Turn the Page (1/?)
Author: serafina19
Title: Turn the Page
Rating: R
Summary: Oliver Queen meets Chloe Sullivan right before his life takes a turn for the worse. Together, they work to find peace in their lives and justice for the people they have lost.
Warning: coarse language, adult content, AU
Turn the Page
“Are you sure this is what you want Chloe?”
That was a good question. This job was everything she had been working for, this job was everything to her once. Yet for the last four months, nothing felt right anymore. When she looked at her computer screen, she saw his face and the clicking of cameras around her didn’t help. It also didn’t help deny the simple truth that he was gone and she shared in a large part of blame.
Looking around once more, she sighed, knowing her answer. “I am. Lex, I… I can’t do this anymore.”
Lex gave her a grin before saying, “If you need anything…”
“I won’t ask,” Chloe interjected, quick to smile over her shoulder soon after. “But thanks.” She turned back to pack up the rest of her stuff, surprised at how much she had already taken away from her desk. “I appreciate your willingness to play the bad guy here.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lex laughed as he sat down at one of the desks. “Most people consider it my best quality.”
“Well, I know better.” After all, it wasn’t every day that someone went against their own father to protect a high school friend. Despite his father’s transgressions, Lex had even shut down most of his father’s illegitimate dealings and ensured that Chloe could get this job in the first place.
However, reputations were what they were and most people would never truly trust Lex, especially after his family’s transgressions were brought to light. Even Lois didn’t trust him, but Chloe knew Lex to be a different man than his father, although they weren’t nearly as close as they used to be.
Picking up her box of stuff, Chloe gave him one last smile before heading towards the elevator.
“Just promise me,” Lex called out to her, waiting for Chloe to turn around. “When you attack this story again, at least call me.”
She chuckled as her arms tightened around the box. The concern was sweet, but unnecessary in this case. There was also the fact that even he knew that wasn’t going to happen. “Lex, I’m serious,” was her confident response. “I refuse to lose anyone else.”
~0~
Six months later
“Chris, you’re a lifesaver.”
Her friend was a sight for sore eyes after a frustrating morning at work, but when Chloe looked down, her eyes lit up upon seeing the coffee on the counter and picked it up. It had been at least three hours since her last cup and standing at this desk buried in paperwork didn’t help matters.
“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t supply you with your early afternoon fix?”
Chloe pretended to think about it for a second, enjoying her first sip, before replying, “The type who’s sucking up to her best customer?” Chris was incredibly supportive, but if Chloe remembered correctly, this was her I need help latte.
Shaking her head, Chris gave in almost immediately. “In my defence, both statements are true.” Handing her phone to Chloe, she added, “Ian was messing with it this morning and the camera’s has been acting up ever since.”
“Why you let your fiancé on your phone is beyond me,” Chloe said with a chuckle, spotting the problem almost immediately. “Although I am surprised you didn’t get your business partner to help with this. She’s just as good as I am.”
“True, but you’re easier to get in touch with and it’s not like Evie’s ever at Christalia anymore. Or at least, not since H.O.M.E.’s been making more headlines than she can keep up with.” It hadn’t been easy since Evie pulled back to just supplying captial for the business, but in the end, she was a silent partner, and the transition finally got Chris to hire staff to help her out. “Plus, considering Victor just got back from China a few days ago…”
“Say no more.” Chloe laughed as she filled in the blanks. “Especially since this is an easy fix.”
“I figure it’s probably worth the price of the mocha,” Chris replied, taking her phone back, her eyes widening as she brought her head back up. “But something tells me that you have bigger fish to fry.”
“What?” Chloe’s eyes narrowed as her friend started looking at her funny, leading to her turning around, where her answer came in the form of a young billionaire standing on the other side of the counter. “Welcome to Power Source. What can I do to help you?”
Tapping his finger against the laptop on the counter, Oliver Queen said, “I’m hoping you can recover a document from this. I have a presentation in two hours and go figure, I spill my water bottle all over it.”
Biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing, she walked up to the laptop and opened it up. Fortunately, she was able to turn it on, but she had a feeling that she shouldn’t be his first choice to fix this. After a few minutes of working, she decided to call him on it. “And you didn’t send it to your tech department?”
Oliver scoffed. “Yeah, going there doesn’t inspire confidence from the employees or my parents.”
Chloe couldn't hold back her chuckle this time as she kept working, eventually opening up a drawer to grab a new thumb drive. “An honest answer, I respect that.”
“Clearly I’m losing it,” was his response, but his expression remained light.
“Well, luckily you’re not losing your hard drive and your laptop isn’t completely ruined either.” Chloe pulled out the thumb drive before closing the laptop screen. “I’m not sure what file you’re looking for, but it’s all on here.” His eyes understandably widened upon taking the drive from her, but she just smiled. “All you need to do is need to pay for the thumb drive.”
“To clarify,” he said, looking down at the drive in his hand. “All of my files on here.”
Chloe’s smile grew as she rung up his purchase on the register. “You mean the encrypted ones? They’re nothing I couldn’t work around, and trust me, your company's secrets aren’t my cup of tea.” Other companies were another matter, but Queen Industries were cleared a long time ago. “I wasn’t sure how big your files were, so I grabbed one of the more expensive drives, hopefully that’s okay.”
Shaking his head, Oliver pulled out his wallet. “Money’s not exactly a problem.”
“Right,” Chloe replied. “Well, that’ll be $45.92.”
It took everything Oliver had not to be a little amazed by the woman in front of him. Normally, what she had done would be a pretty big deal, but she shrugged it off as if all she did was turn the laptop on. Fortunately for him, he maintained his poker face while he paid up. “So it’s still salvageable, huh?”
After a nod, Chloe took his money and tried to give him his change, but he didn’t seem too interested in it. So she put the money in the tip jar and focused her attention back on his laptop. “Surround it in rice at home and you might manage to save it.” She chuckled once before adding, “It sounds silly, I know, but it’s the tried and true way.”
Oliver grinned as he noticed a faint blush come across her cheeks. “Well…Chloe… thanks.” Gathering up his stuff, Oliver was about to leave, but instead he took a step back towards her. “Do the people here realize you’re completely overqualified for your job?”
The people around her maybe didn’t realize, but Chloe knew. However, it was the best she could do for now. She needed to maintain a low profile and providing technical assistance at an electronics chain fit the bill. After a shrug, she told him what he wanted to hear, “It pays the bills.”
Oliver pursed his lips before placing his laptop down again. He could see the wheels in her mind spinning, as she clearly hadn’t expected him to stay there, but Oliver was quick to pull a business card out of his inside left suit jacket. Placing it on the counter, he said, “Let me know if you’re interested in something better.”
Chloe wanted to have a retort handy, but seeing the card felt weirdly cathartic. “Thanks,” she said softly, which he responded silently through his patented smile before turning to leave.
Picking up the card, Chloe tapped it against her fingers as she turned around, surprised to see her friend still there, accompanying her abandoned coffee. That was never a good sign.
“Chris, don’t even go there.”
Unfortunately for Chloe, that wasn’t going to happen, as Chris merely chuckled. “It’s too late for that.” It didn’t take a genius to see that what just happened was a normal customer service interaction.
“You’re being completely ridiculous. He looks at hundreds of women like that,” Chloe replied, not seeing whatever storyline Chris had in mind. “That's probably how he’s wired.”
“Personal business card? Job offer?” Chris scoffed. “Yeah, he does that every day.”
Not realizing how much Chris had overheard, Chloe smacked the card on the counter and grinned. “Here, ask for a catering opportunity.”
She was flattered by the offer, but it wasn’t one she could realistically take. Her life was dedicated to something else, and until she got answers, it wasn’t likely that she’d be able to handle a job with less flexibility.
Little did Chloe know that Chris was right, just not in the way she thought. Oliver Queen did have an ulterior motive in coming to Power Source today. Staring at the thumb drive again, he knew that he shouldn’t feel this impressed by her, especially considering what his team had told him about her, but seeing her in action was another matter.
Then there was also the fact that the drive was green. It made him wonder if she knew about his alter ego, or if it was one crazy coincidence. Heck, when it came to Chloe Sullivan, everything felt like one big coincidence. They had a lot more common than she realized, and at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he’d relent on his decision to recruit her after all.
Walking up to Victor’s car, he got inside the passenger side, aware that his friend had been watching his dumbfounded face the whole time. “Well?”
Tossing him the thumb drive, Oliver replied honestly, “She took less than five minutes to get every document on this thumb drive. Including your encrypted ones.”
Victor laughed as he turned his keys in his ignition. “Did we tell you or did we tell you?”
Not seeing much point in answering that question, Oliver pointed towards the road ahead of them before leaning back in his seat. “Just drive.”
~0~
Packing up for the end of her shift, Chloe’s eyes found the business card Chris had purposely left behind. She would give Oliver Queen this much, he was as charming as the tabloids claimed and he wasn’t as much of an idiot as people thought. If nothing else, she was slightly surprised he called her on breaking into his encrypted files and putting a fair amount of trust in her.
Luckily for him, her reply had been honest, but that encounter was all their relationship was ever going to be. However, that didn’t stop Chloe from putting the card in her purse just as her phone started vibrating.
Figuring it was her cousin cancelling on girl’s night again for a hot tip, Chloe didn’t even hesitate in putting the phone to her ear to say, “Lois, hey.”
Sure enough, she was right. “Sorry cuz, I have to cancel tonight with the news.”
“What news is it this time?” Stories were all over the place lately, from Guinness world records to revolts in other countries, so it was fun to hear all the headlines before they hit the news pages the next morning.
Whatever it was, it had to be pretty big, as there was a lot of loud rustling in the background on Lois’ end. “Chloe, you work in an electronics shop, how do you not know?”
Chloe scoffed as she looked around the store in case, but the view was the same as always. “The televisions show sports and screensavers, you know this.” There was also the fact that the paperwork hadn’t gone anywhere, so she had kept pretty busy, keeping her from checking the news on her phone. “So why don’t you fill me in?”
“The Queen plane went down in the South Pacific. The news broke a half hour ago.”
Her mouth widened, staring down at the card in his purse. Chloe tried to find her words, but instead, she hung up on Lois. Part of her curiosity was piqued, especially considering the Queens were one of the few decent high-profile families in the world, and their immediate connection to meta equality… to Clark. But she put the card back in her purse, knowing no good would come from trying to find answers. Simply put, she wouldn’t find any tonight.
~0~
“You know that you’re being ridiculous right?” Chloe knew her friend’s expression all too well while she stared over at the bar, unnecessarily worried about the attention her fiancé received from other women.
Shaking her head, Chris tried to smile. “I’m sorry,” she said, streaming her fingers through her hair, knowing it was one of her tells, but she didn’t care. “It’s just hard not being a little concerned when the majority of his clientele are....”
“Sketchy?” Evie suggested, leaning back in her chair, inches from laughter. She probably should have cancelled tonight, but Victor insisted, telling her that even in the darkest of times, a little celebration was worth it. If nothing else, she was able to fake it well, as the lightness of her voice hid that today wasn’t her best day. So she added, “Not wearing enough clothes?”
Chris sighed. “You have no idea how many numbers he stuffs into his pockets, just to satisfy them.” That was technically a good sign, she knew that, but it didn’t stop her from worrying. After everything her family went through, publically and otherwise, Ian was something good in her life and Chris didn’t want to lose that.
This wasn’t new for Chloe or Evie, watching Chris as numerous women hit on her fiancé who was the head bartender for the Ace of Clubs. But tonight felt different, probably because all three women seemed distracted, and this was the easiest case to solve, as Chloe knew that it practically impossible to get Evie to tell the truth when she didn’t want to tell it.
“I have to admit,” Chloe said above the booming music that surrounded them, “I thought the ring would change things. Instead I think it made things worse.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Chris, come on.” Evie lifted her drink, tilting it towards her friend. “Chloe’s not that far off with her assessment.” With that, she finally took the distraction, slipping the phone into her purse, trying to relax.
“That’s not all of it. I hardly see him anymore with him working nights.” Seeing Evie open her mouth to protest, Chris held up her hand to stop her. “I know, I know, bartending pays a lot better than him waiting tables, but...I... miss him. You’re just as guilty as me there.”
“That’s because my boyfriend actually leaves the country.” Even then, Evie knew for a fact that she had nothing to worry about when it came it her relationship. She would miss Victor when they went overseas, but it was her decision to keep her participation in his nightly activities on the domestic side, as H.O.M.E kept her too busy.
Such were the perks of being the face of the non-profit organization determined to make the lives of metas easier while most people wanted the world to be rid of them. That’s why she knew Chris’ worries felt so silly to her.
“Seriously, you’re one of the luckiest girls in the world because he won’t stray despite his clientele.” Evie bit her lip right after saying that, as it came out harsher than intended, but before she had a chance to apologize, she noticed that maybe that was what Chris needed to hear.
“Okay, maybe you’re right,” she admitted, rolling her eyes as she finally turned her chair away from the bar.
“That’s the spirit. Now we can move to more pressing matters.” Evie smirked as she leaned in. “I promised Lois that I’d try to get Chloe lucky tonight.”
It was Chloe’s turn to roll her eyes, as both of her friends' eyes glanced in her direction. This was the true down-side of having her closest girlfriends in long-term relationships. “I really hate that the only thing you two can agree on is my personal life.”
“Um, Chloe,” Evie said with a chuckle. “We just agree that we want you to have one.” Finally, she felt relaxed enough, but it didn’t last. A familiar face stopped her words and she felt grateful that neither of her friends noticed it.
It helped that Chris spoke up to break Evie from her trance. “Sorry Chloe, but Evie’s right. You kind of have a story radar. I can tell by which coffee you buy.”
“Well then, maybe I should stop coming by Christalia, hmm?” Knowing that the threat was empty, all three women started laughing, but Chloe tried to get them both back on track. “Trust me, me getting lucky won’t change anything. While I’m happy for you two, I -”
“Your happiness does not start and end with Jimmy,” Chris interjected, seeing her friend’s face fall in consequence. “Come on Chloe, do you really think he’d want you to be like this?” It wasn’t as if her life was that bad, but Chris had seen enough from Chloe to know she wasn’t happy. Unfortunately for them, broaching the topic didn’t seem to help matters, so Chris admitted defeat as she leaned back. “And this is why I usually leave this stuff to your cousin."
“Joke’s on her though,” Evie said, looking over her shoulder towards the VIP section. “He’s here tonight.” She scoffed as she caught a glimpse of Oliver, who fortunately wasn’t alone, but she was going to berate Hal later for letting him come tonight. No matter how good it might be for his cover, this was the furthest thing from healthy.
As she turned back, she heard Chris ask, “Really?”
“Yeah, but he understandably doesn’t look like he wants company.” Pointing her thumb behind her, she added, “Floozies have been around the bouncer ever since.” Evie then looked at Chloe, confused at the way she was staring at the entrance, but hearing his name had also caused Chloe to lose focus.
Of course he’s here, she thought. It was probably insensitive to feel like that, but the whole night, her mind had been swirling about the news, wanting to let it be, but seeing him here almost felt like something more than a coincidence.
But she wasn’t about to let Chris catch her staring, so she clapped her hands to get both of her friends’ attention. “And that’s enough talk about doom and gloom, don’t you think? Especially when we need top ups. My treat.”
“Awesome,” Chris replied, looking around the room. “That gives us a chance to scout out the talent.”
Chloe sighed as she got up from the table, as the talent was the last thing on her mind right now. But she walked up to the bar, making sure to catch Ian’s attention when she got there. “Three usuals.”
After a nod, Ian started prepping their respective drinks, smirking as he noticed her dress. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume that Lois picked that out for you.”
“Well,” Chloe said as she sat down on a bar stool. “She’s not here.”
Ian knew that, but it was good to see Chloe loosening up a little, so to speak. The past year hadn’t been the easiest for her. “And you look good enough for any guy in this place. Myself excluded, of course.”
“Doesn’t stop you from getting attention though,” Chloe fired back, laughing as Ian was about to jump to the defence. “Relax, Ian, you’re almost as straight of an arrow as Clark.”
“Yeah, well... that doesn’t stop Chris from getting nervous.” He had caught her staring at least on three different occasions, which made him feel a little guilty, but they needed these paycheques right now.
Chloe bit her lip, for as awesome as Chris was, her paranoia did have negative consequences. So she tried to get Ian to forget about it. “Well, right now she's too focused on trying to set me up.”
Ian laughed, as that seemed to be the default setting for their girl’s nights these days. “You are deep in justice mode right now.”
“Am I that transparent?” Seeing Ian’s mouth open, Chloe heard his answer before he spoke it. “Don’t answer that.”
Chuckling again as he backed down, Ian put the final touches on the drinks. “So if you’re so against them setting you up, why are you buying drinks?”
“Buying time away from the ‘talent,’ as they so subtly put it.” After paying up, Chloe took her drink and had a couple of sips. “I can hang out here with you in the interim.”
Hearing him sigh, Chloe brought her head up as Ian said, “Hate to spoil your fun, but I’ve probably got two more minutes, tops.” It was a Friday night, which meant that the Ace of Clubs was a popular place.
“I know, but I’ll take every…” Her words trailed as she turned her head and got a glimpse of Oliver Queen.
“Chloe?”
“What’s he drinking?” she asked, tilting her head towards the VIP area. Sighing upon recognizing Ian’s reaction, Chloe tried to justify what she was about to do to him… and herself. “It’s not like that Ian. I’m not looking for a story… or really anything from him. It’s just something I have to do.”
Ian was still confused, but he wasn’t about to press the matter, as he trusted that Chloe knew what he was doing. “I’d say you’re in luck because he’s drinking cheap tequila, but I’ll give you something a little more up his alley.” Coming back with a glass and a bottle of scotch, he said, “It’ll likely worsen his hangover, but at the rate he’s going, this won’t faze him.”
After a nod, Chloe took the drink in her hand. “What do I owe you?”
Ian held out his hand to prevent Chloe from paying. “It’s for Oliver Queen. I think this place can afford a drink to one of its most loyal customers.” Besides, he knew that Chloe was pretty cash-strapped these days too.
With a smile, Chloe got up from her stool. “Thanks Ian, you’re the best.”
“No worries, I’ll have these delivered to your table.”
Turning her head to face where she was going, she prayed silently that Chris and Evie wouldn’t see her do this, as she’d never live it down. But as someone who knew what it was like to feel completely alone when it came to family, and especially after seeing him today, Chloe knew that she wouldn’t be able to let this go without doing anything.
Standing in front of the bouncer, Chloe knew this was a long shot, but she had to try. “Hey, I’m wondering if you can let me back there for two minutes, less than. If I'm any longer, you can kick me out.”
She was tempted to say more, but then a man came up from behind the bouncer and said, “No offence lady, but he’s really not in the mood.”
Chloe stared at the guy, trying to place where she had seen him before. He was clearly one of Oliver’s friends, but his name was escaping her. After a few seconds of hesitation, Chloe decided that didn’t matter right now.
“That’s not what I’m looking for.” Pouring a part of the drink into her glass, Chloe tilted it back, hoping that her consuming the drink would curb their suspicions that Chloe had other motives. Feeling the burn, Chloe was barely able to hold her scoff back. It wasn’t every day she drank scotch and she knew she had swallowed that last drink way too fast. “I just want to give him a drink and leave.”
The only sound for the next few seconds was the music that filled the club, even though it almost felt like silence around them. Eventually, his friend spoke up, “One minute.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said with a smile, walking past both of them to look for Oliver in the dimly lit VIP area. When she found him, she couldn’t help but swallow hard. This was supposed to be the easy part, drop the drink down and walk away, but his body posture stopped everything.
Gone was the confidence she had seen earlier today, the grin that she couldn’t help but return before he left her sight. Heck, those were the only traits that were ever recorded in either the tabloids or the business pages, so it almost felt surreal seeing him so defeated.
Somewhere, Chloe must have found the courage to approach him though, as suddenly, the only thing that separated them was a table.
“What do you want?” he said, confirming Evie’s earlier suspicions.
That was because talking was about all he had done since finding out about his parent’s death. He couldn’t have a minute alone, as his phone wouldn’t stop ringing since the press conference this afternoon and Oliver knew that the silence would eat him alive if he went home. That’s why he came here, for even if this wasn’t the best response, it resembled some sort of normal in his life, and Oliver wanted an inch of that for a few minutes.
Chloe bit the inside of her lip, sensing the devastation in his voice, despite his attempts to hide it. It was a good thing she was keeping this quick. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry for your loss, that I know what it’s like to feel like you’re alone.” She put the drink down in front of him and took a step back. “Take this, drink for a better tomorrow, and let it go. It does get better one day.”
Oliver took the drink to his lips, surprised at the quality within the glass, but by the time he brought his eyes up to the mysterious woman who had left it, all he got was the backside of a blonde woman leaving the VIP area.
“Thanks guys,” she said, waving to Hal before disappearing into the club. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but his mind was too clouded to place it.
“Hey you okay?” Hal asked, joining his friend back at his table.
“Who was that?”
“You don’t remember?” Hal immediately regretted the question, as it wasn’t usual for Oliver to be forgetful like this, but tonight, it was understandable. “I thought initially you might have made too good of an impression at Power Source.”
Oliver’s eyes widened. “That was Chloe? Why…”
Hal shrugged, as he was the only one who hadn’t had the pleasure of officially meeting Chloe Sullivan. “Beats me, but if she’s willing to come over now, they may be right about bringing her on-board.”
“Maybe,” he said before getting up to walk over to where the bouncer was standing. Staring at the main area of the club, Oliver was able to narrow down her table, as her dress was easy to spot.
As she settled with her friends, Oliver knew he didn’t plan on talking with her again tonight, but it was nice to know that there were still people out there that treated him like a human being. The gesture was small, but it gave him an inch of hope on what was probably the worst night of his life.
Chapter 2
Sera’s Scribbles: “We Are Family” is coming, but I haven’t been able to write it lately, hence this posting… even though I do have three apologies… and I’m probably going to regret posting this right now.
One: If you’ve read my work long enough, you know that I’ve accused myself of becoming a broken record. This is probably the epitome of that, as so far, it’s practically a hybrid of my Calendar Girl verse (FYI, H.O.M.E. is my AU Isis) and the never-posted Breakeven sequel.
That leads to the second apology: I have selfish reasons for writing this story, so it actually wouldn’t shock me if I have two people reading this by the time I finish. Part of the reason this story happened was because of two original characters. Christine (Chris) was supposed to be in the “Breakeven” sequel, but it crashed and burned brutally. She was a big part in the failed fic that inspired a lot of “The Longer You Run”… and then only Ian found his way into LYR itself. So fourth time’s the charm.
The other character is one I don’t shy away from using, but this time I’m using almost all of Evie’s complicated backstory, even more than “Love By a Different Name” or the multiple cameos I’ve given her. If you want the inside track on the Evie Chambers (including her relationship with Victor), read at least the first chapter of “Fighting Echoes.”
Finally, I’m assuming that the majority of you have read Blue’s “Never a Bride” and remember the way she would post once a month. That will be the case for this story, or at least, until I have the rest written out. So, starting in January, I’ll post one chapter on the 15th of each month. For November/December… it’ll be when I have time, as I’m out of town on that date for both months.
And because this note turned out much longer than I intended, I'll end it with a simple hope that you enjoyed this.
.
Title: Turn the Page
Rating: R
Summary: Oliver Queen meets Chloe Sullivan right before his life takes a turn for the worse. Together, they work to find peace in their lives and justice for the people they have lost.
Warning: coarse language, adult content, AU
Turn the Page
“Are you sure this is what you want Chloe?”
That was a good question. This job was everything she had been working for, this job was everything to her once. Yet for the last four months, nothing felt right anymore. When she looked at her computer screen, she saw his face and the clicking of cameras around her didn’t help. It also didn’t help deny the simple truth that he was gone and she shared in a large part of blame.
Looking around once more, she sighed, knowing her answer. “I am. Lex, I… I can’t do this anymore.”
Lex gave her a grin before saying, “If you need anything…”
“I won’t ask,” Chloe interjected, quick to smile over her shoulder soon after. “But thanks.” She turned back to pack up the rest of her stuff, surprised at how much she had already taken away from her desk. “I appreciate your willingness to play the bad guy here.”
“Are you kidding me?” Lex laughed as he sat down at one of the desks. “Most people consider it my best quality.”
“Well, I know better.” After all, it wasn’t every day that someone went against their own father to protect a high school friend. Despite his father’s transgressions, Lex had even shut down most of his father’s illegitimate dealings and ensured that Chloe could get this job in the first place.
However, reputations were what they were and most people would never truly trust Lex, especially after his family’s transgressions were brought to light. Even Lois didn’t trust him, but Chloe knew Lex to be a different man than his father, although they weren’t nearly as close as they used to be.
Picking up her box of stuff, Chloe gave him one last smile before heading towards the elevator.
“Just promise me,” Lex called out to her, waiting for Chloe to turn around. “When you attack this story again, at least call me.”
She chuckled as her arms tightened around the box. The concern was sweet, but unnecessary in this case. There was also the fact that even he knew that wasn’t going to happen. “Lex, I’m serious,” was her confident response. “I refuse to lose anyone else.”
~0~
Six months later
“Chris, you’re a lifesaver.”
Her friend was a sight for sore eyes after a frustrating morning at work, but when Chloe looked down, her eyes lit up upon seeing the coffee on the counter and picked it up. It had been at least three hours since her last cup and standing at this desk buried in paperwork didn’t help matters.
“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t supply you with your early afternoon fix?”
Chloe pretended to think about it for a second, enjoying her first sip, before replying, “The type who’s sucking up to her best customer?” Chris was incredibly supportive, but if Chloe remembered correctly, this was her I need help latte.
Shaking her head, Chris gave in almost immediately. “In my defence, both statements are true.” Handing her phone to Chloe, she added, “Ian was messing with it this morning and the camera’s has been acting up ever since.”
“Why you let your fiancé on your phone is beyond me,” Chloe said with a chuckle, spotting the problem almost immediately. “Although I am surprised you didn’t get your business partner to help with this. She’s just as good as I am.”
“True, but you’re easier to get in touch with and it’s not like Evie’s ever at Christalia anymore. Or at least, not since H.O.M.E.’s been making more headlines than she can keep up with.” It hadn’t been easy since Evie pulled back to just supplying captial for the business, but in the end, she was a silent partner, and the transition finally got Chris to hire staff to help her out. “Plus, considering Victor just got back from China a few days ago…”
“Say no more.” Chloe laughed as she filled in the blanks. “Especially since this is an easy fix.”
“I figure it’s probably worth the price of the mocha,” Chris replied, taking her phone back, her eyes widening as she brought her head back up. “But something tells me that you have bigger fish to fry.”
“What?” Chloe’s eyes narrowed as her friend started looking at her funny, leading to her turning around, where her answer came in the form of a young billionaire standing on the other side of the counter. “Welcome to Power Source. What can I do to help you?”
Tapping his finger against the laptop on the counter, Oliver Queen said, “I’m hoping you can recover a document from this. I have a presentation in two hours and go figure, I spill my water bottle all over it.”
Biting her lip to prevent herself from laughing, she walked up to the laptop and opened it up. Fortunately, she was able to turn it on, but she had a feeling that she shouldn’t be his first choice to fix this. After a few minutes of working, she decided to call him on it. “And you didn’t send it to your tech department?”
Oliver scoffed. “Yeah, going there doesn’t inspire confidence from the employees or my parents.”
Chloe couldn't hold back her chuckle this time as she kept working, eventually opening up a drawer to grab a new thumb drive. “An honest answer, I respect that.”
“Clearly I’m losing it,” was his response, but his expression remained light.
“Well, luckily you’re not losing your hard drive and your laptop isn’t completely ruined either.” Chloe pulled out the thumb drive before closing the laptop screen. “I’m not sure what file you’re looking for, but it’s all on here.” His eyes understandably widened upon taking the drive from her, but she just smiled. “All you need to do is need to pay for the thumb drive.”
“To clarify,” he said, looking down at the drive in his hand. “All of my files on here.”
Chloe’s smile grew as she rung up his purchase on the register. “You mean the encrypted ones? They’re nothing I couldn’t work around, and trust me, your company's secrets aren’t my cup of tea.” Other companies were another matter, but Queen Industries were cleared a long time ago. “I wasn’t sure how big your files were, so I grabbed one of the more expensive drives, hopefully that’s okay.”
Shaking his head, Oliver pulled out his wallet. “Money’s not exactly a problem.”
“Right,” Chloe replied. “Well, that’ll be $45.92.”
It took everything Oliver had not to be a little amazed by the woman in front of him. Normally, what she had done would be a pretty big deal, but she shrugged it off as if all she did was turn the laptop on. Fortunately for him, he maintained his poker face while he paid up. “So it’s still salvageable, huh?”
After a nod, Chloe took his money and tried to give him his change, but he didn’t seem too interested in it. So she put the money in the tip jar and focused her attention back on his laptop. “Surround it in rice at home and you might manage to save it.” She chuckled once before adding, “It sounds silly, I know, but it’s the tried and true way.”
Oliver grinned as he noticed a faint blush come across her cheeks. “Well…Chloe… thanks.” Gathering up his stuff, Oliver was about to leave, but instead he took a step back towards her. “Do the people here realize you’re completely overqualified for your job?”
The people around her maybe didn’t realize, but Chloe knew. However, it was the best she could do for now. She needed to maintain a low profile and providing technical assistance at an electronics chain fit the bill. After a shrug, she told him what he wanted to hear, “It pays the bills.”
Oliver pursed his lips before placing his laptop down again. He could see the wheels in her mind spinning, as she clearly hadn’t expected him to stay there, but Oliver was quick to pull a business card out of his inside left suit jacket. Placing it on the counter, he said, “Let me know if you’re interested in something better.”
Chloe wanted to have a retort handy, but seeing the card felt weirdly cathartic. “Thanks,” she said softly, which he responded silently through his patented smile before turning to leave.
Picking up the card, Chloe tapped it against her fingers as she turned around, surprised to see her friend still there, accompanying her abandoned coffee. That was never a good sign.
“Chris, don’t even go there.”
Unfortunately for Chloe, that wasn’t going to happen, as Chris merely chuckled. “It’s too late for that.” It didn’t take a genius to see that what just happened was a normal customer service interaction.
“You’re being completely ridiculous. He looks at hundreds of women like that,” Chloe replied, not seeing whatever storyline Chris had in mind. “That's probably how he’s wired.”
“Personal business card? Job offer?” Chris scoffed. “Yeah, he does that every day.”
Not realizing how much Chris had overheard, Chloe smacked the card on the counter and grinned. “Here, ask for a catering opportunity.”
She was flattered by the offer, but it wasn’t one she could realistically take. Her life was dedicated to something else, and until she got answers, it wasn’t likely that she’d be able to handle a job with less flexibility.
Little did Chloe know that Chris was right, just not in the way she thought. Oliver Queen did have an ulterior motive in coming to Power Source today. Staring at the thumb drive again, he knew that he shouldn’t feel this impressed by her, especially considering what his team had told him about her, but seeing her in action was another matter.
Then there was also the fact that the drive was green. It made him wonder if she knew about his alter ego, or if it was one crazy coincidence. Heck, when it came to Chloe Sullivan, everything felt like one big coincidence. They had a lot more common than she realized, and at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he’d relent on his decision to recruit her after all.
Walking up to Victor’s car, he got inside the passenger side, aware that his friend had been watching his dumbfounded face the whole time. “Well?”
Tossing him the thumb drive, Oliver replied honestly, “She took less than five minutes to get every document on this thumb drive. Including your encrypted ones.”
Victor laughed as he turned his keys in his ignition. “Did we tell you or did we tell you?”
Not seeing much point in answering that question, Oliver pointed towards the road ahead of them before leaning back in his seat. “Just drive.”
~0~
Packing up for the end of her shift, Chloe’s eyes found the business card Chris had purposely left behind. She would give Oliver Queen this much, he was as charming as the tabloids claimed and he wasn’t as much of an idiot as people thought. If nothing else, she was slightly surprised he called her on breaking into his encrypted files and putting a fair amount of trust in her.
Luckily for him, her reply had been honest, but that encounter was all their relationship was ever going to be. However, that didn’t stop Chloe from putting the card in her purse just as her phone started vibrating.
Figuring it was her cousin cancelling on girl’s night again for a hot tip, Chloe didn’t even hesitate in putting the phone to her ear to say, “Lois, hey.”
Sure enough, she was right. “Sorry cuz, I have to cancel tonight with the news.”
“What news is it this time?” Stories were all over the place lately, from Guinness world records to revolts in other countries, so it was fun to hear all the headlines before they hit the news pages the next morning.
Whatever it was, it had to be pretty big, as there was a lot of loud rustling in the background on Lois’ end. “Chloe, you work in an electronics shop, how do you not know?”
Chloe scoffed as she looked around the store in case, but the view was the same as always. “The televisions show sports and screensavers, you know this.” There was also the fact that the paperwork hadn’t gone anywhere, so she had kept pretty busy, keeping her from checking the news on her phone. “So why don’t you fill me in?”
“The Queen plane went down in the South Pacific. The news broke a half hour ago.”
Her mouth widened, staring down at the card in his purse. Chloe tried to find her words, but instead, she hung up on Lois. Part of her curiosity was piqued, especially considering the Queens were one of the few decent high-profile families in the world, and their immediate connection to meta equality… to Clark. But she put the card back in her purse, knowing no good would come from trying to find answers. Simply put, she wouldn’t find any tonight.
~0~
“You know that you’re being ridiculous right?” Chloe knew her friend’s expression all too well while she stared over at the bar, unnecessarily worried about the attention her fiancé received from other women.
Shaking her head, Chris tried to smile. “I’m sorry,” she said, streaming her fingers through her hair, knowing it was one of her tells, but she didn’t care. “It’s just hard not being a little concerned when the majority of his clientele are....”
“Sketchy?” Evie suggested, leaning back in her chair, inches from laughter. She probably should have cancelled tonight, but Victor insisted, telling her that even in the darkest of times, a little celebration was worth it. If nothing else, she was able to fake it well, as the lightness of her voice hid that today wasn’t her best day. So she added, “Not wearing enough clothes?”
Chris sighed. “You have no idea how many numbers he stuffs into his pockets, just to satisfy them.” That was technically a good sign, she knew that, but it didn’t stop her from worrying. After everything her family went through, publically and otherwise, Ian was something good in her life and Chris didn’t want to lose that.
This wasn’t new for Chloe or Evie, watching Chris as numerous women hit on her fiancé who was the head bartender for the Ace of Clubs. But tonight felt different, probably because all three women seemed distracted, and this was the easiest case to solve, as Chloe knew that it practically impossible to get Evie to tell the truth when she didn’t want to tell it.
“I have to admit,” Chloe said above the booming music that surrounded them, “I thought the ring would change things. Instead I think it made things worse.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Chris, come on.” Evie lifted her drink, tilting it towards her friend. “Chloe’s not that far off with her assessment.” With that, she finally took the distraction, slipping the phone into her purse, trying to relax.
“That’s not all of it. I hardly see him anymore with him working nights.” Seeing Evie open her mouth to protest, Chris held up her hand to stop her. “I know, I know, bartending pays a lot better than him waiting tables, but...I... miss him. You’re just as guilty as me there.”
“That’s because my boyfriend actually leaves the country.” Even then, Evie knew for a fact that she had nothing to worry about when it came it her relationship. She would miss Victor when they went overseas, but it was her decision to keep her participation in his nightly activities on the domestic side, as H.O.M.E kept her too busy.
Such were the perks of being the face of the non-profit organization determined to make the lives of metas easier while most people wanted the world to be rid of them. That’s why she knew Chris’ worries felt so silly to her.
“Seriously, you’re one of the luckiest girls in the world because he won’t stray despite his clientele.” Evie bit her lip right after saying that, as it came out harsher than intended, but before she had a chance to apologize, she noticed that maybe that was what Chris needed to hear.
“Okay, maybe you’re right,” she admitted, rolling her eyes as she finally turned her chair away from the bar.
“That’s the spirit. Now we can move to more pressing matters.” Evie smirked as she leaned in. “I promised Lois that I’d try to get Chloe lucky tonight.”
It was Chloe’s turn to roll her eyes, as both of her friends' eyes glanced in her direction. This was the true down-side of having her closest girlfriends in long-term relationships. “I really hate that the only thing you two can agree on is my personal life.”
“Um, Chloe,” Evie said with a chuckle. “We just agree that we want you to have one.” Finally, she felt relaxed enough, but it didn’t last. A familiar face stopped her words and she felt grateful that neither of her friends noticed it.
It helped that Chris spoke up to break Evie from her trance. “Sorry Chloe, but Evie’s right. You kind of have a story radar. I can tell by which coffee you buy.”
“Well then, maybe I should stop coming by Christalia, hmm?” Knowing that the threat was empty, all three women started laughing, but Chloe tried to get them both back on track. “Trust me, me getting lucky won’t change anything. While I’m happy for you two, I -”
“Your happiness does not start and end with Jimmy,” Chris interjected, seeing her friend’s face fall in consequence. “Come on Chloe, do you really think he’d want you to be like this?” It wasn’t as if her life was that bad, but Chris had seen enough from Chloe to know she wasn’t happy. Unfortunately for them, broaching the topic didn’t seem to help matters, so Chris admitted defeat as she leaned back. “And this is why I usually leave this stuff to your cousin."
“Joke’s on her though,” Evie said, looking over her shoulder towards the VIP section. “He’s here tonight.” She scoffed as she caught a glimpse of Oliver, who fortunately wasn’t alone, but she was going to berate Hal later for letting him come tonight. No matter how good it might be for his cover, this was the furthest thing from healthy.
As she turned back, she heard Chris ask, “Really?”
“Yeah, but he understandably doesn’t look like he wants company.” Pointing her thumb behind her, she added, “Floozies have been around the bouncer ever since.” Evie then looked at Chloe, confused at the way she was staring at the entrance, but hearing his name had also caused Chloe to lose focus.
Of course he’s here, she thought. It was probably insensitive to feel like that, but the whole night, her mind had been swirling about the news, wanting to let it be, but seeing him here almost felt like something more than a coincidence.
But she wasn’t about to let Chris catch her staring, so she clapped her hands to get both of her friends’ attention. “And that’s enough talk about doom and gloom, don’t you think? Especially when we need top ups. My treat.”
“Awesome,” Chris replied, looking around the room. “That gives us a chance to scout out the talent.”
Chloe sighed as she got up from the table, as the talent was the last thing on her mind right now. But she walked up to the bar, making sure to catch Ian’s attention when she got there. “Three usuals.”
After a nod, Ian started prepping their respective drinks, smirking as he noticed her dress. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d assume that Lois picked that out for you.”
“Well,” Chloe said as she sat down on a bar stool. “She’s not here.”
Ian knew that, but it was good to see Chloe loosening up a little, so to speak. The past year hadn’t been the easiest for her. “And you look good enough for any guy in this place. Myself excluded, of course.”
“Doesn’t stop you from getting attention though,” Chloe fired back, laughing as Ian was about to jump to the defence. “Relax, Ian, you’re almost as straight of an arrow as Clark.”
“Yeah, well... that doesn’t stop Chris from getting nervous.” He had caught her staring at least on three different occasions, which made him feel a little guilty, but they needed these paycheques right now.
Chloe bit her lip, for as awesome as Chris was, her paranoia did have negative consequences. So she tried to get Ian to forget about it. “Well, right now she's too focused on trying to set me up.”
Ian laughed, as that seemed to be the default setting for their girl’s nights these days. “You are deep in justice mode right now.”
“Am I that transparent?” Seeing Ian’s mouth open, Chloe heard his answer before he spoke it. “Don’t answer that.”
Chuckling again as he backed down, Ian put the final touches on the drinks. “So if you’re so against them setting you up, why are you buying drinks?”
“Buying time away from the ‘talent,’ as they so subtly put it.” After paying up, Chloe took her drink and had a couple of sips. “I can hang out here with you in the interim.”
Hearing him sigh, Chloe brought her head up as Ian said, “Hate to spoil your fun, but I’ve probably got two more minutes, tops.” It was a Friday night, which meant that the Ace of Clubs was a popular place.
“I know, but I’ll take every…” Her words trailed as she turned her head and got a glimpse of Oliver Queen.
“Chloe?”
“What’s he drinking?” she asked, tilting her head towards the VIP area. Sighing upon recognizing Ian’s reaction, Chloe tried to justify what she was about to do to him… and herself. “It’s not like that Ian. I’m not looking for a story… or really anything from him. It’s just something I have to do.”
Ian was still confused, but he wasn’t about to press the matter, as he trusted that Chloe knew what he was doing. “I’d say you’re in luck because he’s drinking cheap tequila, but I’ll give you something a little more up his alley.” Coming back with a glass and a bottle of scotch, he said, “It’ll likely worsen his hangover, but at the rate he’s going, this won’t faze him.”
After a nod, Chloe took the drink in her hand. “What do I owe you?”
Ian held out his hand to prevent Chloe from paying. “It’s for Oliver Queen. I think this place can afford a drink to one of its most loyal customers.” Besides, he knew that Chloe was pretty cash-strapped these days too.
With a smile, Chloe got up from her stool. “Thanks Ian, you’re the best.”
“No worries, I’ll have these delivered to your table.”
Turning her head to face where she was going, she prayed silently that Chris and Evie wouldn’t see her do this, as she’d never live it down. But as someone who knew what it was like to feel completely alone when it came to family, and especially after seeing him today, Chloe knew that she wouldn’t be able to let this go without doing anything.
Standing in front of the bouncer, Chloe knew this was a long shot, but she had to try. “Hey, I’m wondering if you can let me back there for two minutes, less than. If I'm any longer, you can kick me out.”
She was tempted to say more, but then a man came up from behind the bouncer and said, “No offence lady, but he’s really not in the mood.”
Chloe stared at the guy, trying to place where she had seen him before. He was clearly one of Oliver’s friends, but his name was escaping her. After a few seconds of hesitation, Chloe decided that didn’t matter right now.
“That’s not what I’m looking for.” Pouring a part of the drink into her glass, Chloe tilted it back, hoping that her consuming the drink would curb their suspicions that Chloe had other motives. Feeling the burn, Chloe was barely able to hold her scoff back. It wasn’t every day she drank scotch and she knew she had swallowed that last drink way too fast. “I just want to give him a drink and leave.”
The only sound for the next few seconds was the music that filled the club, even though it almost felt like silence around them. Eventually, his friend spoke up, “One minute.”
“Thank you,” Chloe said with a smile, walking past both of them to look for Oliver in the dimly lit VIP area. When she found him, she couldn’t help but swallow hard. This was supposed to be the easy part, drop the drink down and walk away, but his body posture stopped everything.
Gone was the confidence she had seen earlier today, the grin that she couldn’t help but return before he left her sight. Heck, those were the only traits that were ever recorded in either the tabloids or the business pages, so it almost felt surreal seeing him so defeated.
Somewhere, Chloe must have found the courage to approach him though, as suddenly, the only thing that separated them was a table.
“What do you want?” he said, confirming Evie’s earlier suspicions.
That was because talking was about all he had done since finding out about his parent’s death. He couldn’t have a minute alone, as his phone wouldn’t stop ringing since the press conference this afternoon and Oliver knew that the silence would eat him alive if he went home. That’s why he came here, for even if this wasn’t the best response, it resembled some sort of normal in his life, and Oliver wanted an inch of that for a few minutes.
Chloe bit the inside of her lip, sensing the devastation in his voice, despite his attempts to hide it. It was a good thing she was keeping this quick. “I wanted to say that I’m sorry for your loss, that I know what it’s like to feel like you’re alone.” She put the drink down in front of him and took a step back. “Take this, drink for a better tomorrow, and let it go. It does get better one day.”
Oliver took the drink to his lips, surprised at the quality within the glass, but by the time he brought his eyes up to the mysterious woman who had left it, all he got was the backside of a blonde woman leaving the VIP area.
“Thanks guys,” she said, waving to Hal before disappearing into the club. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but his mind was too clouded to place it.
“Hey you okay?” Hal asked, joining his friend back at his table.
“Who was that?”
“You don’t remember?” Hal immediately regretted the question, as it wasn’t usual for Oliver to be forgetful like this, but tonight, it was understandable. “I thought initially you might have made too good of an impression at Power Source.”
Oliver’s eyes widened. “That was Chloe? Why…”
Hal shrugged, as he was the only one who hadn’t had the pleasure of officially meeting Chloe Sullivan. “Beats me, but if she’s willing to come over now, they may be right about bringing her on-board.”
“Maybe,” he said before getting up to walk over to where the bouncer was standing. Staring at the main area of the club, Oliver was able to narrow down her table, as her dress was easy to spot.
As she settled with her friends, Oliver knew he didn’t plan on talking with her again tonight, but it was nice to know that there were still people out there that treated him like a human being. The gesture was small, but it gave him an inch of hope on what was probably the worst night of his life.
Chapter 2
Sera’s Scribbles: “We Are Family” is coming, but I haven’t been able to write it lately, hence this posting… even though I do have three apologies… and I’m probably going to regret posting this right now.
One: If you’ve read my work long enough, you know that I’ve accused myself of becoming a broken record. This is probably the epitome of that, as so far, it’s practically a hybrid of my Calendar Girl verse (FYI, H.O.M.E. is my AU Isis) and the never-posted Breakeven sequel.
That leads to the second apology: I have selfish reasons for writing this story, so it actually wouldn’t shock me if I have two people reading this by the time I finish. Part of the reason this story happened was because of two original characters. Christine (Chris) was supposed to be in the “Breakeven” sequel, but it crashed and burned brutally. She was a big part in the failed fic that inspired a lot of “The Longer You Run”… and then only Ian found his way into LYR itself. So fourth time’s the charm.
The other character is one I don’t shy away from using, but this time I’m using almost all of Evie’s complicated backstory, even more than “Love By a Different Name” or the multiple cameos I’ve given her. If you want the inside track on the Evie Chambers (including her relationship with Victor), read at least the first chapter of “Fighting Echoes.”
Finally, I’m assuming that the majority of you have read Blue’s “Never a Bride” and remember the way she would post once a month. That will be the case for this story, or at least, until I have the rest written out. So, starting in January, I’ll post one chapter on the 15th of each month. For November/December… it’ll be when I have time, as I’m out of town on that date for both months.
And because this note turned out much longer than I intended, I'll end it with a simple hope that you enjoyed this.
.