Someone to Save You, ch. 5
Chapter Five
Oliver frowned as he examined his reflection. He hated getting dressed up for these charity things. Why did they always have to be black tie affairs? Oliver wondered as he adjusted his bow tie for the tenth time.
“Nervous, boss?” Victor asked.
Oliver turned on his heel to face his soon-to-be ex-employee. “Of course not. I go to these things all the time. Routine.”
“Yeah, but do you always try and infiltrate your nemesis’s office?”
“Point taken. Chloe here yet?”
“Not yet. Explain why you’re taking her again?”
“Because she looks a hell of a lot better on my arm than you do.”
“For which I am eternally grateful.” Victor paused, unsure about continuing. What he was thinking could very well get him fired. Or worse. He decided to go for it. “That the only reason? You two come to a truce when I wasn’t looking?”
“Truce? What is that supposed to mean?” Oliver asked, annoyed.
Victor scoffed. “You guys have been at each other’s throats for months, ever since we rescued Clark. It was getting annoying.”
Oliver scowled. “Chloe and I were never fighting. Just because we get into debates -"
“Debates? No, my friend, those were shouting matches. We’d have heard you even without the comm. I’m surprised half of Metropolis hasn’t heard you. What’s with the sudden about face?”
“You’re imagining things, Victor. Chloe and I are the same as we’ve always been.”
Victor shook his head. “I saw you two earlier. You looked…cozy together. Honestly, it was cute. I’m happy for you. Although Bart may not be.”
It suddenly hit Oliver. Victor thought he and Chloe were together. Romantically. Time to disabuse him of that notion. “Bart’s got nothing to worry about. Chloe and I are just friends. That’s all we’ll ever be. End of story.”
“You keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better. But I know what I saw.”
Oliver was about to retort when the elevator dinged. A dream stepped out of it. Oliver’s eyes flew wide and his jaw dropped as he took in the vision before him. Chloe looked radiant in a floor length gown of dark teal. The matching stilettos added a good three inches to her short stature. Her short golden hair was styled to give her a very Marilyn Monroe-esque look. She was stunning. Oliver couldn’t believe this was Chloe. It had to be a dream. It just had to. Then she smiled that infectious, radiant Chloe Sullivan smile. So much better than a dream.
Victor recovered first. “Wow, Chlo. You look fantastic.”
Chloe blushed a deep rose. “Thanks, Victor. I fear I’m still not up to billionaire standards though.”
“Humph. Most of those people wouldn’t recognize a good thing if it danced in front of the naked. What do you think, boss? Is Watchtower up to scratch?”
Oliver continued to stare completely oblivious to Victor’s question. Victor grinned and snapped his fingers across his boss’s vision. “Earth to Ollie. You awake, man?”
Oliver shook his head abruptly. How long had he been staring? One minute? Ten? “What did you say?”
“I asked if Chloe was up to scratch.”
“Oh, that. Yes, Chloe looks fine. We should probably get going. You ready, Chloe?”
Chloe didn’t let Oliver’s brusqueness get to her. “Aren’t I always?”
Oliver self consciously offered Chloe his arm. He turned back to Victor. “We’ll let you know when we’re headed down the rabbit hole. Watch our backs.”
With that the billionaire and the reporter headed down to the waiting limo. Oliver helped Chloe inside before climbing in himself. They spent the first few minutes of the drive in silence. Oliver stared determinedly out the window. His attitude was making Chloe more and more uncomfortable.
“So do all of your dates get the silent treatment or is it just me?” she asked with a hint of sarcasm.
Oliver realized he was overcompensating for staring earlier. “Sorry. I was just thinking.”
“What about?”
How great you look in that dress. “The mission,” Oliver lied.
Chloe’s reporter’s instincts told her that Oliver was not being completely truthful. Judging by the way he’d stared at her earlier and the way he kept stealing glances out of the corner of his eye their mission was the last thing on his mind. That was fine. If Chloe was being honest with herself, Oliver’s appearance was having a similar affect on her. She remembered the first time she met Oliver in Clark’s barn. His right arm was in a sling and he looked a little worse for wear but she’d been able to do little more than mutter “wow” as he strode confidently from the barn. For the first time, she was actually jealous of Lois. Now she was the one in the limo being whisked off to a charity gala. The difference? She and Oliver were going to do a job, not hobnob with the rich and obnoxious. So she lied too. “Yeah, the mission. You worried?”
“Me? Nah. It’ll go off without a hitch.”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Now you’ve done it.”
“Done what exactly?”
“You just jinxed us. Great job.”
Oliver laughed. “You mean to tell me the great Chloe Sullivan believes in jinxes?”
“When you’ve seen what I’ve seen, you’d believe just about anything.” Chloe looked thoughtful. “This may be harder than we thought. I mean, who’s going to believe that Oliver Queen would show up in public with me?”
Oliver’s brow furrowed as he turned slightly to look her in the eye. He reached out and covered her hand with his. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“Let’s face it, Oliver, you don’t get on the cover of People magazine by dating reporters.”
“Chloe, you know better than anyone that that’s all part of the dual identity thing. I’d much rather spend my time with someone like you.” Oliver smiled and winked. “Besides, Giselle was busy tonight anyway.”
Chloe laughed. “Nice to know I rank so high on your list of replacements.”
“Yep. Right above Scarlett Johanssen.” The limo slowed and came to a stop. “Ready?” Chloe nodded. Oliver opened the door and stepped out. The flashbulbs began immediately. Oliver reached his hand back to help Chloe out of the car. The flashes doubled in intensity as the photographers attempted to identify Oliver’s date. Oliver wrapped Chloe’s arm with his and began walking toward the front door of Luthorcorp. They were nearly through the gauntlet when Oliver dipped his head toward Chloe’s and whispered, “You really do look beautiful.”
Chloe blushed but couldn’t help but grin up at him. He squeezed her arm reassuringly as they entered the lion’s den.
The normally chrome and utterly modern Luthorcorp lobby had been transformed. Gone were the harsh edges and stark lines. The lobby looked like something out of a Jane Austen novel. A stage for the orchestra sat at the far end. Along the edges sat some plush early nineteenth century furniture, already being put to good use by some of the more lazy attendees. Clearly Tess had spared no expense to prove just how profitable and grandiose Luthorcorp could be even without a Luthor to run it.
Oliver and Chloe spent the first hour speaking to a few of Oliver’s business acquaintances. Chloe was impressed with the way Oliver dealt with these men, most of whom were nearly twice his age. It was clear to her that despite his youth most of them deferred to his judgment. While Oliver charmed, she had the more difficult job of watching for Tess Mercer. As the hour went on, Chloe got more and more frustrated. There was no way for the plan to work if Mercer missed her own party.
Chloe was making another surreptitious look of the room when a familiar yet irate voice came from behind her. “Well, well, well. It’s nice to know that Ollie keeps his flings in the family.”
Lois. If there was one thing we didn’t need right now it was an irate, curious Lois. Chloe turned and faced her cousin with what she hoped was an innocent expression. “Hi, Lois. Before you say anything else, this isn’t what it looks like.”
Lois did not look appeased. “Oh, really? Because it looks like my trusted and beloved cousin is hanging all over my ex-boyfriend.”
Oliver disengaged from his conversation and stood behind Chloe. “Lois, please -"
Lois pointed disgustedly at Oliver. “No, Ollie. I expected something like this from you. This is between me and Chloe.”
Clark suddenly appeared behind Lois. He reached out and touched her shoulder. “Lois, calm down. You’re jumping to conclusions. Let Chloe and Oliver explain.”
Oliver nodded gratefully at Clark. However, he couldn’t help but notice the ever so slight look of jealousy in Clark’s eyes. No wonder. Seeing Lois react this strongly to him was bound to bother the still-in-denial Clark.
Lois grudgingly realized that Clark was right. “Fine, Smallville. We’ll let the traitors explain.”
“Lois, Chloe is here with me as a favor. My original date cancelled and Chloe needed an invite. We’re friends, that’s it.”
Lois looked skeptical. “I thought Smallville and I were covering this for the Planet? Why do you need to be here, Chloe?”
Chloe gave Lois a small smile. “I’m not here to steal your thunder, Lois. This is a separate story entirely.”
Behind Lois, Clark cocked an eyebrow. He had a feeling that whatever Chloe was working on it wasn’t a story. And the fact that Oliver was clearly involved only confirmed his suspicions. But Clark also knew that whatever they were up to was something that Lois couldn’t find out about. So he went along with their little charade. “See, Lois? Perfectly logical explanation.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right,” she replied grudgingly. “Damn, I really wanted to be mad at you two.”
Chloe inwardly sighed in relief. “I’m glad that you’re not. Oliver and I really are just friends.”
Clark decided it was time to break up their quartet before anyone else could jump to any conclusions. “Well, we’ve got to get going. Would you like to dance with me, Lois?”
Lois took a second to reply, clearly stunned. “Sure, Smallville. I guess.”
Without another word Clark led Lois out onto the dance floor. As she watched Clark gather Lois in his arms and begin to slowly revolve, Chloe was struck by how right they looked together. She saw Clark whisper something in Lois’s ear which caused her to laugh. When Lois playfully whacked Clark on the arm, all he could do was grin happily. Once again, Chloe mourned something that would never be.
Oliver noticed the wistful yet sad look on her face. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, the bare skin there warm under his hand. “You think those two will ever notice what’s right in front of their face?”
Chloe saw the regret reflected in his brown eyes. Seeing them made him sad too, she realized. “Hopefully, they deserve to be happy.”
“So do you, Chloe.”
“You too, Oliver.”
Just over at the edge of the dance floor, Oliver noticed a knot of security people and a flashbulb going off furiously. “It appears that Tess has finally decided to grace us with her presence.”
Chloe turned to see. Sure enough the mysterious Tess Mercer stood surrounded by security as some crazy photographer snapped away. Of course it was just her luck that the photographer in question was Jimmy Olsen. Someone really hates me, Chloe thought. She watched as Jimmy was finally carted off by one of Tess’s huge security guards. The new Luthorcorp CEO was almost immediately accosted by Lois.
“Come on, Chloe. We’ve got to sneak out while she’s occupied.”
“Do you think Lois’ll be alright?”
Oliver laughed quietly. “She’s safer than you are. Clark’s with her.”
Chloe took a deep calming breath. “Fine, let’s get this over with.”
Chloe and Oliver wound their way through the guests as inconspicuously as they could. Oliver steered them over to the door that concealed the fire stairs. Chloe glanced around to make sure no one was watching. Everyone seemed intent on getting to Tess; no one gave them a second glance. Chloe nudged Oliver in the back letting him know the coast was clear. Quietly, Oliver opened the door and he and Chloe slipped through it.
Once inside, Oliver flipped on his comm. “Cyborg, you copy?”
“Took you guys long enough.”
Oliver laughed mirthlessly. “We ran into a friend unexpectedly. What’s our status?”
“Main security will be down momentarily.”
“Good. We’re making our way to the elevator now.” Oliver flipped off his comm and eyed Chloe’s stilettos warily. “Do you want to walk up the stairs or would you like me to carry you?”
Chloe rolled her eyes. “I’ll walk, thanks.”
“Suit yourself.”
They needed to catch the elevator one floor up from the lobby. Everyone worth their job was down in the lobby; the second floor hallway was supposed to be empty. Oliver didn’t fancy climbing fifty flights of stairs. “Cyborg?”
“You’re good to go. Hallway’s clear.”
Oliver pushed open the door and held it open for Chloe. She stepped into the stark hall and headed for the elevator. As the doors closed behind them, Oliver and Chloe reached for the button to the fiftieth floor simultaneously.
Oliver looked at her and grinned. “Ladies first.”
Two minutes later, the doors dinged open outside the CEO’s office. They stepped out of the elevator into the corridor. Chloe pulled two pairs of latex gloves out of her clutch and handed one of them to Oliver. He grimaced as he squeezed them over his large hands. Gloves in place, he reached for the door. Victor’s voice came over the comm, “Wait.”
“What is it, Cyborg?”
“There’s a secondary feed in the office. Give me minute to shut it down.”
Chloe looked apprehensive. Something was wrong. Had someone been alerted to their presence? Was Victor unable to disable the electronic door lock? Before she could ask, Oliver opened the door, muttering “Finally.”
“OK, we’re in. Cyborg, you keep an eye out for any visitors. Tower, why don’t you check the computer?”
Chloe walked quickly over to Tess’s desk. She opened the laptop and frowned. Password protected. Of course. “Um, this might take awhile.”
“We may not have awhile. What’s wrong?”
“It’s password protected.”
“So? Can’t you just download the hard drive?”
“Not until I get past the password.”
“Oh.”
Chloe got back to work. As she attempted to figure out the password, Oliver busied himself with trying to find more tangible evidence. All the drawers he checked were unlocked. All the files were pretty mundane. Lex wouldn’t leave files lying around carelessly. The hard copies were probably destroyed already. Unless… As Chloe continued to tap away at the keys methodically, Oliver closed his eyes to think. Where would Lex keep his secrets? A vault of some kind, surely. When Oliver was a child, his father kept company secrets locked away on a vault in his office. It was hidden behind a tapestry of the Queen family crest. Oliver opened his eyes. There were no tapestries but there was a large Monet landscape on the far wall. Oliver walked over to it and examined the frame. There were hinges on the left side. Oliver reached out and pulled on the frame. It swung easily revealing a keypad illuminated by a green light. Oliver stared at it for a second unwilling to set it off with the wrong pass code. He was about to ask Chloe when the light turned red. That can’t be good.
“You’re about to have company,” Victor relayed urgently.
“You don’t say,” Oliver replied dryly. “OK, we’re on our way out. Tower, we’ve got to go.”
“But I haven’t finished -"
This was no time for arguments. “Just grab it. You can crack it later,” Oliver ordered.
Chloe immediately got worried at the edge in Oliver’s voice. They were in big trouble.
To be continued…