A/N: A few more things I changed around a bit. Lois and Grant aren't broken up and Lana is still married to Lex, she is obliviously happy married to Lex, she doesn't know Clark's secret. I hate writing Lana so that was the easiest way to keep her out of my way.
"A job?" Lois said following Chloe around the Talon apartment as she packed a bag. "You go on vacation for a week and get a new job?"
"A job offer." Chloe said. "And I haven't decided to take it yet." She turned around to look at Lois. "I'm going up there, I'm going to meet with someone and we're going to discuss my job description and salary and then I'm going to think about it some more."
"But you're leaving now?" Lois said.
"It's sort of time sensitive. They'd really like to know my answer as soon as possible."
"And this job." Lois said sitting down on one of the barstools pouting. "Would mean you would move?"
"Yeah." Chloe said. "I don't want to leave any more than you want me to leave, but hey, you could have the apartment back and we won't be fighting over stories at the Daily Planet…"
"And you won't be here to drown your sorrows in ice cream with me, or gossip about Lana, or any of the other things we do." Lois pointed out.
"Yeah, but I'll have a phone." Chloe assured her. "And you can come visit me and I'll come visit you and…well it's not like we grew up together Lois." Chloe reminded her. "It wasn't until a few years ago that we even started hanging out."
"I know." Lois pouted. "That doesn't mean I have to like this." She got up. "But I'll be a good cousin and I'll help you pack."
"Thanks." Chloe smiled at her. "I'll call you as soon as I get there and I promise I won't take the job without going over everything with you first."
"I could kill Grant you know." Lois said.
"No you couldn't." Chloe smiled. "Because I actually think you like this one."
"I really do." Lois sighed. "That's why I could kill him."
"Let's go grab some ice cream and a few movies and have a slumber party for my last night here, and you can tell me embarrassing things about Grant to cheer me up."
"Sounds like a plan." Lois brightened up and grabbed her jacket as they walked out the door.
Chloe got off the plane and cricked her neck. She was able to take a direct flight this time because Oliver had work to do in New York and there was no way that Lex would put two and two together in a city with over a million people. She took a cab to the ridiculously expensive hotel that was being footed by Raven International, a satellite company of Queen Industries as far as she could tell, and relaxed for a while in her room. After taking a shower and getting dressed she found a note from Oliver asking her to meet him in the Penthouse, and a card key for the private elevator. When she got out on the top floor Oliver was standing there waiting for her. He grabbed her bag and led her out on the veranda. Someone came out with coffee and then left Oliver and Chloe alone; looking out at the most beautiful view she'd ever seen. "If these are the perks of the job…I think I'm all ready sold."
"There will be perks." Oliver laughed. "A lot of perks actually. I just wanted to go over what I expect of you before you commit to this. What I would like is a little more involved than you probably had in mind."
"Ok." Chloe set her coffee cup down and gave Oliver her full attention.
"What I want is for you to be my right hand man." He explained to her. "I want you to know every aspect of this organization, every detail. I want you to find the Lex Luther's out there for us, investigate them, and then help me lead the team through whatever needs to be done to take them down."
"Ok." Chloe said. "I can do all that."
"Of that I have no doubt." Oliver said to her. "The thing is, this is going to be a long term project Chloe. Lex isn't going to stop doing what he's doing and more people are going to realize what's going on out there and not all of them are going to be on our side. This is quite frankly the last job you'll ever have."
"Ok, a little more pressure but…" She took a deep breath. "I understand the seriousness of this and I wasn't planning on doing it for a few years then moving on anyway."
"Good, so we're on the same page." Oliver smiled relieved.
"I think so." Chloe said.
"There's just one more thing." He sighed trying to figure out how to explain what he wanted to do next. "The other guys are on my tab obviously but they are scattered all over the place. AC is in Florida, Bart is wherever Bart wants to be and Victors back in Star City. We do a lot together but we're also really careful not to be together a lot do you understand? We don't want anyone getting suspicious and putting two and two together. They can be together and a lot of times they are, they hang out with each other, sometimes they live with each other and that's fine because no one is paying attention to them."
"But they pay attention to you." Chloe said.
"Exactly." Oliver seemed to sound a little relieved. "To do what needs to be done, you and I are going to have to spend a lot of time together."
"No problem." Chloe shrugged.
"Problem." Oliver said again, struggling with his words. "No offense Chloe, but Oliver Queen and Chloe Sullivan don't hang out."
"Oh." Chloe said sitting back in her chair, surprisingly at a loss for words.
"What I mean is, with my social status, the fact that Lex Luther has a vested interest in you and has for a while now, and the way the world works…" He sighed.
"It would look suspicious to the world if suddenly Oliver Queen was hanging out with a girl from Smallville all the time, and to Lex if you were hanging out with me, I understand." Chloe assured him. "So what does that mean?"
"It means that Chloe Sullivan has got to change." Oliver said, he knew this is where the whole thing got a little messy. "It means Chloe Sullivan has to become…the Chloe Sullivan."
Chloe opened her mouth, and then closed it again. "What does that mean?" She asked again.
"It means my dear." A British accented voice said from the door to the veranda. "That you're going to have to change." Chloe turned to see an aged older man standing in the doorway. "From head to toe."
"I'm sorry?" Chloe looked between the man and Oliver confused.
"She's pretty enough, that will work in her favor." He sat down still looking Chloe over. "All though from the way you described her, I've yet to be impressed by her intelligence." He grabbed a piece of her hair. "The clothes are all wrong and the posture…it's giving me chills to say the least. I also detect a bit of an accent that we'll have to get rid of right away. Enunciation dear, live by it."
"You stop talking." Chloe snapped at him. "You explain." She said to Oliver.
"Chloe I'd like you to meet Sir Edward Standish." The man gave a small bow of his head. "He's a very old and dear friend of the family and he's going to be doing me a favor."
"I owe you and I always pay my debts." He said to Oliver.
"Ok, what does that have to do with me and what was he talking about?" Chloe asked quietly.
"I need you to become someone that Oliver Queen would hang out with." Oliver said. "Edward can help you with that."
"How exactly?" Chloe said confused.
"Because my dear." Sir Edward stood up. "I've got more money than God; I can do whatever I want."
"If you agree to this." Oliver said ignoring Edward's outburst. "He's going to take you under his wing, bring you into my society and make sure that you have a place there."
"Ok." Chloe said, still a little confused. "Ok, but isn't that going to look weird?" Chloe said. "One day I'm a reporter for the Daily Prophet the next day I'm…"
"An heiress." Sir Edward informed her.
"We've got everything in place, if you agree. The story that will be told to the press is that you are Sir Edward's last living relative or a sort. We've got birth certificates and fake correspondence and a whole paper trail to follow. The story is that you're his mother's sister's granddaughter and no one knows about you because you wanted to make it the publishing world on your own, without using family connections."
"But I am an old man, and I need someone to pass on my legacy to." Sir Edward smiled. "And for some reason I chose you."
"Only when he actually tells it, it will be more heartfelt and less…disgusted." Oliver said pointedly to Edward.
"Of course." He smiled. "I'm ecstatic to have with me a family after being alone for so many years." This time it sounded a little more convincing.
"Ok." Chloe said leaning back in her seat. "Ok. So…" she looked out over the view. "Ok…"
"Lord, I've got my work cut out for me don't I?" Sir Edward moaned.
"Look." Chloe turned on him. "I am trying to think, trying to wrap my head around this ridiculous plan that I'm sure Oliver came up with in an opium induced moment of insanity, try and figure out if it will work, how it will work, and frankly whether or not I want to spend any more time with you than I absolutely have to, so if you could just please resist the urge to say every asinine, pig headed word that pops into your small decaying brain I would really appreciate it." Chloe said to him.
Sir Edward looked at Oliver stunned and then back at Chloe and smiled. "Well she's got spunk; you can do a lot with spunk." He said. Chloe turned to him and glared and he shut his mouth, sitting back in his seat while she thought about it.
"So literally, what would this whole thing entail?" Chloe said. "If I agree to do it?"
"Well, Sir Edward would take you back to England. I'm sure there would be a few….lessons on how to act and dress and behave." Oliver said not sure how Chloe would take that. "And then he will integrate you into our society. Take you to functions, introduce you to the right people, and bring you to the right places."
"I will make you known." Sir Edward said looking at Chloe. "I will make you my protégé. The heir to my fortune, my company." Chloe glared at him for talking again and he got up and walked back in the penthouse.
"You will start to hang out with the people that I hang out with and then it won't look so strange when you start to hang out with me." Oliver said.
"This is a little elaborate don't you think?" Chloe asked. "I mean this whole charade? Something like that could take years."
"I know it seems ridiculous. But like I said Chloe this is the last job you'll ever have. If we want to do this, we need to do it right." Oliver said. "It will take years; our plan is about five, hopefully not ten." He smiled. "But it'll be worth it. It will give you connections, it will give you excuses. If I need you in Brazil for some reason, it won't seem suspicious, no more carousel trips, no more hiding under fake names."
"Yeah Oliver." Chloe pointed out. "No more hiding under fake names." She looked at him pointedly. "That's how I get most of my information, from my total anonymity. What good am I going to be if everyone knows who I am?"
"Being a socialite isn't like being a celebrity." Oliver said. "For most people anyway. If we do this the right way, you won't be in the tabloids or on the cover of People magazine. It's a very exclusive circle and we really don't like to do things publically. You know about me, you know about Lex because of our past, because of our party days and stupid adolescent stunts. People are going to know your name, but people aren't going to know you. I can't tell you how many people I meet who know Oliver Queen and have no clue that I'm him. Just think about what Lois did the first time we met."
"Ok." Chloe sighed. "I really need to think about this." Chloe said. "This isn't a job offer, this a new life offer. I just need to think about it ok." Chloe stood up. "Take a bath, order some food. Think over what this whole thing will entail."
"Take your time." Oliver stood up and walked her to the door. "But you're going to do it." Oliver said.
"How can you be so sure?" Chloe asked smiling as the elevator opened.
"Come on." Oliver leaned against the elevator door. "All the money in the world, the greatest parties, the best food, just so you get to hang out with me." He smiled at her. "Who could pass that up?"
Chloe rolled her eyes at him and pushed the button for her floor, closing the doors and knocking Oliver out of the elevator.
Chloe walked back to her room, called down for room service and sat on her very own balcony. She didn't have the view the penthouse did but it was still pretty nice. While waiting for her food to come she thought about Oliver's ridiculous plan and the more she thought about it, the less ridiculous it started to become.
She ate her dinner, tried to calm down but couldn't stop going over the plan in her head. She could see his view point. Oliver Queen's did not hang out with Chloe Sullivan's, especially not as far as Lex Luther was concerned. But was the whole elaborate plan necessary? Changing her way of life, changing her history, turning her into something else just so that she could work with Oliver without Lex questioning it?
She thought of her dad. Wondered if he were alive, what he would think of this whole thing. She thought about him, working so hard at Lex's stupid plant even though he hated it. He told her he wanted to give her the world and here Oliver was offering it up on a very enticing platter.
She sighed and opened her phone dialing Oliver's number. "Hello?" He answered on the second ring.
"So this whole…training me to be an heiress thing. How long would that take?" Chloe asked.
"I don't know." Oliver said. "Until Sir Edward thinks you're ready Eliza."
"Ok." Chloe said hanging up the phone. She made some coffee and poured herself a cup. She pulled the phone out again and dialed Oliver.
"Yeah?" He asked.
"I'll still be me though. I mean I'll still be Chloe Sullivan?" She bit her lip.
"Look, we're not asking you to be a different person…well only in the way that we're asking you to completely change, but you'll still be Chloe Sullivan." He assured her. "Just with better connections and clothes and more money."
"Right." Chloe hung up the phone.
Oliver set his phone down shaking his head and went back to his computer. After about five minutes he heard the elevator open and looked up in surprise to see Chloe standing there. "Chloe?" He got up and walked over to her.
"My room's too quiet." She said walking over to his couch and sitting down. "I can't think there." She turned on Oliver's television and he smiled at her.
"You have a TV in your room." He pointed out.
"I know that." Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "But you're here."
"I have work to do." Oliver said.
"You can work." Chloe waved her hand at him as if shooing him away. "Just having someone else in the room helps me think. I'm used to working in a very loud and crowded newspaper office remember."
"Well…" Oliver said and then the service buzzer rang. He looked confused for a second and Chloe smiled.
"That's for me. Room service, I told them to send it up here." Chloe said going to the service elevator and retrieving her cart. Oliver watched as she settled herself back into his couch and opened her room service tray.
"Popcorn and chocolate cake?" He asked.
"It helps me think." Chloe assured him. "Plus, Popcorn and a movie, it's a classic."
"Ok, but chocolate cake?" He looked at her confused.
"What can I say, any excuse for chocolate cake, I take it." Chloe said.
"Wait, what movie?" He asked as if it had just registered with him and looked at the screen where she was going through the finishing steps of ordering a movie. "My Fair Lady?"
"You gave me the idea, Professor Higgins." Chloe rolled her eyes at him.
"I used to watch musicals with my mom all the time." Oliver smiled at the opening credits.
"Sit, enjoy." Chloe said. "There's plenty of room on the couch and I promise I won't hog the popcorn." Oliver looked to his computer then back to the television. "Work will be there in two hours." Chloe reminded him.
"Ok, but just the one." He said sitting down and grabbing some popcorn from her.
Halfway through My Fair Lady they somehow got onto the subject of other old movies and realized they both had an affinity for Carey Grant. After searching through the movies in the hotel supply they found Bringing Up Baby and decided they had to watch that. Four hours after she's come into Oliver's room Chloe was leaning against the elevator waiting for it to open. "Thanks." She said. "I needed this to help me make my decision."
"How is that?" Oliver asked.
"I realized that I can deal with the makeover and the fake life and all that other stuff, there was just one more thing I needed to figure out." Chloe smiled at him.
"What was that?" Oliver asked.
"If I really wanted to go through all that trouble, just to hang out with you." She smiled as the elevator opened and she got in as Oliver just stared at her.
She was at her door and pulling out her room key when her phone rang. "Hello." She said trying to get the door open.
"So is it worth it?" Oliver asked.
"I guess it'll have to be." Chloe feigned annoyance at him and he laughed as she hung up the phone and walked in her room and went to bed.
Chloe stayed in New York for a few more days, ironing out the details of the plan with Oliver and Sir Edward. He would take her back to England, the sooner the better. There he would do his turning into an heiress training and introduce her into society. After they determined she was ready, she'd come back to the states where Chloe Sullivan would officially meet Oliver Queen and the real work could start.
Oliver's plans included her staying on in a remote Watchtower capacity, working from England the same way she helped him from Smallville. It wouldn't be easy but it would be necessary. She wouldn't have any official contact with him for a few years and that was going to be an obstacle but one they were sure they could work around.
"Your flight leaves from Metropolis on Monday." Oliver reminded her as she packed up her things and prepared to check out of the hotel. "Are you sure you're ready for this?"
"We've been over everything a hundred times." Chloe assured him. "If I'm not ready now, I won't ever be ready."
"Ok. Call me when you get to Sir Edwards all right?" Chloe nodded. "You're gonna be fine."
"Of course I am." Chloe scoffed. "This is Chloe Sullivan you're talking to here."
"Right." Oliver smiled at her. "Good luck." He said and she turned to him confused as she left the room.
"With what?" She asked.
"Telling Lois." He smirked and she glared as she punched the elevator button.
"Wait reverse, back up, and start again." Lois held up her hand in confusion. "A seriously super rich Uncle that you never knew about wants to bring you to England and train you to take over his company."
"That's some pretty good nut shelling Lois." Clark laughed. Chloe'd just finished telling Lois the official version of her cover story. She'd explained the real part to Clark earlier and all though he was still a little unsure of the need for such an elaborate plan, he was having a lot of fun with Lois.
"Shut up Smallville." Lois turned to Chloe. "This is unreal."
"I know." Chloe raised her eyebrows.
"Wait." Lois smiled excitedly. "An Uncle on your mom's side? Because you know what that means…" Lois let it hang in the air and Chloe sighed.
Oliver's initial plan was to have it be on her mom's side. What with Chloe's grandmother being from Ireland the European connection would be much easier to fake. But Chloe reminded Oliver that since her mother and Lois's mother were sisters and therefore Lois and Lucy would be in the running for heiress he'd changed his mind. "Sorry Lo, it's on dad's side."
"Oh." Her face fell. "Well, it was nice to be rich, even for just a second." Clark laughed again and Lois glared at her. "But England Chlo? What am I going to do with you in England?"
"It's not another planet Lois." Chloe said and Clark stopped smiling. "They have technology there, phones and internet."
"Plus she's rich now, I bet she has private planes." Clark pointed out.
"I'm not rich." Chloe said for the hundredth time it felt like. "But yes, Uncle Edward has a plane."
"But England's dreary and rainy." Lois complained. "I lived there for three years, it sucked."
"Lois." Chloe sighed.
"I'm sorry." Lois closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think this is awesome Chloe, really. I always knew you were bigger than Smallville, turns out you're bigger than Metropolis." She tried her best to smile. "I'm really happy for you."
"No you're not." Chloe nudged her shoulder and Lois smiled.
"No I'm not." Lois said.
"It's not like you'll be alone." Chloe smiled. "Clark will still be here."
Lois looked over at Clark as if he was something gross she'd just stepped in. "Yeah, yeah." She sighed. "What else you got?"
Clark looked offended and Chloe laughed. She was going to miss this, miss hanging out at the Talon with Clark and Lois, miss watching Clark and Lois verbally spar with one another. She was going to miss it when they finally realized that they were perfect for each other and just get together all ready. The laughter died on her lips and she shook her head. "I'm gonna miss you too, so much you have no idea. But I think this is something I just have to do. You understand that right?"
"Yeah." Lois said giving in. "But you're calling me every day. And you can't just disappear ok, I'll come visit you in crappy England and you've got to come back to Smallville occasionally."
"Done." Chloe smiled. "Hey, you can have the Talon apartment back, get off of the farm." She looked at Lois. "I'm practically moved out all ready."
"It would be nice not to have to worry about this one pretending to accidently walk in on me in the shower."
"I'm not pretending." Clark groaned. "I was just used to having the house to myself for so long." He reminded her.
"Save it Smallville, we all know what you're really doing in there." Lois said and Chloe laughed wondering if she would ever be able to find friends like these in Oliver's circle.
Her remaining days in Smallville were bittersweet and a little annoying. Lois followed her everyone, practically attached to her hip that Chloe had to physically grab her by the shoulders and sit her at the kitchen chair when she wanted to shower. Even then she had no piece as Lois had taken to simply screaming at Chloe through the bathroom door and over the sound of the water. She was almost grateful to finally get on the plan that would take her to the next phase of her life.
Edward, who Chloe had grudgingly admitted wasn't such a bad guy but still completely sure about yet, picked her up at the airport himself and brought her back to the largest house she'd ever seen. After showing her to her room, introducing her to her personal maid, something Chloe was still trying to wrap her head around, and giving her basic layout instruction like the kitchen and sitting room he showed her the intercom system. Forty five minutes later, a very annoyed, very impatient Edward said he would send someone to give her a manual on the system so she could learn how to use it. It wasn't very hard according to Edward but the sheer number of buttons and small screen had even Chloe, computer wizard baffled. Normally she was just fool around until she figured something out but the first few buttons she'd pushed had resulted in her waking up various members of the staff accidently. She decided she'd at least wait until morning before playing with it again. "Hey Edward?" Chloe asked as he left her to get settled in. "Why are you doing this for Oliver?"
He looked at her and smiled. "Why are you?" Chloe just nodded and walked back into her room.
Chloe was given the night to herself after a late supper to explore and just get used to the house on her own and so exploring she went, remember about thirty minutes into her walk she had forgotten to call Oliver. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number.
"Are you settled in yet?" Oliver asked as Chloe walked down the halls of the enormous castle that she would be calling home for the foreseeable future.
"I'm trying to get the lay of the land." Chloe stared at the twenty foot ceilings in the hallway as she made her way down, opening doors to guest suites and sitting rooms. "This place is massive Oliver." She turned a corner and sighed. "I mean it's creepy, it's like a self contained city here. There are two hundred and fifty rooms and I…"
"So a little bigger than you're used to huh?" Oliver laughed.
"A little bigger." Chloe scoffed. She opened a door and gasped. "Oh my god."
"What?" Oliver asked. "Did you find an indoor pool? Bowling alley?"
"No." Chloe said in awe. "Just a hall bathroom." She closed the door and paused. "There's a bowling alley?"
Oliver laughed. "Look, would you go unpack and get settled in?"
"No." Chloe shook her head. "I can't handle that room yet." She told him.
"You can't handle the room?" Oliver asked. "What?"
"My "room" alone contains a sitting room, an office, a bedroom, a bathroom and a closet bigger than my entire apartment in Smallville. The only thing it's missing is a kitchen, which isn't a problem because there is a twenty four hour on call kitchen staff." She shivered at the enormity of it all. "I just can't handle that room yet."
"Chloe." Oliver scolded her.
"Plus." She looked around. "I think I'm lost." She backtracked hoping to find a familiar hallway only to end up in one she hadn't seen before. "Seriously, I think I'm lost."
"Go unpack and call me in the morning." Oliver said.
"Don't hang up." Chloe clutched the phone tight. "I'm not kidding. Send a search party or something. Look, I'm in a hallway with one, two…six doors and I think I'm still on the second floor, but it's hard to tell. Oh there's a portrait of a really funny looking cross eyed man that should help."
"Chloe. Stop goofing around." Oliver laughed.
"I'm not kidding Oliver." She snapped at him. "Call in the national guard, or wait I'm in England what's the equivalent of the National Guard here? The Queen's Guard…well they're probably just on call for the Queen huh."
"I'm hanging up now." Oliver said laughing.
"No." Chloe screamed but it was too late, he'd hung up. She stomped her foot and looked down the hallway that seemed less menacing when she had Oliver on the phone. "Hello." She said softly. "Can anyone help me please?" She called down the hallway.
"Miss Chloe." A voice said from nowhere.
"Holy shit." Chloe jumped up and put a hand to her heart. "This place is haunted, I should have known, stupid England, stupid mansions." She looked around frantically.
"Miss Chloe." The voice said again. "There is an intercom on the wall at the corner; if you push the top button we can hear you."
Chloe looked around sheepishly and located the intercom system. "Hello?" She ventured.
"Yes, this is the security monitoring room." The voice said. "We couldn't help but noticed that you looked a little…"
"Lost?" Chloe asked. "Could you point me in the direction of my room please?"
"Of course." The voice chuckled. "Just go back to the other end of the corridor, take a left, go halfway down and take a right…"
"You lost me at corridor." Chloe informed him.
"Just stay there, we'll send someone to escort you." He said.
"Stay here." Chloe smiled. "Where else would I go?" She paced back and forth in the hallway until she saw a man round the corner toward her.
"Miss Chloe." He bowed slightly; it was Simon, one of the security guards she's met earlier. "If you'll follow me please." He motioned for her to go forward and she started walking.
"Simon right?" He nodded. "Does this happen a lot?" Chloe asked. "People getting lost I mean?"
"No." He shook his head.
Chloe's face got bright red. "Right." She said sheepishly.
"I didn't mean…it's just we don't really have anyone staying here long enough to get lost." He told her.
"Oh, I feel a little better then." Chloe laughed. "So is this what you do at night? Watch people on the monitors?"
Simon blushed this time. "No ma'am. We don't normally have…"
"Anyone to watch." Chloe finished for him.
"Yes ma'am." Simon said. "But Sir Edward asked us to keep an eye on you."
"He knew I'd get lost huh?" Chloe smiled.
"No, rather he was afraid you'd get overwhelmed and make a run for it." He smiled at her.
"Showed him didn't I." Chloe puffed up her chest.
"Yes ma'am." Simon stopped walking. "Your room ma'am."
"Thank you very much." Chloe said opening the door as he walked away. "Simon."
"Yes ma'am?" He stopped and turned to her.
"This place isn't…haunted is it?" She's managed to thoroughly spook herself now thinking about old English castles and ghosts. "It's just you hear about all these old houses that are haunted."
"The house really isn't that old, it's just built to look that way." He said. "And Sir Edward has been the only occupant of the residence since it was finished so I think you're rather safe from ghosts."
"Thanks." Chloe blushed again and turned to go into her room.
"Miss Chloe." Simon said suddenly.
"Yes?" Chloe turned around.
"I got lost a lot my first few weeks here." He told her. "You'll find your way."
"Thank you." Chloe smiled. "Good night."
"Good night." He nodded and walked away as she went into the room and closed the door behind her. She grabbed her bags and decided it would be better to unpack now instead of having to do it in the morning. She unzipped the first suitcase and stopped when she saw a small wrapped package sitting on the top. She opened it up and saw a delicate bracelet with three small charms hanging from it. Chloe examined it closer and noticed one was a quill with an inkwell, another was a small newspaper, and the third was a coffee bean. Of course this being Oliver, there were diamonds sprinkled liberally in the charms and she was sure the metal was either white gold or platinum, but while it was expensive and high end, it still managed to be Chloe. She noticed a note in the bottom of the box and opened it up.
"This is for the new Chloe I hope she likes it. Just in case, there should be something in your office for the old Chloe." Chloe looked up from the note and walked through the sitting room to the office on the other side. There sitting on her desk with a red ribbon tied around it was a state of the art lap top. Another note was sitting on top and she picked it up. "For all your Watchtower needs."
She smiled a small smile running her fingers along the computer and then latched the charm bracelet around her wrist before she finished her unpacking.
The next few days Chloe mainly wandered around the house, trying to get her bearings. She'd managed to meet almost all of the security guards that way. She'd go exploring, get lost and, someone would have to come escort her back to the main hall. She walked into a room at random and five maids stood up in surprise. "Miss Chloe?" Elizabeth, Chloe's personal maid, stood up and bowed slightly to her. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Huh?" Chloe looked around, realizing she must have wandered into a servant area and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just trying to…well I'm making a map." She held up the pad in her hand and the maids looked at the confusing image of interconnected rooms and hallways. "Am I still on the second floor?"
"No ma'am." Elizabeth smiled at her. "You're on the ground floor."
"Oh." Chloe said looking at her map. "How did I miss a staircase?" She flipped pages in her notebook and Elizabeth and the others laughed. "I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced. I'm Chloe…"
"We know Miss." Another woman said.
"I suppose you do." Chloe blushed a little. "And you are?"
"Oh." Elizabeth said surprised. "This is Ingrid, she's in charge of laundry, this is Janice she does the floors, Alexa is in charge of dusting, Sophia is in charge of windows." There was a cough from behind them and they all turned to the door. The maids straightened up even higher if that's possible and Chloe smiled. "And this is Ms. Reynolds; she's in charge of…well us." Elizabeth said, her voice a little nervous.
"I am in charge of all staff." She said walking into the room and staring at Chloe. "And I run this household."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Chloe said so sincerely that it took Ms. Reynolds by surprise. "I'm surprised I haven't met you before now." She said sheepishly putting the hands away that Ms. Reynolds refused to shake.
"I was debating on whether to meet you at all." Ms. Reynolds looked Chloe up and down and seemed to sneer at her favorite old jeans and sneakers. "I've voiced my opinions to Master Standish on this matter."
"On what matter?" Chloe said confused.
"On you my dear." Ms. Reynolds was now circling around Chloe, like a shark would a wounded seal. "On why after so many years, when no one, not even I, knew you existed, you show up, out of the blue."
"I didn't just show up…" Chloe interrupted but Ms. Reynolds wouldn't be swayed.
"Master Standish is an old man, a weak man, a man who would give anything for family, even choose to look beyond certain faults and obvious flaws in the hopes that someone will carry on his legacy." Ms. Reynolds said. "And then comes you, ready and willing to spend his money, and take over his house…" She looked up at Chloe and sighed. "Why aren't you working?" She asked all the maids behind Chloe and they scattered off to parts unknown as Ms. Reynolds gave Chloe one last withering stare that made goose bumps rise on her arms.
"That woman is…" Chloe shivered. "One scary bitch."
"Where are you trying to go Miss Chloe?" Elizabeth asked politely ignoring the exchange that just happened.
"Um…well actually in a few minutes I have to meet with S…Uncle Edward in the sitting room?" She looked up hopefully.
"I'll take you." Elizabeth assured her.
"No, no, I don't want to interrupt you're break." She waved her hands unsure what was going on in the room.
"It's my job Miss Chloe." Elizabeth pressed.
"No, I can do it." Chloe said staring at her map. "I'm on the first floor." She looked. "So that means, back down the hallway, right at the round window and it's the 2nd door on the left right?"
"Right." Elizabeth smiled at her.
"I'm getting the hang of this." Chloe said waving goodbye as she walked out of the room. She made it to the sitting room without much trouble, only two wrong turns, and saw a table set up for tea. "Edward?" She called out before walking into the room.
"Come in." Edward said from the corner. They had managed to slip into an affable, if not enjoyable relationship since the first abrasive meeting in New York. Chloe decided that Edward was simply a lonely old man to who no had never been uttered and tried to make sure to work it into conversation as much as possible, in a kind way. Edward regarded Chloe as entertaining and even surprising to have around, the fact that she had the nerve to defy him on numerous occasions just made her all the more likeable. She at least had the good sense to know what occasions to defy him. "Tea?" He winced as she plopped down on the settee and flipped through her book. "Please don't plop." He raised his eyebrows and Chloe stood up annoyed and gracefully lowered herself to the seat. "Better." He said bringing her a cup of tea.
"So what's up?" She said scribbling something on the pad that he noticed she carried everywhere with her.
"We have a meeting this afternoon with… what on earth are you doing?" He looked down at the drawing confused.
"I'm making a map." Chloe said. "Louis and Clark I'm not however, I'm still getting lost." She looked up and took the cup of tea from him setting her pad on the couch beside her.
"A map?" He chuckled. "Of this house?"
"No." Chloe rolled her eyes. "Of the forbidden city." She took a sip of tea. "Of course of this house." Edward laughed and shook his head. "What?" Chloe asked confused.
"Well my dear." He leaned forward. "Security already has a map." He informed her. "Of the whole property."
Chloe looked over her shoulder at the man stationed at the front door. "Peter?" She called out to him.
"Yes Miss Chloe?" He turned to her and smiled.
"Do you guys have a map of the house?" She said nonchalantly.
"Yes Miss Chloe." He nodded to her.
"And you didn't think to mention this at anyone of the oh…twenty times you've had to come rescue me when I got lost?" She asked.
"You never asked Miss Chloe." Peter smiled again. Chloe glared at him. "Besides, we have very little to actually do here, it was entertaining."
She made a move to flip him off and Edward grabbed her hand, knowing what she planned and shook his head. "Peter." He said. "Would you please be sure that a map of the house is delivered to Miss Chloe's bedroom immediately?"
"Yes sir." Peter said then turned back to the door, speaking to someone in the security room through his communicator.
"Cheeky little bastard." Chloe grumbled.
Edward laughed at that they continued their tea until there was a knock on the door. "Sir." Jeeves, the butler came in the room, yes they had an actually butler named Jeeves which was a source of much amusement for Chloe and secretly Sir Edward who explained conspiratorially to Chloe on her first day there , "Why do you think I hired him?"
"Yes." Edward said.
"John Louis is here." Jeeves bowed and left the room only to have a tall, lanky, man breeze in followed by three woman who looked as if they were bored out of their minds, or judging from the expressions on their faces, as if possibly they had no minds.
"Yes, yes, John Louis is here." He said with a French accent, sweeping his jacket off and tossing it to one of the girls, who caught it without alteration to her expression. "You will fear no longer. Ah, so this is she." He grabbed Chloe's hands and pulled her out of her seat to stand in front of him. "We will have much work to do, much." He grabbed her chin and slung her head from side to side. "The hair." He shook his head and Chloe saw one of the girls whip out a pad and start writing. "It is to…how do you say abrasive." He smiled at Chloe. "You I think are not abrasive." Edward snorted and Chloe tried to turn to him to glare but John Louis wouldn't let go of her face. "We soften it." The girl nodded and wrote something else on her pad. "They eyes, they are magnificent. The cheekbones we can work with. Katrina." He snapped his fingers and another girl stepped forward. "You will measure."
She whipped out a measuring tape and started pulling Chloe's arms out to her side and spreading her legs apart as she took her measurements.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Chloe asked.
"Who am I?" John Louis pulled his hand away from her face looking shocked. "Who am I she is asking. I am thinking she is being cute, having a funny laugh, ha ha. Because she must know who am I."
"No." Chloe said. "I must not." She pointed out.
"Tell her." John Louis said putting his face in his hands in despair.
"He is John Louis." The other girl said walking up to Chloe with what Chloe assumed was a confused look on her face.
"Yes this I got when he was introduced." Chloe said shaking her arm and effectively getting Katrina to leave her alone. "But who is he?"
"He is the best." Katrina said.
"The best at what?" Chloe asked, still confused.
"At everything darling." John Louis said smiling and looking at her with almost fondness. "I will make you."
"Make me what?" Chloe asked.
John Louis threw his hands in the air and walked away muttering in French. "I am not a lost cause." Chloe said after him he turned startled. "Yes, I speak French." She said.
"Well, maybe not completely lost." John Louis said grudgingly.
"John Louis will help you pick the right clothes and the right look." Edward said. "He will make you."
"Oh." Chloe said understanding.
"This is what I said." John Louis shook his head. "Never mind. Let us get to work. You will strip."
"I'm sorry?" Chloe said.
"And that's my cue to leave." Edward got up and walked to the door. "Good luck."
"Thanks." John Louis and Chloe said at the same time and Edward shook his head as he walked down the hall.
"Strip." John Louis said again and Chloe looked at him for a minute before undressing. "Clothes." He clapped his hands and the girl with the notepad walked out of the room and came back a minute later with a mobile closet rod, draped with more clothes that Chloe had ever owned in her life.
"I don't think…" She said as the girl left again only to come back with another. "That's a lot of…" She left the room again and Chloe was reminded of AC bringing box after box of papers to her a few months ago and at this moment she would prefer the paper.
"We will start." John Louis picked up the first outfit and handed it to Chloe. She grabbed the clothes in a daze and started dressing.
Four hours and four hundred outfits later Chloe was back in her jeans as John Louis made notes on the clothes that needed to go to her closet, the clothes that needed to be tailored, and the clothes that needed to be ordered based on the style he had picked out for her.
"No no no." John Louis shook his head at the thinly draped fabric that he swore up and down was a dress and Chloe was convinced was a handkerchief. "This is wrong. Look at her, all wrong. This is not Chloe."
"No." Chloe said shaking her head in agreement.
"She is classic, look at the face, she is simple." He looked down at her wrist and Chloe had the urge to hide the bracelet, assuming from the way he'd critiqued everything else he would tell her to get rid of it. "This is her." He grabbed her arm. "The trinket. She will be subtle, she will be classic, she will be what is the word… moyenne." He said.
Chloe searched her brain to translate and looked at him a little confused. "Average?" She said.
"Yes this is it. She will be average, ordinary, common." John Louis said. "Only she will do it spectacularly."
"Spectacularly average?" Chloe said. "That's my style?"
"Oui." He smiled. "This is it. Like the Audrey Hepburn, the Jackie O." John Louis said. "You come from nothing." He pointed out. "And we will not try to trick them, no they will see through that. We will highlight it, we will showcase it. Subdued elegance, minimal jewelry and make up. You will not flash like the other girls who must show off their wealth, you will be above that." He grabbed her face and squeezed her cheekbones. "You will be the most extraordinary ordinary girl."
"Ok." Chloe said staring at him as if he were crazy.
Edward left in the same flurry that he had arrived in promising to see her tomorrow and Chloe collapsed on the settee, covering her eyes with her arm. "Well." Edward said walking in the room and smiling. "I see we've got the drama down."
"That man is insane." Chloe said lifting her arm to look at Edward. "And we aren't done yet."
"Oh?" Edward asked.
"We've got alterations, we've got hair and makeup and he said something about polishing." She shook her head. "I hate him."
"No you don't." Edward said.
"No I don't." Chloe grudgingly sighed.
"You had a little fun?" He asked raising his eyebrows in hope.
Chloe grunted and pulled herself up. "A little." She said. "Trying on some of the clothes was fun, maybe the first hundred."
"With John Louis' help, you will be ready for the garden party."
"Garden party?" Chloe jumped up. "With people?"
"Yes with people." Edward smiled at her.
"I'm not ready for people." Chloe said. "I still have an accent, and my clothes have to be tailored, and I'll say something inappropriate and everyone will know I'm a fraud."
Edward laughed. "My dear." He grabbed her hand. "The party is in three months. I have faith you will be ready by then."
"Ok." Chloe sat back down slowly. "Three months, I can do three months." She said then lifted her head back up. "Three months?" She looked at Edward in horror. "John Louis for three whole months?" Edward laughed again as Chloe fell against the settee and laid her hands over her face again.
"Three months Oliver." Chloe said later that night. "That's all he's giving me to become…me." She was typing away furiously on her keyboard. "I need more than three months. I can't do this; you picked the wrong person for this job."
"It's a garden party." Oliver reminded her. "It's not the Oscars."
"Yeah it's a garden party with an invite list from Fortune 500." Chloe sighed. "Edward throws it every year, it's like his signature party, I don't want to be the one who ruined his signature party." She was hyperventilating; she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Tell me you'll be there."
"I can't." He said. "It's too soon."
"I hate you." She whined.
"You do not." Oliver said.
"I know." She agreed. "Ok, I'm in." She said. "What are we looking for?"
"That took you like five minutes." Oliver said.
"I'm sorry ok, I'm a little upset." Chloe frowned.
"No." Oliver laughed. "Chloe it only took you five minutes to get into the DOD system. Victor's been trying for two days."
"I've been in before." She said. "I made a back door."
"And you think we've got the wrong person for the job?" Oliver asked.
"What am I looking for?" Chloe asked.
"According to Clark, Lex had a very long meeting with our friends at the government and I want to know what it was about."
"Maybe they were planning your surprise party." Chloe said typing away.
"Funny." Oliver said with no humor in his voice.
"Got it." Chloe pulled up a screen. "Project Cassandra keeps coming up but there pretty tight lipped about it." Chloe scoffed. "Almost as if they expect someone to hack into their secure government website and steal information."
"Cassandra?" Oliver asked.
"Well we know how Lex loves his Mythology." Chloe reminded Oliver as she backed out of the DOD website slowly. "Cassandra cursed with visions of the future that no one believed."
"Ok, so he's got someone who can tell the future?" Oliver asked. "Is that possible?"
"Is anything we've seen possible?" Chloe paused for a second, trying to remember something. "Cassandra Carver." She said quietly.
"Who is that?" Oliver asked confused.
"She was this old woman." Chloe said. "Back in Smallville. Clark said she could see into the future after the first meteor shower."
"Did Lex know about her?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah." Chloe said. "The rumor is, when she touched Lex, the vision she got of his future was so horrible that it killed her."
"And now he's experimenting with it on others?" Oliver said. "Keep on top of this will you? The last thing we need is for Lex Luther to have one eye in the future."
"I'm on it." Chloe assured him. "I'll talk to you later ok, I've got to get some sleep."
"It's only ten o'clock there right?" Oliver said.
"Yes but John Louis will be here at seven for my lessons." Chloe said. "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. How'd that sound?"
"Still a slight accent." Oliver joked.
"Shut up." Chloe said hanging up the phone.