Getting on with Island Life – Chapter 12

"Nothing honey. Lex has offered me to stay with you in his nice, albeit damaged, home." Chloe cocked one eyebrow at Lex and put her hands on her hips and glared back at Magnil. "He offered me a job while we get back up and running."

"Is that so?"

Lex watched the two women exchange glances and then tried to smirk. Magnil watched Lex's silent exchange with Chloe and smiled. "Yes, that's so. And I told him if he so much as made a wrong business decision under my watch, I will pull the rug out from under him without his knowledge."

Lex threw his head back and genuinely laughed at Magil before picking up the pile that Chloe had deposited on his feet. The women went in search for a few more items that they could salvage but knew most everything would be insurance writeoffs and carted off by Lex's hired company.

The next few days were filled with general work. Lex opened up the conference room and set up shop as soon as he could get the helicopter to land at the private pad on the estates. Chloe sat at one end of the conference table and wrote an article she wasn't even sure she would get published. Lex and Magnil worked to get the Luthorcorp divisions in communications out to the islands to rebuild telephone and Internet lines.

Chloe spoke a week later to Magnil while Lex was still buried in his paperwork in the conference room. "How much money has Lex put in the rebuilding of whatever he is involved in?"

Magnil eyed Chloe and hated to be put in the position that Lex had discussed with her. They had sat in a closed door session together for several hours working on details of a contract that even Chloe was not privileged to. Magnil smiled and looked up from some accounting proofs, "I can't discuss that with you."

"He thinks I'm going to write it about it?"

"Yes." Magnil looked over at a despondent Chloe and rubbed her hand down Chloe's arm. "Look, I love you like a granddaughter, but he and I have a firm business contract. I have dealt with men and companies like Luthorcorp. Lex seems wonderful to you and I love seeing you two so happy together, but my job requires that you funnel all your questions through him."

"I was just curious. He never speaks about it but I see the logo all over the island and St. Thomas."

Magnil glanced in Chloe's direction and knew the young woman wasn't stupid. Leaning over toward her, she whispered, "He loves you, but I think secretly he kind of likes the lack of rush working here gives. So, you thinking that all of this is because you're here may not be the whole truth. No games dear." Magnil paused and stared at Chloe. "And, it's all legal."

***********

Chloe stretched as she felt the light white sheet unravel around her body as the sun streamed through the open shutters of the now redone Luthor villa. A month had passed from the hurricane and she still was shocked at the sight that she saw as she fell back into the plush pillows.

The sheet barely covered his naked body as he took up more of the bed than she did on a normal night. One leg tangled on top of the sheet, she liked the look of his newly tan body. They hadn't been to the beach since before the hurricane but she smiled thinking about hours he split between conference calls and manual labor.

Against his better wishes, she had snapped photos of him as he and Charles reassembled some of the cabinets in the kitchen. She marveled that Lex didn't mind doing the work for himself. Remembering him from Smallville, she was always surprised that he would even pick up a phone for himself.

"Morning beautiful," she whispered running her hands over his bare chest. "What will the men on the board think when you start scheduling meetings at one in the afternoon."

Lex turned and stared at her has he slid his hands behind his head, "No way. That's during the afternoon siesta." Chloe giggled and buried her face into his chest. Lex reached up and ran his hand through her hair before kissing her. Glancing over to the clock, he smiled. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept until 10 AM. It was nice being comfortable.

"Morning folks." Lex shook his head as Magnil sat the small tray of coffee and pastries on the lanai overlooking the inlet. "Contracts need to be signed and faxed within the hour. You have a four messages and the arrangements we discussed are enclosed."

Magnil had a way about her. She never called Lex Mr. Luthor. She explained it sounded like his father's name and would never but spit nails at the name. Charles and Carmen commented they didn't like her type of casual relationship with him and Lex explained it was simply the island way. Magnil was going to be the ultimate force to reckon with if he and Chloe ever had issues.

"Oh, there's a paper on the tray for you Chloe. There's this really interesting article that you might be interested in reading. Some C Sullivan wrote it and," Magnil chuckled as Chloe grabbed her robe and ran out on the lanai and grabbed the newspaper.

"Lex?"

"I had nothing to do with it. Really." Watching Chloe as she ran back to the bed, she flopped next to him and started reading the detailed description of the rebuilding efforts that had taken place so far on the island. Lex hadn't made any calls, just given her an interview, finally.

"They printed it!"

"Good," Lex commented as he patted her on the back. "Maybe now you could get your check and pay me back for some of the work I did on your office." Chloe glared at him and slapped him with the paper.

"No, they said a couple of days ago that they would call me if they want anything else. I mean it's a start. It's only local, but hopefully if they call me, I'll be able to travel the other islands…you know see the area and write different things and…"

Lex pulled her down to him and grazed his lips against his. "Take a breath." Chloe smiled and returned the kiss, throwing the paper to the floor. "Get under here," he whispered as he pulled her on top of him and slipped the robe off her before slipping his tongue into her mouth to her moan.

***********

Chloe walked into the conference room and sat down across the desk from Lex and watched as he punched figures into the laptop and balanced the pen in his mouth carefully. "Magnil said you needed me?"

Lex looked up and then back down at his laptop. He didn't want this conversation. They had been happy as possible in the face of destruction. He had rebuilt most of the island up from the ground again except for Magnil's small plot of land. Don's bar had been reopened a couple of night's before and things were settling down on the island.

Chloe finally received her call from the newspaper on St Thomas and wanted her as a feature writer. He knew it was a far cry from where her first dreams at the Daily Planet were, but her desire to drag him to the beach the last couple of days since the article came out was indication that she had no plans on leaving.

He loved her. She loved him. It should be enough. They had been apart before. But it had been a month since he had been to Metropolis. He never would tell her the amount of deals that fell through or the amount of money he lost in the month they were together. Not that the money was the bottom line anymore. She was…and whatever she wanted.

Closing the laptop, he looked across the desk at her, catching her trying to read the contents of his file open on the desk. "Your snooping could use some work."

"Ehh, it's not exactly the same kind of snooping that I used to do. I think besides you buying this place, there isn't really any scandal going on here I could sink my teeth into. Anyway, what you need?"

Lex came around the edge of the desk and took Chloe's hand. "Let's take a walk." Chloe looked up at Lex and saw something in his mood change as his smirk left his face. Following him out the door, she followed him through the house to the path down to the private beach.

"You remember the first time we came here?" Lex took Chloe's hand in his as they walked the small parcel of white sand, now littered with still broken tree branches.

"Yeah, and here I thought we were going to some little remote place you had found or asked a concierge about." Chloe tried to make light of the conversation but the grip of Lex's hand increased as his pace slowed.

Pulling her up to the edge of the sand, Lex dug in and sat against a tree and pulled Chloe down in between his legs. She threw her legs over his and faced him as he locked his hands around her waist. Chloe gazed into his eyes and could see the deepness of the blue change to something she hadn't seen since Smallville.

His silence was deafening, and Chloe knew in that instant what the conversation was going to be about. She had been asking for a couple of weeks and then stopped once her position at the newspaper had come up. Things seemed so normal. "You're leaving."

Lex stared at her and tucked her hair back behind her ear, making an excuse to touch her as much as he could before the fateful trip. "Tomorrow. Chloe," he shook his head and broke eye contact with her, "You mean more to be than anything, but I have to get back to work. There are a lot of things at stake that I can't handle from here."

Chloe had grown a lot in the few months that she had separated herself from the small town and its inhabitants. She hoped that Lex admitted that she had also moved beyond her childlike state into something more mature. Fighting back the impending tears, she nodded and ran her hand down his face and his chest.

"I understand. And Magnil?"

"Magnil is my personal assistant here, and more important, your friend. I expect nothing less of her when I'm not here." He felt Chloe scoot closer to him and closed his eyes when she laid her head on his shoulder. Running his hand through her hair, he cursed his life suddenly and wanted to sell it all.

"I'm going to be ok. I have the newspaper, which I'm sure you will read even in that mansion back in Smallville. And Don needs me back at the bar. Safina took her insurance money and is moving back to the states with her daughter though." Chloe was quiet in her rationalization and Lex knew she was talking herself into being ok.

Lex pulled her back where he could see her face. If she was in tears, he would have to stay. Holding her head in his hands, he watched Chloe shrug her shoulders and nod in approval of him going. "Chloe."

"I love you Lex, but I don't live with my head in the clouds anymore and don't believe that meteor rocks can make someone fall in love and forget themselves." She paused and traced her hands over his chest and kissed him on the cheek. "Besides, you may not think I've paying attention, but I can mentally add up the amount of cash that you've lost from reading the business pages. Five major holdings walked last week Lex – you gave up nearly 80 million dollars for me, for one week."

Lex stared at her and huffed in surprise. He had said nothing to her about business and she never asked. But the print was hard to ignore. He was stunned at her staunch nature. He had never pictured that he would need her to hold him together. The walk was supposed to soothe her, not let him crumble. "You're not angry?"

Chloe covered her mouth and lightly giggled, breaking the somber mood. "Angry? Lex you have been for a month almost when it was supposed to be a three day weekend. You have poured money into a community that you knew nothing about. And you're being the person you are by going back."

Lex smiled back at her now extremely toothy grin and smiled while shaking her head. "Where were you when I was making tragic relationship mistakes years ago?"

"High school, and I was stupider then." They both let out a laugh and Chloe collapsed her head again into the crook of his neck. She felt him lightly kiss her on the cheek and moved her head to feel his lips graze hers. "I'll miss you," she whispered.

Lex pulled her back and stared at her. Her face hadn't broken. He watched her chin quiver and saw the glassy look of the tears hanging just inside her lids. "I'll be back for the holidays." Chloe nodded and tried to break a smile. "The computer in the conference room has a webcam – Magnil will show you how to sign in to the account where we can talk. And I promise not to take your phone this time."

"Ok." It was simple, but she had no words. She wanted to hear him say it once more time before he turned on CEO mode and forgot about them.

He watched her eyes over his body and then dart off looking into the trees. "Chloe?" She turned and finally hitched a breath as her hand covered her mouth to hide her expression. Lex pulled her hand off her face and kissed the inside of her palm before running his hand under her chin.

Cupping her face in his hands, he gently kissed and wiped the tear that finally escaped. "I love you," he whispered slowly before Chloe's mouth claimed his in a deep passionate kiss. Sliding to the side of the tree, he wrapped his arms around her body and fell into the sand, suddenly not concerned about the fact his head would be covered in it.

****************

"Lex, you're going to be late!" Chloe screamed across the bedroom and into the cracked bathroom where the shower was still going. So they got a little preoccupied in the morning with their goodbyes. She hoped he didn't notice the moment that she had broken out in small tears during their lovemaking. "Lex!"

"Sorry, it's just after being without a suit and tie for a month, it's almost an odd feeling," he commented coming out of the bathroom. Chloe looked over the charcoal suit with light blue shirt.

Reaching up to him, she kissed him and adjusted his tie. "I'm assuming all the light and comfy clothes are remaining here."

"Yes, try not to wear them for pajamas every night." Chloe laughed and slapped his ass as he checked over the bag he was taking back with him. He shoved his wallet, keys, and phone in his pocket before putting on his sunglasses. "Carry the shoe bag?"

Chloe's eyebrow arched at the bag he handed her. "Shoe bag? What on earth do you need one for?"

"For shoes. I found some very nice ones at the duty free mall last week when I went into town to check on the construction." Lex picked up his briefcase as Charles picked up the rest of his bags and they headed out for the pad.

"Mr. Matsui is expecting you tomorrow morning at 10. I already forwarded the required contract papers to his office in Tokyo and notified him that you are in transit. The maid from the mansion called this morning and explained a small electrical fire in the basement knocked out the power to the main office, so you will need to reset personal effects when you return to Smallville. You meeting in Geneva next week has been rescheduled for two weeks from now – Mr. Schlatter's wife had a mild heart attack and needs him home."

Lex nodded at Magnil as Charles put his things into the helicopter and then glanced in Chloe's direction. "Send his wife some flowers for me and we may postpone that one for later. Call and have someone check out the wiring in the mansion for all levels." Lex pulled Magnil aside where Chloe couldn't see. Taking her by the shoulder, his lips twitched.

Magnil watched his face go from expressionless to concern. "She's going to be fine – she was before and will be now. Difference is …"

"Take care of her." Magnil nodded and smiled at her boss and her friend's love of her life. Backing up, she tapped Charles on the shoulder as they left the pad.

Lex turned and saw Chloe's light blue dress blowing in the wind and took a deep breath. Chloe almost skipped over to him and crushed him in a hug that reminded him more of a child than the woman he fell in love with. "November."

Lex looked down and smiled at her, cupping her face in his hands. "19, I know. You're just a baby."

Chloe stared at him and grunted what he could only think was a 'nah uh.'

Pulling her into his body, he lightly touched her lips with his and rounded the inside of them with his tongue before sliding his into her mouth for a warm kiss. Pulling from the kiss, he smiled at her. "Honey," he whispered.

Giggling slightly, he watched the goosebumps appear on her shoulders as he repeated it one more time before crushing her against him. "You have to go," she whispered into his jacket.

Pulling from his grip, she stood with Magnil and held her hand. "He's going to be back dear." Chloe dropped her head on Magnil's shoulder as she could Lex disappear from view.

TBC