Chapter 24 — Woman

If there was one thing that Zoey had learned while attending board meetings, it was that one needed to know when to make power moves. When Austin had heard the rumors about the Daily Planet being put up for sale, he had let her know. With only the Smallville Ledger and the Star City Observer under the YMG name, Zoey knew that she needed an internationally known paper to make any kind of headway. Zoey had focused her energy and time on ensuring that when the time came she would have no competition when it came buying the Daily Planet. The failure of Reeve's Dam, Lana's perceived death and subsequent resurrection along with her divorce from Lex, and the arrival of Kara were all things that Zoey was aware of but stayed far away from.

Zoey shares an anxious look with Max. They were sitting in Austin's office, waiting to hear news on whether or not anyone had outbid her. "This is taking too long," Zoey mutters, walking over to the window. The Daily Planet, with its golden globe on top, stood out.

"Zoey, relax," Max reminds. "I would be surprised if someone outbid us."

"Doesn't mean that it can't happen. LuthorCorp and Wayne Enterprises are the biggest competition."

"Well, both Lex and Earle can go fuck themselves."

The door opens and they turn to see Austin walk in. "Well," Zoey impatiently asks.

"Wayne Enterprises put in a bid of ninety million," Austin begins. "LuthorCorp put in a bid of one hundred fifty million. No one else came close to your bid, Zoey. Congratulations."

"How much was your bid, Zoey," Max questions, looking between his boyfriend and niece.

"Two hundred million," Austin answers. "My team discovered that the Daily Planet is worth about two hundred fifty million, so we didn't overpay, Max."

"I know you would never let her overpay for anything." Max turns to Zoey. "So, what exactly are you going to do with the Planet?"

Zoey looks at the Daily Planet building. "A lot."

Lex was pissed. When he wanted something he usually got it. Being outbid for something at the last minute was not something he was accustomed to. Which was why on a cold December morning, he found himself standing outside of Met U's library, waiting for the only other person that could outbid him on owning the Daily Planet. When Zoey walks out of the building, he quickly makes his way over to her. "You know, I'm not used to losing," Lex greets.

"Well, you win some, you lose some," Zoey replies, staring at him. She knew it was only a matter of time before Lex paid her a visit. She and Max had spent the morning, finalizing all the paperwork in order to buy the Daily Planet. "What exactly is it that you want, Lex?"

"I can't say congratulations on a hard-fought victory?"

"You? No."

Lex moves close to her. "We used to be such good friends, Zoey. What happened to that friendship?"

"Life."

Lex stares at her. Zoey tenses he brushes a lock of hair out of her face. She wasn't going to let it show that part of her was intimidated by him. "You picked the wrong person," he says. "Queen is not good enough for you."

"Oliver is a good—"

"You need someone on the same level as you."

"And who would that be?"

Lex smirks. "I'll see you around, Zoey." He walks away, leaving her standing there.

Oliver walks over to where Zoey was sitting at his desk in their penthouse apartment. The murder of Grant Gabriel, the editor of the Daily Planet, had been all over the news. It was also why she was sorting through a stack of resumes. He leans against the desk. "Maybe you should take a break, Zo," he tells her.

Zoey shakes her head. "We need to find a new editor. Ryan is staying in Star City at the Observer. His wife doesn't want to move to Metropolis. And Blake turned down the offer. Fuck Lex Luthor. And Lionel."

"You think Lex has something to do with Grant's murder?" Zoey shoots her husband a disbelieving look and Oliver smirks. "Yeah, I know. While I wouldn't put it past Lex to have someone murdered, but I doubt he did it to get back at you. He probably had something personal with Grant. Lionel was there when he was killed."

Zoey turns back to the pile of resumes. "I think Green Arrow should pay Lex a visit and put a few arrows in him. He certainly deserves it, the ass—"

"You put Chloe in danger," Clark angrily shouts, storming off the elevator.

Oliver rolls his eyes. "So, I take it we're skipping over the whole 'hello, good to see you again,' part of the conversation?"

"If you and your crew want to go out there and put your own lives on the line, that's fine. Go ahead! But not Chloe! Smart doesn't help when someone's trying to attack you on a rooftop!"

"First of all, I don't think our leather-fetish mystery woman was trying to kill Chloe."

"She shouldn't have been in danger at all."

"Secondly, Chloe's in danger like every other week with you by her side, Clark."

"No, you're the one who goes into things without giving it a second thought. Why don't you try to think about someone other than yourself for once?"

"Clark," Zoey snaps, glaring at him. "I think you need to rethink what the fuck you just said. Because last time I checked, you ignore shit that happens right outside your door all the time."

Clark sighs. He hadn't realized Zoey was in the room as Oliver had blocked his view of her. But he knew that she had a point. "This blonde woman…Chloe said she shattered your arrows."

Oliver glances at Zoey, then turns his attention back to Clark. "Not my proudest moment, but, yeah. She must have some kind of sound-frequency control. All the noise went muffled right before it happened. And the file she stole—"

"Chloe said she didn't know what it was."

"I didn't tell her what it was. We've intercepted Lex's latest project. It's a photo file."

"And this masked woman just happened to show up?"

"Maybe Lex has a blond sidekick of his own."

"Do you think this mysterious woman that works for Lex could have anything to do with Grant Gabriel's murder," Zoey questions. "Because if that's the case, then Green Arrow should put some arrows in her too."

Oliver shoots her an amused look. "I don't think so. If she did, then why would she stick around?"

"To…see how annoyed I am?" Oliver snorts. "Fuck you."

Clark frowns. "Why are you concerned about who killed the editor of the Daily Planet?"

Zoey smiles. "Because I own the Daily Planet. I brought it in December."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"We put out a press release in December, Clark. It was all over the news. Lois even sent a fruit basket. It's weird that she's being nice to me."

"I still have a lot of work," Zoey mutters as Oliver pulls her out of the elevator. He saw how stressed she was. He had taken her to a Middle Eastern restaurant not far from their penthouse in hopes that she would relax for the night. Oliver kisses her; his hands go to the top of her jeans. She wraps her hand around his wrist. "We can't. Or we should at least use another form of protection. My doctor changed my prescription and said we should use another form for at least one cycle."

"Or we just risk it," Oliver counters. She stares at him. "I think a tiny version of you or me would be cute."

"You…you want to have a baby," Zoey clarifies.

"Or we at least do the trying part. If it happens, it happens."

Zoey pushes him away and shakes her head. "I have a lot of work to do. Plus, I still have to do my homework for my classes."

"Zo—"

"You just dropped a huge bombshell on me, Oliver. I just…I need time to think about it. A baby changes everything." Zoey turns to grab her laptop off of the coffee table but freezes when she sees the short-haired blonde woman wearing a black outfit with fishnets standing on the balcony. "Oliver—"

A loud screeching noise echoes through the apartment. The windows on the balcony shatter. Oliver tackles Zoey to the ground. The glass desk and coffee table shatter around them. The last thing Oliver sees is that Zoey is knocked out before he passes out.

Zoey groans as she slowly wakes up. Her head was pounding. "Zo," Oliver asks. While they had been knocked out, the mysterious blonde woman had tied them to a couple of chairs and faced them back to back. "Zo, you okay?"

"I have a killer headache," Zoey answers. She looks around their now destroyed penthouse. "And you want to have a baby. Fuck. Look at what just happened."

"I don't think glass tables are the way to go with babies," Oliver argues.

"Not the point!"

Oliver starts to argue with her but stops when the blonde woman walks over to them. "I don't know what it is you want from me, but I'm hoping we just got off on the wrong foot," he tells her.

"You can save your charm for someone else," the woman replies. Zoey frowns. She heard that voice before.

"Whatever someone's paying you, we can beat it."

"You know, this is more than just about money, pretty boy. This is about something that you and your merry band of thieves might not understand. Justice."

Oliver snorts. "Lady Justice must be blinder than I thought she was if she's got you on her side."

"Just tell me this: what goes through the mind of a terrorist when he's about to set off a bomb in a factory?"

"A terrorist? You really have it backwards. No one's ever been hurt, and Lex's factories aren't exactly producing Christmas toys for little girls and boys. I'm the good guy!"

"Isn't everybody," she coldly says, then walks away.

Zoey leans her head back. "Please tell me you have a plan."

Zoey stares at the pack of birth control pills. She had been thinking about what Oliver had said earlier. He had managed to convince Dinah Lance that he was a good guy and that Lex was the one who should be dealt a hand of justice. She walks out of the bathroom and finds Oliver lounging on their bed. "So…say we do this whole baby thing," she begins, moving towards him. "You will have to be home more. No more of this home for a week once a month. I mean, home every day."

Oliver sits up. "Okay."

"And you have to help do all the baby stuff. I change a diaper, then you change a diaper."

"Okay."

"I don't want a nanny, but we'll need one. So, you get to help me find one."

"Okay."

"After I finish law school, I want you to name me CEO of Queen Industries."

That was something Oliver wasn't expecting. "You want to be CEO?"

"Yes. You want a baby. I want to be CEO."

"You're negotiating over whether or not we should start a family."

"You're asking me to put my career on hold for something that I don't want right now. If you asked me to do this in ten years, I'd say yes in a heartbeat. I want a family. I want to have kids. No one will ever ask you to choose between career and family. No one will treat you differently."

Oliver stares at her. He knew that she had a point. He saw how people treated her in the boardroom and he heard what board members had said when she wasn't around. He also saw how hard she worked. "I'll call a board meeting for next week and you'll be named CEO. It'll take a couple of months for all the paperwork to be dealt with."

Zoey blinks. "I - I didn't mean now. I meant in a few years."

"Zo, you want the job. I don't want it. I never wanted it. So, it's yours."

Zoey looks down at the birth control pills in her hand. She walks over to the small trash can that was kept in the corner and drops them in it. "I don't think those are needed anymore."

I'm a motherfucking woman, baby, alright
I don't need a man to be holding me too tight
I'm a motherfucking woman, baby, that's right
I'm just having fun with my ladies here tonight
I'm a motherfucker