Chemistry
Chapter 4 New team
"Perry, can you come with us and look at the bullpen?" Lois asks.
"Sure, do you have some ideas for the two of you?"
"Of course!" Lois leads the way downstairs to the newsroom; Clark and Perry follow.
She goes to the far back unused corner and begins to talk. "I've been thinking about workspace for the two of us. This corner has been unused for some time. I'd like to propose fixing it up for our new team – LOIS & CLARK! What do the two of you think?"
"Lois & Clark? Why not Clark & Lois?" Clark wonders.
"Hm, let me count the ways: 1) seniority, 2) ladies 1st, 3) rolls off the tongue, shall I go on, lover boy?" Lois posits.
"No, I'm in," Clark concedes, with a sly smile.
"Lover boy?" Perry raises an eye brow.
Lois smirks. "Deal with it, it'll be worth it."
"It's a long way from my office," Perry objects.
"Let's see . . . phone, email, shout (default). Be creative Perry," Lois comes back.
"Ok, bring me your ideas, sketches, whatever and we can talk. Kent, you heard about this before now?"
"No, sir . . . but I'll get right on it. I'll settle Lois down."
"Only in your dreams," Lois whispers.
7:00 and Clark rings the doorbell at the apartment of Lois Lane. A small light comes on, illuminating the doorway alcove. "Welcome Clark, come on in when the door unlocks," which it does with a click 3 seconds later.
He enters and the door softly closes behind him, the locks click and the door is locked. He turns and sees Lois leaning against the doorjamb of the bedroom door. She is stunning, wearing a short silk robe, light blue, with LL monogrammed over the left breast. The robe comes to mid-thigh revealing her toned and tanned legs. She is barefoot. 'The hell with dinner' he thinks.
He looks at the table for two set up in the dining area of the apartment and sees a tastefully wrapped gift box at his place setting. Lois glides over to him and softly speaks, "I have a gift for you, as you can see."
"Hm . . . yes, I can see".
"Let me help you get ready, just stand still while I assist." Lois kneels and begins to take off his shoes & socks while he balances by placing his hands on her shoulders. She rises and removes his jacket, tie and shirt leaving his undershirt on. Next, she kneels again to remove his slacks, leaving him in his underwear. "Now there, you are ready. Open your present now, please." She looks pleased as punch as she hands him the gift box.
He opens it to reveal his own short silk robe, a slightly darker blue with CK embroidered over the left breast. She helps him slip it on; it fits PERFECTLY! How is that possible? Then he remembers:
Schickle's Creek
Her hands
His body
OMG – they haven't had dinner yet!
Lois presses Clark to be seated, she takes her place across from him and pours a little wine into their glasses.
She begins, "To friends, partners, lovers. May we always be so blessed. To Lois & Clark!" They reach to touch their glasses, take a sip, then lean unto each other for a sealing kiss. Clark hears a soft, low sound, almost a humming. If he didn't know better, he would say Lois was purring . . . purring in delight and pleasure. This is going to be an evening to remember!
Lois sends a TXT and while they are enjoying their wine aperitif there is a soft knock at the door. Lois clicks to open it and two waiters enter and serve the meal. 3 courses, each thoroughly enjoyed but no dessert in sight.
When the meal is finished, the table cleared, the wait staff gone, Lois rises and takes Clark's hand. She gently leads him to the other room, saying "Come my love, dessert is served back here." He willingly follows her with a sly smile on his face.
Clark woke up Saturday morning feeling good, really good. 'Maybe I should cancel the rest of that hotel reservation, give in and stay here after all. The hotel's bed had been really nice, for a hotel. But this? Lying here under the soft sheets with a purring, gorgeous woman by my side? No contest. Where is my phone?'
He had to get up, nature was calling. Just a whisper yet, he had time. He shifted positions, Lois gave a little whimper and snuggled even closer. Damn he had it bad. Why resist? He had no answer to that. He hopes the other newspapers that he visited weren't too disappointed, they never really had a chance. He tried to be fair, he really did. But in the end, the Daily Planet just had too many assets. The one lying next to him was a trump card of the highest order.
OK, now nature was starting to shout – get your ass out of bed, KENT! Sure, sounds like the CO back in Afghanistan. Time to rise and shine. He disentangles himself, swings his legs over the side of the bed and heads to the bathroom. Leaving Lois to whimper and search for him with her arms.
Leaving Lois?
NO!
Not in this lifetime.
He does an abbreviated morning routine, then puts on that beautiful silk robe and heads for the kitchen. He finds that the coffee maker has been set to start in 10 minutes. OK, he will find his phone and cancel the rest of his hotel days. Lois won't mind, will she?
He had his phone in hand, ready to dial the hotel when he heard soft footsteps come up behind him; then two soft arms circled his waist as she asked, "who are you calling this early?"
"The hotel, to cancel the rest of my reservation. I didn't think you would mind a warm, cuddly house guest."
"Rather presumptuous, aren't we Clark?"
"Well, I thought the evidence was pretty convincing. Especially after last night."
"Hm . . . last night? All I remember is . . ."
His lips to hers stopped the talking. She was about to go TMI on him, even though they were alone. No sense tempting fate. Now about sleeping arrangements.
"Miss Lane, may I be your house guest for a few nights? And what would you charge me?"
"Yes, and as far as charging you goes; last night was a good down payment, just keep it up! I will let you know when your bill is paid in full." She smirks.
'I bet you will' he thinks, and smirks too.
He makes his phone call00 while she pulls together some breakfast. He will be staying with Lois after all, what a surprise. He will be catching a military transport late on Thursday, so they have 5 days to get as much done as possible in preparation for the next phase of their lives. They hope to accomplish:
Discussion and plans for where Clark will live.
Short term,
Long term,
With Lois or not?
Plans for the remodel of the far corner of the bullpen at the Daily Planet.
How is this partnership going to work?
They look at the list and ask each other what they should do today – Saturday. Since the bullpen at work is a little less busy today, they decide to go in and sit, talk, and plan. While they are there, they will see if Perry or Mr. Olsen are available for real estate advice.
BULLPEN PLANNING
They take the elevator up to the newsroom floor, and make their way to the bullpen's far corner. Lois has dragged her chair over, and Clark found one not being used this day and they sat down. Lois had found pads & pens and they started talking.
Seating arrangement. Back-to-back, facing each other, side to side, other? They decided on back-to-back – least distracting. Ha!
Desk configuration. With seating decided, it seemed that one large U-shaped desk would work best. That way if the back-to-back seating wasn't working, they could adjust to a nearly side to side rather easily.
Enclosed space? Should they close the entrance to their work space, leaving only a doorway sized entrance? NO. While they may want the entrance down sized a little, they did not want it to be only doorway sized. They wanted more free access to their corner for themselves and peers.
Other questions? NO, they could think of nothing else right now.
Lois had a good friend whose husband was an architect. She called Janet who spoke with Tom and he agreed to meet with them over lunch time on Tuesday and give them some advice.
Lois also left a voice mail with Mr. Olsen's secretary Janice, asking if he had an architect on retainer for the Planet. They expected to hear back sometime Monday re that voice mail.
They talked at length about color schemes, chair preferences, lighting, flooring, ancillary devices and more. One thing became readily apparent; Lois & Clark had many shared tastes and preferences. And when their thoughts diverged, instead of arguing they compromised with each other. Unknown to each other, they were each thinking that the compatibility they were experiencing could extend into the personal relationship sphere! A working partnership may not be all the pair could achieve. They each tucked that away for future reference!
TBC
