Part Eight
"You no good, snivelling, manipulative bastard! Who the hell do you think you are to decide what happens in my life? I told you that I wouldn't be moving so you went behind my back and got my Dad involved? If he weren't so happy I swear that I would stay in this building just to spite you, but don't think that you have won and don't imagine even for one second that I am coming to the mansion this afternoon. If I have to pack up you are coming to help me and your stamina had better live up to reputation because I have lots of boxes to fill, bring anything you need with regards to the club".
Beep. End of message one. Message two.
"And another thing, where the hell do you get off telling Clark to ask me questions about my eating habits. I will have you know that whether I do or don't eat is no concern of yours".
"You haven't been eating?"
"What? Of course I have Dad, I am just on the phone to Lex, or rather Lex's machine".
"Ah, that would explain the yelling".
"I didn't know you were still here".
"Clearly".
"I thought that you were going for more boxes".
"I am, but I had only just got out of the door when I heard yelling so I came back to check that you were alright".
"I'm fine Dad".
"Okay, see you later. Give Lex a hard time from me".
"Bye Dad".
"Oh and poppet, remember to have your nap after your phone call, you look tired. We can talk about your eating habits later".
"No good crumby bastard".
"That had better have been directed at Lex".
"It was".
"Good".
End of message two.
Lex grinned as he sped along the roads towards the centre of Smallville in a U-Haul, those had to be two of his favourite messages he had ever received. He hit the replay button again.
It was four o'clock on the dot when Lex knocked on the Sullivan's soon to be former door and found that it was opened almost immediately by Gabe who gave him a friendly smile and waved him in but put a finger to his lips indicating that he should not make too much noise.
"I thought that Chloe said 4:30, not 4:00. She isn't up yet and you should never wake her up until you have some coffee ready", he whispered and pointed over to a coffee maker that was still clearly in the process of making coffee.
Lex smiled at the older man and noticed that the coffee maker was the only piece of kitchen equipment that was still on the side. Everything else was bare, only the sofa bed which had come with the apartment remained.
As Gabe filled three mugs, he explained, "I have packed everything else up already and once Chloe is up I am driving it all over to the new house so that I can do some unpacking and get dinner going before she arrives. Nothing in her room is packed yet – she's been having a little nap – so you will have to help her with that as well as taking everything down to her car".
Lex nodded, shocked that he was going to be allowed to stay in the apartment alone with Chloe.
Obviously reading his expression correctly Gabe placed a hand on Lex's shoulder. "Chloe may think that I am oblivious but I know that she hasn't been killing herself over a school project recently. It has something to do with a big story she's working on. I know that there is nothing that I can say or do to deter her and if, as I suspect, you are working on it to then I know that you will keep her safe".
"I give you my word".
"And as we both know, if Chloe is working on a story then you could be dipped in nutella and she would still pay no attention to you unless you have a lead. So, for today at least, you can be here with her alone without concern", he explained.
"But", he added his hand tightening, "that will not be the case after this is over and when you start courting her properly. Then you will be expected to have her home at a reasonable time with not a hair out of place and if you ever upset her then I don't care who you are, I will hunt you down and kill you".
Gabe's stare bore into Lex and the millionaire knew that he was telling the truth. His threats were far more convincing than Lionel's, the man was also a good deal more perceptive than him.
"How did you know that I had intentions towards Chloe?" He asked.
Her father snorted, "You're only human. Of course you have a crush on my little Chloe Bear, what competition does she have? Lana?" Another snort.
Lex could only agree and accept the coffee offered him. He watched with some amusement as Gabe placed the second mug on the countertop and then knocked softly on Chloe's door and upon hearing what sounded like a groan popped in with the third coffee cup and returned without it.
He was about to ask what that was about when he heard a thud coming from inside the bedroom followed by a grunt.
"She gets her grace from my side of the family", her father quipped as he motioned for Lex to get out of the way and back into the living room. A second later the door opened and Chloe shuffled into the kitchen an empty coffee cup in one hand and made her way straight for the second one.
Chloe had clearly not even realised that anyone else was present yet, she just stood there gulping down the steaming hot liquid in her crumpled clothes from earlier that day. As she finally turned to face them, he could see that her hair was ruffled and there was an adorable scowl on her face.
"You made it half decaff again", she complained, obviously talking to her father.
"Yes honey, I did", her father moved back around her and into the kitchen to unplug the coffee maker.
"I like full caff", she looked forlornly at her now empty cup.
"Yes, well I like it when you don't hover like a humming bird".
Chloe looked around the room clearly expecting to find a third cup, so Lex held out his to her.
She took it and about half way through it seemed to realise where she was, who he was and that she was angry with him.
"Did you bring everything that we are going to need?" She asked curtly.
"Yes, I got everything".
She nodded and turning to her Dad announced, "I am going to go and get changed".
"Alright sweetie pie. I am going to take this stuff home and start setting up. Dinner around 7:00?"
Chloe make a noise of agreement and went back into her room closing the door behind her.
"Take care of her Lex", Gabe warned as he picked up the coffee maker and headed towards the door.
Lex went over to open it for him as he had his hands full.
"Oh, we are having lasagne so bring your appetite". With that Gabe was off leaving Lex flabbergasted.
He was still shocked when Chloe walked back into the room, having changed her clothes. Seeing his expression she raised an eyebrow.
"Gabe invited me to dinner tonight", he explained.
Chloe felt a knife strike her heart. It was just a dinner invitation, her father would have extended such an invitation to anyone who helped them move or who had been working with Chloe on a project and yet it clearly meant so much to Lex.
It was very hard to stay mad at him when she thought of how little love he must have experienced in his life, but stay mad at him she must. To distract herself she surveyed the room to see how much packing her father had got done, everything. During this operation, Lex remained silent and Chloe found that such silence weighed on her; she felt that she should say something, but what? She was torn between the desire to hit him and to hug him.
She looked over at him and the desire to hug him began to outweigh her other desires, so she stamped on it. It was with studied nonchalance that she shrugged her shoulders and said, "He is very kind". She turned away from him again before continuing, "I would have shown you the door".
Lex stared at the back of her head, trying to tell if she was joking or not. She had not been friendly towards him, and he knew that she was angry but did she really want him to leave? She had invited him over hadn't she?
He couldn't tell a lot from the back of her head, so he turned her around and looked deep into her eyes. "Do you want me to leave? We could talk somewhere else if you don't feel comfortable having me here".
She looked up at him in surprise, "No, I don't want you to go", now she felt really uncomfortable. God for a supposed genius when it came to reading people the man could be dense! She hadn't been hinting that she wanted him to leave, if he left then she couldn't give him the cold shoulder or shout at him. She wanted him to know that he was being punished. Besides, they really did need to discuss what they were going to do at the club, not that either of them were in any fit state to do so quite yet. She needed to find a way to breeze passed this awkward moment, Lex being solicitous could be described in no other way.
"You are just trying to get out of helping me pack, aren't you?"
Lex smirked. She didn't want him to leave!
"Come on, you big drama queen", she led him into her bedroom.
"Well Miss Sullivan, I have to admit that I thought that an offer like this would take a little longer.
She threw a cardboard box at his head, "Start packing my books up while I attack my wardrobe. And tell me about what you have figured out".
"Bossy", he muttered as he caught the box.
"If you can't handle a strong woman you are in the wrong apartment", Chloe told him.
Lex looked over at her as she opened her wardrobe and surveyed the carnage; she had obviously just picked everything up off the floor at some point and chucked it in there. He had no idea whether she had meant what she had said to stir up the images it had, sometimes she seemed so innocent but at others he was certain that that was just an act and that every move she made, every word she spoke was designed just to drive him crazy.
She could certainly drive him to madness at that moment. She was wearing a pair of faded jeans that highlighted the curves beneath them and a tank top which he was fairly certain must have had hidden support because he could see no evidence of a bra underneath it. He longed to take her into his arms and pull her up on her last inadvertent innuendo but stopped, he didn't want to take advantage of her.
He stopped his train of thought at that point, hadn't she been complaining that he was not treating her like an equal? He smirked, if she didn't want him to hold back then he wouldn't.
"Oh, believe me", Lex stalked up beside her, "I have no problem handling strong women". Now he would see if Chloe Sullivan was really up to dealing without him trying to be a gentleman and treat her with kid gloves.
Chloe turned to face him, she looked a little shocked by his presence but not particularly flustered … yet. Lex leant in closer, his lips mere centimetres from hers.
"Always so arrogant Lex?" Chloe questioned, tilting her head to the side - he couldn't be sure whether she did this in question or so that her lips were in the perfect position to be kissed. It would have been so easy to bridge the gap, but he didn't. It was possible that this was all in his head, maybe Chloe didn't know the effect she had on him. At least he could judge the effect he had on her.
He trailed his hand down the side of her face. She tried to hide the hitch in her breathing and supressed the urge to challenge him to prove it, but could not stop her pupils dilating. Well that answered one question, she was certainly attracted to him … physically at any rate.
"Oh, I wouldn't call it arrogance", he purred noticing her reaction. "More … confidence", he contemplated her tempting lips.
Chloe's brain turned to mush but her competitive instinct did not. She wasn't sure how she had got into this competition, but she certainly was and she would not let Lex win. Noticing the direction of his gaze, she licked her lips and heard a groan. Their eyes locked and they both knew that she had done it on purpose and what his reaction had been.
"Maybe you are overly confident, as you put it", she suggested, annoyed that she could not come up with anything wittier.
"Maybe, but I have yet to find a woman I couldn't tame", his breath was hot on her skin as he angled his head even closer to her.
"Maybe you are going for the wrong women", she said in a whisper. Then, thinking that she sounded too weak added, "Brunettes, I mean".
Lex grinned, "Anyone would think that you were jealous", he suggested.
That broke the spell, Chloe looked flustered. "I am not jealous", she took a step backwards and due to the limited size of the room, found herself against her chest of draws.
Lex raised an eyebrow, enjoying the flush which came to her cheeks.
"I'm not".
"Of course not", Lex soothed her. His expression still teasing, "But you are rather dismissive of my skills".
She shrugged; something Lex noticed with amusement she always did with him when she was trying to hide her feelings, that and try to avoid eye contact.
"I don't think that you are as powerful as you think you are".
"It's not about power Chloe", he told her as she turned around and busied herself with the things on the side, Lex took the opportunity to close the gap between them and place his hands on her hips. "I'll let you into a secret", he whispered in her ear "It gets very boring when the taming is too easy".
Chloe gulped.
How had this happened? This wasn't how this afternoon was supposed to go, he was supposed to be helping her pack, strategizing and apologising not this! She braced her hands on the dresser. She could feel his hand body against her, she could smell his scent and hear his voice which had become a little raspy with that last admission. She had to end this now or she would end up begging him to take her.
"Lex, what are you doing?" She asked, as if she genuinely had no idea what he was about. It was a tactic that had worked before, maybe it would again.
"Obeying orders", he reached around her to grab the masking tape, "I couldn't pack your books without this". It was kind of him, he was giving him a way out as she had earlier when he had inadvertently revealed how much the dinner invitation had meant to him, but she was sure that he knew what effect he was having on her.
"Oh, yeah. Of course", Chloe tried to sound composed but failed. At least she didn't have to face him, she could stay fiddling here for as long as she needed to.
"You know how good I am at taking orders", he joked as he headed back over to the other side of the room, giving her some space. Besides Gabe had been right, Chloe would be obsessed with her story until it was completed. There was no sense in letting himself get worked up only to know that she would eventually stop him.
He got to work on going through her books. She had a rather impressive collection, everything from history to politics. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed that Chloe started to seem a little calmer and had also started packing.
He sighed. "Promise that if I show you mine, you'll show me yours?" He asked, taking out his phone.
Chloe looked around at him with wide eyes and noticed his phone. She could have just said "Okay", and if she had thought about it she would, but her verbal judo reflexes were too well-honed and she responded with the knee jerk response, "Honey, you can't handle mine" before thinking and adding, "What have you got?"
Anxious to avoid his amused gaze she sat down on her bed. Lex joined her and showed her the images that they had found.
"Oh bugger!"