Green eyes watched as Chloe and Lex walked towards his Porsche. It was the night of the dinner party and he had just picked her up. She smiled at what Gabe must have said when he found out that Chloe was going to Metropolis with Lex for an evening with the city's rich and powerful. Judging from the look on Chloe's face, it must have been pretty bad.

Lex seemed to have noticed her attitude, too. Right after he opened her car door for her, her placed his hand on her arm to stop her. His expression softened a fraction as they spoke.

'Damn, I wish I could read lips.' she thought. 'I'd give anything to know what they're saying.'

Apparently whatever Lex said worked. She saw Chloe take a deep breath and nodded, a small smile on her face. She got into the car and Lex closed the door before getting in the other side.

They drove off in the direction of the highway while she watched, a grim look on her face. If tonight went the way she thought it would, it would all be for nothing. She looked down at the watch on wrist, determined to fix this.

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"Nervous?" Lex asked.

Chloe looked over at him with a look of dread on her face. "Does it show?"

The lights of Metropolis shined underneath the setting sun through the glass of the elevator. Warren Steele lived in one of the most expensive penthouses the city. In Luthor Towers of course. Ever since they stepped onto the elevator for the 60-storie ride upwards Chloe had been fidgeting.

"A little." he chuckled. "I never thought I 'd see the day when Chloe Sullivan would be intimidated by Metropolis's society mavens."

Anger flared up in Chloe at his comment. "I am not intimidated!" she spat.

Lex chuckled, causing her to get even more upset. He knew she would react that way. Maybe now she would start acting like the Chloe he knew.

"If you say so." he said as the elevator doors slid open. She glared at him as he stepped aside to follow her out to the foyer.

They were greeted by Warren's butler who bowed deeply to Lex before taking Chloe's coat. Lex found himself surprised at the sight of her dress as she handed her coat to the butler, her back to Lex. Chloe usually went for eccentric, colorful clothes that offset her dynamic personality. Tonight she had opted for a knee-length black satin dress held that fit her slim figure perfectly. It was slightly low cut in the front and a tad bit more in the back, but not too much to be distasteful. It was held up by two thin spaghetti straps that crisscrossed in the back. As she turned to face him, he let out a small breath.

"You look beautiful."

A look of suspicion flitted across her features at Lex's words. Before she could question him, Warren Steele walked over to them

"Lex." he said shaking the younger man's hand. "Miss Sullivan, how nice to see you again. My, don't you look lovely."

She smiled at him. "Thank you. You have a beautiful home."

He returned the smile and Chloe felt all of her anxiety about the evening vanish instantly. She had taken an instant liking to Warren when she'd met him. Probably because he reminded her of her grandfather.

"Well, now that everyone's here, why don't we eat?" he joked as he started back towards the other guests. Lex extended his arm to Chloe and she looked at it warily. "I won't bite." he whispered. Color rose in her cheeks as she slipped her arm hesitantly through his. He smirked slightly at her trepidation. Mainly because he was pretty sure what caused it.

They both noticed the stares directed at them as they walked towards the dining room. Everyone always noticed when Lex showed up at a function with a new woman on his arm. The fact that this woman was a blonde cause fevered whispers to fly around the room. Lex knew immediately what the society pages would be talking about the next day, and unless he was mistaken the Planet's gossip columnist was standing at the far end of the room.

Dinner conversation consisted mainly of stock tips and gossip about who was vacationing where. Chloe hated to admit Lex was right, but this was infinitely more boring than the press conference had been. And two hours was definitely too long to spend at one meal. But she was hiding her boredom well. Lex was somewhat proud that everyone had taken to Chloe so well. He knew that once she got over her nerves, she'd be able to charm them.

Her leg began to twitch out of boredom underneath the table. She was thinking about the next issue of the Torch when she felt a hand clamp down on her knee. She jumped slightly and ceased all movement at once. Then she realized that the hand was coming from her left.

Where Lex was sitting.

She looked over at him while he chatted with Warren across the table. He showed no indication that he had any knowledge that his hand was on her leg under the table. It was almost like it had been a subconscious action. Chloe didn't doubt that Lex was used to doing this with his dates, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She shifted her leg. Nothing. She tried it again. His hand remained rooted in it's spot. She glanced back over at him an saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards ever so slightly. If you weren't looking for it, you'd never even see it. He thought this was funny! Unbelievable.

Dinner ended and the other guests rose from their seats. A string quartet had been playing in the corner the whole time, and a few began to dance. Chloe wanted to get up and stretch her legs, but Lex's hand was preventing her from moving.

"Are you enjoying yourself dear?" Mrs. Steele suddenly asked her.

Chloe looked over at the older woman smiling kindly at her. It was obvious she genuinely wanted her guests to have a good time, and wasn't just being polite.

"Very much." she said. Not exactly true, but she didn't want to be rude.

Mrs. Steele seemed satisfied and rose from her seat. She moved over to whisper something in her husband's ear. He in turn said something very quietly to Lex before escorting his wife to the dance floor.

Now that they were alone at the table, Chloe jerked her leg away from Lex's hand. "What are you doing?"

"Keeping everyone from noticing how bored you are. Though apparently it didn't work."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?"

"Warren just informed me that his wife thinks you have a better time dancing instead of listening to me discuss business." Lex told her evenly.

"Dance? With you?"

"That was the idea." He pushed his chair back and stood. He reached his hand to her and she took it. She let him lead her to the dance floor, wondering what his motive was. His right hand clasped hers and held it out from their bodies, while he planted his left on the small of her back. She placed her free hand reluctantly on his shoulder. He began to move in time to the music and she followed his lead.

"Why am I not surprised that you're a good dancer?" she asked in a somewhat accusatory tone.

"You have no idea of the things I'm good at." he whispered in her ear.

Chloe shivered. She looked at him. He smirked and continued to twirl her around the floor. "What are you playing at Lex?"

"What do you mean?" he inquired calmly as he began to creep his hand up her back. She fought back a gasp as his hand came into contact with bare skin.

"I mean, why are you attempting to flirt with me?"

"Attempt? I must be out of practice." he smirked.

"Stop avoiding the subject. What are up to?" she demanded.

"Well Warren's under the impression that you and I are together. He seems quite favorable to the idea actually." he explained.

"You're playing him? What, do you think your business deals will go better if people think you have a girlfriend?" she accused.

"They'll think I have a soft side." he said.

Chloe snorted. Lex raised his eyebrows at her. "You don't think I can be soft when I want to?"

"Soft as granite." she replied.

Lex suddenly stopped dancing. Chloe hadn't noticed until then how close they were standing. She looked up into Lex's eyes swirling with unreadable emotion. "That sounded like a challenge."

Chloe was determined to not Lex see how uncomfortable he was making her. She stood her ground and stared him straight in the eye. "Paranoid much?" she teased.

Lex knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to bait him, make him angry so he would keep his distance. He was well aware of how Chloe tried to keep him at arms length. She didn't want him to touch her. But not because she didn't like it. On the contrary, she liked it very much. And she hated that.

He had felt the tension between them from the first moment they meet, and knew that it had been building for quite awhile. He had been using it to his advantage to keep her distanced from him while he did what he needed to do. He tried to play it up while he was around her so she would get angry and try to stay away from him. Now that she was nearing graduation, he was willing to let it run it's course. All he had to do was let Chloe realize it too. He wanted her to see how much…fun they could have together.

But it seemed like she was realizing it, and fighting it. He could certainly understand that. He had done the same at first. But he didn't want a serious relationship. Chloe was interesting to him. That was rare. He just needed her to be interested back. After all, she wouldn't be leaving for college for a few months. It was more than enough time for what he wanted.

Chloe and Lex had been standing still and staring each other down for a few minutes when the other guests took notice. The conversation lowering caught Lex's attention. He looked around at everyone, who quickly averted their eyes as if they hadn't been watching the two of them. Lex smirked and once again clasped Chloe's hand in his. He walked over to Warren and his wife who didn't attempt to hide the fact that they had been watching them.

"Warren, Elizabeth, thank you for a wonderful evening." Lex told them graciously.

"Leaving so soon?" Mrs. Steele asked. It was obvious she was trying desperately not to laugh. Warren also looked highly amused about something. Chloe wondered just what they were thinking about their early exit.

"Afraid so. Chloe's not feeling too well. Goodnight." he then pulled her away before she had a chance to respond. It had been everything she could do to keep from responding at his lie about her not feeling well. It was so obviously untrue, she was shocked he'd said it.

After retrieving Chloe's coat they got into the elevator. Le pushed a button then turned to face her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded. She felt the overwhelming urge to stamp her foot in indignation.

Lex never responded. For no sooner than she stopped talking the elevator doors slid open to reveal the hallway of another floor. Lex stepped out and unlocked the door in front of them. He looked back at Chloe who was hadn't moved from her spot. "Coming?"

She slowly stepped out of the elevator. "Where are we?"

Lex opened the door and turned back to her. "My penthouse."

Chloe swallowed hard. What had she gotten herself into?

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She looked up at the skyscraper to where Lex's penthouse was. She wasn't pleased about having to spend three hours on a bus to get here, and was even more upset when she saw the lights come on in the apartment. She knew it was his. She'd spent enough time there. And unless she was completely mistaken, she knew exactly what was going to happen that night.

Now she just had to figure out a way to stop it.

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A/N: I'm not really sure this chapter turned out alright. I was just trying to get them where I need them for the next part. Next chapter we'll find out why this deal is such a bad idea.: ) Till then.