CHAPTER 10
Chloe groaned as light peeked in through her closed eyelids. She raised her arms above her head and stretched, her back arching away from the soft mattress beneath her. She peered out of one eye around the room, searching for the man who had accompanied her to the bedroom the night before. Lex was nowhere to be seen, but the sound of water running in the bathroom made his whereabouts fairly obvious. Chloe grabbed her clothes, freshly laundered and folded on the dark wooden dresser, and changed quickly into them. Giving in to her own interest, she quietly opened the dresser drawers, peeking into each one. Neatly rolled socks, some boxers, a soft, expensive-looking sweater or two. Pulling open the top right drawer, she sighed and pulled out a little black notebook. A day planner. Flipping to the proper date and scanning over the itinerary, she nodded at her newly acquired information and put it back exactly how she had found it. Grabbing a pen from her purse and a piece of paper from the counter, she scribbled a messy note and placed it delicately on the pillow before leaving the room and exiting the mansion. Once she had made it down the extensive driveway, she pulled out her cellphone and speed dialed her cousin.
"Chloe!" Lois answered shrilly. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for days!"
Chloe bit her lip, resigning herself to the awkward conversation she knew would come up eventually. But not right now. "Lois, I need a ride. Can you come pick me up?"
"Where on earth have you been? Are you okay? How's Gabe doing?"
Chloe growled under her breath. "Can you just drive over here and give me a ride?"
"Where are you?" Lois sighed loudly.
"At the Luthor ancestral castle." Chloe dryly answered. "Just hurry. Please." She hung up, snapping the phone closed in her hand and shoving it back in her purse. Chloe leaned against a street sign, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She was going to fix this. No more stupid games.
Lex walked out of the bathroom with a dark silk robe wrapped loosely around his body. The sheets were rumpled and the bed was empty. Her clothes were gone and he wasn't really surprised. A scrap of paper on the bed caught his eye and he lifted it up to read.
"The goal is to win, but it is the goal that is important, not the winning."
-Chloe
He felt his head begin to pound. What was that supposed to mean? Was it some sort of comment on the activities of the last evening? He could only assume. Lex crumpled the note in his hand and tossed it into the wastebasket. Lex Luthor does not respond to cryptic, post-coital bed messages.