See If I Care

"I saw you walkin' down the street last night,

I saw him walkin' by your side.

I saw the way he stopped and held you tight,

I saw the look in your eyes.

Go on and tell him that you love him,

Go on and show him he's the one.

Go on and give him every sacred thing,

That you used to save for us.

See if I care,

Look at the way you're tearing me apart, baby.

See if I care,

Look at the tears fallin' in this heart, baby.

Go on, go on, go on,

Yeah, go on, go on,

And see if I care.

I still can hear the way you whisper,

Softly in my ear.

I lay awake, and I remember,

The way it felt to hold you near.

Go on and run your fingers through his hair,

Go on and lay by his side.

Go on and wrap him in your dark surrender,

And all your tender lies.

See if I care,

Look at the way you're tearing me apart, baby.

See if I care,

Look at the tears fallin' in this heart, baby.

Go on, go on, go on,

Yeah, go on, go on,

And see if I care.

See if I care,

Look at the way you're tearing me apart.

Baby, see if I care,

Look at the tears fallin' in this heart, baby.

Go on, go on, go on,

Yeah, go on, go on,

And see if I care."

-"See If I Care" by Gary Allan

Lex walked out of the airport and breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be back in Metropolis. London had been boring at best considering he barely left his apartment the whole six months he was there. He refused to admit, even to himself, that he had been depressed without Chloe there. She had always wanted to go to England but it was the one place they never got around to seeing when they were together. It was odd, Lex realized, to refer to Chloe as his ex-girlfriend. They were together so long and had faced so much animosity in the beginning that the phrase didn't seem decent enough for what they had.

Lex allowed himself to be led to his limo and sat down on the leather seat. He poured himself a generous helping of brandy before settling back and relaxing. The drive to his new apartment in Metropolis was short considering it was located ten minutes away from the airport. He stepped from the car leaving his brandy untouched in the cup holder next to his seat.

"Why aren't we in the parking garage?" Lex's voice was sharp and the doorman and chauffer shifted uncomfortably. He looked around the crowded street and grimaced in disgust at the noise and utter chaos of it all. Maybe he should have gone to Smallville instead; who knew if Chloe was still living with her father?

"You're having lunch with you're father just across the street, sir." A tall, brunette woman with one hell of a pair of legs and glasses spoke while exiting the soaring apartment building. Lex looked her over. She was young; possibly the same age as Chloe. She looked sharp and smart but there was kindness in her eyes rather than the usual ruthlessness or fear.

"Who might you be?" Lex's voice was calm showing his natural sangfroid. She smiled widely and he noticed that she had quite a lovely mouth.

"I'm Lisa Donaldson. Your new personal assistant." She held out her hand and he took it in a firm handshake.

"I'm Lex. What happened to Margaret?" Lisa winced then laughed shakily.

"Would you believe that your sudden departure caused her to have a mental break down and she quit in a fit of rage after destroying your entire office, of course."

He thought for a moment about how jittery the petite blonde had been then nodded his head slowly. "I may be able to accept that."

"Well, shall we walk? The restaurant is less than a block away and I figured you'd like the exercise after sitting for so long." Lex raised an eyebrow at her presumption then smirked. None of his other assistants had dared to do anything without his explicit permission.

"Let's walk." He stepped aside so she could walk beside him and they crossed the street.

"Well, you've a meeting tomorrow at ten in the morning and dinner with Clark Kent on Thursday. Friday is free for any loose ends you need to tie up but there's a charity event your father's throwing on Saturday. He'll probably talk about it at lunch so I thought I quickly brief you on what it's for."

Lex froze and ceased to hear Lisa discuss his schedule when he saw them. Chloe and a tall, dark man. She was laughing and openly flirting with him. Her head was thrown back and her hand rested lightly on the crook of his arm.

"Who is that man?" Lex asked gritting his teeth.

"Which one?" Lisa looked in the general direction Lex was glaring. "The one getting in the Mercedes with the blonde? That's Maxwell Parker. He's an up and comer in the fashion industry and writes a weekly column for the Daily Planet's society section. He's, ah, very admired by many women. He's been seen with that blonde exclusively on numerous occasions, though. Rumor is, they're engaged."

Lex felt jealousy course through his veins and his eyes fire up at the sight of Chloe touching the other man's arm and laughing at something he had sad. He pictured the last time Chloe had done that to him. They had been dating a little over two and a half years and Lex had decided to take her shopping so she could pick out her own Valentine's Day gift. It seemed Chloe had a temper when it came to spending too mush money and Lex had gone over her unknown budget every holiday. He did not feel the need to be on the receiving end of her anger no matter how much fun he had after getting yelled at. Chloe had dragged him into every store for the past three blocks before deciding she wanted a new laptop and they had to go back two blocks to the computer store. She had laughed until she had no breath left at Lex's grumbling and him stalking off like a pouting child.

Lex felt his hands clench into fists so tight that he started losing feeling in them in seconds.

"Mr. Luthor? Are you alright?" Lisa's voice floated to his ears as she gently touched his arm. Lex grabbed her arm then her waist, tilted her back, and kissed her until all his anger was gone. He didn't notice Chloe staring at him nor did he catch the stunned expression on her face as she allowed herself to be helped into the car.