—5—

"How's Mommy's baby?" Dinah exclaimed, bursting into Chloe's apartment not five minutes after Chloe's herself had arrived home.

"Well I'm just fine, thanks for asking," Chloe joked.

Dinah threw a smirk her way, "You're next," she teased, turning her attention back to the bird cage on Chloe's counter, where Tango was twittering away happily. Chloe couldn't tell if the canary actually was happy to see its mother or just excited that there was noise. Probably a bit of both, she decided. Dinah took the bird out of its cage and tenderly stroked its head, and even Chloe had to admit that it seemed particularly pleased about the attention. It nibbled Dinah's finger affectionately in response. "So how have you been, my darling?" Dinah asked as she continued to coddle the bird.

Chloe laughed. "I assume you're talking to me this time?" she mocked. "I've been fine. Or at least, decent. Tango's seemed just fine, although I'm sure you're better company. I lead such a quiet little life," she sighed in a long-suffering voice, marred by the note of laughter in it.

Dinah nodded absently. "They do like noise. That's why he and I fit each other so well. He loves it when I warm up my voice in the mornings." She smiled serenely and settled the bird back on his perch before turning to Chloe and giving her a big hug. "I missed you, too, for the record."

Chloe returned the hug warmly. "Life's been dull without you in it, I can't lie."

"Is that so?" Dinah asked with another smirk, leaning casually against the counter and raising her eyebrows at Chloe.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked, honestly confused.

"Well a little bird told me that you had some interesting company while I was away."

Chloe groaned. "Et tu, Dinah?" she asked. "You know how the paparazzi can be. They're making something out of nothing."

"I don't believe it. You two looked very cozy coming out of my apartment."

"Yeah thanks for that by the way," Chloe tossed, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Would you please let me be a grown up and set up my own play-dates?" she quirked an accusing eyebrow.

"Oh don't look at me that way, Missy," Dinah retorted, clearly unabashed. "Oliver Queen is a total catch and the only reason you don't like him is because someone suggested him to you, and you're too stubborn to admit it when someone else has a good idea."

"That is not the only reason I don't like him," Chloe rolled her eyes. Then something occurred to her. "Oh, God, does this mean you saw the pictures from your wedding?"

"Of course I did," Dinah sighed.

"I am so sorry about that. Lois and I were absolutely furious with the photographer. We took care of the whole thing."

"Oh I know, darling," Dinah reached out and squeezed Chloe's hand comfortingly I called my lawyer immediately once I found out. I was absolutely livid. But he told me Lois had already spoken to him and that the two of you didn't want me worrying about it on my honeymoon, so I decided not to," she said loftily. "Besides," she added with a twinkle in her eye, "the photographer put those photos to much better use than I ever could have."

"So how was the honeymoon?" Chloe asked, deciding to ignore the last remark.

"Oh, Chloe it was fabulous. You can't imagine. I could absolutely live on a tropical island for the rest of my life."

"Couldn't we all?" Chloe asked humorously. "And AC?"

"Well he was perfectly in his element. You know how he is at the beach. Absolutely beside himself. And oh my God, the sex—"

"Aaaand that's quite enough right there," Chloe said putting her hands up. "I'd like to be able to meet his eye the next time I see him, thanks very much," she warned.

Dinah sighed at Chloe's prudishness. "Fine. All I'm saying is: Chloe, you haven't had sex until you've had honeymoon sex."

"Yep, already more than I needed to know. Thank you very much. Dare I ask whether you actually left your hotel room while you were there?"

Dinah quirked one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "Would you?"

Chloe laughed. "I'll drink to that. I've been saving a bottle of red wine for you," she said, moving for her liquor cabinet.

This time Dinah cringed. "Ooh, Chloe I can't."

Chloe tried not to show her disappointment. "Really?"

"I know; I'm so sorry," and she did look it. "But I promised AC I'd only be gone a short while."

"He's had a whole month of you," Chloe whined, pouting childishly.

Dinah heaved a dramatic signed. "I know, but he has to be weened off of me gently." She gave Chloe a puppy-dog look until she couldn't hold it back anymore, and her face slowly spread into a smile, which even Chloe couldn't resist.

"Ugh, your happiness is nausea-inducing. Go, get out of here. Make out with your stupid husband."

"Hey! Only I can call him that," Dinah grinned, giving Chloe another tight hug. "Mmmm…promise me you'll do dinner with us tomorrow night?"

"Us?" Chloe questioned.

"Me."

"Talking about yourself in the royal 'we' now that you're married?" Chloe mocked.

"We've decided to always refer to ourselves this way," Dinah said importantly. "It makes us sound important."

"Or creepy, but you know, same thing."

"Okay," Dinah said, focusing again. "So that's a yes to Ches Benoît's tomorrow?"

"Yes. Now let me get you the rest of Tango's things," she said, dashing back to her room where the cage cover and birdseed had been kept.

Chloe glanced at her clock and realized it was already 9:31, and when she glanced out of her office, sure enough, there was a young girl with brunette hair, looking extremely nervous while Louise and Vivian ignored her. She buzzed Louise and asked her to send Mia in.

In the brief seconds it took Mia to reach Chloe's door, Chloe had already given her a thorough once over. She was dressed nicely—no fishnets in sight, thank God—and her hair was neatly brushed. She was clearly nervous, but it was evident that Louise and Vivian hadn't psyched her out. As a matter of fact, she caught Mia shooting a covert but clearly judgmental glance Louise's way, her eyebrow raising very subtly at the outrageous manicure Louise was sporting, which was clearly making it difficult to type. Mia's fingernails, Chloe noted, were short, but kept. Oliver had mentioned something about being a fighter; perhaps she kept them short for boxing. She entered the room fully, not poking her head around the door like Chloe had half-expected her to, but then she seemed to lose her nerve just slightly, and it took her a moment to find her voice.

"Hi," she said simply.

Chloe smiled warmly and rose from her desk, walking around to shake Mia's hand. Mia shook it firmly, meeting Chloe's eyes, which Chloe approved of. "It's nice to meet, you. Mia, right?"

Mia nodded.

"I'm Chloe, Mia. Why don't you have a seat," she said, returning to her own chair behind her desk and gesturing at the chair waiting for Mia.

"Thanks," Mia said, sitting into the chair. "I mean, thank you," she added, as if she were worried that 'thanks' wasn't polite enough.

"Mmhmm. So I was going over your resumé earlier this morning—" Chloe said, sifting through her papers until she found it, placing it in front of her. "You haven't got a lot of experience, but the score you made on the ACT and SAT were really impressive."

"Thank you," Mia said smiling uncertainly.

"So, can you tell me why you're interested in the internship?"

Mia licked her lips and tried to think of where to start, looking at her hands in her lap for help.

"Mia?"

She looked up.

"I'm not going to bite. Relax. Just, tell me a little about yourself."

Mia laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, I just…there's not a lot to say that's all that great. Um…as you can see I finished high school a little late, but I'm really interested in going to college eventually, when I have enough money saved up or I get enough scholarship."

Chloe nodded.

"And…okay, honestly?" her attitude and posture suddenly changed, as if she'd suddenly decided that she was going to say exactly how she felt about life, the universe, and everything—caution be damned. Chloe raised a brow just slightly. "I would kill to work at a place like this. Because Whistle is a magazine for exactly the kind of woman I want to be. I grew up making some really stupid choices and I never met any women that I considered even remotely decent. Half the time I actually wished I was a boy. But in the last couple of years I've been starting to figure out that being a woman is actually a really powerful thing, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with that power—what kind of woman I want to be. And I can't imagine anything more amazing than getting to work in an environment that's all about that kind of woman: strong, confident, independent, classy. And I need job experience and something that can boost my college applications, and I would do absolutely anything to work in a place like this some day."

She either ran out of words, breath, or nerve after that, and Chloe gave her a moment to collect herself before asking another question. Poker face in tact, she asked simply, "And what do you think you can offer to us?"

"I'm a really hard worker, and I can take criticism. I don't give up on the first try. I'm great with computers, and I'm high-energy. When I decide to do something I don't half-ass it—sorry, I mean, I don't just do it half-way. I believe in doing a thing right. I'm punctual, and I don't mind staying late. And I'm not too proud to go get someone their coffee if that's what I need to be doing."

Chloe hid a laugh, she had a feeling that Vivian and Louise had their interns spend a lot of time in the lines at Starbucks.

She looked Mia over one more time, scanning for any signs that she was going to regret what she was about to say. Finally, she broke out of the business-mode. "Mia, I'm going to be honest with you. You're not what I normally hire for this internship. A lot of girls go after this position, and a lot of them are working on journalism or design degrees in their third and fourth years of college already. They're fashion-savvy and have writing experience and recommendation letters that have, on occasion, really blown me away. And the longest any of them has lasted is a couple of months." She could see the rejection registering in Mia's eyes, so she hastened to continue. "Which is why I want to give you a try. You're fresh, you have attitude, and you didn't let Louise and Vivian scare you while you were sitting out there. And maybe the fact that you're not so caught up in your own ambitions to run the magazine one day will mean that this internship will actually help you accomplish something. I'm going to warn you now: Vivian and Louise are going to run you ragged; they need all the help they can get, but they're also self-devoted bitches. You should let me know if they're really out of line, though. At this point, frankly, I'm just desperate to fill the position, and you need somewhere to help you find yourself. So I guess what I'm saying is that maybe the two of us can help each other out." She looked Mia in the eyes, and extended a hand. "Deal?"

Mia's grin was heart-warming. "Deal. You won't regret it. Thank you so, so much."

"I'll need you to take care of some paperwork, and bring in a copy of your social security card and two proofs of identification. And you'll report to Vivian next Wednesday. She'll show you around and give you the general orientation. Mostly it won't be very glamorous. Coffee-fetching like you said, but also a lot of filing and stamping envelopes, etc. Depending on how things go, I'll eventually try to find some bigger responsibilities for you, and let you help out on projects when I can, so that you have a few decent lines to put on your resumé."

Mia was brimming with gratitude and excitement, and left the office full of smiles. When she was gone, Chloe had to admit that if Oliver hadn't told her about the girl's background, she wouldn't have guessed it. He'd obviously done a real number on her. It was inspiring to see someone so devoted to making a better life for herself. It was exactly the sort of person she liked to imagine Whistle supporting. She hoped Mia was up for the challenge. She twiddled her pen briefly, opening up her e-mail on her computer. Her eyes glazed over momentarily, though, and she didn't take anything in.

Snapping out of it, she buzzed Edward.

"Miss Sullivan?" he asked.

"Edward, remind me to set up a meeting with the new intern a month from now to discuss scholarship options."

"So you hired the kid?" he asked.

"I hired the kid," Chloe grinned.

"Good. I liked her. She had good taste in jeans. And Louise didn't like her, which is definitely a good sign."

Chloe laughed and tapped out of the intercom before switching back over to her e-mail.

When she reached her home that evening, Chloe was starting to wish she didn't have to go out with Dinah. It seemed like she was constantly on the move these days, and quiet evenings at home were getting few and far between.

Pulling off her heels, she walked into her office and pulled up her master calendar on her computer. Looking at it as a whole, something horrible settled in on her: everything was pink.

Events on her calendar were coordinated by color. All things Whistle were in orange. Meetings and dinners and other outings that were centered around networking were in blue. A few legitimately social outings dotted the calendar in green. Travel dates were in yellow. The rare occasions that she had something family related (Lois excluded) were scattered over the months in red. And as of the beginning of the year, when Dinah had first asked her to be the maid of honor in Dinah's wedding, Chloe had created a new category: pink.

Pink for weddings.

Her entire calendar was a sea of magenta. When had this happened? She'd been aware that all her friends were pairing off. That much had registered, but it wasn't until now, looking at her calendar, that she realized that the number of wedding-related events she had to attend in the next year had multiplied while she wasn't looking. They hadn't just multiplied, in fact, the number was actually triple that of everything else.

"Seriously," she exhaled, talking to no one in particular, "when did this happen?"

But she didn't have time to dwell on when tulle and lace had taken over her life. She had to get ready for dinner with Dinah, which was bound to be an event in and of itself. Photographers loved Dinah. No matter how many times they caught her unawares, she had yet to take an unattractive picture for them. Ever since her debut as the title character in Carmen, the press had been absolutely in love with her. They'd even dubbed her the "Black Canary," not realizing that underneath the wig of luscious, ink-black curls she wore in the show was a head of perfect blonde hair that could do justice to Marilyn Monroe. Even after that revelation, though, the nickname had stuck and followed her throughout her career. Having recently agreed to play Elvira in an upcoming film version of Don Giovanni, she was attracting more attention than usual even though the movie didn't start filming until the next year.

So, knowing that she was most likely going to get caught up in Dinah's limelight, it was with careful precision that she began laying out her wardrobe: a black taffeta skirt and a jade silk blouse, paired with an elegant, tooled belt and gucci shoes.

Chloe remembered how little she had cared for designer brands when she was growing up. Even now, she didn't really consider fashion her thing. But working with Whistle had made it a part of her life, whether she liked it or not. So she had embraced it. At the end of the day, what girl was really going to argue with Prada bags and Burberry coats? With a little effort in grad school, coupled with her work at Whistle, she had developed a distinctive taste in fashion that was now bringing Whistle its own renown in return.

Chloe arrived outside the restaurant at almost the same time as Dinah, who was looking equally elegant in a royal blue cocktail dress. They hugged happily, and sure enough, Chloe caught a few cameras flashing at them. She was smiling warmly until she pulled back and caught the expression on Dinah's face.

"What?" Chloe asked suspiciously. Dinah looked far too pleased with herself about something.

"What 'what?'" Dinah asked, complete innocence filling her face.

"You're an amazing actress, Dinah, but even I can tell when you're up to something. What have you done?"

"Nothing—you're so paranoid sometimes. Honestly," Dinah said, ushering Chloe inside. Chloe wasn't fooled remotely. She was about to pursue her suspicions, but Dinah was speaking with the maître d'.

"Reservations under Curry?" she offered, and the gentleman was quick to accommodate her.

"Of course, Madame Curry" he spoke in a thick French accent. "Your table eez ready, and your 'usband and Monsieur Queen are already waiting for you."

"I'm sorry what?" Chloe cut in, her voice notably soured.

"I said ze gentlemen 'ave already arrived."

Chloe simply glared at Dinah, who looked utterly unashamed of herself.

"We're not friends any more," Chloe informed her. The maître d' looked confused, and was hovering near them to escort them to the table.

"Oh don't be ridiculous," Dinah huffed.

"You said 'the two of us.' You said you wanted to catch up with me. Not that you wanted to set me up on a double date with your husband and that–" she was suddenly aware that people were listening to them, so she lowered her voice, "that playboy," she said in an angry whisper. "I'm going home, Dinah. I refuse to be manipulated."

Dinah grabbed her arm and pleaded with her. "Don't be like that," she begged. "I just couldn't do without Arthur for the whole evening, and I didn't want you to be the third wheel. Since you and Oliver became so close while I was gone, I figured you wouldn't mind." She gave Chloe her best attempt at an angelic face, her big eyes pleading with Chloe.

Chloe only narrowed her own eyes. "If a single word of that were true, you would have told me that they were coming."

"It was a last minute change, and I thought it would be a fun surprise."

"You did not!" Chloe said, exasperated. "For one thing, Oliver and I did not 'become close' as you so quaintly suggested. I don't even like him. And for another, even if you believed the tripe that's been published lately, then you'd think that he and I were sneaking around, not making public appearances! So there is no excuse that you could possibly come up with that would make any of this okay!" Her voice had gotten louder again, and she stopped to take a deep breath, absolutely furious with Dinah's meddling.

Dinah just gave her an expression of deep concern. "I did it because I love you," she informed Chloe, and just like that, all of Chloe's anger melted. She was still livid at being set up, but she just couldn't hold onto it to do anything about it.

Seeing that Dinah seemed to have won, the maître d' cleared his throat awkwardly. "Mademoiselle Sullivan? Madame Curry? If you are…ready?" he suggested tentatively.

Chloe jumped at the reminder that he was right there, and Dinah smiled graciously. "We're ready," she said charmingly, and the man looked like he'd practically fallen in love with her on the spot.

Chloe rolled her eyes and followed sulkily.

They were led back to a private round booth in the back of the restaurant where AC was looking subdued and Oliver had a decidedly dark look on his face. Obviously he was as unamused about this affair as Chloe was.

Dinah sat down next to AC and kissed him cheerfully, leaving Chloe to sit beside Oliver. "So," she said, snatching her water and sending a deprecating look in the direction of the Curries, "I take it you weren't brought here of your own will either." She swallowed the water and turned to raise an eyebrow at Oliver.

"Nope," Oliver said, dragging out the word and popping the 'p' at the end, sending AC a look of pure disappointment.

"What'd they tell you?"

"That we were going to a bar for beers."

"Ouch."

"Yep. You?"

"This restaurant. For girls' night."

"My sympathies."

Dinah rolled her eyes. "Oh stop being so dramatic. So I was a little mischievous. Can I help it if I wanted to spend time with all of my favorite people at the same time?"

"Yes," Oliver and Chloe responded simultaneously. AC just looked guiltily at his napkin.

"Good evening, madames et monsiers," a waiter arrived in time to save Dinah and take their drink orders. He looked to Dinah first. "A Sauvignon Blanc, if you don't mind," she said pleasantly, after giving the wine list a brief perusal. The waiter turned to Chloe, who was looking grim.

"Scotch on the rocks," she deadpanned. Oliver, who was staring at the ceiling for deliverance, held up his hand to signal the waiter to make it two.

The waiter finished with AC's drink and promised to return quickly. Dinah, who was still—to Chloe's amazement—looking delighted with everything—turned to Chloe. "So how was work, darling?"

Chloe glared at her and blatantly turned to Oliver, deciding that she was not talking to either of the Curries that evening. They could both stuff it for all she was concerned. "I interviewed Mia this morning."

He smiled at the subject. "I heard. She told me that you hired her. I really owe you one."

"Who's Mia?" Dinah asked curiously. "What are you talking about?"

Chloe ignored her. "She seems like a good kid, and I was desperate to fill that internship. Thanks for sending her my way."

Oliver nodded. "No problem. So how have things been going for you otherwise?"

"Oh you know, just trying to keep my head above water." He looked confused so she explained. "It's a busy season for the magazine, and my cousin Lois is getting married in the spring, so I have a lot going on helping her plan her wedding."

"Yeah, I've met Lois. I'm friends with Kent, met him a couple of years back when I was in Metropolis. Nice guy, but a little uptight. Lois seems like a handful."

Normally Chloe got offended when other people took shots at her cousin, but she could tell by Queen's voice that he didn't mean it as an insult. It was obvious that he had liked both Lois and Clark. "She is," Chloe agreed, accepting her wine from the waiter, who had just returned and offered to take orders for food. Dinah and AC ordered, but when the waiter turned to Chloe and Oliver, they both exchanged looks.

"You wanna get out of here?" he offered. Dinah started to object, but Chloe was already accepting.

"Oh relax," Chloe said to Dinah as she rose from the table, to the waiter's confusion. "You brought this on yourself, and we both know that I won't stay angry with you longer than two days."

"AC, I'll see you later in the week, I'm sure," Oliver nodded to his friend.

They had just reached the door when something occurred to Chloe. "Oh no," she groaned.

"Problem?" Oliver asked.

"I've just remembered: the photographers."

"Ah yes, our secret affair will be ousted, won't it?" he joked sarcastically.

She glared. "Take this seriously, damn it," she said in a mock-dramatic voice. "I have a reputation to keep up."

"So do I," he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

She elbowed him jokingly. "God, you're such a pig."

"Oh screw them," he said, helping her into her coat. "You get used to it after a while. Either you let it get to you, or you have a good laugh at the fact that half the city thinks you're dating someone you barely know."

She sighed. "I guess you're right. It would be easier if my friends and family didn't buy into it, though."

He chuckled. "You're telling me. Mia's convinced that everything I say is in code."

"Oh well," she said. "Here we go?"

He smirked and held open the door for her. Sure enough cameras began flashing seconds after he followed her out the door.

"Miss Sullivan! Mr. Queen, this way!" they scrambled to get Chloe and Oliver's attention, one of the cameramen getting right in Chloe's face.

Oliver stepped between her and the invasive photographer and warned him to back off before protectively ushering Chloe toward a cab and climbing in after her.

Chloe was already giving the cabby her home address before Oliver interrupted her. "Oh come on, you can't go home this early on a Friday."

She raised an eyebrow at him dubiously.

"And you have to be hungry. We'll grab a drink and some food somewhere."

"And provide more fodder for the media," Chloe reminded.

He shrugged. "Isn't that half the fun?" he pointed out.

"I don't know…."

"Seriously, when was the last time you had a night out?" he asked.

She frowned at him. "I get out," she argued.

"Hanging out with your married friends doesn't count."

"They're not all married."

"Just engaged," he joked.

She huffed. "Fine. Only because I really am hungry and I can't take another night of ordering pizza. What did you have in mind?"

"I was invited to a club opening tonight, I think," he said, pulling out his phone to check.

Chloe nodded. "The Coup D'état?" She'd been invited to the same one, but had eagerly seized dinner with Dinah as an excuse not to go.

At the uncertain expression on her face, Oliver nudged her. "Come on. They have food, drinks, and loud music so we don't have to listen to each other talk."

She laughed at that. "Sounds perfect," she said. "But just for the record, we still don't like each other. I'll die before I let Dinah think her plan worked."

"Agreed," he said, chuckling. He gave the driver the new address off of his phone, and the cab changed directions.