A/N - I got a review on this site and relaized that I had posted it all on N/S but not all of it here. Sorry for the delay. Here's the rest of it.

Business or Pleasure – Chapter 20

Chloe exited the bedroom of the penthouse quietly and watched as Lex fiddled with his tie. She had disappeared into a formal shop, not of his choosing, and picked a crimson strapless floor length dress out for the evening. She knew that there were places that she had to play his game, and he had, she admitted to herself, tried very hard going in and out of stores he would have never been caught dead in otherwise.

She smiled, remembering the comment he had made about his mom, saying that she would have appreciated that Chloe made him remember how the other people in the world lived by joining them and not patronizing them.

He saw her in the mirror behind him and made a double take. He had seen one of the prom pictures of her, but she had matured so much it seemed just over the summer. He fixed his tie and turned around. She stood almost mannequin like, stiff and nervous. He walked over and ran his hand down her arm, "You are exquisite."

She blushed and covered her mouth slightly. "I was hoping for beautiful, but –"

"You are way beyond beautiful. Wait there a second." Lex walked off into the office and opened a safe and glanced at the three different boxes and picked up one. Coming back into the living room, he handed her the box. "I know you're going to say no, but it matches, and it's just a loan."

Chloe watched as he opened the box to reveal the matching diamond and ruby drop and earrings. She gazed up at Lex. "How did you know? I never showed you the dress."

He laughed as he removed the drop from the box. She held her hair up as he clasped it around her and waited for her to put on the earrings. "I actually borrowed several sets in different colors and hoped you wouldn't buy something in yellow or white." He looked at her giggling and took his arm. "Shall we?"

Chloe watched Lex's smooth walk from person to person in the lively ballroom. She happily graced his arm and played the part of doting but unseen girlfriend. She could hear people whisper about the two of them as they passed. One stopped Lex and caught him off guard. "Mr. Luthor, that was quite a performance by your girlfriend this morning. I caught it on the news before heading over here. I had never known you for putting up with such forward women." Lex glanced down at Chloe, who had quietly murmured her thoughts to herself on what she could show the man.

Lex pulled her arm closer to him and glanced down at her before addressing the man. "I assure you Chloe here is not entirely out of place in what she said. She simply was stating her case; she made it very clear that I never had to put up with her, but simply leave. But if you knew more about her than what the interminable press shows, I assure you that she has passion for life and was just expressing it. I admire her for that, and that's why I put up with her.'" He unlatched his arm from hers and placed his hand at her back, guiding her away from the gentleman.

"Are they always like this?" Lex nodded and exhaled.

"Just bite your tongue if this next couple says anything to annoy you. Unfortunately, we are very close to a deal with his company. He's an ass and his wife is a hussy, but I have to play the civilian card."

"You civil? When?" Lex rolled his eyes and then saw a smile creep across her face. He lightly pinched her in the side in return for the snide comment.

"Mr. and Mrs. Banner. This is Chloe Sullivan." The two greeted Chloe and went back to looking at Lex.

"You look tired Lex; baby keeping you up?"

"I assure you that regardless of how you think I look, I am looking forward to our meeting on Tuesday and will be very sharp going into it."

"Maybe you should have your little spitfire come by with Julian where she can learn some decorum and Julian some business." Mrs. Banner infuriated Chloe so that she grabbed Lex's arm underneath with her nails and dug through his jacket sleeve. He glanced over at Chloe and hardened his expression.

"Julian is far too young to be abused by your sour words. Chloe, don't you agree?"

Chloe glanced at Lex and then the couple. Lex let her arm go and crossed his arms in curiosity. "Decorum? If you are speaking of what you saw on TV earlier, that was the tip of the iceberg. You have no place to judge – you have probably hung on your husband's arm for 20 or so years at these parties and only speak when you either are allowed to or like now, when you thought you could put me down and I wouldn't be able to defend myself." Chloe swallowed and looked at Lex nervously.

Mr. Banner broke into full blown laughter and patted his wife on the back. Grabbing Lex by the arm, he laughed again. "Lex, you don't need to date this woman – you need to hire her to do your negotiations. Come on honey – Lex, I'll see you on Tuesday, but don't bring her – she'll end up guilting me into selling my whole company to you." The man laughed again watching his wife grimace at the words that still stung.

"Thank you; that was well done." Lex leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and guided her through the crowd.

"Where are we going?"

"We're leaving – you need to be here about as much as I do. Anyway, I'm hungry for more than finger food." Lex helped her into the limo that was parked in the very front of the ballroom lobby. Leaning back against the seat, he closed his eyes. "I am tired."

She leaned her head against his shoulder and laced her fingers in his. "I want breakfast." Lex leaned over and looked at her as she shrugged. "I don't know; I have the urge for pancakes, nothing fancy." Lex picked up the phone and handed it to her. She looked at him and smiled. "Denny's please." Lex hung up the phone and nodded.

He felt weird in his tuxedo and her in the gown sitting in the greasy booth. "You really like this place?" Lex folded his overcoat carefully and put it in the booth next to him. He clasped her hand across the table and smirked.

"The food is good home cooking. The service sucks. But that gives us time to just hang out. I know you have to be the responsible one for more now than ever, but you have to learn to relax." She smiled. "That's what I'm for."

"So, what ya'll want?" Lex looked up the disturbingly gay man with the atrocious southern accent and giggled when Chloe did.

"Grand Slam and coffee for both." Chloe handed the menus to the man and looked back at Lex. "What? You weren't able to put two words together after the man greeted you."

"He was undressing me with his eyes – I have never been that lost for words." They both laughed and made small talk through the rest of the meal. Chloe sat amused watching Lex poke at the eggs that were overdone and begged that he didn't complain. She explained it was just a short order cook in the back. Lex signaled that he was ready to pay.

"You go up there." The man pointed at the counter and walked away. Chloe laughed again and grabbed the check. Lex looked at her as she slid out of the seat. He pushed slightly in front of her and handed the cashier his card.

"We don't take American Express." The woman took the cash from Chloe as she looked at Lex.

"It's on me. You bought the dress." The two walked back out to the limo that took up most of the parking space in the lot. "Are we going back now?"

Lex nodded and motioned for her to wait. She looked out the dark windows and waited for Lex to get off the phone call. She glanced over and saw him flipping through several folders and reading off numbers that she didn't understand. At the moment, her reporter instincts were gone, and she was tired. She saw the limo pass the entrance to the university and looked at Lex. Hanging up the phone, he eased over in the seat next to her.

"I'm going to apologize now before we get to the front door. I have a business meeting early tomorrow and have some work to get done tonight. You look tired and need to get some schoolwork done before Monday."

"I understand." She felt the car pull to a stop in front of her dorm. She leaned over and took the necklace off and undid the earrings. "I think you may be better off holding onto these. I don't trust some of the grabby hands in the dorm." She handed the jewelry back to Lex. "One of them might need their tuition for med school or something," she joked.

"Thanks." He zipped them into the front pocket of his leather case and sat next to her in silence. "Again, I'm sorry for cutting the night short."

"Kiss me good night and get going." Lex looked at her and smiled. She understood him; she was one of the first. He leaned over and slipped his lips across her neck and brushed over her ear as she squirmed in the seat. He cupped her face and guided her lips to his and kissed her. It wasn't the most intimate kiss they had but it was goodnight. "Goodnight. Call me." Lex opened the door for her and lifted her dress gently over the edge. She slipped her hand from his and closed the door. He watched as she walked into the dorm.

She keyed into her room and opened the door. "Chloe, we didn't think you would be back tonight." Lana and Clark looked at each other and then at Chloe in the expensive gown and shoes.

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to change, shower, and head to the library for a little bit." Chloe grabbed some clothes and started into the bathroom.

"Chloe, is everything ok? I mean you and Lex?" She knew this was coming eventually. She sat down on her bed and looked at Lana and Clark. They looked genuinely concerned.

"Lex and I are dating, I guess you would call it. It started out that he just included me in the story of Julian thinking that I would be able to keep it a secret. We have just grown closer."

Lana leaned in concerned and looked at Chloe. She looked tired. "So, are you pre—"

Chloe laughed, almost rolling off onto the floor. "No, I told you that yesterday because I was tired. I was tired of listening to everyone balk about us. I thought actually you would be my friend and not get involved but when you did, I blew up. Now that that is settled – I'm showering and getting out of here for a bit."

She left and went into the bathroom. Lana and Clark looked at each other and sighed. "That's a relief. I didn't know what I would do if she was pregnant with Lex's kid. How sad for the both of them."

Clark stared at Lana and turned up his lip. "Why? Lex is an incredible father and that's coming from my father. And Chloe can stand up for herself. She's happy with him; he's happier than I have ever seen him, and we're happy." Clark pushed her back on the bed and kissed. "Now, where were we?" He reached down and caressed her before kissing her again.

Chloe listened from the opposite side of the door, "Thank you Clark," she whispered. She knew he heard her. TBC