A/N2: January 14, 2013: Edit! Almost done... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville.

Chapter 19:


Lex stepped out of his bedroom, all dressed and ready to go. He took a peek inside Chloe's open guest bedroom door to see the whirlwind she'd left behind when she'd gotten dressed this morning for her interview. He smiled at the sight. Loving the lived in feeling his home now had.

He grabbed the keys to his car off the coffee table, threw on the leather jacket he chose to wear for the breezy day, and was about to leave when the front door to his penthouse suite burst open. Lionel Luthor strode in as if he owned the place, which he did, a fact that continued to irk his son greatly.

"Dad," he greeted semi-civilly, he let out a sigh to convey his annoyance though. "This isn't a good time. I'm on my way out."

"Sit down, Lex," Lionel said, disregarding him completely.

He shook his head, not backing down. "I can't. Chloe's waiting for me at the Daily Planet and I'm late."

"Son, you ran out foolishly yesterday when we had to plan our next move. I'll be damned if I'll let yesterday's incident go unresolved," he replied sharply.

"Look," Lex said in resignation. "I'm free all day tomorrow. We'll figure it out then."

And with those words he walked past his father, knowing if he didn't get out then he'd trap him there in a series of meaningless arguments that Lex had no time for whatsoever.

Lionel's arm shot out at the last second and grabbed Lex's forearm. "Is that little twit really more important to you than our company?"

He eyed his father carefully before replying, "Yes, she most certainly is."

He jerked his arm out of his father's grasp and was out the door a second later.


Lex walked the short distance from the Daily Planet parking lot around to the front of the building. After dropping her off that morning, he'd made plans with Chloe to meet her on the steps of the building at three sharp.

He couldn't wait to see her face. He knew she'd be excited and ecstatic. There was no doubt in his mind that she would get the job.

Lex marveled at how just thought of Chloe being happy made him happy. He'd never had that in his life. That thought alone sent warm feelings throughout his body. One of those warm feelings was vaguely familiar; he knew he hadn't felt something like it since his mom.

He had a whole evening of celebration planned for his girlfriend, one he was eager to begin as he practically hopped up the steps of the Daily Planet.

Chloe came into view a minute later, she was sitting on the steps, head in her hands. The happy feeling suddenly disappeared.

He hurried to reach her; at his approach she looked up at him with sad eyes. Her face was tear-stained. Immediately, he sat down next to her, looking at her uncertainly. What had happened?

Before he could get the words out, though, she let out a sob and buried her face into his chest. Shocked, his arms went around her body, holding her tight, as he stared down at her blonde head worriedly.

"Chloe… Shh… Hey, hey, it's going to be all right…" he tried to soothe; though, he felt it a lame attempt since he didn't know what had happened.

She continued to cry, her tears soaking his shirt. He waited her out, rubbing circles to calm her down. Luckily, there was no one around just then, to comment on the strange sight.

After a few more moments, her sobs died down to sniffles and she pulled away from him. He suddenly knew what was wrong, he didn't have to ask.

"Take me home, Lex," she said in a low voice, fingers touching his soaked shirt.

He pulled her to her feet, keeping a comforting arm around her back as he led the way to his car.


They got back to his penthouse shortly thereafter. He was pretty thankful to see that his father was nowhere in sight. The last thing she needed right now was to be ambushed by the man.

Stepping inside the apartment, Chloe silently made her way to her room, closing the door behind her without a word to him. She'd been silent the whole way over. All he wanted to do was fix things, but he had no clue where to start.

Throwing his keys onto the coffee table, he tossed his jacket aside as he strode over to his bar to pour himself a drink. He took a seat on the sofa, wondering what he could do to cheer her up. He really hated seeing her like this. Having never seen her anything but cheerful and optimistic, if not a bit cynical at times, this was quite a shock.

Just as he was considering bribing her out of the room with another trip to Paris, or maybe Milan, Chloe joined him in the living room. Gone was the suit she'd been wearing; now she wore a simple red, long-sleeved sweater and a pair of dark jeans.

He put his drink down to study her carefully. Lex waited for her to say or do something, wanting her to know she was in control of the moment. When she came straight for him, wrapping herself around his body, he looked down at her in surprise. It took him less than a second to return her embrace. He felt her relax into the hold and he was glad he could at least offer her this level of comfort.

After a few more moments of silence, she announced, "I didn't get the internship."

He didn't say anything, just squeezed her a bit tighter. He'd figured it out already.

"I couldn't believe it," she added.

"What happened?" he asked, gently.

"I'm not sure," she began, pulling away so she could look at him. "Everything seemed to be going great. He was praising my writing style, telling me he really liked my choice in stories. I thought I had this interview. Then he gets this phone call. And after that he started criticizing me and said I'd never make it as a journalist. At first, I defended myself, but then I just couldn't take it anymore and I left. That's when you found me a crying mess."

"Who is this guy?" he asked quickly, furious. "I'll ruin him! I'll dig up dirt on him or make it up. I don't care. He'll never work in this city again, when I'm through with him. Who the hell does he think he is? You're the best damn reporter I know!"

"Lex, Lex," she tried to get his attention. She placed a calming hand to the center of his chest. "Don't worry, I'm fine now."

"No, this is not ok. You are getting that internship, or better yet, you're getting a job there!"

Chloe stared at her boyfriend in disbelief. She'd never thought her disappointment at not getting the job would cause him to go into war-mode.

When he began to hastily dial a number into is cell phone, Chloe stood up, quickly taking the phone from his hands.

"Lex, that's really sweet of you, but not necessary. Mr. Sanders probably has Alzheimer's or something… I mean he liked me one minute and the next he hated my guts," she reasoned.

Liked her one minute and then the next... Lex's eyes widened in realization. "You said he got a phone call and then he turned on you, right?" he asked dangerously.

She eyed him quizzically. "Yes…so?"

"Son of a—" Lex swore before taking his phone from a surprised Chloe, dialing a new number.

He waited a couple of seconds while Chloe looked on, clearly perplexed.

"Hello, Dad…" he said into the phone, gritting his teeth. "I don't care if you are busy at the moment. You're going to give me some answers…. What did you threaten Mr. Sanders with?" He heard Chloe gasp from behind him. "Don't give me that crap. I know you're the reason why she didn't get the internship…So, what if you did? You better make him correct his mistake or else…Or else what, huh? Maybe just maybe, I won't be at tomorrow's meeting and maybe we'll lose another billion dollar contract… I'm not being foolish, you are. Mr. Sanders has until tonight to reconsider. If not, then you can kiss tomorrow's deal good bye." He snapped his phone shut abruptly, startling Chloe.

"It was your dad?" she asked, bewildered. "But, why?"

Lex quickly explained how Lionel had suddenly appeared before he'd left to pick her up. He'd stupidly angered the man and once again his actions were being taken out on his girlfriend.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," he said, feeling the need to apologize profusely once again. "That horrible interview was my fault."

She hugged him tightly and replied, "No, Lex, this wasn't you. This was your father. Thank you for defending me, though. I love you for it."

Lex's eyes widened at her words. It took a moment more for Chloe to realize what she'd said. She gasped out loud, putting a hand to her lips. Silence followed, but Lex could see Chloe's cheeks were turning a pretty shade of pink.

She pulled away from him, trying to hide her face. Chloe couldn't believe it. She hadn't even known that she was in love with him, not until this moment. She felt so embarrassed.

Lex's arms, sliding around her from behind, caught her off guard. "I love you, too, Chloe," he murmured into her hair.

Not sure she'd heard right, she turned around in his arms to search his face. There it was, plain for her to see. He actually loved her.

Putting her arms around him, she held tight, never wanting to let go. "So, what are we going to do?" she asked softly.

Lex let out a happy sigh. "Be together… I love you. I won't let my father get between us."

Hearing his adamant reply made her feel even better and she believed him completely.


Original A/N: Ok that's it. One more chapter to go, the Epilogue. Then it will be all done. And maybe if I get some of my other stories done I can get started on a sequel to this one.

Thanks for the reviews I really appreciate them. And please keep them coming.

I'll update soon.

Updated A/N: Sequel is up. It's called The Evil In Love. It's on hiatus right now, but there's 6 chapters up if you'd like to take a look.