Chapter Two
Lunch at Giorgio's was usually enjoyable. In fact, Lex liked the restaurant; he'd always had great service there. Lunch with Mayor Haberman was usually tolerable as well; Lex liked the old man. But that day lunch at Giorgio's with Mayor Haberman was torture. Because he was there. Lunch with Bruce Wayne was never enjoyable.
Lex managed to be polite enough to his old school friend, but inside he was screaming, his teeth gritting together and wearing down the enamel. The Mayor seemed to be delighted with the company and he talked jovially, the new city contracts his topic of choice. Lex wasn't stupid; he knew that though the Mayor enjoyed their company, he had only one real reason for meeting with the heads of Luthor Corp and Wayne Industries...it was an election year. The main benefit of the lunch was the attention that they attracted from the press: the two most powerful men in Metropolis, and the largest out of town investor. There were cameras at every window, and a line of reporters waiting out front of the building to get a shot when they left.
Lex ran a finger around the rim of his wine glass absentmindedly, only half listening to the conversation that Haberman and Wayne were having about getting together for a game of golf. The old man liked his golf. He almost scoffed out loud, knowing that Wayne enjoyed golf about as much as he himself did.
"...Perhaps we could get together for a game this weekend boys," Haberman continued, somehow catching Lex's attention. "Will you be in town this weekend Wayne?"
"Yes sir," Bruce nodded and gave the mayor a winning grin. Lex forced himself not to scowl. "A game sounds great."
"Ah, excellent," Haberman smiled back, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling in a way that made Lex immediately think of a grandfather. "And you Luthor? Could you make a game this weekend?"
Lex didn't want to go. "Sunday?" he suggested with a smooth smile, not nearly as warm as Bruce's, but then he wasn't as suck up like Bruce was.
"Eight o'clock," Haberman nodded. When both Lex and Bruce had agreed, he smiled again and set his napkin down on his plate. "Well boys I'm sorry to run, but there's a city council meeting at one thirty that I have to be at. You'd be surprised at how much direction some of these councilors need at routine meetings...anyways, I look forward to seeing you on Sunday."
Lex and Bruce both stood and shook hands with the older man. Once Haberman was gone they sat down again, the exaggerated smiles gone now. "You hate golf don't you?" Bruce asked him, finishing off the last of his wine.
Lex raised and eyebrow and finished his drink as well. "Don't you?"
Bruce nodded and rolled his eyes. "Yes, well..." he seemed to be struggling for polite conversation. "...how is Chloe doing?"
"She's fine," Lex replied shortly, remembering the way Bruce had looked at her in London, and still not liking it.
"Good," Bruce nodded. "Tell her that I said hello, would you? I guess it's probably better now, what with people not trying to kill her. My condolences about your father by the way."
"Yes, we're all very torn up about it," Lex checked his watch lazily. "Well this has been...fun, but I have a press conference to get to. Please excuse me."
"Sure, I should be going too," they both stood and gathered their coats and briefcases. Neither said it but there was an unspoken agreement that they would walk out together. Predictably, as soon as they left the building they were bombarded by questions and flashes from reporters; people asking for a few shots of the two of them. Lex groaned mentally but stood beside Bruce, smirking faintly for the cameras. He may not like the man, but Wayne Industries had an excellent media image and a picture of the two of them together would be positive press for Luthor Corp, especially as Lex was trying to rebuild his own public image after his father's court scandal.
They shook hands briefly, paused for a few more pictures, and Lex managed to escape into his limo. "To the office please Liam," Lex told the driver once he'd closed the doors on the reporters. The limo pulled away from the curb and Lex pulled his blackberry out of his inside suit pocket. He pulled up the agenda option and looked through the rest of his day.
1:30 Metropolis High School Tour/Greeting
2:00 Press Conference
4:00 Daily Planet Interview
He put away the blackberry and began to go over his notes for the press conference, cursing the fact that his day was only half over.
"A party?" Lucas asked skeptically. "I'm not really a birthday party kind of guy, Sullivan."
Chloe and Clark sat side by side on the other side of the table. Around them people hurried in and out of the entrance doors, ordering their cups of coffee on the way back to work. Starbucks addicts. Chloe held an enormous cup of coffee in her hands, an addict in her own right, and shook her head.
"It's not really a party, party Lucas," she assured him.
"Will there be strippers?" he asked, sipping his drink. Chloe scowled and Clark actually blushed. "Then it's not my kind of party. What are you doing anyway?"
She leaned forward eagerly, giving him a good view down the top of her shirt. "We're flying somewhere..." she trailed off.
"Somewhere?" he asked her. "Where is somewhere exactly, Sullivan?"
"I can't tell you that," she leaned back with a smug smile on her face. "We have to keep it quiet. Only the people that are coming with us are allowed to know...it's very secret."
Lucas rolled his eyes and continued to sip his coffee quietly, pretending that he wasn't curious. The girl knew exactly how to make him want to know...he hated that about her. She was clever and feisty; no wonder Lex liked to have her around.
Clark Kent obviously didn't have the same restraint because he turned to Chloe with an excited smile. "Come on Chlo," he prodded her once with his elbow. "If we tell him he might want to go."
"Clark," she shook her head at her friend but didn't take her eyes off of Lucas. "If he only wants to go because he likes the destination then I don't want him there."
Lucas raised his eyebrows. "You don't want me there?" he chuckled. "I didn't realize it was your party, Sullivan."
"It's not," she stared back, a smile pulling up the corners of her pink lips. "It's Lex's party. But I'm not going to let you tag along and have you disappear once we get there just because you want a free trip."
"Then why even ask me?" Lucas was beginning to get annoyed with the same feistiness that he'd just been admiring.
"Because you're his brother, Lucas," she pointed out, rolling her eyes and finishing off her drink. "And I think that it's ridiculous that you two don't spend any time together, especially now that daddy dearest is gone. It's not like there are any other Luthor relatives climbing out of the woodwork these days. Normal families would be talking to each other right now."
"Sorry," Lucas shrugged. "We're not a normal family."
"No kidding," she smirked back. Clark shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Anyways, I'm not going to tell you where we're going even if you decide to come. I don't trust you to keep your mouth shut, especially with Lex."
"I'm getting the feeling that you don't really like me that much Chloe," Lucas smirked at her. "And I know that Kent here doesn't. So why don't you just save us all a little time and tell me why I should bother coming on a trip with the two of you and a brother who wants nothing to do with me?"
"I don't dislike you Lucas, I don't even know you," she told him seriously. "But I know that Lex has been taking care of your expenses for the last two years, giving you a swank apartment to live in, and since Lionel stopped doing it, keeping you out of trouble. You two may not be close but you owe him something besides an excessive gambling debt. Your only brother is turning twenty-four next Friday,Lucas, and you should be there with us to wish him happy birthday."
Lucas stared harshly into his coffee cup, as if he found the sugary residue on the bottom immensely fascinating. Across the table Chloe sighed and he heard her chair scrape against the floor as she stood, Clark's following a second later. He looked up in time to see her drop a strip of paper on the table in front of him. "If you change your mind," not even Clark could miss the disgust in her voice.
He listened for the sound of their footsteps retreating and, once the door closed behind them; he finally picked up the paper and read what she'd written there. He felt his jaw tighten when he read the neatly scrawled words she'd written, feeling unexpectedly guilty and hating the feeling. People like him didn't feel guilty, and they didn't let girls like Chloe Sullivan push them around.
Angered at her gull, he pushed his chair roughly from the table, stood, and strode quickly out the door. On the table behind him the piece of paper lay motionlessly where he left it, Chloe's loopy scrawl dark against the bone white background.
Mansion, October 15th, 5:30
Saturday, October 9th
The doorbell rang, interrupting the cartoon that Pete was watching. He waited a moment before realizing that his mother was still at work. Groaning, Pete removed the bowl of chips from their resting place on his lap and climbed to his feet, heading to answer the door. The bell rang again.
"Yeah, hold on a second!" he called through the door, reaching out and turning the handle. "I said I was coming—Clark! What are you doing here man?"
Clark Kent stood on the doorstep, flannel clad and a huge grin on his face. "Hey Pete," he greeted. Pete stepped out of the doorway to let him come in, clapping him on the back while he went past.
"Hey Clark," Pete returned, leading him into the living room and flopping back down onto the couch. "What's up man? What are you doing here?"
Clark sat down too, still grinning. "What are you doing next weekend, Pete?"
Sunday, October 10th
Sunday morning came all to quickly for Lex, and he was dreading the golf game that he'd so stupidly promised to play in. Since his lunch with the Mayor and Bruce Wayne on Wednesday he'd been to twelve meetings, three press conferences, ten interviews, and one charity picnic. He would have loved to spend Sunday relaxing at home, maybe going for a swim...oh who was he kidding, if he were in Smallville right then he would have been going over the mountain of paperwork that awaited him in his study. As terrible as golf was, at least it was giving him a few hours off.
Bruce Wayne was pretty good at the game, for a man who didn't enjoy it...but then, so was Lex. The Mayor had the best score of course, and Lex was annoyed to admit that he didn't even loose on purpose. He really hated that game.
"Shall we get some lunch?" Haberman suggested adjusting his plaid hat. They walked leisurely along the paths, choosing not to take a golf cart, the caddy's trailing several feet behind them.
"I could use a drink," Lex nodded, his throat feeling a little dry from the bright sun shining overhead.
"Good," Haberman smiled. They reached the tennis courts where two girls were engaged in a very heated game. "Oh, would you boys excuse me for a minute? I have to go and say hello to a friend of mine."
"Of course," Lex nodded at him. Haberman hurried over to a group of old men sitting near the golf cart office. Lex turned back to Bruce, wondering why he was so quiet. Wayne was staring hard at the tennis court.
"Is that Chloe?" he asked, bringing his hand up to shield his eyes from the sun. Lex nodded and they walked over to the courts, sitting on a bench off to the side to watch the match.
"She's picked up tennis in the last few weeks," he told Bruce, smirking as she nailed a wicked backhand at her opponent, getting the point. "She's getting pretty good." Bruce nodded.
They watched as she threw the ball up in the air in a serve, and hitting it so hard at her opponent that the other girl dropped her racket trying to hit it back. Chloe threw her hands up gleefully and waited for the ball girl to hand her another one.
"Think maybe she's got a little pent up frustration?" Bruce winced as she served again. This time the other girl managed to return the serve, and Chloe smashed it back at her, getting the final point. Lex shrugged.
"Maybe," he said. They waited while Chloe shook hands with her opponent, a huge grin on her face. She spotted them watching and made her way over to their bench. Bruce stood up quickly to greet her and Lex followed lazily, a smirk on his face.
"Hey," she greeted them with her infamous grin, pushing aside a strand of hair that fell out of her short ponytail and pulling a white sweater on over her tennis outfit. "Are you done? Who won?"
"Haberman did," Bruce answered her, returning her grin. Chloe sat down on the bench tiredly and looked up at them. "You're playing pretty good. I think you made that girl cry."
Chloe's grin turned devilish. "I do get a kind of sick thrill out of kicking a little trust fund ass," she admitted, eyes twinkling when Lex chuckled. "For kids that have been playing since they were old enough to hold a racket, they aren't very good. They just don't know how to win."
"I never thought of you as the jock type, Chloe," Bruce sat down next to her, leaning closer that Lex thought was really necessary. "I've read some of your Torch editorials and they seem to have a reoccurring anti-sport theme."
"I won't be joining the cheerleading squad anytime soon," she assured him. "At least playing tennis I don't have to depend on a bunch of steroid fried jock straps to help me win. If I loose, I loose...but it's going to damn well be because I can't win, not because anyone else was dragging me down."
Bruce laughed. "I think maybe you've been living with Luthor too long," he told her playfully. "He's starting to rub off on you." Chloe smiled and climbed to her feet.
"Then I guess I'm luckier than I thought," she locked eyes with Lex quickly before turning her gaze back to Bruce. "I'm hungry. How about I let you buy me lunch and you can explain to me how you two managed to loose a golf game to a sixty year old man."
"Fine," Bruce picked up her bag for her and they all began to make their way over to where Mayor Haberman was still chatting with his friend. "But you should know that he's actually a really good...I didn't even loose on purpose."
Lex rolled his eyes and forced himself not to check his watch. Instead he occupied himself with mentally cursing Bruce Wayne, whose hand was resting a little too low on Chloe's back.
Clark walked up to the massive front doors of the mansion and rung the doorbell. He waited patiently and after a few moments the door swung open to reveal the butler. "Hey Walden," Clark greeted. "I'm supposed to meet Chloe here."
Walden nodded and stepped aside, gesturing for Clark to enter. "Miss Sullivan is in the exercise room," he told Clark, shutting the door behind them. "I'll take you there."
Clark frowned in confusion, not actually able to remember the last time that Chloe had engaged in any kind of physical activity besides running for her life. "Why?"
"I beg your pardon sir?" Walden looked back at him in confusion. Clark blushed.
"Oh, nothing," he said quickly. Walden raised an eyebrow but didn't comment again, leading Clark silently to the weight filled room. Even though Walden had told him, Clark was actually a little surprised to see that Chloe was indeed in the room Lex had turned into a sort of home gym. Walden left and Clark leaned against the doorway, watching silently for a few minutes while Chloe threw a succession of punches at a suspended punching bag.
"The tennis pro at the country club says that it will help my game," she called out, not bothering to turn around. Clark grinned and walked over to her.
"How did you know I was there?" he asked her, coming to stand on the other side of the bag and holding it steady while she punched.
"I heard you come in," she turned quickly into a spin kick, her foot connecting with the bag hard enough that Clark didn't even have to pretend to sway under the force. "That's enough." She wiped a piece of hair away, tucking it behind her ear, and led him over to a couple of chairs against one of the walls. "So did you talk to Pete?"
"Yep," Clark nodded. "Called him on Saturday—"that was a lie but he didn't want to explain to Chloe how he got to Pete's house. "—He's taking the bus in on Friday. Should be here at four."
"Great," Chloe sighed and leaned against him in exhaustion.
"Have you heard from Lucas?" Clark asked her, moving his arm around her shoulders so she could rest more comfortably.
She shook her head. "No," she said a little sadly. "I don't really expect to either. I think maybe you and Lex were right about him."
"Maybe he'll show up on Friday," Clark suggested, not believing it but hoping that he would.
"Maybe," she muttered. "It looks like it's just going to be the four of us then. I'd invite more people but I don't know who Lex would want there. Bruce Wayne is in town but I'm pretty sure that Lex would kill me if I invited him."
"I think it's probably better keeping it small," Clark assured her. "He'll probably have to go to a huge party for Christmas anyways."
"Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, Friday Appreciation Day..." she nodded, agreeing. "I e-mailed Lana, but she can't get away for the weekend. Apparently her art history class is going on a weekend trip to Florence...tell me again why we go to public school?"
He laughed. "Because it's closer," he nudged her. "Come on, I brought my English homework with me...I'm totally lost."
Chloe groaned but climbed to her feet, leading him out of the room. "Did you get Lex a gift yet?" Clark asked her as they climbed up the stairs to the top floor.
"Not yet," she admitted, sounding a little frustrated about the fact. "I haven't been able to decide on what to get him. I mean, what do you get for the billionaire who has everything?"
"I don't know," Clark admitted. "I haven't thought of anything either. Did you ask him what he wanted?"
"Yes," she snorted, rolling her eyes as she pushed the door open to her bedroom and led him in. Clark hesitated in the doorway, unsure if he should go into a girl's bedroom, even if it was Chloe. But she kept talking and he was forced to follow her so that he could hear her. "He keeps saying that I don't need to get him anything. I hate it when people say that! Of course I need to get him something; just because he doesn't need anything doesn't mean that he doesn't want anything."
Clark sat down at her desk and dropped his backpack onto it, pulling out his English notes. "I think that in Lex's case, you can't really buy the things that he wants," Clark told her apologetically. Chloe nodded thoughtfully.
Suddenly she broke into a grin.
Monday, October 11th
The Metropolis History Archives Building loomed up in front of her, it's stone gargoyles and chipped pillars sending an uncomfortable chill down the back of her spine. "No wonder kids don't read," Chloe muttered, climbing quickly up the uneven stone steps and heaving open the giant doors. She entered a large, sparsely decorated room, in which the only furniture was an old oak desk pressed against the far wall. Her heels clicked on the stone floors and echoed loudly around the empty room.
There was a bell on the desk and she reached out and rung it, tapping her foot impatiently while she waited for someone to attend to her. The unmistakable sound of approaching footsteps echoed out through the hall and Chloe turned towards the doorway it just in time to see a woman walk out. She almost snorted at the image; a librarian with a tight bun in her hair and a tweed suit.
"May I help you?" the woman asked Chloe imperiously, obviously a master at the 'looking-down-your-nose stance'.
"Yes," Chloe returned back coolly, gesturing to the large file and book in her other hand. "I'm here to see Dr. Curtis. Do you know where I can find him?"
"Do you have an appointment?" the woman asked her accusingly.
"Yes," Chloe stuck her chin out defiantly...totally lying. She didn't have an appointment, but she did have a large personal check in her pocket that she was pretty sure would do the trick.
The woman didn't seem to believe her but nodded anyway. "Follow me please," she turned briskly on her heel and began to walk away. Chloe had to half run to keep up with her, but she didn't tell the woman to slow down. She was led down a maze of hallways and up a flight of stairs to a wing labeled "Publication Specialists". "It's this one here," the woman gestured to one of the doors. There was a nameplate above the door reading "Dr. A.L. Curtis", the same name that was embossed on her book in gold letters.
"Thank-you," Chloe said politely, but the woman was already half way down the hall by then and her comment was said to a tweed-covered back. Chloe took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Yes, come in," a muffled voice called from the other side. Chloe pushed the door open and stepped into a decently sized office. There was a sixty-ish man sitting at yet another large mahogany desk. "Can I help you?"
"I hope so," Chloe closed the door behind her and forced herself to stand confidently in front of him. "Dr. Curtis my name is Chloe Sullivan. I was hoping that I might be able to interest you in writing a historical entry for me."
He shook his head but gestured for her to sit in one of the antique chairs in front of his desk. She took a seat and looked around the room quickly, noting the display cases with various antiques that adorned the walls. "Now, Miss...Sullivan, wasn't it?" he asked her.
"Chloe," she corrected.
"Okay, Chloe," he set down his pen and closed the folder that he'd been going through. "I'm not exactly sure what you're asking for but I should tell you now that as a general rule I don't compose historical reports for high school students. My services are generally reserved for government resources and publishing companies. I write books Chloe, not school papers."
"Trust me Dr. Curtis," she shook her head. "I don't need any help with my homework. That's not why I'm here."
"Then you've got my attention," he smiled warmly. "Why are you here?"
"I want you to write a book," she told him, feeling an immense sense of satisfaction when his eyebrows rose in surprise.
"You want me to write a book," he repeated stoically. "May I ask about what?" She smiled and handed him the large folder.
Thursday, October 14th
Chloe gnawed roughly on her lower lip and tried to ignore the ticking coming from the clock on the wall behind her. She pushed her eggs around her plate distractedly, keeping her ears peeled for the sound of a phone ringing. The prongs of the fork scraped along the porcelain plate, but she didn't notice. After a few more scrapes she heard Lex swear softly.
"Jesus, Chloe!" he put his paper down and stared down the table at her.
"What?" she asked defensively, continuing to scrape the plate.
"What? Stop it," he pointed at her fork. She looked down at the utensil in her hand, realized what she was doing, and blushed.
"Sorry," she muttered, dropping the fork now and checking her watch.
"Are you okay?" he asked her doubtfully. "You're twitchy this morning."
"I'm fine—"she cut herself off with a small screech when the melodic ring of her cell-phone filled the air. She lunged for the phone, picking it up off the table, and grinning at the name on the display. "Sorry," she apologized to Lex briefly and then hit the talk button. "Hello? Yes! Hi, I'm so glad you called. Tell me you have good news..."
Lex rolled his eyes and went back to his paper, but she saw his eyebrow quirk occasionally at some of her comments. "...So tomorrow morning...no I have school, can I bring it tonight...what seriously...but why the back entrance...well, I'm not a drug dealer...no I don't want to be in the Inquisitor...but it's creepy...fine I'll bring Clark—why not? He's my friend...no he said it would be done today, I have to pick it up after school...I have to go today...oh come on!"
Lex rolled his eyes again and this time set his paper down on the table and picked up his briefcase. Chloe paused. "Oh hold on a second," she covered the mouthpiece and turned to Lex. "Bye Lex."
"Bye Chloe," he returned with a small smirk and looked pointedly at the phone in her hand. "Try not to get arrested." She grinned at his back when he walked out of the room.
"Have a good day!" she called after him and then went back to her phone call. "Sorry Clark, he's gone now. Anyways, Dr. Curtis called me last night and said we could pick up the manuscript today after school."
"Is the Mission Impossible theme playing in your head right now too?" Clark asked Chloe as they walked out of the Archives Building. She held a thick envelope in her hands, and Clark was clutching the massive file that she'd lent to Dr. Curtis.
"Are you kidding?" she laughed. "That was my personal theme song for almost four years Clark. I hum it in my sleep."
"I feel like we're doing something wrong," he admitted, following her down the stairs and into the subway station.
"We're not," she assured him. "It's just because he doesn't know...it'll pass."
"I guess," Clark shrugged. They climbed onto the train and took a pair of seats near the exit doors. "But for the record I think that this is going to be a really great gift for Lex."
"Yeah?" she asked him hopefully. "Do you think he'll like it?"
Clark grinned at her. "He'll love it...I just wish I hadn't bought him CD's now," he sighed. "It just seems stupid."
"Hey, even billionaires like music Clark," she waved her hand. "In fact people as rich as Lex prefer to get CD's, because then they don't have to download songs like us peasants."
"I can't believe you got him to do this," Clark shook his head and looked at the envelope in wonder. "And so quickly too."
"'Love of money is the root of all evil' Clark," she quoted. "I guess he really loved money."
"How much did this cost you Chloe?" he asked, suddenly concerned.
"Don't worry Clark," she shook her head. "We worked it out. He gets a suprisingly small fee, a finished copy, and copyright royalties."
Clark seemed to be reassured because he changed the topic. "Have you heard from Lucas yet?" he asked her hopefully. He and Lex may not be close anymore, but he really did agree with what Chloe had said the week before; Lucas should be there.
"No," she sighed. "I've pretty much given up hope. At least Lex never knew that we invited him in the first place."
"Yeah," Clark nodded sympathetically. Clark knew that if his only brother couldn't be bothered to attend his birthday party, he'd be a little hurt.
"Ass," Chloe muttered. They sat quietly for the remainder of the ride. When the train got to their stop they filed out with a large group of people. Chloe led the way to a tall building a half a block down from their subway stop. A tall man with dark, wavy hair was waiting outside.
"Who's that?" Clark asked her, confused when she walked straight up to the man and flashed him one of her mega-watt grins.
"Clark Kent," she smiled at Clark now. "Meet Bruce Wayne."
TBC...