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Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Clark TOC can be found Here

Where we left off last week in Part 138 , Clark was busy checking his phone messages after a week of traveling in search of nuclear bombs…

Clark smiled, happy to hear good news for a change. Cat and Phil got together while he was out of town and he missed it. Another casualty of being Superman was missing out on the important things happening in his friends’ lives. Although part of him was relieved that he hadn’t needed to get involved.

“Clark, Lois here. I’m pretty sure now that you’re not checking your messages, but I hope you are. I know that you’re busy, but we need to talk. Something is happening in one of my investigations that I need your input on, urgently. Well, not ASAP urgently, or Superman urgently, but like soon… really soon urgently. Don’t leave any messages for me about this message. Oh, I shouldn’t have even left this message, because you’ll just get freaked out and worry. Never mind. There’s nothing you can do anyway. I just need a friendly, non-judgmental ear to listen to me and off whom I can bounce ideas.”

He wondered if this had to do with her investigation with Dr. Daitch and the EPRAD computer virus, which sent him on a wild goose chase called Nightfall Major. He hoped not. Lois knew she wasn’t supposed to leave Metropolis, let alone the country. During Wednesday evening’s phone call, Lois once more hadn’t said a word about the message. Of course, if it was about EPRAD and the Nightfall virus, he already knew she was paranoid enough about it. It was so huge; she hadn’t even discussed it with Clark or Perry personally. Although, now that he had thought about it, she had asked when he would be back to Metropolis several times during that conversation. Silly him, he had only thought she missed him, not that she needed her partner.

“Clark?” Lois’s voice said as the next message started. “Drat! You still aren’t back from your trip. Oh, right, Perry said something about California. Look, if you need a place to stay while you’re in L.A., I’m sure Lucy would be happy to let you sleep on her couch, if only to save the Planet a few dollars during the latest round of expense cutbacks. Ask Superman, he knows the address. If you do this, have her give me a call. I need to talk to her.” The machine beeped and announced that the message had been from Thursday afternoon.

During their Thursday evening phone conversation, he had mentioned that Superman was off to Los Angeles in the morning, yet she had never offered Lucy’s phone number then. Not that she technically needed to, being that he was the one who had set up Lucy and Jimmy’s surprise double date for the Kerth Awards last October, he already had it. Perhaps Lois had thought he would either be home by Friday night or already had a place to stay chosen.

“Clark? If you get this message before too late, I’m just reminding you that you promised to take me out for calamari as soon as you returned to town, and I just hoped that could be tomorrow... well, yesterday, actually, but tomorrow will have to do.” It sounded as if she had signed off, but his machine didn’t signal the end of the message, just blank air. He could faintly hear her heartbeat and her breath still on the line. “Come home, please,” she whispered so softly it was almost as if she hadn’t spoken.

Beep! Beep! Beep! That message had come in shortly before he had returned home the night before, but he had been too bone tired to help with any rescues, let alone discuss his private life in detail with Lois.

Clark winced. He had promised her that he would talk to her this week, although he never said it would be over a squid dinner. He debated between spinning into his uniform and flying right over to Lois’s apartment or calling her. The telephone won out.

“Hello?” Lois said into his ear. It was the most beautiful word he had ever heard.

***

Part 139

Lois hurried out of her bathroom and over to the living room phone as she tied shut her towel around her torso. She had needed another shower to wash off the…well, muck, which was last night’s date with Lex.

She couldn’t believe that she had changed her clothes what felt like seven times the night before in preparation for their disaster of a date. Lex had asked to spend the weekend with her, which she had negotiated down to dinner Friday night. What did one wear for ‘a date with one’s stalker’ one was investigating? She wanted to wear something that looked nice, but didn’t say ‘come hither’. Unfortunately, the Man of Steel was busy.

The romantic bent of Lex’s overtures at dinner on Tuesday night, in addition to the two dozen red roses – really, Lex had no memory or tact – he had sent to her on Wednesday, and the two bouquets of orange roses sent to her on Friday (one had been delivered to her apartment prior to their date), had Lois flying into a tizzy. She had been to the point of scrapping this whole investigation prior to his arrival the night before. Yet, how did one break up with a hard-of-hearing megalomaniac, who had a huge crush on her? Was it even possible without Superman’s assistance? Either Lex had to go to jail or she would have to go into hiding, she really couldn’t see a third option.

Did Lex know that some people thought orange roses meant passion or desire? He probably did and, being that she was the great Lois Lane, apparently he had thought she had known that as well. Now, Lex was under the misguided impression that she wanted to make their friendship, acquaintanceship, into more. Heaven forbid! The last thing she wanted to do was get closer to Lex, unless it meant at the end of the day that she would have access to his Kryptonite vault. And she meant literally by the end of the day. Lois had thought she had dissuaded him from pursuing her, but his ‘Love, Lex’ notes indicated he was still as obtuse as ever.

When Lex had walked her down to her car in the parking garage after dinner Tuesday night – she had decided that there was no way she would go to Lex Towers in his limo – he had pulled her to his chest and brushed her cheek with his lips. Lex had often, nauseatingly often, kissed her cheek, but this was the first time since they had dated the previous summer that he had done so with full body contact. She had felt the need to scrub off his filth afterwards, which she had done at the Daily Planet showers before returning to her apartment. Better to scrub herself clean in the empty semi-public locker rooms showers at work than shower in full view of Lex’s cameras at home.

“Spend Saturday with me,” Lex had murmured in her ear. It might have been considered romantic or even seductive if another man had said those words to her instead, but sadly he had not.

“I… I…” Lois had sputtered. She had hoped to convince Clark to spend this weekend in Smallville with her, but Superman was out of Metropolis for the foreseeable future. Damn Nazis. “Shouldn’t you be resting? The doctor said no physical activity, remember?”

She couldn’t believe Lex was being so forward. She, herself, had been well drugged during her first several weeks after Lex had shot her, so maybe it was the drugs talking and not Lex.

“Don’t you want to spend the weekend with me?” he had murmured. That was when Lex’s lips had brushed her neck, and she had stepped back in shock.

“Lex!” Lois had exclaimed. The last thing she wanted was to spend an hour, let alone a full day with Lex, and certainly not with his lips on her skin. How had he transitioned this date offer into a weekend?

“No?” he had asked, his eyes held on hers turning slowly from hurt to something colder, something dangerous.

“All weekend?” Lois had said, hoping he would think that was where her hesitation lay.

“Separate rooms, I promise.”

Lois had had her fill of promises from anyone by that point. Her trust-radar was sending up so many flags, telling her that she couldn’t trust Lex to keep his word, that all she could see was red.

“I have to…” she had started to use work as her fallback excuse and then she recalled Lex’s research into her employer. Would he retaliate against the Daily Planet if it came between him and what he wanted… her? Did Lex want her that badly? She couldn’t put the Daily Planet out as bait for the man just to find out. She would have to do what she had done with Clark, put distance between her and the Daily Planet. Instead of talking about how busy she was at work, she looked away, and made her answer more personal. “I’m not ready…”

Luckily, Lex fell for it. Brushing his hand through her hair in a manner she only allowed Superman, which caused her automatically to back up again to get out of his reach, she heard him say, “Just the day, then,” he said. “Should you change your mind…”

“I won’t,” she had said.

He had looking at her with suspicion. “So sure of yourself, are you? Or is it that you are so sure of your feelings towards me?”

Lois had turned to unlock her car at that moment, so he couldn’t read any telltale truth on her face. “I’m flattered, Lex, truly I am, but I don’t like to get too close to anyone. I’ve… I’ve been hurt too many times before,” she had explained truthfully.

“I’m not other men,” Lex had said, this time brushing his body up against her backside to whisper in her ear.

She had stiffened. “Rich or poor, Lex, men only want one thing from women: to use us and throw us away. I’ve seen my father do that countless times, and I, myself, have been burnt by… other men I’ve dated.” Claude and Paul to name names. “I’m sorry, Lex, but I can’t give you anything more than… friendship,” she had said, holding out the box, which now held the LoLex watch. “No number of gifts will change that. I enjoy spending time with you and speaking with you, and you’re cool under pressure…” Not. “— which is very impressive, but I refuse to be anybody’s plaything.” Again, this had been the truth. “I deserve better than that.”

Lois had then held her breath. It was a risky move, telling Lex the truth, flat out to his face. Either Lex would back down and agree to be just friends, acquaintances really, or she would have to lay him out flat on the cement parking garage floor with the move her sensei called the Lane Pickle Dicer. She wasn’t quite sure why he had named it that, but that was what the instructors called the move when it was taught in her dojo’s advanced personal defense class.

Lex had stepped back. “My apologies, Lois, I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position.”

She bet.

“Keep the LoLex watch, my dear, as a token of my affection, and please know that I have the highest respect for you,” Lex had continued, doing one of the best jobs of backpedaling she had seen in many a year. “I would still like for you to join me for dinner. How about just Friday night, then? I have something special I would like to give to you, something that will demonstrate how exactly I’m different from all other men whom you’ve dated. Nigel will pick you up at seven thirty.”

“You don’t need to give me anything, Lex,” Lois had said, turning to face him as he was thankfully now several feet away from her. “I told you, I’m not interested in gifts. You could be broke and I’d want to spend time with you for the exact same reason I do now.” To steal your Kryptonite.

“So, that’s a ‘yes’ you’ll come?”

Lois had pressed her lips together in thought. “Just dinner?” she asked warily.

Lex had given her his most charming smile. “Just dinner, and to show you my good will, Lois, I’ll even take you out to a restaurant, my favorite restaurant in fact,” he coaxed.

She had hesitated. There was something extra in his smile she didn’t trust. “Okay, but just dinner.”

Then Friday night had come along and Clark, the schmuck, was still searching for nuclear bombs like the good Boy Scout that he was. She had tried to leave him messages and give him hints that they needed to speak, hopefully before her dinner date on Friday, but it had been to no avail. It didn’t matter what planet men came from, subtlety was completely lost on them.

Last night, she had chosen a black dress similar to the one she had worn the night of the unattended opera, only with a longer skirt and buttons up to the neck. She couldn’t believe it had only happened just the previous weekend. Nigel might have driven the limousine the night before, but it had been Lex – a red rose in hand – who had knocked on her door.

“You look beautiful,” he had stated with full charm, holding out the flower.

“Thank you, Lex,” she replied and looked pointedly at the rose in his hand.

“This is but a token of my regard, my dear. There are not enough roses in the world to…”

She needed to stop this disaster before it went on any further and held up her hand to prevent him from continuing. “I know traditionally that red roses represent love or admiration,” Lois interrupted. “But you know that they don’t hold that connotation for me, Lex. While I cherish the sentiment I’m sure that you mean behind the flowers, I would appreciate it if we no longer exchanged roses of any sort between us.”

“Oh,” Lex said, glancing down at the flower. “Instead of associating the red rose with the Metro Club and what Toni Taylor did to you, perhaps you could connect it with my rescuing you from a fate worse than death.”

Great. Lex wanted her to associate red roses with a man protecting her from doing her job and taking care of herself, instead of his buying her as if she were a prostitute. Nope, it didn’t matter what Lex said, a negative connotation was now stuck for life. “That’s not going to happen, Lex. You need to respect my wishes in this regard or I cannot consider our relationship on equal footing, and therefore, will end this evening now.”

“Equal footing?” he echoed.

“Of course,” Lois returned. “Are you saying that one of us should have more power in our friendship than the other?”

He considered this for the briefest of moments. “Lois, I constantly seem to be apologizing for unintentional slights against you that I truly don’t mean. I only wish to give you pleasure and make you happy, and if the sight of red roses doesn’t do that or does the opposite, I shall refrain from using them,” he said, walking through her living room and over to her kitchen trashcan. He tossed the rose inside. “Shall we go?”

Lois nodded, picking up her cloak and purse. On her wrist, she wore the LoLex watch.

Earlier she had left a subtle message on Cat’s home answering machine. At least, she knew Cat would understand the message: Lex is picking me up in his limo tonight and taking me out to dinner to his favorite restaurant. Please do me the favor of not plastering our photos across your column, and I may tell you about it… off the record.

“I’m afraid that you misunderstood the sentiment behind my ‘get well’ roses, as well,” Lois said as they walked down the hall to the elevator. “I was told since that some people believe that orange roses represent passion or desire. I can honestly say that I chose the flowers for their beauty. I did not wish to convey some message, other than the obvious that I hoped you were feeling better. I don’t want you to think I have some hidden agenda behind giving them to you or that I was pressing our relationship into new territory, because I wasn’t.” She wasn’t sure how much emphasis she needed apply to her words to get them through his thick skull but, since he was male, hammering him with the fact that she wanted to remain friends, apparently, wouldn’t be enough. Would a billboard across the street from Lex Tower do the trick, she wondered.

Lex smiled again. “I had not heard of that meaning, Lois, and I can guarantee you I never jumped to any such conclusion.” His words sounded sincere, which only made Lois believe they were all lies.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she responded.

Nigel drove Lex and her through the rain to the Lex Tower. How did she know Lex was going to break their bargain straight away?

“I thought we were going out for dinner, Lex,” Lois said as soon as the car pulled into Lex’s private parking garage.

“We are, darling,” Lex responded vaguely. “Trust me.”

Uh… no thanks.

“Just a last minute change of plans,” he had continued after her skeptical expression.

“What does that mean?” Lois asked.

“Shhhh,” he whispered, setting a finger to Lois’s lips. “It’s a surprise.”

Lois hated surprises, especially from creepy rich men who copied her apartment in their underground bunkers.

Lex took Lois to the floor above his penthouse, which appeared to be closed to the public and was only used for maintenance, and from there he led her up the steps to the roof exit. Had he set up some romantic dinner on the roof of Lex Tower? Did ‘out’ mean ‘outside’? With the early April rain shower pouring down on Metropolis, Lois doubted that she would consider eating outside in such conditions romantic, let alone enjoyable. She tried to plaster a hopeful smile on her face.

“I apologize for the weather,” Lex said as Nigel waited outside the door with an open umbrella. “We’ll be out of it soon enough. Bend forward to reduce wind resistance.”

The wind had been much stronger on the roof of the building, and when she reached the top of the stairs, she realized it wasn’t just the height of Lex Tower and the storm. A yellow helicopter with slowly spinning blades awaited them. Lois hadn’t signed up for a helicopter ride. She instantly turned back and collided with Lex’s chest. “I can’t…” she stammered. Clark was out of the city. If Lex flew her out of town as well, she doubted even Superman could trace her watch’s signal.

“It’s just a short flight. There’s nothing to worry about, Lois,” Lex insisted, wrapping his arms protectively around her. “This isn’t an electrical storm. No chance of lightning.”

Lois didn’t care. She wasn’t going to board that helicopter. Her life depended on it. She pushed out of his arms, grabbed the railing, and ran down the stairs back inside the building.

Lex found her leaning against a wall, trying to catch her breath. “I cannot believe that you’re afraid to fly in a helicopter, Lois. What’s really going on here?”

She looked over at Nigel and then glanced away. Lex got the hint and dismissed his employee. He then turned her eyes back to facing his.

“Do you remember that nightmare I had when I screamed out and Superman burst into my apartment?” She shook her head. “Of course you do. Well, I never told you what happened in that dream,” she murmured, hoping he bought the load of malarkey she was about to feed him. She took a couple of deep breaths. “It was pouring down rain, the sea wall had been breached, and Metropolis was flooding. You and I were trying to escape via helicopter as the ocean reclaimed downtown. It… we… we made it off the launch pad, but then the helicopter tilted and you fell… I reached out to try to grab your hand but…” She closed her eyes. It was close enough to her dream. She didn’t need to mention the purple octopus.

“You were worried about me? You were trying to save me?” Lex whispered, his voice almost sounded husky.

Lois nodded and opened her eyes. His face was still right there in front of hers. She saw in his eyes a smoldering desire. Oh, crap! He was about to kiss her. How had that happened? She slid out from between Lex and the wall and started to pace nervously.

“It was raining and dark, and it was a yellow helicopter,” Lois said, flinging her hand towards the door they had just passed through. “Normally, I’m not like this, but… I… I just… I can’t, Lex. I’m sorry.”

He took hold of her hand and brought it to his lips. “We’ll drive.”

Crisis averted. She sighed with relief and responded with a hesitant smile. “Thank you.”

Lex had explained to Nigel that they would be taking the limousine and the man had gone off to make the necessary arrangements, apologizing for the delay. Then she and Lex had returned to the parking garage.

There was something cold and creepy about Lex’s private parking garage, which she didn’t think had anything to do with the collection of expensive cars that Lex never drove. For a reason, that Lois didn’t quite understand, it always sent chills down her spine. It was why she insisted on driving herself whenever they had dinner at his penthouse. She didn’t know what it was, but she breathed another sigh of relief once they were in the limousine, as if a part of her feared Lex would take her down to his bunker and she would never see daylight or Clark again.

Looking back, Lois wasn’t quite sure why she suddenly got the heebie-jeebies from Lex that night. He had never acted in a manner unbecoming a good host. He always treated her with the upmost of outward respect, and yet… there had been that fraction-of-a-second expression in his eyes when she had told him that she hadn’t wanted to spend the weekend with him. She suspected that not many people stood up to Lex and demanded he treat them as his equal as she had. She even doubted that if her eyes hadn’t been opened to his true nature, if she would have risked confronting him. That thought made her stomach queasy and doubly thankful for Clark’s unbreakable love.

Lex was not only rich and powerful, but he had rebuilt Metropolis into the city it was. People liked Lex Luthor. She had liked him, too, before finding puzzle pieces, which didn’t quite fit. He had charmed Metropolis into thinking that without him their fair city would have gone the way of Gotham City, and maybe there was a grain of truth to that belief. That didn’t give Lex the right to do whatever he liked to any company or any person who got in his way. If she were going to bring him down, it would have to be in a slam-dunk case; he would need to be proven guilty way beyond a reasonable doubt.

They drove for what felt like a good hour due to Metropolis’ heavy Friday night traffic. Lois asked again about the restaurant, but Lex would only smile and say it was a surprise. Unfortunately, that meant that Top of the Towers must have been off the list. Maybe he had originally planned to take her there, but the rain made it necessary to change plans.

The car finally slowed and turned into a heavily guarded parking lot. She had never heard of a restaurant popular with the elite on the outskirts of town. The limousine stopped and Nigel opened the door. Thankfully, the rain had stopped.

Lois could hear violin music as she stepped out of the car and she turned to see from where it was coming. There, parked in front of the limousine was Lex’s private plane with its gangway staircase open.

Her jaw tightened. “Lex, what is this?” she asked as he joined her outside the car.

“This is my airplane,” Lex responded. “Fastest of the private planes out there.”

“Where are you planning on taking me?”

“It’s a surprise, my dear,” he said, taking her elbow and guiding her towards the plane.

Lois dug in her heels into the tarmac. “Lex! I can’t leave Metropolis,” she adamantly reminded him. “I have to finish my one hundred hours of community service before I’m allowed to freely travel again. It was part of my plea deal.”

“It’s only for dinner,” he coaxed.

“Lex, if I break my plea deal, I will be sent to prison.”

“I won’t tell anyone, if you don’t.”

Lois hated when people turned her arguments against her. She pulled her elbow out of his hand and crossed her arms. “We can eat in Metropolis.”

“My favorite restaurant is in Milano,” Lex said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

“Milan, Italy?” she gasped. How in the world was the D.A. not to find out if she had to pass through customs? Twice. It was as if Lex wanted her to tempt fate and lose. “Lex, it’s almost nine at night. Even if I agreed to this crazy plan, which I’m not, by the time we fly over the Atlantic and factor in time change…” She raised her hand to her head.

“So, we’ll eat lunch instead of dinner,” he whispered in her ear. “Maybe do a little shopping, my treat, and I’ll have you back to Metropolis before you have to go to work on Monday morning,” he countered.

Lois stepped out from under Lex’s arm and put her hands on her hips. “I can’t believe you thought I’d be okay with this.” She turned around and climbed back into the limousine.

Lex looked at her through the open doorway. “Lois, what are you doing?”

“I told you that I wasn’t ready to spend the weekend with you and this is how you show that you’ve listened to me? You schedule a flight not only to take me out of Metropolis, but out of the country, when I’m basically on parole, which could land me in jail. You plan a trip that will take an entire weekend to conclude. I don’t have a change of clothes. I don’t have my passport, or even my toothbrush. Is there even a place for me to…?” Her hand went up to her mouth with the realization that if there were a bed, he would expect them to share it. “Oh, God. Is that what kind of woman you think I am?” Did he really believe when a woman told him ‘no’ she really meant ‘yes’? Wasn’t that myth debunked in the 1980s?

“I don’t understand, Lois. At Christmas, you seemed excited by the idea of dinner in Italy,” Lex said. “I thought that you’d consider it spontaneous and romantic.”

In December, Lois had been excited about the prospect of doing some hands-on research on her partner’s Italian origins. That ship had sailed, and her desire to fly to Italy (without her personal translator, Clark) was much further down her list of things to do.

“Do you honestly think I would consider whisking me away without having a say in the decision as romantic? I haven’t arranged for the feeding of my fish. What if I had plans to meet friends on Sunday or an interview scheduled? You didn’t think of my needs or me at all when you planned this trip. And for your information, I hate spontaneity!” Additionally, it wasn’t very spur of the moment when he had asked her three days earlier. She now realized that he had meant for the helicopter to fly them out here to the airport, not within the city. How could she have been so blind?

“I’ve considered your needs,” he defended himself and his idiotic plan. “I have had a suitcase of clothes prepared for your disposal…”

Creepy.

“… should you wish to change your clothes.”

Creepier.

“I’ve never been required to show a passport whenever I’ve flown into a country for a meal, so I doubt that will be a problem. I also have a telephone on board, should you need to call and cancel or postpone any previous appointments.”

She grated her teeth as Lex obtrusively missed her point. Time for blunt force trauma. “Lex, I don’t find your flying love nest romantic.”

Lex’s jaw dropped. “Flying love nest? What are you talking about, Lois?”

“Where am I supposed to sleep on that thing, Lex? In my chair or in your bed? Or did you think I’d stay awake for two whole days?” she hissed, leaning towards him. “How romantic is that?”

He took hold of her hand. “Calm down, Lois.”

Calm down? Oh, this man is so going down. “I’m not so pretty without sleep, Lex, and I’ve never been able to sleep on a plane. I cannot imagine how you could have ever thought I would enjoy a meal after being confined to a plane, even if it is a private plane, for hours on end. Truthfully, I’ll be exhausted and irritable.”

“Neither of which I could ever believe as possible, Lois,” Lex charmingly retorted, as he climbed into the car and shut the door. “I’m sorry if you have the wrong idea about dinner tonight. I wanted to share with you some of the pleasures you’ll experience being with me and how I wasn’t like other men.”

Lex couldn’t be serious.

“I promise you that I had no plans to seduce you tonight. If you allow me to bring you onto the plane, I’ll show you that there is no bed,” he went on, but Lois held up her hand in refusal. “I wanted this to be the perfect night full of romance and surprises to show you how I’m not like any other man you’ve dated.” He reached over and picked up his champagne flute. “Firstly, the governor has the paperwork for your pardon sitting on his desk. It’s only a formality.” He paused to take a sip. “In a few short hours, it will be as if you were never arrested. Congratulations!”

He couldn’t be serious.

Lois stared at him with disbelief. “I wish you hadn’t done that,” she said frankly.

“No?” he said. “Do you believe that you deserved the sentence?”

“No,” she admitted. “But I agreed to the deal. I’m obligated to fulfill the terms of it.”

“I would like to show you the world, Lois, which would be difficult if you aren’t allowed to leave the city. It’s that simple.” He took another sip of his champagne.

Uh-huh.

“You shouldn’t have any obligations to anything other than me… us,” he said.

Say what? She could understand the words coming out of his mouth, but they weren’t making any sense.

Lex reached into his inside breast pocket of his dinner jacket and removed a small navy ring box. “Lois Lane, will you marry me?” He opened the ring box to show her a large diamond ring.

Lois’s jaw dropped.

Lex couldn’t be serious. He must have been drugged out of his mind on pain killers. It was April First. Could this possibly be a prank? It had to be; although, she never thought Lex had a sense of humor.

The undercover assignment she had given herself was to have Lex trust her, possibly brag to her about the Kryptonite and show it to her, but never propose marriage. He didn’t seem the marrying type. She certainly wasn’t.

“I… I don’t know what to say…” Yet, a bunch of options ran through her head: No. Never. Not in a million years. I only love men from other planets, not men without souls. Octopus! Help, Superman! She chose instead, “I hardly know you.” Her voice was soft and full of astonishment; all her previous fury had been knocked out of her with this shock.

“The only thing you need to know about me is that I love you,” Lex repeated.

No, that wasn’t the only thing she needed to know about Lex Luthor, and it certainly wasn’t the only she needed to know about any man who asked her to marry him. Even Clark Kent had a lot of explaining to do before she would even consider marrying him, and he was Superman. No wonder there were so many divorces in this country, if most women were that gullible regarding love.

“Is there something or someone else? Some other hesitation?” he asked.

A part of her felt she should speak up about her work, but then she realized it would only focus Lex’s attentions more firmly on the Daily Planet as an adversary. Anyway, she was a woman of the 90s. Marriage wouldn’t mean that she would have to give up her career; not that she was considering Lex’s offer, because she wasn’t.

Was that what he had meant when he said that he hadn’t wanted her to have other obligations other than him? Was that why Lex had been researching the Daily Planet? To buy it for her as some kind of absurd wedding or engagement gift?

How long has he been working on this impromptu proposal? Prior to or only since being held hostage together the week before? She wanted to push away this idea of Lex wanting to destroy all she held dear as wild speculation, but she knew in her heart Lex was behind the attacks on Clark and for the cameras in her apartment and her desk at work. This man had already proven to what level he would stoop to get what he wanted. Regrettably, proven without tangible proof.

“My only hesitations are that it’s too soon and that we hardly know each other, Lex,” Lois said. It wasn’t only for her investigation’s sake she wasn’t rejecting Lex outright. What would this crazy man do if she told him ‘no’? Would she disappear down a dark hole never to be seen again? “It seems to me that your only motivation to propose is to show that your intentions are honorable.” That in itself was a huge warning sign that he wasn’t honorable.

“Which they are,” Lex confirmed. “Anyway, my life is an open book. Read my unofficial biography, any of them, and you know the real me.” He presented her with a grin as if he was making fun of his celebrity status. “Shall I have Mrs. Cox send you over one?”

Lois pinched her lips together. “How about you just highlight some little known facts?”

He nodded, contemplating her suggestion before speaking, “I started with nothing. I was orphaned at the age thirteen. I’ll admit I’m no saint. I’ve done questionable things in the pursuit of my success, but unfortunately, that’s the nature of big business. Sometimes out of jealousy or frustration, I’ve overreacted. I’ve been ruthless with my enemies, but, with God as my witness, I swear to you, from this moment on, I’ll change. I no longer want to hurt anyone. I’m willing to devote my life to you, to commit myself to you, totally and eternally.”

“That may be,” she said, setting her hand on her chest. “But I’m hardly the type of woman who makes a spur-of-the-moment decision or runs off to Vegas to get married. Should I ever get married, it shall be to someone I can see loving for the rest of my life, and that decision takes time. Not to make a great story on Page Six.”

Lex raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure Perry would put our wedding on the front page,” he teased, probably to save face, but there was something too confident about his tone.

How did he know what Perry would put on the front page of the Daily Planet? Unless he… Oh, crap.

“It isn’t that simple,” Lois explained, trying to figure out what she could do to save the Daily Planet, Clark, and herself. “It’s a lot to consider, Lex.”

“There are only three possible choices: Yes. No. Maybe,” Lex said. “Say ‘yes’ tonight, and we can spend our engagement getting to know each other better.”

She set her hand on top of the ring box and closed it. “I can’t answer you tonight,” she said, letting go of the ring box still in Lex’s hand. “Give me time to consider it from all angles.”

“So, that’s a ‘maybe’?”

No, it’s a ‘Help, Superman!’ her mind screamed as her head nodded. She leaned back in her chair. “So, do you think you’ll be able to get us a table at Top of the Towers?” she asked. “I’m ravenous, and I certainly can’t wait for dinner in Italy.”

Lex smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Certainly. I happen to know the owner.”

Back in the present at Lois’s apartment, her telephone rang again, pulling her out of these thoughts. She wished she could lock them in her box marked ‘nightmares’, but sadly it really happened. She had hoped that Clark would have called her after her message last night. Calamari was Italian for octopus, wasn’t it? He would understand, wouldn’t he, that the ‘not urgency’ of her earlier message had been jacked up to DEFCON 1?

“Hello?” she said, tucking her towel more firmly around her chest.

“Hi, Lois. It’s Clark,” the most wonderful voice in the universe said in his usual upbeat tone.

Everything would be okay.

Clark was back in town.

Lois smiled with relief. “Can we meet? I need some of your unbiased advice.”

***End of Part 139***

Part 140

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