Part 9
Lois pulled the jeep out into traffic behind the white limo, ignoring the beeping taxi driver and the pointy wave he was giving her. At least she’d been able to pull out into traffic. She relaxed slightly as she flowed up the hill with the traffic. However, now that she was behind the two of them, her curiosity and emotions blocked her sense of reason. Did she actually have a sense of reason? She was a woman. Woman didn’t have to be reasonable; she huffed at the small voice that was busy nagging her again. In any case, she wasn’t going to let them out of her sight. She wasn’t sure why she cared, anyway.
Her mind worked hard as she stayed behind the long white monstrosity ahead of her. Almost knowing she’d lose her momentum if she looked at the whole situation reasonably, she ignored that dratted voice in her head that kept saying that Clark wasn’t like that. Oh yeah? Well, it sure looks like it! She gripped the steering wheel more tightly, turning quickly before a traffic light stopped her from following them.
Meanwhile, in the limo ahead of her, Cat was snuggling up to Clark, leaning her head on his shoulder and drawing circles on his leg.
“Okay, Cat. Let’s get something straight, right now,” Clark said, removing the brunette’s hand from his thigh. “I’m not sure what this weekend is about for you, but for me it’s business.”
“Sure, Clark,” Cat smiled sweetly, puckering her lips at him.
He rolled his eyes. He was in no mood for this. It had taken him forever to work up the courage to ask Lois out. Their first date. She’d finally said yes, finally decided to take a chance on dating him. It had almost been the beginning of the most wonderful thing that had ever happened, right up there with the day he found out he could fly.
He’d dreamed of their first date ever since he’d met her. He’d planned it out completely…he had been so excited. All day while he’d been rescuing people, he’d thought about Lois, about what they would talk about, where they would go, how she would feel. It was his intention to slowly let her know how much he loved her. He’d kept it to himself as much as he could over the past year or so. Now, though, perhaps it was time to show her a bit more how much he cared about her.
However, being assigned to spend the weekend with Cat, not just any co-worker, but one who was selfish enough to flaunt it in front of Lois…his Lois, a woman who was more terrified of dating, of being involved with a man, than anyone he’d ever met; was about the worst thing he could imagine happening. So much for their first date.
He wondered how Lois really felt about it all, under her anger. Would she listen to his message on her answering machine? Would she accept the situation when she found out Perry had assigned him to work with Cat for the weekend? He sighed. Maybe. Probably not. She’d eventually cool off. Whether she believed it was Perry’s fault was another thing altogether. Would Perry tell her? He hoped so.
Cat was purring in his ear, having made sure she was sitting as close as possible to him. He was about as put out as he’d ever been. “Good grief, Cat. Knock it off. We both know I’m not interested in you, and we both know that you’re not really interested in me. You’ve only got your mind on one thing.” He surprised himself that he’d actually said those words aloud. He’d never spoken to someone like that. Had he? It wasn’t like him to be rude. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
Cat looked as if her best friend had just slapped her face. Tears came to her eyes and she turned away from the man squashed into the small space beside her. She inched away, playing perfectly the part of the offended innocent woman.
Clark swallowed, gritting his teeth and turning to look anywhere but at her. He shouldn’t have said that. He’d really hurt her feelings, hadn't he. However, there was no way he was going to spend a whole weekend being pursued like a fox with a pack of hound dogs on his trail. This was a bad dream. It must be. Perhaps he’d wake up soon. Soon, before he missed his date with Lois.
Cat shook slightly. Clark could hear her heartbeat and knew she wasn’t really crying. A woman of many talents, indeed. As long as she hadn't really been offended, he might as well continue to be upfront with his feelings, only maybe he’d better not be so insensitive. He looked out the window remembering who he was. Superman wasn’t about to be bullied.
“Where exactly are we going?” he asked.
Much to his surprise, she turned to answer him, “We’re going to find out who Lex Luthor is seeing.”
Clark raised his eyebrows. “You’re kidding. All this,” he waved his hand around to emphasize the limo. “…to find out who Luthor is dating? Can’t you just call his secretary or his valet?”
“They’re not talking. We have to go incognito, a happy couple minding our own business.” She puckered another kiss in his direction. “We find out all about her. Where they met, how long they’ve been together, but most especially, who she is and what attracted him to her.”
Clark shook his head. “People actually want to know this?”
Cat widened her eyes. “Of course, Clark. I write a very high-class column. The elite read it all the time.”
Clark nodded, wondering why the elite had nothing better to think about than such things. He looked ahead at the small refrigerator, wine glasses and a chilling bottle of…was that champagne? There was no way he was going to encourage Cat to drink. She was dangerous enough without any help. Superman would have a hard time surviving this weekend unscathed. Too bad manners were so deeply entrenched in his personality.
He pictured Cat with a stop sign wrapped around her to protect himself from her clutches, and sighed again. He certainly hoped the sleeping arrangements would be appropriate.
He looked out the window. Where were the cries for help when he needed them?
