Chapter 8:
Lois stood off to the side, observing carefully as several people introduced themselves to him and expressed their gratitude for his preemptive actions. She bit her nail nervously as she examined him closer. Despite all her efforts to find something wrong with him, something why she shouldn't be able to trust him, nothing obvious came up. He was certainly a good looking man, that she knew from the beginning. But he seemed kind and genuine with everyone he spoke to. She wondered whether her sense of distrust was coming from the fact that she had met him previously and he hadn't told her who he was or whether it was simply because she hadn't figured it out earlier.
Exasperated, Lois finally decided to just confront the man and get it over with. She waited until the crowd around him had mostly dissipated and stalked right up to him without hesitation. He turned and smiled at her, extending his hand genially. "Miss Lane—"
Lois folded her arms across her chest and cast a withering glance at his outstretched hand. Awkwardly, he withdrew it, thrown off by her behavior. Everyone else seemed happy— ecstatic, even— to meet the man behind the name. Clark cleared his throat and attempted conversation once more. "I'm surprised by you. Your undercover work at the Metro Club was remarkable. I had no idea it was *the* Lois Lane I was talking to," he spoke warmly, and he couldn't help but glance down at her body before raising his eyes back up to meet hers. Lois suppressed her shiver. "And that piece on Johnny Taylor working with the Toasters— thank you for that."
Lois felt slightly put off by his words, unsure as to whether she should be offended by his wandering gaze or flattered that he read her piece. "Why thank you?"
He looked at her a bit quizzically. "Don't you know? I own the building for the Metro Club. The Taylors have always been in charge of running the place, but they pay me rent. Johnny has been trying to threaten me, get me out of his business. When you released your article? Couldn't have been any better timed."
Lois didn't know quite what to say. She hadn't known that tidbit of information, and it made her uneasy that she had been so clueless.
"Besides," Clark continued, an unreadable look in his eyes. "It's better off being run by Toni. She's always... had a much more level head on her shoulders than her brother."
They stood in a semi-awkward silence for a few moments. The newsroom buzz had returned to its usual low roar, and everyone had for the most part returned to their business. Lois shifted on her feet. "So. You're, what, some kind of millionaire, huh?"
Clark looked at his feet in false humility. "Yeah, something like that."
She frowned at him in confusion. "What do you mean, something like that? You just bought a major Metropolitan newspaper and you certainly don't seem any worse for the wear! You're one of the richest men in the country, you—"
"It's with a 'b,' Miss Lane," he corrected quickly before she could rant on any longer.
Lois looked abashed at that, all the wind taken from her sails. "Oh. Billionaire. Right." She visibly decompressed and seemed to shrink back for a moment, before something else struck her and she wound herself up again. "Hey! If you're so rich, then you owe me seven bucks for that drink, buster!"
Clark chuckled. "Don't worry. They didn't put it on your tab. I paid for it myself. Besides, I own the place, remember?"
She glared at him suspiciously. "I thought you just owned the building."
"And their liquor license."
She stared him down for a few moments more before finally turning away. "Well, you didn't have to lie to me about it all."
Something flashed in his eyes, something dark and dangerous that made Lois want to take two steps back. If she were anyone other than Mad Dog Lane, she might have even. But then it disappeared as he smirked. "I never lied to you."
"Lying by omission is still technically a lie," she pointed out stubbornly.
"Well, I wasn't about to bare all to some two-bit whore, you know?" he spat back.
Lois was slightly taken aback, but she bit down on her tongue to keep from lashing out at him. She knew how she had presented herself while undercover, she could hardly be offended. She spoke through tightly clenched teeth. "Was any of that even true?"
Ah. There it was. His face briefly looked as though she'd punched him in the gut. But as quickly as it had come, it passed again, and he steeled once more. With a polite upturn of the lips, he responded, "Of course it was true. I wouldn't lie about that."
Lois felt guilty now, remembering his admission about his parents, and she looked abashed to her toes. "Oh."
Clark shook his head with a condescending smile. "You know, if you're so worried about people lying to you, you might want to to look a little closer to home."
That got Lois' attention. She snapped her gaze up only to find him already walking away from her. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? What's that supposed to mean?" She started to storm after him but Perry caught her arm.
"Woah there! Hold your horses, Lois. I'm sure Mr. Kent hasn't done anything to warrant such an outburst, right?"
Lois glared at her boss for a moment before turning her gaze to follow the new owner of the Daily Planet. He stopped and smirked at her, hearing Perry White's reprimand, and turned on his heel to keep walking.
She made a snap decision and raised her voice loud enough to get his attention. "You know, Perry, just because he owns the Planet now doesn't mean I'm going to walk on eggshells around him. I'm going to keep doing my job the way I've always done it and I don't give a damn what Mr. Kent does or doesn't think!"
The newsroom quieted down at her outburst and Perry's mouth fell open in shock. "Lois!" he hissed. "You don't mean that!"
Sometimes Lois hated how nervous her boss was all the time. "I do too," she insisted petulantly.
"Miss Lane?"
Lois felt her heartbeat speed up at the sound of his voice calling her name. She turned back to face him as he casually leaned over the railing looking over the bullpen. She swallowed thickly but refused to back down, jutting out her chin stubbornly. "Yes?"
Suddenly, he grinned— this megawatt smile that made her knees almost weak. "I wouldn't expect anything less." And with that, Kent turned on his heel again and left.
Lois released a breath that she didn't know she was holding. Perry gave her a dubious glance that seemed to serve more as a warning than a reprimand. Ever since Jerry started serving his dime in prison he'd gone soft, concerned that his harshness had driven his son to his life of crime. Lois sighed. She loved him to death, and in many ways she thought of him as a surrogate father, but she did wish he would stand up for himself more.
Kent, though... he was interesting. She wasn't quite sure what to think about him yet. He had an edge to him— something a little more than just the usual I-need-my-morning-coffee kind of angry. It was something almost dangerous. And yet— he had a sense of humor. He seemed like a good enough person. And to top it off— he was achingly good-looking. That smile— oh— it did things to her. Made her think thoughts that a woman in a happily committed relationship should not be thinking. He was going to be trouble, she knew that already. She wasn't quite sure why or how she knew it, but she did.
Clark Kent making this sudden appearance into her life changed the whole ballgame. What did this mean about Lex's attempt to buy the Planet? What did it mean for her relationship with him? What about her work? Lois shivered. She felt as though they were just on the cusp of something— something big, something intangible. She didn't know what, or why— but it was her gut instinct, and Lois Lane always trusted her gut. Regardless of what trouble it brought her.
One thing was for sure, things were definitely about to change.
Last edited by Mouserocks; 05/28/18 03:21 AM.
