What a Gentleman Desires TOCPart 1***Part 2 of 3***A blonde woman dressed in a suit, which Lois had to admit was nicer than hers, held out a hand to Clark. “Mayson Drake, Assistant DA. I’d like to see if you’re willing to testify against Baby Rage.”
The man who Superman had captured earlier was still yelling threats at Lois as he was dragged down the hall of the police precinct.
“Baby
Rage?” Clark repeated. “Wonder why they call him that?”
Inwardly, Lois smiled. She loved Clark’s jokes. Outwardly, she frowned because that flirtation wasn’t being addressed to her, but to this blonde Assistant District Attorney.
“You must be Mike Lane,” Ms. Drake said to Lois’s uncle. “I’m sorry about what happened to your restaurant.”
“Thanks. But they’re going to have to do a lot better than that to get me to pull out,” Uncle Mike replied.
Goes to show that Lanes aren’t quitters! Lois agreed silently with a nod of her head.
Ms. Drake turned to look at Lois with a vacant expression. “I’m sorry, you’re…?”
“Lois Lane.”
Apparently, Mayson Drake was the only person in Metropolis who hadn’t heard of Lois. Even Baby Rage knew who she was.
“The one who called the police?” Lois continued at Ms. Drake’s blank expression. “And I just wanted to say about their response time, I’ve seen maple drip faster.”
Ms. Drake turned away from Lois, completely uninterested. Typical blonde. If it had been Clark who had complained about the response time of the police, the ADA would be all ears… not that she wasn’t already.
“Also, this kid threatened Lois,” interjected Clark.
“Oh, Clark, he was just trying to scare me,” Lois said, brushing aside the incident. It wouldn’t be a day ending in Y if someone hadn’t threatened her.
“Well, now it’s my turn to try and scare
him,” Ms. Drake said, bringing out her tough lawyer talk.
Lois needed an antacid and
not from her Uncle Mike’s cooking.
Ms. Drake batted her eyelashes in Clark’s direction and purred, “With
your help.”
Oh, please. Clark was so going to see right through this woman’s come-on.
“Sure, of course,” he replied, his shoulders tilting back slightly as his spine straightened.
You’ve got to be kidding me, Clark. Lois thought sarcastically.
Her?“I should warn you, it’s not going to be easy. This whole thing happening on the Southside isn’t just about gang turf,” Ms. Drake informed Clark, and only Clark, apparently. “There’s big money and big players in the shadows. I think Baby Rage knows a lot and I might just find out how much…”
“Yeah, he seems to be a fountain of epithets,” Lois mumbled.
Clark actually glanced at her with a ‘hush’ expression.
“If I can make a strong enough case to strap his butt to a broiler and turn the heat up,” Ms. Drake continued.
“Lovely imagery,” Lois murmured under her breath.
Clark looked at her again, before responding to that other woman, “Whatever I saw, I’ll tell it in court, Ms. Drake.”
“Mayson,” the blonde lawyer corrected him, handing him her business card. She held Clark’s hand a moment longer than necessary while doing so as well, Lois noted. “Call my office in the morning so we can arrange a deposition. And if you need to reach me in off hours, my home phone’s on the back.”
Lois rolled her eyes. “Subtle.” She grabbed Clark’s arm and practically dragged him out of the police station. “We’ll be in touch, Ms. Snake. Bye, Uncle Mike!”
“Lois!” Clark gasped, once they were outside. “That was rude. You know darn well that her name is Mayson
Drake.”
My description fit better. “Oh, was it? My mistake,” Lois said. “Come on, Clark. That woman was throwing herself at you. Highly unprofessional, if you ask me. We should check and make sure she doesn’t have complaints against her. If Baby Rage gets out on a technicality, it’s my uncle’s restaurant which will pay the price.”
“You’re being ridiculous, Lois,” Clark replied. “Mayson hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“You’re defending her? Of course,
you’re defending her. Think about it, Clark. Why would you need to reach her at home?” Lois asked.
“What if someone from Baby Rage’s gang threatens me?” Clark replied.
“I’m sure Mayson would be more than happy to put you up at her place,” Lois snidely returned. “You’d be better off yelling ‘help Superman!’ At least, his response time is within seconds, instead of within hours. Or better yet, call me. I know karate, and I owe you a sleepover after Griffin scared… er… threatened me last week. There’s no reason you would ever need to call that woman outside of business hours.”
Clark smiled, slipping the business card into his pants pocket. “No?”
Good God! Lois was putting ideas into her partner’s head. “No. Now, let’s go investigate who’s causing this slowdown on the Southside.”
*
Clark couldn’t help the extra skip in his step.
Lois was jealous.
Completely, totally, and irrationally, jealous of Mayson Drake. He was sure Mayson was just being polite so that Clark would testify. Although, he had to admit the lawyer had rubbed Lois raw by intentionally implying that Lois wasn’t important enough to address, but still…
Lois was jealous.
Perhaps that meant something. Had Lois finally noticed that her partner was a man? A man other women found attractive? A man worth knowing outside of work? A man who could come to her in his hour of need?
His brow furrowed as he frowned. Was that what she thought of him? That he couldn’t take care of himself? He could.
Clark was Superman. Of course, Lois didn’t know that.
Outside of that time when Arianna Carlin had shot Superman with a Kryptonite bullet, he couldn’t picture a scenario in which he would ever need to go to her in his hour of need, as she had done with him when Griffin had threatened her.
His footsteps slowed.
Perhaps he had misread Lois’s reaction to their whole conversation with Mayson Drake. Maybe Lois was merely irked because Mayson was paying attention to him, instead of her. Lois did hate to be ignored.
Possibly what Clark had interpreted as jealousy was just Lois being ticked off that she had shown weakness to him when she had come to his apartment seeking assistance last week, and she was worried that Clark would hold that over her someday. Not that he would, but Lois tended to think the worst of people. Lois could also be worried that she could lose her one chance to reciprocate and put their relationship back on more even footing, because he might call Mayson Drake instead of Lois should trouble with Baby Rage’s gang occur.
He might have teased Lois that morning of being jealous, but only to push her buttons. He doubted that she was jealous of any of those women. She had to know that Clark loved her and only her. It wasn’t as if she had ever shown any interest in him anyway.
Clark had opened his heart to her the previous spring and she had declined, and not very kindly, he might add. He should know better than to hope for more than friendship to develop between them. She had already mentioned that she wasn’t interested in him. His lips pressed into a line. Well, the average Joe side of him. The Super side of him would be accepted in seconds flat.
Maybe Clark should hang up this crush he had on his partner. She
had told him, after all, that he was ‘always repeating himself’ and that he should ‘try something new’. Was that what she meant? Stop following her around like some lovesick puppy?
Unfortunately, love wasn’t something he could turn on and off. He had been in love with Lois from the first moment that she had stormed into his interview with Perry. He had never felt the way he did with her before with anyone else. He couldn’t imagine ever feeling this way again with someone new. Any relationship he might develop with another woman would always pale in comparison to how he felt with Lois.
Lois was the one.
Sadly, she didn’t realize Clark was her ‘one’, too.
***
Unfortunately, due to a meeting with her shadowy police source late the night before, Lois had been too preoccupied with this story to enter into a discussion with Clark about how important her partner was to her. The postponement of one night was all Lois would allow though, especially after Superman stopped by the Daily Planet to inform her that Intergang had specifically targeted her. She knew that Superman was watching her back and her uncle’s. She was worried that if some other rescue distracted him and one of those paintball missile thingies shot her before she could tell Clark about her true feelings for him, she would just die.
Alright, that was a statement of fact, but not at all what Lois meant. She meant that she couldn’t let one more day pass where she might be hurt, without telling Clark that she loved him. It was now or never.
Lois stepped up to Clark’s front door, only to notice movement inside. She looked through the mesh on the door to see Mayson Drake, that hussy of a District Attorney and agent for Intergang, lean over and kiss Clark!
Her Clark!
On the lips!
Did Clark step away? No! He even closed his eyes.
How… How… How… ? The big lug. He was supposed to fall for
her!
Mayson turned with a big grin on her lips, a grin that was rightfully Lois’s, but Lois scurried around the corner so that Mayson and Clark wouldn’t spot her. She didn’t want Clark to know that she had discovered his little secret… his weakness.
After that… that… slut left Clark’s apartment, Lois knocked on his door and crossed her arms.
“Lois!” Clark said with surprise upon opening his door.
She bet he had been hoping for some more kissy-face with that… that… lawyer.
“I… um… dug a little deeper,” she said, rocking on her heels. She had worked late because Superman had told her Intergang had targeted her. “And I found something else out about Church.”
“Well, come on in,” Clark said, taking a step back from the door.
Lois noticed that his hair was a little ruffled and she wondered if that kiss she had witnessed was the first kiss he had shared with Church’s blonde tart or merely the latest. This thought tore at her heart.
“I can’t stay, but… ah…” she said, entering his apartment. A place that had once been her sanctuary, where she turned to when in need, now made her ill at ease and she wished to spend as little time there as possible. “You should look at this.” She pulled a photograph out of her briefcase and handed it to Clark. “Mayson Drake used to work under Snell for Church’s Acquisitions.”
“What?” Clark gasped.
She had him just where she wanted him, feeling as horrible as she did. “Why are you upset?”
“I’m… just… surprised,” he sputtered slowly, as if carefully choosing his words.
Surprised. Lois nodded, her lips pursed in disbelief. Yeah. Right. She bet he was surprised to find out his newest squeeze wanted his partner dead. She ought to tell him that the feeling was mutual.
Her beeper saved Clark from further amazement; although, Lois had already decided that
this wasn’t the proper time to pour her heart out to that shallow sap, who only liked women with skin-deep beauty. Lois would only come off as whiney and needy if she offered Clark her heart after seeing him kiss another woman, and she knew what his response would be. Lois glanced down at her beeper. “Oh, no! It’s Uncle Mike. He’s in trouble.” She looked up at Clark, her panic rising. “Give me your phone!”
“You better get down to the street and hail a cab,” he suggested. “Right away. I’ll… I’ll…” He went down his steps and into his living room.
“Right! Time is of the essence. I’ll call from my mobile,” Lois said, and ran out the open front door.
It wasn’t until she was stepping into the cab and giving the driver the address of Café Americana that she realized that Clark had never said
what he would do. Call his new girlfriend with her luck.
Lois dialed 9-1-1. Gee, Mayson Drake to the rescue. Lois would be sure not to hold her breath on that one.
***
After leaving her uncle’s café, Lois did something she usually didn’t do. She stopped by a bar for a drink, and not just a glass of wine. A real drink. A drink of hard alcohol. She only had one, because she knew how alcohol could ruin someone’s life. She didn’t do it to calm her nerves. She did it to have something in her hand as she thought, and the Fudge Castle was already closed for the night.
Lois thought long and hard about Clark, and what she knew about him. Every time she thought he was superior example of man, he would do something stupid like kiss Mayson Drake and prove her wrong.
She hated being proved wrong.
Lois could also imagine what her life would be like if she continued to allow her partner to make lunkheaded mistakes. It would be a miserable life pining away after a man who never saw her as he ought. Her one drink could turn to two and then to many more as she slowly morphed into her mother, regretting not standing up for herself and what she knew to be right. Lois couldn’t let that happen.
She needed to find a way to enlighten Clark on the stupidity of his ways.
Her lips curled into a grim grin.
There was one way that would surely get Clark’s attention. It would have to be a last resort, though; after she had exhausted all other avenues.
Lois sighed, and it would have to be soon. If she allowed Clark to continue with his flirtation with Mayson Drake, all could be lost.
She downed her drink and headed home. She would visit the new Cost Mart store on her way into work the next morning, before she lost her nerve.
***
Clark followed Lois into the conference room.
“Clark, she’s dirty!” Lois insisted.
“Show me the proof,” he said, leaning towards her over the table.
“You don’t have any proof on Snell and you’re willing to go after
him,” Lois retorted instead of showing him any proof.
“That’s different, Lois. I told you I have…”
witnessed the snake send a paint bullet after you. “… a… a source,” he said weakly instead.
“I’ll tell you what’s different,” Lois said, pointing at him. “When Snell bats his eyes, you don’t get quite so giddy.”
Giddy? His heart lifted. “Are you jealous?” he asked hopefully.
“What?” she said, protesting too much in his honest opinion. “I’m not jealous. We’re friends, and we’re partners, whatever you do in your own time…” She held up a hand as a sour expression crossed her face.
Whatever he did? He raised his brows. Mayson was a
what, in Lois’s opinion. He was becoming more insulted by the moment. “Yeah?” he probed.
“What
ever you do,” Lois finished. “I don’t care, except when it affects our job.”
What did she think he had been doing with Mayson? Playing strip checkers? He pushed that retort out of this argument. His sex life, or the lack thereof, was not the issue here.
“How is it affecting our job when I say ‘I disagree’?” Clark asked, knowing the answer already. Lois hated it when he didn’t agree with her. “Say that you have no proof that Church is the head of Intergang, and therefore, no proof that just because Mayson had worked for him that she’s part of Intergang. We’ve got to stay on track.”
Cold hard facts, Lois. With Bill Church being one of Perry’s oldest and dearest friends, their boss wouldn’t accept anything less.
“But you’re not saying ‘stay on track’,” Lois disagreed, despite him having just said those very words. She moved around the conference table to jab him in the chest. “You’re saying ‘stay away from my girlfriend’.”
Whoa! He knew that Lois was good, but how had she found out about Mayson’s date request? How long had she been outside his apartment the night before?
“She is
not my girlfriend,” he replied, trying to calm his tone so that he could penetrate her anger.
“
Whatever she is, she’s got you finger-wrapped and blindfolded!” Lois insisted.
He could sense her jealousy with every word, but what he couldn’t do was understand it. Hadn’t it been
her idea that he move on? Hadn’t Lois wanted him to try something new?
“You know, if anybody’s blind here, it’s you!” Clark snapped and marched out of the conference room before he said something he would regret.
Lois was the most stubborn person he knew. If she wasn’t so blind, she would see that he could never love, never seriously date
anyone other than her. He was doing what
she told him to do and
still she wasn’t happy. He liked that Lois kept him on his toes, but this was ridiculous.
There was a message for him on his desk from Bobby Bigmouth. He turned back to the conference room to tell Lois, but decided that he should take this one on his own. Grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair, he headed to the elevator and to lunch. He couldn’t afford, literally, to have Lois anger their best source by stealing his payment.
***
Bobby inhaled another deep breath over the container of manicotti Clark had picked up at that little restaurant he liked to visit on Italy’s Adriatic coast and moaned with desire.
“Kent, I swear one of these days I’m going to figure out the name of your secret restaurant and where’s it’s hidden.” Clark’s source eyed him, hoping for a hint. “This food is better…” He lowered his voice. “Than my mama’s. You’ve
gotta tell me.”
“Where would the challenge be in that, Bobby? I would never ruin your fun,” he answered with a smile. He aimed to please. “You said you had some information for me.”
Bobby opened the to-go container and took a large bite. Between chews, he said, “You’ve got to stop dating that ADA Drake woman.”
The color faded from Clark’s cheeks. He didn’t know what surprised him more: that Bobby had learned about his one kiss with Mayson Drake, which had happened only the night before, or that Lois been right about her. The lawyer had seemed so sincere about wanting to do a good job and put Baby Rage away.
“You’ve got proof linking her to Intergang?” Clark asked, his heart sinking. He hated being wrong about people, especially people he liked… as friends and
friends only.
“God, no!” Bobby gasped. “Nah. She’s clean, even if she has bad taste…” He shoveled another bite into his mouth.
Clark wondered why Bobby was insulting him.
“…in employers,” Bobby finished. “Anyway, proof is
your business. I work in hunches and rumors.”
“Then why shouldn’t I date Mayson Drake?” Clark asked, crossing his arms and leaning back to appear at ease. If it wasn’t Intergang… He sat up. Was Bobby about to tell Clark that Lois was secretly in love with him? The ease was gone as Clark leaned forward with his full attention, not wanting to miss one single syllable. “Spell it out for me, Bobby.”
“Baby Rage bombed Mike Lane’s Café Americana on the Southside, right?”
Clark nodded.
“A shame, too. Have you tasted his chocolate raspberry torte?” Bobby asked, kissing his fingers and blowing them into the air. “Sheer heaven.”
“I agree.”
“Anyway, you’re the star witness Mayson Drake has against Baby Rage for the bombing, right?”
Clark nodded again.
“She could be disbarred for trying to influence the testimony of a witness if it comes out that you two have become involved, especially during the trial. If not disbarred, then her professional reputation would be in tatters. If you like Mayson…” Bobby pointed his fork at Clark. “And even more so, since you’re in love with Lois, keep your lips away from Mayson Drake’s. The case could be thrown out on the technicality that the DA was dating her star witness, alone. Lois would never forgive you if you did that to her uncle. Even though I’ve got to say, you couldn’t have picked someone who would rub Lois more raw: blonde
and a lawyer!” He chuckled.
Clark’s jaw dropped open. Once again, Bobby had surprised him. Not only had his advice been sound, he had somehow knew that Clark was in love with Lois. “How do… I don’t… how…?” he stammered.
“Oh, please. Does Perry White listen to Elvis Presley? Does Lois Lane have a chocolate addiction? Does Superman leap tall buildings with a single bound? You being in love with Lois is a no-brainer, Kent,” Bobby said, stuffing another bite into his mouth. He swirled his fork around in the air while he chewed to indicate that he wasn’t finished speaking. “The only people who don’t know about it are Mayson Drake and Lois, herself.” He picked up his Pellegrino and took a long swig. “One last thing…”
“Uh-huh,” Clark asked, leaning forward. He was on the edge of his seat.
“Didn’t this meal come with dessert?”
***End of Part 2*** Comments
