[Continued from Part 6a] The next couple of days went by very slowly for Lois. Almost everything went wrong from the moment they arrived in Paris. First, Lois had to set Lex straight when they reached the hotel. She was astonished to find that Lex had only reserved a single suite for the two of them. Just like any other man, Lex had presumed her acceptance of the getaway as an agreement to sleep with him. She hadn’t even agreed to marry him, let alone have sex with him. Within minutes, though, she was safely ensconced in her own suite after letting him have it. Lex was appropriately apologetic about the misunderstanding.
Secondly, after Lex picked her up from the room later that evening for dinner, he complimented her dress and then proceeded to compliment her hair. Even worse, Lex told her that he had personally chosen the disastrous hairdo perpetrated by Mr. Andre. That led to another fight. Lex had no right to control her, assuming she’d sleep with him just because she agreed to go on an overnight trip and then deciding what her hair would look like. The evening ended with canceled dinner plans and Lois crying in her room. This trip was not turning out the way she had hoped. There was no way she was going to agree to marry Lex if he was going to decide what she did and how she looked without ever asking her opinion.
The next day was somewhat better. Lex had apologized again and swore never to make those mistakes again. Assuaged for the moment, Lois went with Lex on what could have been a very romantic tour through Paris via a horse and carriage. But as her luck would have it, it started to rain, forcing an early end to the tour. Later that night was the gala for Lex’s friend, Rene DuBois. Surprising even herself, she failed to do much mingling with the elite of Europe. Though she stayed by Lex nearly the entire evening and chatted amiably when addressed, she was continually distracted as her thoughts strayed to her ex-partner.
Guilt was eating her up as she thought about how badly she had treated Clark. Her revelation on the jet made her think about their latest argument in a different light. She hadn’t actually given Clark the chance to speak so she didn’t know any more than she did the day before about what Clark thought about her. She had really intended to have a frank discussion the other day about how the two of them stood as friends. The second Clark had mentioned Lex, though, her defenses had immediately gone on high alert and any chance for a reasonable discussion had gone out the window. It didn’t help that Clark had run out on her, even if she understood his reason for leaving. He had left her feeling angry, frustrated and deeply saddened. They really needed to talk again after she returned from Paris. If Clark could somehow get over his jealousy of Lex maybe they stood a chance of being friends again, assuming he still wanted to be, since she would likely be married to Lex in the near future. She and Lex still had some things to work out involving his unreasonable need for control, but she was confident they could settle their differences. She really did enjoy being in his company, and it seemed Lex was all she had left. Even if she wasn’t as mad at Clark anymore, it was probably too late for them anyway. What man would still want to be her friend after the way she had treated him?
Lois still had to sort out her own feelings about Clark. Even though she never admitted it to him, she did care about Clark long before she knew he was the superhero. She didn’t know if it was love, but she wasn’t exactly an expert in matters of the heart. What she did know was that he was the most important person in her life up until the destruction of the Planet. It broke her heart to think he would no longer be a part of her life, but after the hurt they’d inflicted on each other, she wasn’t optimistic about their chances of renewing their friendship.
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Lois was broken out of her reverie by Lex, who touched her arm. “Lois, are you alright? You’ve seemed very distracted this entire evening.”
Still a bit disoriented, she took a moment to collect herself. “I’m okay, Lex. I’m just tired. It’s been a long day and I’m somewhat disappointed our tour was cut short today. Do you mind if I went back to our hotel to rest? We still have all day tomorrow to paint the town.”
Lex’s face showed a moment of irritation, but he hid it quickly before Lois could notice it. “Of course not, my sweet. I have to stay here for my friend, of course, but I’ll have the driver take you back.”
Just then, though, Lex’s cell phone started ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and said, “Just a minute, my darling. I need to take this call.” Lex retreated to a corner, talking to the telephone. The conversation became quite animated after a few moments as Lex appeared to grow angry. A minute into the conversation, he jabbed at the phone to terminate the call, his face looking grim. After thinking for a few seconds, he briskly walked back over to Lois. “Come on, we’re going back to Metropolis,” he told her in a voice that invited no discussion of the matter.
Rather stunned at the change in events, Lois merely nodded. She didn’t actually mind returning home. This trip had been very awkward all along, making her feel very uncomfortable. On top of that, the nagging, anxious feeling she’d had from the moment the jet had lifted off was urging her to return. So she took his arm and allowed Lex to lead her away.
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“Incompetents!” Lex shouted to Nigel and Mrs. Cox as he stood in the wine cellar just an hour after the jet had touched down in Metropolis. “How could you let this happen? You let him escape?” His two subordinates looked down, unable to meet his eyes. Finally, Nigel spoke up.
“We’re not exactly sure how he escaped or exactly when. When Mrs. Cox came down to check on him this afternoon, we found the cage empty but still locked. There was a key sitting on the barrel over there. Perhaps he used the key to escape. We also found his empty uniform still in the cage: boots, cape and all.”
Lex answered, looking deep in thought. “No, he probably didn’t use the key. I left it there as a way to taunt him. It doesn’t look like it was moved. Is it possible that he could be dead? Do these aliens leave bodies behind when they die?” There was no response to that query. Making a decision, he told Nigel, “Find me Clark Kent. Don’t contact him, but find out where he is. Call me the minute you find him.” With that, he turned and left the cellar. <Is the alien still alive?> thought Lex. <If he is, I have to make my move now before Kent can strike.> His direction changed as he made his way to his car and driver. He had to reach the LNN building as soon as possible.
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Lois rubbed her eyes tiredly as she skimmed her email. She was sitting in her office at LNN, unable to really concentrate on work. After arriving back in Metropolis the previous evening, she couldn’t sleep very well. Her dreams were filled with images of Clark and her making love, all the while Clark was morphing into Superman and then back into Clark. The dreams disturbed her. Were her dreams telling her she really did love Clark? She was now having second thoughts about accepting Lex’s proposal, though just last night she was leaning towards saying yes. Even if she did love Clark, it was best that she didn’t get involved with him. She still hadn’t quite forgiven him for his deceptions. Besides, her history with love told her that it was merely a recipe for heartbreak. She was better off without it. She should just marry Lex. Once she was married, she would have to put Clark out of her mind as a potential life partner. Besides, he probably didn’t want to have anything to do with her now after the way she had hurt him, though his last words, “This isn’t over yet, Lois,” probably meant he hadn’t written her off. She was so confused, and had no one to turn to for help. Normally, she turned to Clark to help her sort out her feelings. She couldn’t possibly do that now since he was the reason for her confusion. Besides, he was hardly unbiased.
When she arrived at LNN this morning, she tried to find Clark to have their talk about the state of their friendship. She was surprised to find out he hadn’t been in at all the previous day or today. Where had he gone? Did she drive him away? There were no reports of Superman activities for the last two days. She checked on that just to make sure. In fact, Superman hadn’t been heard from at all. <Maybe Clark’s mad at me for going to Paris with Lex. Or maybe he just doesn’t want to talk to me.> Then she remembered the anxious feelings she had had all during her trip to Paris. Adding to her confusion, she was now worried about him. But what could possibly happen to Superman? Thinking about Clark was making her head hurt and she’d been hearing a slight buzzing sound all morning. It was barely noticeable above the noise of the air conditioning, almost part of the background. It was starting to drive her crazy. <It’s probably all in my head.>
Just then, Lex came bursting through her door, surprising her. “Lois, my love. I know you haven’t given me an answer yet, but hear me out. I’ve been thinking about us all morning and I’ve decided I want to do something spontaneous with my life. As head of LexCorp, my life is planned out to the last detail. Just once, I’d like to do something wild. Come with me now to Las Vegas. Let’s get married and go on our honeymoon today! Right now! What do you say?”
“Next time, knock before you come in. Lex, I can’t just drop everything right now and leave. I have work to do.”
“Nonsense, Lois. I AM the boss. We do have one day left of our three day vacation. So even if it’s not spent in Paris, we could spend it together as husband and wife.”
“I haven’t even decided if I want to get married yet. I can’t just go. It’s too soon. If I did say yes, which I haven’t yet, I’d want a long engagement just to let us get to know each other a little better before we finally commit.”
Luthor practically pleaded with her. “Lois, I’m so in love with you. I want you to be my wife. I think I’ve been very patient waiting for your answer. Come away with me and we can honeymoon anywhere in the world you want.”
Lois didn’t know what to do. If she said no, would Lex dump her? Then she’d really be alone. Her thoughts immediately went to Clark. Did she love him? Did she want to love him? Did he still love her? Lex clearly loved her, but she knew she didn’t love him. Maybe that was best for her. Love was nothing but trouble. Steeling herself, she made her choice. “Yes, Lex. I will marry you.”
“Wonderful, Lois. Let’s go now. I have my jet waiting for us to go to Las Vegas right away. We don’t even have to pack. We’ll just buy what we need when we arrive, but I doubt we’ll need much in the way of clothing,” he said with a wolfish grin on his face.
Lois ignored that last comment. “Wait a minute. You were ready to go without talking to me about it first? I thought we’d agreed you wouldn’t be making decisions for me anymore?”
“I didn’t think you’d mind. If you had said no, I would have just told the pilot to stand down. But I was in a big hurry. I’ve been waiting so long for you to become my wife. I just couldn’t wait another minute.”
Attributing his faux pas to his eagerness, she was slightly mollified. Lois told him, “You go on back to your office. I’ll be there momentarily. I just need to wrap up a few things here before I go. Give me about fifteen minutes.”
Lex thought about that for a few seconds and decided that nothing could possibly go wrong in those fifteen minutes, so he readily agreed. “My office, fifteen minutes. And then it’s off we go! But before that…” He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing the large engagement ring he had shown her weeks ago. Taking Lois’ hand, he slipped the ring on her finger and gently kissed it. “Fifteen minutes,” he said and left.
Lois sat in her chair stunned as she watched Lex’s retreating back. She then stared down at the ring on her left hand. <What have I done? I’ve just agreed to marry Lex. Tonight we’ll be…I’m not ready!> she panicked. <Calm. Calm. This is all for the best. Once Lex and I are married, I won’t be tempted by Clark again. Who knows? Someday we could be friends again.> Lois put her head in both hands and rested her elbows on her desk. The headache was stronger than before. And that annoying buzzing noise was still there. What was that noise, anyway?
Frustrated, she decided to concentrate on locating where it was coming from. It seemed to be coming from above her in the ceiling. <At least I’m not imagining things,> she said to herself. <It sounds like it’s coming from over there…> her thoughts trailed off. The direction the noise was coming from was exactly where she had seen the workman remove the camera the other day. <Wait a minute. If the camera’s gone, what could be making that noise?> After a number of thoughts filtered through her head, she came to a horrid realization. She thought back to the conversation she’d had with Lex that day. Lois stood up and headed out the door. Stopping at the nearest empty conference room, she went inside and locked the door. She picked up the telephone hanging on the wall and dialed a familiar number. After two rings, the person on the other side picked up.
Lois spoke into the phone, “Inspector Henderson, please.”
...tbc
