information about the man who handed you a column in Kansas's finest paper?"

"I never censored my articles," she told him adamantly. "They were always based on fact and if I didn't expose any wrong doing on Luthor Corp's part it was because there was nothing to report..." '...at the time,' she finished mentally.

"And how fortunate for you," he smiled grotesquely. "Daddy Luthor hands you a much coveted column, you suffer through his court room drama, and here you are on the arm, and checkbook, of one of America's richest bachelors. It's been a productive year for you, hasn't it Miss Sullivan?"

Her grip on his shoulder tightened, her fingers digging into the skin there. "Don't worry dear," he laughed sardonically. "I'm not going to expose you. I would just like to take this opportunity to offer you an alternative."

"An alternative," she raised her eyebrows in fury.

"Lex Luthor may be young and rich," he clarified. "But he's answering to daddy. A young woman like yourself could do better."

"Like a state Governor?" she rolled her eyes openly this time. His leer was all the confirmation that she needed. If they weren't in a room full of people she would have taken off her stilettos and given him such a stabbing.

"I could help you go places Chloe," he whispered, his mouth hovering close to her ear, making her want to gag. "Connections to newspapers that make the Daily Planet seem like the Inquisitor. I can help make you a great reporter."

She peered over his shoulder and was relieved to see Lex making his way over. She found her voice again when the man began to nuzzle her neck. "I plan on being great all by myself, Sir," she hissed and pulled away from him. "And if I needed help I would never go to you." Before he could retort Lex tapped him on the shoulder and cut in.

Chloe switched partners gratefully an allowed Lex to lead her far away from the Governor. The old man gave her a murderous look; but after Lionel Luthor, she was completely unfazed. "Is everything okay?" Lex asked her, an eyebrow rose at the expression that the Governor was shooting their way.

"Fine," her voice was clipped. She gave Lex a small smile to let him know that, despite her mood, she actually was glad to see him.

"What did he say?" Lex frowned now, clearly not believing her. She supposed it would be obvious to him by now when she was lying and when she really was 'fine'.

"He just...he implied that I was some kind of gold-digger," she threw the man one last dirty look over Lex's shoulder and then proceeded to ignore him. "But I suppose they all think that." Lex didn't answer. "Oh my God!" she hissed at him, trying to keep her voice down. "They do don't they? They think that I'm after your money!"

Lex shrugged. "Probably," he agreed. Off her stricken look he hurriedly continued. "But not everybody...nobody important."

"He's the Governor, Lex," she reminded him. "That's pretty important."

"He's not a very good Governor, Chloe," Lex assured her. "Believe me, he's not important." She nodded and tried not to shoot paranoid glances around the room. Suddenly it felt like everyone was watching them...

"I don't know who should be more insulted," she continued in a hurried whisper, on a roll now. "He implied that I'm some kind of trashy gold-digger but he also implied that you were some kind of amoral criminal who was stupid enough to fall for a trashy gold-digger! I don't even have brown hair!"

He raised an eyebrow at that. "You know," she rolled her eyes. "Because all of your past gold-diggers have been these stacked brunettes...not that you were stupid then! Just because you fell for their acts...I mean, we all fell for them...but there were extenuating circumstances and—"

"Chloe—"

"I didn't mean stupid, stupid...because of course you aren't—"

"Chloe—"

"Lex I swear I didn't mean—"

He chuckled again. "Chloe I know what you meant," he assured her.

"Good," she muttered, feeling like an idiot for rambling on. "Come to think about it, with the exception of Clark, the last three guys that I was involved with tried to kill me too..."

"To be fair Victoria Hardwick never actually tried to kill me," Lex frowned. "She just wanted to bankrupt me..."

"What was the point of this conversation again?" she wondered.

"Forget it," Lex suggested. "Just dance." Chloe nodded at him and tried to will herself to relax. She quickly realized that Lex was an excellent dancer. Far, far better than the perverted Governor.

He led her expertly around the floor, one hand holding hers beside them and the other resting low on her hip gently. With him it didn't feel uncomfortable or awkward. Her fingers scrunched into the soft fabric on his shoulder and his wand was warm and comforting on hers.

All around them people danced, the sounds of clicking shoes and fluttering fabrics filling her ears. Her own dress fanned out into a perfect circle of white silk every time she spun. It made her smile fondly, remembering a time when she would stand on her father's feet, dressed up in a white ruffled gown with a gold tiara on her head, as a little girl, before she outgrew her girly phase. A princess.

But Lex wasn't at all like her father, and he really wasn't the Prince Charming type either. But he seemed to find her smile infectious, because he grinned at her and pulled her quickly into a dip. Chloe laughed and let him steady her while she regained her footing. Well, maybe he was a little charming...he was certainly generous.

"Two million dollars is a lot of money," she said as casually as she could, her gaze locking onto the expensive fabric covering his broad shoulders. He shrugged.

"I've got enough to spare."

She nodded. "I know," she said, still to his shoulder. "It's still generous though."

"It's a good cause Chloe," he insisted. She turned her eyes up to his now, holding his intense gaze.

"I know," she repeated seriously. "And you're a good man for doing it." They both knew that she wasn't talking about the charity anymore.

"No I'm not Chloe," he told her bitterly. "I've made a lot of mistakes."

"That just makes you human Lex," she smiled sadly. "It doesn't make you a bad person. We've all made mistakes, some of us have just made a lot more than others."

He didn't answer that time, but he seemed to share her pain at the words. "Then neither of us are perfect," he smiled softly at her and then she saw his eyes move off of hers, focusing on something else. She took that to mean that the conversation was over.

Lex's hand moved from her hip to the small of her back, pulling her a little closer. She smiled again to herself and let her eyes flutter shut. The melodic sound of string music drowned out the noise in her head, a slow and steady waltz commanding her feet, her partner, and her fellow dancers. The ballroom looked like a chessboard, a black and white sea in motion. There was no doubt which piece Lex was.

Her eyes fluttered open again and she stared hard at the fabric of his suit jacket. The noise was familiar, but when his jacket pocket vibrated slightly, she forgot why she knew the sound. "What the—"she pulled back roughly in surprise, staring incredulously at the still-moving lapel.

Lex smirked and pulled a cell phone out of the inside pocked of his jacket, raising his eyebrows at her jumpiness. "Oh shut up," she muttered, allowing him to lead her off of the dance floor so he could take his call. "How should I know that you'd bring a cell phone to a charity dinner?"

"I put it on vibrate," he defended, clicking the talk button absently and not really looking at the display while he did so. "Luthor."

"Of course you did," she snarked at him and walked over to the closest light to reapply her lip-gloss and give him some privacy. She hummed absentmindedly to the music, not really paying attention to the party around her.

"Dominic this isn't—"Lex's was still close enough to overhear and the familiar name caught her attention. Chloe's head snapped in his direction immediately; calls from Dominic were never good. "—are you sure?"

She expected the usual anger that inevitably marred his face when he got those calls. But the look on his face was one she'd never seen before, and it made her stomach clench painfully. The music suddenly sounded like harsh noise, her lungs felt heavy with lead, and her eyes welled.

Lex hung up the phone with uncharacteristically shaky movements, and clumsily slipped it back into his pocket. When he didn't pull his gaze back up to meet hers she took a few tentative steps towards him.

"Lex? She asked him, laying a hand on his forearm gently, catching his attention. He looked up, eyes wetter than usual and a dark, steely blue color that have made her heart flutter under normal circumstances. "What's wrong?"

He swallowed and shook his head defensively, his perfected neutral mask slipping onto his face as quickly as the pained one had. "Get the coats," he told her coolly, ordered actually. She blinked up at him in surprise and he ran a hand over his head once before walking away from her, pulling the phone back out as he went.

She would normally flip out at him for brushing her off so easily and ordering her around so arrogantly, but there was obviously something wrong. Instead of yelling, she found their coat check tickets in her purse and made her way over to the coat check as quickly as she could.

He was waiting at the elevators when she caught up to him. He hit the button for the lobby and she handed him his coat, riding in silence for the first few floors down. "Lex?" she asked him carefully, so as not to anger him. He turned to her distractedly and blinked. "What happened?"

He slid his coat on and stared hard at the doors, as if willing them to open so he could get out of there and away from her. "He'd dead," he finally got out, no trace of emotion in his voice or on his face.

She didn't feel the relief that she expected, not even close. The world didn't suddenly seem brighter, and the constant weight on her shoulders didn't lift. A man she knew, horrible as he may be, was dead. And his son wasn't able to mourn for him. The air in the elevator seemed to disappear and she found herself gulping for breath. A track of tears began to inch its way down her cheek, but Chloe didn't know which Luthor it was for.

TBC...