Reviews are looking beautiful darlings, you really know what to say to make a girl happy ;) I'm so happy with the feedback I've received. Much love to you all! :D

So, thanks to Naleylover23xo, it was brought to my attention I posted this under my other fiction Bandit Stole My Heart, thank you very much for letting me know. I have taken a lesson from this; and that is NEVER to post a new chapter just before I go to sleep. Many thanks. Sorry folks, my apologies.

Previously; Lex was a meanie and took Chloe to the opera, despite knowing how much she hated it and how tired she was. Oliver made goo-goo eyes at her (always nice). A gold-digger, snuggle and drive later and he's ravishing her all over the bed, before finding that pesky conscience of his and deciding they'd be better off just sleeping (party-pooper). Chloe relived her father's death through a dream and stumbled into Oliver's office to find something she didn't expect to see: her name.

Chapter Twenty-Seven; Unexpected Guests

'Past is always influencing the present'- Lex Luthor (Season One, Episode Obscura)

Oliver had it all planned, he'd wake up, surprise her with that damn coffee he'd driven miles to find with his special raspberry pancakes and he'll tell her three words that would probably give her a heart attack.

And that was the problem with planning, it's all fine, until someone wakes up early, picklocks a desk drawer and messes it all up.

"What the hell is this?!" she snapped, breaking him from his sleep alarmingly, papers thrown at him while he was still trying to figure out reality from dream. "Chloe Manning. Chloe Rachenson. Chloe Warler. Chloe Sullivan. Chloe Brook. Chloe Bench. Chloe Maddersill. Chloe Arma." One by one she read the name and flew the paper at him, each throw a hit. Not once did she miss.

"You were in my office?" His brain wasn't quite focusing on the task at hand. Chloe quickly regained his attention, the rest of the papers in her hand cascading around him as she threw the pile at him. She was dressed out of his shirt, full clothed once more and raging.

"What the fuck Oliver?" His eyes finally met her, she stood ready to kill, her chest rising with short snappy breathes.

"Okay, look. It's not what it looks like, I-"

"Not what it fucking looks like?! How is this 'not what it looks like'? Because this is a hell of a lot of 'is exactly what it looks like'!"

"No, it's just research."

"Research into me. Into these stupid women lined up as you try and play pin the tail on the donkey?"

"Chl-"

"Yeah, well before you make an ass out of me, let's just get this clear. We're done." She turned to storm off. It was the self defence mechanism she found healthiest, when emotions became too much, she dealt with them alone, in private where no-one else saw tears or fists. Besides, she had most of what Lex would want.

"No. We're not done. And you can start by telling me the truth about you." Oliver found his strength, taking the covers off in one swoop and chasing after her, slamming the door shut and putting himself before it so she couldn't leave.

"The truth?" she echoed. "And what the hell point would that have, you clearly have your own theories about me." She crossed her arms over her chest. It dared him to challenge her, because she knew she would win.

"With good reason. Chloe Maine isn't on Luthor payroll, she isn't a citizen of Metropolis, she doesn't have anything significant of note since she was 13 and then things just start popping back up a few months ago. She passed her driver's test, got a passport and suddenly became a very active citizen all within 4 months."

"So what? I'm some mystery for you to solve?" she hissed.

"All these names." He cast a hand to the floor. "Missing persons with the first name Chloe from across the country. You're one of these."

"Did you ever think why my name has changed?" she snapped at him, stalking forward a step, her hands falling to fists. "Ever think of what I might be protecting myself from?!"

"So what, you're in witness protection? Just tell me the truth!"

She scoffed a laugh, witness protection? Sure, but it was the criminal that had kept her as his pet.

"Why, so you can dig some more?" She put a hand to the door handle. He moved his body between the two. "Don't." she spoke through her teeth, the rims of her eyes already blurring with tears of betrayal. He didn't move. "Let me go Oliver. Now."

"No. We're talking this out."

"Fine." she sighed and with a cobra quick strike she snapped a hand to his, sliding him into a wrist lock and dropping him to the floor. She was pulling the door wide before he hit the ground.

"Damn it! Chloe." Oliver raced to his feet and down the steps. But the elevator doors were closing as he came to her, he glimpsed something in her hand, but didn't know what.

He'd follow her, drive back to see her. Fix this. But as he reached for the keys, he recalled the object of which she'd been holding. The bowl of his car keys.

Fuck!

Chloe met the desk with a bowl of keys and some others in her hand.

"The car outside, and this needs to be delivered to this address." She instructed the staff, writing down Oliver's apartment. "And no visitors or phone calls." Before the man could confirm her request she left the bowl and headed for her own penthouse. She wasn't stupid enough to run off with his cars…just give him the message she didn't want to be followed. And since words weren't working with him… her actions would have to.

The cold metal of the elevator wasn't the comfort she wanted though. It flooded her with the feelings she'd been holding down. Betrayal. It felt so much like he'd taken all of her hopes and dreams and just squashed them under his boot. And to think she felt something for him. No… not true. She still felt something for him. She wanted to be able to tell him, she wanted to say the truth, but what good would it do? Nothing, it would just be pain for him, for her… for Lois.

So she did what she only could in situations like this. Escape. She couldn't escape the city, but she could escape reality. And that's exactly what she did with her duvet dragged to the sofa, and some good entertainment.

Moulin Rouge was her film of choice. The love story between Satine and Christian was something she adored with her whole heart. The ending had her brought to tears every time, the songs were powerful and the acting was sublime. She loved it. So she sat with her red nail polish, decorating fingers and toes that poked out of the duvet as she watched. But then, as she sat blowing on her fingernails, waiting in anticipation of El Tango de Roxanne- her favourite scene in the entire movie- she started to think things she didn't particularly want. The scene started playing, but the words began to mean other things. The dance was all about hot passion, the tango being the obvious style, and it tells the story of a prostitute who's John fell in love with her. The story tells of desire, changing to passion, suspicion, jealousy, anger and betrayal. But Chloe's mind started to slip the fiction into her own reality. Though she was far from a prostitute, Oliver was the job. He was assigned by Lex, get in, get out. Only she'd fallen. It was only natural their desire had raced into passion, but now she was stuck with these feelings, betrayed by his suspicions of her lies.

The film continued, the words spilling from the scene to narrate for her,

'When love is for the highest bidder. There can be no trust, without trust, there is no love.'

There was no trust. Oliver couldn't trust her to be honest, she couldn't trust him to stop digging, this argument had no end, it would be forever a niggle. She couldn't trust him to believe her ever again. But…

Oh how she wished there was no love. Maybe it would die slowly, maybe the feeling of being ripped apart and scooped out would fade, but against all sense, she still felt for him. But, there was no future. In what crazy world had she ever dreamed of being with him? She was doing her job. Putting on the dress, donning the make-up and bringing Lex back what he wanted. When he had it, the job was over, done. So she'd mess with Queen another time. But Arrow was the job too. And she should feel no guilt for doing what she had to, nor what she desired from him. Arrow knew how things stood, he knew he was the job. He was in the same predicament. They both knew they couldn't be together in the long term, and that was how it was. No feelings. Just the job.

But first, she had something she wanted to do before she drew the line and sealed the box on Queen. Chloe stopped the movie, staring out into the darkness of the city. She could see the tower from her window, it was the tallest building for miles. But what did Oliver want it for? And why the high security?
Chloe packed a few electronic necessities, just in case the work had been done ahead of schedule.

Chloe arrived around 1am, the elevator requiring nothing but an easy keycode hack. The door opened and closed silently and she walked towards the solid wood doors. But there was a voice on the other side. One she didn't expect.

"Like I said. It needs work." Green Arrow's distorter was familiar to her now, and she could probably pick him out of all distorted voices. She poked her head between the gap in the door. There he was, pacing the top balcony. Who was he talking to? There was no other. Headset probably, she presumed as he turned. "No. More is better. More communication. Vic can control most of it while we're out."

Vic? Victor? The file Lex had on Cyborg had an alias listed as Victor. "Yeah, I know it's far from ideal, but we need the electronic support."

It seemed Arrow had a vacancy in his team. "About 10 minutes." Then she watched Arrow turn to scan the room before his eyes locked on the door. "I found her." he spoke and descended the steps. "Sneaking around again?"

Chloe stepped into the room.

"Old habits…"

"So... I caught the tail end of the argument." he began, though she had no idea why.

"What argument?" She played dumb, though it was the only thing on her brain. She walked further into the room, her eyes soaking up all the details. It was a beautiful space… and that huge glass window, she bet she could see the entire city from that.

"Queen's apartment is on my patrol route." She ignored his words though, her feet moving without her mind towards the stained glass. The colours were magnificent. Oh, to see a sunrise peeking through this window must be simply magical. She smiled, her fingers reaching to the glass. "A bit hypocritical though." This, she turned back to.

"Excuse me?"

"Your entire job with me is to find my identity and you expect me to be fine with it. You're twice the mystery that I am and you don't think your boyfriend should have the right to dig a little?"

"Dig a little?" she repeated. "He's trying to unearth something that needs to stay buried!" she hissed. "Don't you think I'd love to use my real name? Don't you think I'd love to be myself? I might not have a double identity to protect like you, but I have a single identity to save myself from. And him trying to dig through these files is just going to get him killed!"

"Witness protection?" he guessed, repeating Oliver's question, his voice apologetic for the anger he'd brewed in her.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She ignored his questions, and an unknown grace in him let her.

"New summer home." He grinned.

"Well, it certainly has a view." She allowed herself to turn back to the window, she could see her penthouse balcony from here, if she squinted a little.

Wait… This was Oliver's property. "He's your millionaire!" she suddenly exclaimed turning back to Arrow! "He's your bank roll for this entire thing!"

But Arrow smirked.

"You mean him buying this?" Arrow chuckled. "Every man has something he wants, and every man has a price." So, not bankroll?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"After my little encounter with dearly beloved, we had a little chat. He wanted to hire me. This was my price."

"Hell of a lot of money for a job. What did he want you to do?"

"Lock up the oldest Luthor."

"Lionel?" What motive would Oliver have for getting rid of Lionel? He wasn't a threat to his business, he wasn't a social problem… sure he was immoral, but he hasn't attacked Queen with his plots. Chloe knew for sure, Lionel had made a point of forcing her to play a part in each of his crooked deals, however small it was. That way, if he went down, so did she. "Why?" If Queen was looking to lock up Lionel, she needed to know, to save herself.

"My price includes my silence." he simply spoke.

"Any chance I can buy the answers?"

"Not on your dime darling." His arms came either side of her caging her to the window. She resisted the urge to crush herself to him, steal those lips, wrap her hands around those creamy biceps. And there was the further proof that Oliver wasn't Arrow, not that she needed it now, but Arrow was entirely bruise free across his shoulder, Oliver was purple almost to his elbow.

But, even as she felt towards Oliver, she still wanted Arrow.

"So, this is your new base of operations?" she questioned, her eyes roaming again. As much as he wanted to touch her, he let her free again, to explore as she wanted.

"It will be." His voice was guarded. "And it will have better security measures too. To keep pesky blondes out." She flashed him a smile.

"We'll see."

He allowed her to brush her fingers over the structural detail, allowed her the walk of the place. But he couldn't stay quiet for so long.

"You should patch things up with Oliver."

"Should I now?" she laughed lightly. "Sorry Agony Aunt, but this big girl doesn't need advice."

"You're really going to blame him for trying to figure you out?" She found herself once again at a loss for an argument. "You've done less ethical things in your time, for much worse intentions. Helping Lex steal his business for example."

"He can't find out."

"Don't worry, I haven't said a word about your sordid plans of keeping him busy."

"No… I mean, he can't find out." Her voice was barely above a whisper, an ounce of fear in the tone. "I was serious before. He'll get hurt, or worse, if he keeps looking."

"Why?" Arrow probed, crossing further towards her, driven by curiosity.

"Just trust me, my past is a big pile of darkness. The more he looks, the more he'll start to question. The more he questions, the more likely either he or I will end up a sticky red mess on a rug."

"So this all comes down to the contract with Lionel then."

"So you do know…" she confirmed. "Look. I don't care if Queen offers you a jet ski and a personal helicopter, promise me he will not know."

"Alright, but in exchange, take some advice." She nodded feeling more relaxed.

"Sure leather fetish."

"When he calls, and he will, let him apologise."

"Why would he apologise?" After all, she'd been the one breaking into his office drawers.

"As a man, I can confirm that men tend to act before thinking. It's entirely possible he's seen logic and knows he did wrong."

"It doesn't matter, he's just a job." she spoke, then turned on him again. "Why do you even care? You hated this guy a few days ago."

"He may just be a job, but he makes you happy." True. "And as for me, I like seeing you happy. Besides, what future could we have? You have a chance with him."

"Fairy-godmother, agony aunt and noble gentleman. You certainly are a mix."

"Anytime I can help."

"I suppose this means our deal is off the table then?"

"You labelled me a gentleman remember." he recalled with a chuckle. "I'm just going to say that if you happen to need me, I'll be here. Boyfriend or no."

She smiled, feeling that warmth flood her again. He'd solved all of her problems. He'd given her logic, he'd given her answers where she'd drawn a blank and he was here for her when the world was asleep.

Her phone vibrated against her hip, the pockets of her jeans annoyingly tight.

But it wasn't Queen like she expected, it was a text from Lex.

'Nexus plans are adapted. We need to talk.'

"Nexus labs." she spoke suddenly to Arrow. She watched his posture change, the flirt gone; the vigilante taking over. "Plans are changing."

"How?"

"I don't know. I'll find out tonight."

She walked to the doors again, but his voice paused her.

"Be safe. Lex might be onto you."

She laughed, her fingers pulling at the door. Lex wouldn't know until it was too late.

Chloe drove back to Metropolis as soon as she reached her car. Lex's text was amiss the now it usually had, but she presumed it anyway. It was just Lex. So after a half hour drive she sat outside the Luthor mansion in the car and answered the ringing phone she'd ignored twice due to driving.

"Chloe, thank god." She didn't realise just how much she missed hearing his voice. "Listen, I just… I'm sorry. I was an idiot."

"A little."

"No, I was a huge idiot. I didn't think, I just wanted to answer a few mysteries. It's difficult not knowing everything about you."

"… I don't want you to know everything."

"Nothing you could say would change how I feel." He said that now, but the look of hurt on his face if he even knew half of the stuff.

"Please don't ask, don't look."

"If that's what you want, I promise." He sounded desperate. "Just… we're not over, right?" So vulnerable. If she ever doubted he felt something more than lust for her, that was gone.

"Right." she agreed, happy she'd listened to Arrow instead of blocking his number and avoiding him like she had planned. "I'm… sorry about breaking into your desk…"

He chuckled down the line.

"I really couldn't care about that. I just want you back in my arms."

"I'm back." she confirmed. "We still on for dinner tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. I'll pick you up?"

"Sounds good."

They set the time for 5pm and she slipped from the car towards the Luthor mansion. Lex must have indulged in a new car though. There was this bright red convertible in the driveway. She shrugged it off, the rich had the money to splash on new cars, none of her business. Hell, Lex had bought her several cars as presents. Oh! Maybe this was her reward for finding some stuff on Queen. With a smile, Chloe let herself in, greeting the night guards and walking through the Lex's parlour room, he wasn't there. She took a walk through the office and other rooms he frequented, until she finally gave in and asked a guard for his location.

"Mr Luthor is upstairs in his room, working on some reports."

Chloe thanked him and took the stairs silently. It wasn't odd for Lex to take his laptop to bed with him. Well, it was a little. Usually he preferred to work at a desk… but it wasn't out of the question.

But as she walked up the stairs, she grew a sinking feeling in her gut. One that told her she should turn back, that she wouldn't like what she was about to see.

Or hear…

A moan came to her ears. Male or female she didn't know. Hallucinated or real? She kept walking, her body following curiosity rather than logic.

"Oh, Lex. Yes!" a woman's cry, her moan followed. Chloe slowed slightly. She'd never imaged herself to be Lex's one and only. Never expected him to be faithful or to love her. Never dreamed of being anything in the long run to him. But… she'd never expected to have to come face to face with these expectations either. It could all be her imagination up to this point, but this was reality.

"Oh. Yeah. You feel so damn good. You're beautiful." Lex. That was Lex. Lex had never said that to her. Lex… he rarely said anything more than grunts. Who was she?
And why did she feel she had to know? Why did she keep walking?

Her shoes were silent as the grave, not that any sound would be heard by the lovers as they moaned for the faster touch. She knew she should go back, she knew it. But she couldn't get her body to obey.

Lex had been her saviour from Lionel, he'd taught her love in the physical sense. He'd made her feel wanted, instead of used. He was different. Clark- her first love- had wanted someone else. Lana specifically. Her first boyfriend had tried to steal her body warmth and keep himself alive in trade. Not to mention all the other freaks she'd crushed on only to find murderous. But Lex, he… he'd given her no lies. He'd told her from the start it would only ever be sex. It had given her something more than just a body to lie next to or someone to scratch the itch. He'd given her warmth and comfort. A warm drip trickled down her face, alerting her she was crying. Lex had taken the pained gap Clark had left. It wasn't love, but it was a bandaid for the bullet hole. Where Clark hadn't wanted her, Lex did. The Lana blindness Clark had possessed wasn't in Lex. He saw her.

But as Chloe pushed open the door, she saw him. And she saw her.

Two seconds were more than enough to take in the view, the lovers too obsessed in the passion to notice her presence. Her hands wiped furiously at her eyes. It turned out Lex had filled her Clark hole a little too well. To and absolute tee actually. Who did Lex crave? Lana Lang of course.

Who would want poor little broken hearted Chloe when there was Lana Lang in the world?!

But Lex was a business arrangement, she reminded herself. She had no right to be upset that he chose her replacement like Clark had. But business or not, it didn't mean it hurt any less.

Chloe stole back her breath and turned from the room quickly, she didn't close the door, didn't tiptoe. Just took herself downstairs. What had made her believe Lex had ever valued her? She was disposable. Replaceable.

She would go home, she'd go home and pull herself together. Her hand opened the parlour doors on her exit, but the new voice in the room froze her body. It chilled every nerve and sent a shiver up her spine.

"I see you finally met Miss Lang." Lionel. "I can't say you deserved to find out like that. But my son has a flare for the dramatic." There, by the dying fire, witness to her tears was Lionel Luthor. He might not look like much, but the man was her tormentor, her demon, her devil. If hell existed inside a man, it would be him. "Oh, this is the greeting I deserve after all these years?" he questioned.

"Hello Lionel." she spoke, her tears dried, her hand batting away what was left.

"That's better." he praised. "So, how are you?"

"Better than you I imagine." His skin looked yellowish in tint, it was clear he was not well.

"Ah, so you did hear?" He twisted the lid off the bottled water beside him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping by for a little chat with my son."

"Then I'll leave you be." She made to leave.

"Did you not want to speak to him yourself? After all you drove all the way from the Gold Tower to come here tonight." The power play of knowing where she was. Again. Like at any moment he could order her death. "And how's Mr Queen? I hear you two are friendly." He knew what she was doing too.

"I can come back another time." she answered swiftly.

"Chloe?" Lex's voice came from the corridor by the parlour. She hesitated, but would rather deal with the son than the father. Lex parted the doors as she crossed closer to him.

"The plans?" she snapped. The question was on his tongue for all of the time it took him to locate his father, then it faded.

"I'll get them for you." At least he understood that much. "Dad. I don't believe we scheduled anything." he spoke as he crossed the room and unlocked his cabinet safe for the flashdrive of plans.

"Can't I drop by to see my one and only son?" Despite the late hour, neither Luthor questioned the 'social visit'.

"You don't usually." His hand fished inside the safe and he took the drive out, walking the room to where Chloe stood, her eyes flickering nervously between the two of them. She wanted gone. He lowered his voice, quieter to avoid his father's ears as he delivered her the instructions. "Return it by tomorrow. But the lab is active, they should find it within the next few days, or week if they're slow." She nodded. "Chloe." He grabbed her arm. "I didn't know he was coming." She nodded again, short and curt, she believed him. With a sigh, he released her and she scurried away. Her breath returned only once she was back in the safety of her own car.

"Well dad. Did you enjoy torturing my assistant?"

"Remember son, you only have her because I let you."

"Because you're dying. Right?"

"Don't be so cold Lex."

"Don't take so long Dad." Lex echoed.

Chloe put the gas pedal to the floor as soon as the keys turned the ignition, tearing out of the driveway. There was only one place she wanted to go. One place she didn't expect to be going. Oliver. He was swiftly becoming her anchor in the storm, and she wanted his arms back around her, telling her how he missed her, how he wanted to hold her all night and keep her safe. Fight her battles and all that other romantic crap. But she needed it more than she could describe. Needed his warmth, his protective hold, his kiss that made her forget all the bad. Sure, she didn't deserve him, sure he was trouble for her. But, he was everything she wanted.

Chloe made the half hour trip in under 20 minutes, avoiding all the speeding cameras she knew of and enjoying the empty roads. Around 3am, she was tapping in Queen's keycode to his rackety elevator (she'd memorised it after seeing him input it so many times) and let herself into his apartment. The lights were all off. She flipped the hallway lights on, illuminating her way to the bedroom. But… the bed was empty.

"Oliver?" she called to the darkness. No answer. She silenced, listening for water. There was nothing. She wandered back to the kitchen and his office. Empty. "Oliver?" she called out again. No answer. Where the hell was he? It was 3am!

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:O Why, oh why, would Oliver be out at 3am?!

More importantly; Why would he be out when Chloe needs him! Curse you Oliver, why can't you just be a normal billionaire?!

Reviewers get imaginary puppies and sticky jam doughnuts this week. Remember, imaginary puppies are for life, not just imaginary playtime :)