Twist of Fate 7/?
Feb. 16th, 2011 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luminare91Title: Twist of Fate
Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville High where he meet Chloe and discovers the world of Meta-humans. But will his newfound happiness be threatened by the presence of an old enemy.
Rating: PG-13 (Mostly for mild language and violence in later chapters. I don't see it going any further, but if it does, the rating will change accordingly.)
Warning: This is mostly AU. I plan to work in as much from the series as I can, but the timeline is completely mine and character ages have been changed as I see fit. Oliver's only a year older than Chloe in this. She already knows about Clark's powers. And Lois is living with Chloe.
Relationships: Chlollie, Clois (just a teen, tiny bit)
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6
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552158
Chapter 7
Just as Chloe was beginning to become wonderfully relaxed and just barely sleepy, a buzz pierced the apartment. She started slightly. Oliver chuckled and rubbed her arm. “It’s just the pizza,” he said before extricating himself and standing.
Chloe grabbed the remote off the back of couch and paused the movie.
“You don’t have to do that,” Oliver said, glancing over at her as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "I’ve seen this a hundred times. You can keep watching it while I”m getting the pizza.”
A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she answered. “I’m actually going to change into something more comfortable. Where’s the bathroom?”
Oliver suppressed a smile. “You can use the one in the guest room. Second door on the right down that hall. Make yourself at home.”
She nodded and grabbed her bag, disappearing down the hall. Feeling slightly warm, he watched her go. The thought of her being comfortable in his home and comfortable with him was suddenly vitally important. Chloe Sullivan had worked her way into his life without even trying and he was glad she had. He’d been alone for so long, surrounded by people who didn’t care about him, just his business. With Chloe, he didn’t feel alone anymore. He felt like actually living his life instead of just going through the motions and being who people thought he should be. He wondered if she knew what an effect she was having on him and marveled at the fact that it was happening so quickly.
The sound of the elevator rattling to life, broke Oliver out his thoughts. Frowning, he moved to the computer on his desk and hit a button, activating the live feed from the elevator. The image revealed Matt, clutching the pizza Oliver had ordered and pacing the length of the small lift.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Oliver muttered. He glanced back toward the guest room. How was he going to explain how she’d gotten there?
He didn’t have time to come up with an answer. The elevator door rattled open and Matt strode into the room. Oliver forced himself to remain calm and to keep his face emotionless.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
Matt frowned. “I’m trying to save your ass, remember,” he snapped. “And we’ve hit a slight bump in the road that I thought you’d like to know about.”
Gritting his teeth, Oliver replied, “I’m sure a phone call would have sufficed. But you’re here, so why don’t you tell me?”
Matt dropped the pizza on the table and crossed his arms. “Things are worse than I thought. The lawyers are having absolutely no luck getting the tabloids to print a retraction and our attempts are only making things worse. On top of that, the board is demanding an answer. They want your story by tomorrow, in person, and they want a press release published in the Post. Now I have done everything I can to avoid this, but you are just out of options, Oliver. I hope you’ve practiced your story, because unless some kind of miracle occurs, you’re going to have trouble convincing the board to believe you.”
“Why wouldn’t they believe him?” Chloe asked from behind them. She’d come out of the bathroom, dressed in a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt, when she heard voices coming from the living room. Recognizing that Oliver hadn’t started the movie without her as a joke, she’d padded down the hall to see what was going on and had overheard the majority of their conversation.
Oliver shot her an apologetic look. She raised one shoulder and rolled her eyes slightly as though saying that there was nothing he could have done.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Matt snapped, interrupting their silent conversation. “With everything else going on, you’re already bringing random girls back to your apartment for a quick lay? What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble?”
Chloe bristled, as much for Oliver as for herself. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m his guardian--”
“Ex-guardian,” Oliver cut in. “You really need to remember that. Especially if you’re going to continue to insult my girlfriend.” He winced internally as he said the G-word. He and Chloe hadn’t defined anything and while he was already hoping that they would end up as a couple, he didn’t want to rush things. But he knew that it was better to label whatever it was that was between them than attempt to leave it undefined as long as they were under scrutiny. He just hoped Chloe didn’t run the other direction.
“Girlfriend?” Matt scoffed. “You have to be kidding me. You’ve never been in a serious relationship. You expect me to believe that you’re going to start now? And if you think that the board are going to believe you, you’re sadly mistaken. This will just make everything worse.”
Oliver’s eyes narrowed. “Weren’t you the one that told me I needed someone to back up my story? And now you’re complaining that she’s here?”
As comprehension played across the other man’s face, Oliver motioned at Chloe to join him. Still slightly dazed at hear him refer to her as his girlfriend, she did, leaning against his side when she reached him. He pulled her close, then turned his attention back to Matt.
“This is Chloe Sullivan,” Oliver said coolly, barely containing his anger toward his guardian. “She’s my girlfriend and the girl who was kidnapped with me. She’s already agreed to speak to the board about what happened.” He cringed again at having to use the word.
Matt gaped at them for a moment before glaring at Chloe suspiciously. “I thought you hadn’t even called her when I left. There’s no way you could have spoken to her, booked a flight, and gotten her out here since then.”
Cursing himself, Oliver scrambled to come up with a plausible story. But Chloe, practiced in the art of cover stories thanks to her close association with Clark, beat him to it.
“My cousin lent me the money,” she said, her voice ringing with authority and confidence that she barely felt. “I came out here to surprise Oliver. I missed him and felt a little guilty about what happened since it was my stalker that tried to beat him to death. When he told me what was going on, I agreed to help.”
“Really?” Matt deadpanned. “Just like that?”
She stiffened ever so slightly. “Oliver’s my best friend and my boyfriend. Of course I want to help him.” Chloe was pretty sure that Oliver had said she was his girlfriend rather than attempt to explain that they were more than friends but less than a couple and hoped that he didn’t read too much into the fact that she referred to him as her boyfriend.
“And you’re willing to tell the world exactly what happened with Justin Gaines?” he asked skeptically. “Leaving out none of the details?”
“I believe she already covered that,” Oliver snapped. “Now if you don’t mind, we were trying to have a relaxing evening in front of the TV. Alone. I”m sure we’ll see you tomorrow. Until then, don’t let the door hit you in the ass.”
Matt reddened in anger again, but he bit his tongue and stormed out of the apartment with one last glare. Oliver let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and glanced down at Chloe.
“I’m so sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting him until tomorrow at the earliest.” He trailed off, glaring at the elevator. “I really hate that man.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chloe said soothingly. “And everything worked out. Unfortunately, I do need to get to a computer. I have a feeling he’s going to check flight records. I need to do a little tweaking so it looks like I flew in earlier.”
Oliver raised an eyebrow. “You can do that?”
“Maybe.” She blushed slightly. “I taught myself to hack. It’s a skill that comes in handy with researching. But after I found out about Clark, I started getting a lot more practice and I learned some other tricks to help cover our tracks and keep us out of trouble.”
Shaking his head in wonderment, he directed her to the computer at his desk and watched in fascination as her fingers flew over the keys. She was completely focused and in less than half an hour had altered the flight records of a regional line so that it appeared as though she’d arrived in Star City via airplane instead of alien. Her fingers paused slightly and she looked up at him.
“Oliver,” she said slowly. “Do you know which tabloid was the first to publish the story?”
He nodded, frowning slightly. “Why?”
“Because I can hack into their database and find out who gave them the information,” she answered matter-of-factly.
A grin spread slowly across his face. “I should have thought of that sooner.”
After giving Chloe the name of the tabloid, Oliver pulled up a chair and watched her work. In a matter of minutes, she’d managed to get into the e-mail account of the reporter who’d written the story. There she found an encrypted e-mail that she easily broke into.
“Can you trace it?” Oliver asked.
“You bet,” she answered, an almost evil smile on her lips.
The clicking of keys filled the room again. But then she stopped abruptly and stared at the screen, a look of shock on her face.
“What is it?” Oliver demanded, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Did you hit a dead end or something?”
Chloe shook her head. “No. I hit the jackpot. But unfortunately, there wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Oliver, I traced the e-mail back to the Queen Industries server.”
“What?”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Can you tell who?”
“If I can gain access to the server, I can trace the IP address.”
Oliver nodded. Reaching over, he punched a few keys and the firewall disengaged. “Perks of being the CEO,” he smiled weakly. “Can any of this be used as evidence once we find out who it was?”
“Absolutely,” Chloe assured him. “Communications on a company server are supposed to be monitored. That’s got to be why whoever sent this encrypted it. If it’s on the server, and it is, then you have every right to decrypt and read it.”
“Good,” he said firmly. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Chloe quickly turned back to the computer and worked her magic. When her fingers stilled again, she cursed under her breath. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?” Oliver looked over her shoulder at the name displayed on the screen.
“That,” she whispered.
“Son of a bitch,” Oliver hissed. “It was Matt? I knew the guy was an ass, but I never expected this.”
“It makes sense,” Chloe sighed. “He practically ran the company while you were growing up. I doubt he wanted to give it up, even if it was legally yours. And with the way you’ve been playing the part of irresponsible playboy really well, he probably doesn’t think you deserve it.”
“So he saw this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of me,” Oliver finished. “Wonderful. I bet he’s been egging the board along instead of helping me deal with them.”
“Probably,” she admitted. “But what he doesn’t know, is who he’s messing with. I’ll have Clark get all the documents, even the police reports from the first time Justin attacked me and from when he was hit by that car. There’ll be no way they can’t believe us. And when we show them this, it’ll take the power out of the tabloids.”
Oliver gazed at her earnest face and sighed. “And we’ll do it together, right?”
“Definitely,” Chloe smiled. “Apparently we’re together and that is what couples do, right?” She arched an eyebrow at stared at him challengingly.
He winced. “About that, I don’t know what this is between us, not yet at least, and while I want to find out, I don’t want to rush it. I want to do this right. But, and I hate that this is true, we may have to deal with others labeling us as a couple before we are. If we try to tell people that we’re not, the press will spin it and make matters worse. I’m so sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”
“Not really.” Chloe shrugged, looking up at him gently. “As long as we know where we stand, I could care less what other people think. Now let’s eat some pizza before it gets cold and watch Robin Hood shoot things. We’ll deal with all of this tomorrow.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning found Oliver, Chloe, and Clark standing in the executive conference room at Queen Industries. She was wearing a pencil skirt and a green silk blouse with high heels and had curled her hair. Both of the boys were wearing suits and both looked incredibly handsome. Chloe had felt her entire body heat up at the sight of Oliver and had buried her head in one of the police files Clark had brought so that he wouldn’t have noticed. She needn’t have worried though. Oliver had been sufficiently distracted by the sight of her ass in that pencil skirt.
They didn’t have long before the board arrived. Most of them had been with the company since before Oliver’s parents died. They were hoping that they’d be willing to see past some of the stupid things Oliver had done and realize that he wasn’t a complete and total irresponsible idiot. Chloe suppressed a giggle as she remembered the indignant glare Oliver had sent her way when she said that. She’d just grinned brightly and ignored him.
Clark was staring out the window. She could tell that he was nervous. It was one thing to lie to the sheriff of a small town when said sheriff would never believe the truth. But he was about to risk his secret to a room full of people because it was the right thing to do. Chloe wasn’t sure what had happened to Clark to make him start acting the way he was, but she wasn’t about to question it. From the moment Chloe had found out about his power and what he was doing to stop the meteor freaks, she’d seen that he could become a real superhero and it seemed that was exactly what he was doing.
Turning her attention away from Clark, Chloe looked at Oliver, who was seated at the head of the table. He was even more tense than Clark. She could tell that he was brooding. Chloe moved to stand beside him and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.
“You ready?” she asked.
He nodded. “You?”
“Yeah.”
At the moment, the doors at the other end of the room opened and the board filed in. They all greeted Oliver warmly, casting curious looks at Chloe and Clark as they did. Oliver introduced them and the members of the board greeted them as well before sitting down. A reporter and photographer from the Star City Post were also present. They were getting the exclusive true story. Matt Rolston was the last to enter. His face was completely blank as he closed the doors and made his way to his seat. Chloe watched him carefully as he did, looking for any sign of what he was thinking.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if one of Clark’s abilities was telepathy? she found herself thinking idly.
Once everyone was seated, Oliver stood and addressed the room. “I trust everyone knows why we’re here today. Recently there have been some troubling stories about me in the papers.”
“Troubling is an understatement,” one of the board members interjected. “Oliver, we understand that you’re still just a kid having some fun, and most of the headlines don’t bother us and have no effect on the company, but this,” he pulled one of tabloids out of his folder as he spoke, “is completely different.”
“I understand that,” Oliver said. “And I have every intention of clearing it up.”
A man sitting about half way down the table leaned forward. Chloe recognized him as Adam Reynolds, one of the younger board members and one of the people Oliver thought they’d have the most trouble convincing. “I hate to imply this,” he said insincerely, “but how will we know you’re telling the truth? With an accusation like this, we can’t risk that chance that someone will go looking for dirt and find that we covered this up.”
“Again, I completely understand. Which is why I have not only invited the two people who can corroborate my story,” Oliver gestured at Chloe and Clark before turning back to the board, “but also the police reports.”
The man wasn’t finished. “We were led to believe that you had no intention of addressing this issue. What changed your mind?”
Chloe noticed Oliver tense just the smallest bit and was surprised that she knew him well enough to see that. When he spoke, his voice shook almost imperceptibly with anger. “That is completely untrue. I was a little more preoccupied with trying to deal with the tabloids.”
“Then what happened?” Mr. Reynolds demanded.
Chloe place a hand on Oliver’s arm and stood. “I think I can answer that.”
He eyed her curiously “And who are you?”
“Chloe Sullivan,” she answered, looking defiantly in the eye. “Junior at Smallville High, editor of the Torch and I also happen to be the girl the tabloids have accused Oliver of assaulting.”
A murmur filled the room and everyone stared her until the first man who’d spoken raised his voice over the commotion and asked, rather gently, “And what exactly happened?”
Taking a deep breath, Chloe drew herself up to her full height and told them everything, starting at the beginning. She left out the details of Justin’s power, but told them how he’d been injured in a hit and run. How he’d killed the man he thought responsible. How he’d become fixated on her because she’d kept in touch while he was in recovery. She told them about the first time he’d attacked her, even showing them the almost completely faded bruise he’d left behind. She told them how she and Oliver had met and what had happened when they’d run into each other at the Talon. Again, details were left out when Chloe mentioned that she and Oliver had had an intimate conversation at the bonfire, but she did tell them that they had both opened up. She told them about waking in the concrete room, about watching as Justin manhandle Oliver and throw him against the wall.
That was the first big lie. She, Oliver, and Clark had agreed that there was no way Justin could have inflicted as much damage as he had if it hadn’t been for his powers. Oliver was too athletic and Justin’s injuries would have made it difficult. So they’d spun the story that she and Oliver had been drugged and that he’d still been suffering the effects when Justin came in.
Oliver sat beside her, wanting to be close to her but not wanting to draw attention away from her, as she told the board what happened. She never faltered. His chest swelled with pride even as his heart constricted. They might have been leaving out certain details and adding others, but Chloe was still having to relive two very traumatic events. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and keep the pain away, to protect her from those memories. But he didn’t. He knew that she wanted to appear strong for the board, and for him.
“When Justin pushed me against the wall,” she finished, “I hit my head on a pipe and blacked out. The next thing I remember, I was waking up in the hospital and Oliver was in Star City.”
Silence filled the room. Even Matt Rolston seemed floored by what Chloe had said. She waited a minute, thinking there would be questions, but when none come, she sat down and Clark stood. The nerves were gone, replaced with a cool facade that seemed to exude the power he always had when he was saving someone using his powers. Without any hesitation, he told the board his side of things. It was the first time Chloe had heard most of it, or at least the powerless version.
According to the revised story, the first time he’d rescued Chloe from Justin, Clark had been headed out to the barn to meet Chloe so they could study in his loft. But Justin had gotten there first and had knocked her unconscious. Clark was able to stop him from hitting her again and his dad had called the police. The second time, Lois had called to see if Chloe had crashed at his place when she didn’t come back from the bonfire. When they realized she was missing, Lois had called the sheriff, who had organized a search part. No one even realized that Oliver was missing since Chloe hadn’t told Lois they were going together. Clark had decided to check out one of the old abandoned cream corn factory. When he heard shouts and banging, so he went in just in time to keep Justin from hitting Oliver with a pipe. Clark grabbed Justin and managed to knock him out before calling the sheriff and an ambulance.
Again, silence filled the room as Clark returned to his seat. Chloe reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. She was extremely proud of what he’d done. He shrugged slightly as if saying that it was all part of the job and returned his attention to the board members.
Adam Reynolds was the first to break the silence. “That’s quite a tale. And I for one would very much like to believe you, but it’s not enough to just hear your side of the story. We need some kind of proof.”
Chloe stood and held up the folder Clark had brought with him. “These are copies of the police reports of the accident that hospitalized Justin, his first attack on me, and mine and Oliver’s kidnapping. There is also a psychological evaluation from Belle Reve stating that he is indeed fixated on me. The Smallville sheriff’s number is in there as well if you’d like to confirm any of this.”
She dropped the folder on the table and crossed her arms, glaring Mr. Reynolds. “And I want to make one thing perfectly clear,” she hissed. “Oliver has never laid a hand on me in anger. He was willing to get himself killed rather than leave me in a cell with that psychopath. He has never been anything less than a gentleman and I’m personally insulted that anyone would use me to insinuate otherwise.”
Trying desperately to ignore the surge of warmth her words brought so that he could concentrate on the matter at hand, Oliver stood as well and placed his hands on the table. “Which brings us to another important matter. As you all know, anything on the Queen Industries server is subject to examination as part of the company privacy policy. A standard scan turned up an encrypted e-mail which I had the tech department decrypt. Apparently, one of my employees sent the tabloids an e-mail with certain details about what had happened with Justin Gaines as well as details that were completely untrue.”
Mr. Reynolds jumped in when Oliver paused to take a breath. “Are you saying that a member of Queen Industries fed the story to the press?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Oliver said solemnly. “The tech department was able to trace the IP address in the e-mail to the person that sent it. I have to say, of all the people I thought it might be, I wasn’t expecting the result to be Matt Rolston.”
Matt blanched. “Are you seriously accusing me--”
“Yes I am,” Oliver hissed. “I had the tech department triple check the results. This morning I sent the information to the legal department, who checked your finances, again part of the nifty privacy policy you signed, and they found that you received a payment from the first tabloid to accuse me of beating Chloe.” He took an envelope from his pocket and tossed it across the table. “Not only are you fired, but you’re being sued.”
Before Matt could protest, two burly security guards materialized behind him and escorted him bodily from the room.
“Now that that’s been cleared up,” Oliver said, his tone much lighter than before. “I’ve hope we’ve put any of your fears to rest.”Everyone, including Adam Reynolds, nodded. “Then I think we’re done here,” he finished cheerfully. “Thank you all for your time and my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.”
The board members stood. Several approached Chloe and applauded her courage for speaking out or apologized that it had even been necessary in the first place. One of the older men was the last to leave.
“Does this mean you plan on taking a more active role in leading the company?” he asked, eyeing Oliver speculatively.
“Not yet,” Oliver answered softly. “I’m still in high school. I want to graduate and take the summer to decide. I’m not sure I’m ready for it.”
The old man nodded. “Well if it helps, not many people could have handled that situation withe poise you did. When you do decide to take up the reins, I’ve a feeling the company will be in good hands. Good day.”
Oliver stared after him until he felt Chloe slip an arm around his waist. “I’m so glad that’s over,” she whispered.
“Me too, you both were amazing. Thank you so much.”
Clark shrugged. “It was the right thing to do. I have to go. I still have chores to do.”
And with that, he sped off. Oliver shook his head. “Yeah, I’m never getting used to that.” Chloe laughed and he grinned down at her. “So what do you say you spend the rest of the weekend here before we both head back to Smallville in time for class?”
She frowned as though she was thinking about it. “I don’t know. Sounds like it might be fun.”
“Might be?” he scoffed. “That’s a definite, goldilocks.”
“Well in that case, count me in.”
Chapter 8
Summary: Oliver finds himself at Smallville High where he meet Chloe and discovers the world of Meta-humans. But will his newfound happiness be threatened by the presence of an old enemy.
Rating: PG-13 (Mostly for mild language and violence in later chapters. I don't see it going any further, but if it does, the rating will change accordingly.)
Warning: This is mostly AU. I plan to work in as much from the series as I can, but the timeline is completely mine and character ages have been changed as I see fit. Oliver's only a year older than Chloe in this. She already knows about Clark's powers. And Lois is living with Chloe.
Relationships: Chlollie, Clois (just a teen, tiny bit)
Previous Chapters: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6
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552158 Chapter 7
Just as Chloe was beginning to become wonderfully relaxed and just barely sleepy, a buzz pierced the apartment. She started slightly. Oliver chuckled and rubbed her arm. “It’s just the pizza,” he said before extricating himself and standing.
Chloe grabbed the remote off the back of couch and paused the movie.
“You don’t have to do that,” Oliver said, glancing over at her as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "I’ve seen this a hundred times. You can keep watching it while I”m getting the pizza.”
A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she answered. “I’m actually going to change into something more comfortable. Where’s the bathroom?”
Oliver suppressed a smile. “You can use the one in the guest room. Second door on the right down that hall. Make yourself at home.”
She nodded and grabbed her bag, disappearing down the hall. Feeling slightly warm, he watched her go. The thought of her being comfortable in his home and comfortable with him was suddenly vitally important. Chloe Sullivan had worked her way into his life without even trying and he was glad she had. He’d been alone for so long, surrounded by people who didn’t care about him, just his business. With Chloe, he didn’t feel alone anymore. He felt like actually living his life instead of just going through the motions and being who people thought he should be. He wondered if she knew what an effect she was having on him and marveled at the fact that it was happening so quickly.
The sound of the elevator rattling to life, broke Oliver out his thoughts. Frowning, he moved to the computer on his desk and hit a button, activating the live feed from the elevator. The image revealed Matt, clutching the pizza Oliver had ordered and pacing the length of the small lift.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Oliver muttered. He glanced back toward the guest room. How was he going to explain how she’d gotten there?
He didn’t have time to come up with an answer. The elevator door rattled open and Matt strode into the room. Oliver forced himself to remain calm and to keep his face emotionless.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
Matt frowned. “I’m trying to save your ass, remember,” he snapped. “And we’ve hit a slight bump in the road that I thought you’d like to know about.”
Gritting his teeth, Oliver replied, “I’m sure a phone call would have sufficed. But you’re here, so why don’t you tell me?”
Matt dropped the pizza on the table and crossed his arms. “Things are worse than I thought. The lawyers are having absolutely no luck getting the tabloids to print a retraction and our attempts are only making things worse. On top of that, the board is demanding an answer. They want your story by tomorrow, in person, and they want a press release published in the Post. Now I have done everything I can to avoid this, but you are just out of options, Oliver. I hope you’ve practiced your story, because unless some kind of miracle occurs, you’re going to have trouble convincing the board to believe you.”
“Why wouldn’t they believe him?” Chloe asked from behind them. She’d come out of the bathroom, dressed in a pair of sweats and an old t-shirt, when she heard voices coming from the living room. Recognizing that Oliver hadn’t started the movie without her as a joke, she’d padded down the hall to see what was going on and had overheard the majority of their conversation.
Oliver shot her an apologetic look. She raised one shoulder and rolled her eyes slightly as though saying that there was nothing he could have done.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Matt snapped, interrupting their silent conversation. “With everything else going on, you’re already bringing random girls back to your apartment for a quick lay? What the hell is wrong with you? Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble?”
Chloe bristled, as much for Oliver as for herself. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m his guardian--”
“Ex-guardian,” Oliver cut in. “You really need to remember that. Especially if you’re going to continue to insult my girlfriend.” He winced internally as he said the G-word. He and Chloe hadn’t defined anything and while he was already hoping that they would end up as a couple, he didn’t want to rush things. But he knew that it was better to label whatever it was that was between them than attempt to leave it undefined as long as they were under scrutiny. He just hoped Chloe didn’t run the other direction.
“Girlfriend?” Matt scoffed. “You have to be kidding me. You’ve never been in a serious relationship. You expect me to believe that you’re going to start now? And if you think that the board are going to believe you, you’re sadly mistaken. This will just make everything worse.”
Oliver’s eyes narrowed. “Weren’t you the one that told me I needed someone to back up my story? And now you’re complaining that she’s here?”
As comprehension played across the other man’s face, Oliver motioned at Chloe to join him. Still slightly dazed at hear him refer to her as his girlfriend, she did, leaning against his side when she reached him. He pulled her close, then turned his attention back to Matt.
“This is Chloe Sullivan,” Oliver said coolly, barely containing his anger toward his guardian. “She’s my girlfriend and the girl who was kidnapped with me. She’s already agreed to speak to the board about what happened.” He cringed again at having to use the word.
Matt gaped at them for a moment before glaring at Chloe suspiciously. “I thought you hadn’t even called her when I left. There’s no way you could have spoken to her, booked a flight, and gotten her out here since then.”
Cursing himself, Oliver scrambled to come up with a plausible story. But Chloe, practiced in the art of cover stories thanks to her close association with Clark, beat him to it.
“My cousin lent me the money,” she said, her voice ringing with authority and confidence that she barely felt. “I came out here to surprise Oliver. I missed him and felt a little guilty about what happened since it was my stalker that tried to beat him to death. When he told me what was going on, I agreed to help.”
“Really?” Matt deadpanned. “Just like that?”
She stiffened ever so slightly. “Oliver’s my best friend and my boyfriend. Of course I want to help him.” Chloe was pretty sure that Oliver had said she was his girlfriend rather than attempt to explain that they were more than friends but less than a couple and hoped that he didn’t read too much into the fact that she referred to him as her boyfriend.
“And you’re willing to tell the world exactly what happened with Justin Gaines?” he asked skeptically. “Leaving out none of the details?”
“I believe she already covered that,” Oliver snapped. “Now if you don’t mind, we were trying to have a relaxing evening in front of the TV. Alone. I”m sure we’ll see you tomorrow. Until then, don’t let the door hit you in the ass.”
Matt reddened in anger again, but he bit his tongue and stormed out of the apartment with one last glare. Oliver let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and glanced down at Chloe.
“I’m so sorry about that. I wasn’t expecting him until tomorrow at the earliest.” He trailed off, glaring at the elevator. “I really hate that man.”
“It’s not your fault,” Chloe said soothingly. “And everything worked out. Unfortunately, I do need to get to a computer. I have a feeling he’s going to check flight records. I need to do a little tweaking so it looks like I flew in earlier.”
Oliver raised an eyebrow. “You can do that?”
“Maybe.” She blushed slightly. “I taught myself to hack. It’s a skill that comes in handy with researching. But after I found out about Clark, I started getting a lot more practice and I learned some other tricks to help cover our tracks and keep us out of trouble.”
Shaking his head in wonderment, he directed her to the computer at his desk and watched in fascination as her fingers flew over the keys. She was completely focused and in less than half an hour had altered the flight records of a regional line so that it appeared as though she’d arrived in Star City via airplane instead of alien. Her fingers paused slightly and she looked up at him.
“Oliver,” she said slowly. “Do you know which tabloid was the first to publish the story?”
He nodded, frowning slightly. “Why?”
“Because I can hack into their database and find out who gave them the information,” she answered matter-of-factly.
A grin spread slowly across his face. “I should have thought of that sooner.”
After giving Chloe the name of the tabloid, Oliver pulled up a chair and watched her work. In a matter of minutes, she’d managed to get into the e-mail account of the reporter who’d written the story. There she found an encrypted e-mail that she easily broke into.
“Can you trace it?” Oliver asked.
“You bet,” she answered, an almost evil smile on her lips.
The clicking of keys filled the room again. But then she stopped abruptly and stared at the screen, a look of shock on her face.
“What is it?” Oliver demanded, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Did you hit a dead end or something?”
Chloe shook her head. “No. I hit the jackpot. But unfortunately, there wasn’t a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Oliver, I traced the e-mail back to the Queen Industries server.”
“What?”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
“Can you tell who?”
“If I can gain access to the server, I can trace the IP address.”
Oliver nodded. Reaching over, he punched a few keys and the firewall disengaged. “Perks of being the CEO,” he smiled weakly. “Can any of this be used as evidence once we find out who it was?”
“Absolutely,” Chloe assured him. “Communications on a company server are supposed to be monitored. That’s got to be why whoever sent this encrypted it. If it’s on the server, and it is, then you have every right to decrypt and read it.”
“Good,” he said firmly. “That’s what I wanted to hear.”
Chloe quickly turned back to the computer and worked her magic. When her fingers stilled again, she cursed under her breath. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What?” Oliver looked over her shoulder at the name displayed on the screen.
“That,” she whispered.
“Son of a bitch,” Oliver hissed. “It was Matt? I knew the guy was an ass, but I never expected this.”
“It makes sense,” Chloe sighed. “He practically ran the company while you were growing up. I doubt he wanted to give it up, even if it was legally yours. And with the way you’ve been playing the part of irresponsible playboy really well, he probably doesn’t think you deserve it.”
“So he saw this as the perfect opportunity to get rid of me,” Oliver finished. “Wonderful. I bet he’s been egging the board along instead of helping me deal with them.”
“Probably,” she admitted. “But what he doesn’t know, is who he’s messing with. I’ll have Clark get all the documents, even the police reports from the first time Justin attacked me and from when he was hit by that car. There’ll be no way they can’t believe us. And when we show them this, it’ll take the power out of the tabloids.”
Oliver gazed at her earnest face and sighed. “And we’ll do it together, right?”
“Definitely,” Chloe smiled. “Apparently we’re together and that is what couples do, right?” She arched an eyebrow at stared at him challengingly.
He winced. “About that, I don’t know what this is between us, not yet at least, and while I want to find out, I don’t want to rush it. I want to do this right. But, and I hate that this is true, we may have to deal with others labeling us as a couple before we are. If we try to tell people that we’re not, the press will spin it and make matters worse. I’m so sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”
“Not really.” Chloe shrugged, looking up at him gently. “As long as we know where we stand, I could care less what other people think. Now let’s eat some pizza before it gets cold and watch Robin Hood shoot things. We’ll deal with all of this tomorrow.”
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The next morning found Oliver, Chloe, and Clark standing in the executive conference room at Queen Industries. She was wearing a pencil skirt and a green silk blouse with high heels and had curled her hair. Both of the boys were wearing suits and both looked incredibly handsome. Chloe had felt her entire body heat up at the sight of Oliver and had buried her head in one of the police files Clark had brought so that he wouldn’t have noticed. She needn’t have worried though. Oliver had been sufficiently distracted by the sight of her ass in that pencil skirt.
They didn’t have long before the board arrived. Most of them had been with the company since before Oliver’s parents died. They were hoping that they’d be willing to see past some of the stupid things Oliver had done and realize that he wasn’t a complete and total irresponsible idiot. Chloe suppressed a giggle as she remembered the indignant glare Oliver had sent her way when she said that. She’d just grinned brightly and ignored him.
Clark was staring out the window. She could tell that he was nervous. It was one thing to lie to the sheriff of a small town when said sheriff would never believe the truth. But he was about to risk his secret to a room full of people because it was the right thing to do. Chloe wasn’t sure what had happened to Clark to make him start acting the way he was, but she wasn’t about to question it. From the moment Chloe had found out about his power and what he was doing to stop the meteor freaks, she’d seen that he could become a real superhero and it seemed that was exactly what he was doing.
Turning her attention away from Clark, Chloe looked at Oliver, who was seated at the head of the table. He was even more tense than Clark. She could tell that he was brooding. Chloe moved to stand beside him and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.
“You ready?” she asked.
He nodded. “You?”
“Yeah.”
At the moment, the doors at the other end of the room opened and the board filed in. They all greeted Oliver warmly, casting curious looks at Chloe and Clark as they did. Oliver introduced them and the members of the board greeted them as well before sitting down. A reporter and photographer from the Star City Post were also present. They were getting the exclusive true story. Matt Rolston was the last to enter. His face was completely blank as he closed the doors and made his way to his seat. Chloe watched him carefully as he did, looking for any sign of what he was thinking.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if one of Clark’s abilities was telepathy? she found herself thinking idly.
Once everyone was seated, Oliver stood and addressed the room. “I trust everyone knows why we’re here today. Recently there have been some troubling stories about me in the papers.”
“Troubling is an understatement,” one of the board members interjected. “Oliver, we understand that you’re still just a kid having some fun, and most of the headlines don’t bother us and have no effect on the company, but this,” he pulled one of tabloids out of his folder as he spoke, “is completely different.”
“I understand that,” Oliver said. “And I have every intention of clearing it up.”
A man sitting about half way down the table leaned forward. Chloe recognized him as Adam Reynolds, one of the younger board members and one of the people Oliver thought they’d have the most trouble convincing. “I hate to imply this,” he said insincerely, “but how will we know you’re telling the truth? With an accusation like this, we can’t risk that chance that someone will go looking for dirt and find that we covered this up.”
“Again, I completely understand. Which is why I have not only invited the two people who can corroborate my story,” Oliver gestured at Chloe and Clark before turning back to the board, “but also the police reports.”
The man wasn’t finished. “We were led to believe that you had no intention of addressing this issue. What changed your mind?”
Chloe noticed Oliver tense just the smallest bit and was surprised that she knew him well enough to see that. When he spoke, his voice shook almost imperceptibly with anger. “That is completely untrue. I was a little more preoccupied with trying to deal with the tabloids.”
“Then what happened?” Mr. Reynolds demanded.
Chloe place a hand on Oliver’s arm and stood. “I think I can answer that.”
He eyed her curiously “And who are you?”
“Chloe Sullivan,” she answered, looking defiantly in the eye. “Junior at Smallville High, editor of the Torch and I also happen to be the girl the tabloids have accused Oliver of assaulting.”
A murmur filled the room and everyone stared her until the first man who’d spoken raised his voice over the commotion and asked, rather gently, “And what exactly happened?”
Taking a deep breath, Chloe drew herself up to her full height and told them everything, starting at the beginning. She left out the details of Justin’s power, but told them how he’d been injured in a hit and run. How he’d killed the man he thought responsible. How he’d become fixated on her because she’d kept in touch while he was in recovery. She told them about the first time he’d attacked her, even showing them the almost completely faded bruise he’d left behind. She told them how she and Oliver had met and what had happened when they’d run into each other at the Talon. Again, details were left out when Chloe mentioned that she and Oliver had had an intimate conversation at the bonfire, but she did tell them that they had both opened up. She told them about waking in the concrete room, about watching as Justin manhandle Oliver and throw him against the wall.
That was the first big lie. She, Oliver, and Clark had agreed that there was no way Justin could have inflicted as much damage as he had if it hadn’t been for his powers. Oliver was too athletic and Justin’s injuries would have made it difficult. So they’d spun the story that she and Oliver had been drugged and that he’d still been suffering the effects when Justin came in.
Oliver sat beside her, wanting to be close to her but not wanting to draw attention away from her, as she told the board what happened. She never faltered. His chest swelled with pride even as his heart constricted. They might have been leaving out certain details and adding others, but Chloe was still having to relive two very traumatic events. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and keep the pain away, to protect her from those memories. But he didn’t. He knew that she wanted to appear strong for the board, and for him.
“When Justin pushed me against the wall,” she finished, “I hit my head on a pipe and blacked out. The next thing I remember, I was waking up in the hospital and Oliver was in Star City.”
Silence filled the room. Even Matt Rolston seemed floored by what Chloe had said. She waited a minute, thinking there would be questions, but when none come, she sat down and Clark stood. The nerves were gone, replaced with a cool facade that seemed to exude the power he always had when he was saving someone using his powers. Without any hesitation, he told the board his side of things. It was the first time Chloe had heard most of it, or at least the powerless version.
According to the revised story, the first time he’d rescued Chloe from Justin, Clark had been headed out to the barn to meet Chloe so they could study in his loft. But Justin had gotten there first and had knocked her unconscious. Clark was able to stop him from hitting her again and his dad had called the police. The second time, Lois had called to see if Chloe had crashed at his place when she didn’t come back from the bonfire. When they realized she was missing, Lois had called the sheriff, who had organized a search part. No one even realized that Oliver was missing since Chloe hadn’t told Lois they were going together. Clark had decided to check out one of the old abandoned cream corn factory. When he heard shouts and banging, so he went in just in time to keep Justin from hitting Oliver with a pipe. Clark grabbed Justin and managed to knock him out before calling the sheriff and an ambulance.
Again, silence filled the room as Clark returned to his seat. Chloe reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. She was extremely proud of what he’d done. He shrugged slightly as if saying that it was all part of the job and returned his attention to the board members.
Adam Reynolds was the first to break the silence. “That’s quite a tale. And I for one would very much like to believe you, but it’s not enough to just hear your side of the story. We need some kind of proof.”
Chloe stood and held up the folder Clark had brought with him. “These are copies of the police reports of the accident that hospitalized Justin, his first attack on me, and mine and Oliver’s kidnapping. There is also a psychological evaluation from Belle Reve stating that he is indeed fixated on me. The Smallville sheriff’s number is in there as well if you’d like to confirm any of this.”
She dropped the folder on the table and crossed her arms, glaring Mr. Reynolds. “And I want to make one thing perfectly clear,” she hissed. “Oliver has never laid a hand on me in anger. He was willing to get himself killed rather than leave me in a cell with that psychopath. He has never been anything less than a gentleman and I’m personally insulted that anyone would use me to insinuate otherwise.”
Trying desperately to ignore the surge of warmth her words brought so that he could concentrate on the matter at hand, Oliver stood as well and placed his hands on the table. “Which brings us to another important matter. As you all know, anything on the Queen Industries server is subject to examination as part of the company privacy policy. A standard scan turned up an encrypted e-mail which I had the tech department decrypt. Apparently, one of my employees sent the tabloids an e-mail with certain details about what had happened with Justin Gaines as well as details that were completely untrue.”
Mr. Reynolds jumped in when Oliver paused to take a breath. “Are you saying that a member of Queen Industries fed the story to the press?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Oliver said solemnly. “The tech department was able to trace the IP address in the e-mail to the person that sent it. I have to say, of all the people I thought it might be, I wasn’t expecting the result to be Matt Rolston.”
Matt blanched. “Are you seriously accusing me--”
“Yes I am,” Oliver hissed. “I had the tech department triple check the results. This morning I sent the information to the legal department, who checked your finances, again part of the nifty privacy policy you signed, and they found that you received a payment from the first tabloid to accuse me of beating Chloe.” He took an envelope from his pocket and tossed it across the table. “Not only are you fired, but you’re being sued.”
Before Matt could protest, two burly security guards materialized behind him and escorted him bodily from the room.
“Now that that’s been cleared up,” Oliver said, his tone much lighter than before. “I’ve hope we’ve put any of your fears to rest.”Everyone, including Adam Reynolds, nodded. “Then I think we’re done here,” he finished cheerfully. “Thank you all for your time and my sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.”
The board members stood. Several approached Chloe and applauded her courage for speaking out or apologized that it had even been necessary in the first place. One of the older men was the last to leave.
“Does this mean you plan on taking a more active role in leading the company?” he asked, eyeing Oliver speculatively.
“Not yet,” Oliver answered softly. “I’m still in high school. I want to graduate and take the summer to decide. I’m not sure I’m ready for it.”
The old man nodded. “Well if it helps, not many people could have handled that situation withe poise you did. When you do decide to take up the reins, I’ve a feeling the company will be in good hands. Good day.”
Oliver stared after him until he felt Chloe slip an arm around his waist. “I’m so glad that’s over,” she whispered.
“Me too, you both were amazing. Thank you so much.”
Clark shrugged. “It was the right thing to do. I have to go. I still have chores to do.”
And with that, he sped off. Oliver shook his head. “Yeah, I’m never getting used to that.” Chloe laughed and he grinned down at her. “So what do you say you spend the rest of the weekend here before we both head back to Smallville in time for class?”
She frowned as though she was thinking about it. “I don’t know. Sounds like it might be fun.”
“Might be?” he scoffed. “That’s a definite, goldilocks.”
“Well in that case, count me in.”
Chapter 8
