Lex was in his office, the telephone wedged between his chin and his shoulder. He was talking to his father who was on a business trip in Washington DC and as always Lex found himself becoming irritated by what he considered to be his father's constant checking-up on him. His father had sent him to Smallville almost two years before to run the fertilizer plant and to turn it around financially. Also to see if he had matured any and developed a head for business. He was the only heir to the Luthor fortune and the man who would one day take the reins of the company his father had worked hard to build.
Back then Lionel had seen the assignment as a challenge, whereas Lex had viewed being sent to the sleepy small town as some sort of punishment for not living up to his father's expectations. But if there was one thing Lex Luthor knew how to do, it was to make the most of a bad lot. His father's distance during his childhood and teenage years had learned him well. Since then Lex had made a life for himself in Smallville and had started his own thriving business as well as buying out the old Ross factory from his father.
'Is this why you called me, dad? To find out what I have or haven't been up to while you've been gone?' he asked unable to keep the annoyance from his voice.
'I called to find out how you were, son. Isn't a father allowed to do that?'
'I guess,' said Lex with an impatient sigh, and added to himself, But for you it's a little unorthodox. 'So how's Washington?'
'It's going well. I hope to seal the transaction while I'm here. It'll certainly save me from flying back out again.'
'Right,' said Lex trying to remain interested. He knew his father was buying into another chemical company which had been experiencing difficulties keeping afloat. Lex also knew once his father bought the company that any staff would be fired. There were plenty of others who wanted to work for the great Lionel Luthor. They all wanted the Luthor Corp name on their resumes. After all, his father was the largest pesticide manufacturer in the United States. 'So when you coming back?'
'A few days. I'll call and let you know, son.'
'Fair enough,' said Lex. He leaned forward in his chair while he glanced at the figures on the crystal display screen before him. A noise out in the hallway made him look up, the door to his office was open and he saw Kennedy. Realising he was on the telephone she was about to step back out into the hallway, when he placed his hand over the mouthpiece. 'Kennedy,' he said. 'It's okay. Come in.'
When she stepped in he saw her bag and coat in her arms.
'Dad,' he said into the mouthpiece. 'I have to go. Yeah, whatever. Bye.' He hung up the telephone.
'Sorry about that,' she said pointing to the telephone.
'It wasn't anything important,' he said dismissing it. 'How did you sleep?'
She smiled. 'Well, it's ten-thirty and I never usually sleep any later than seven, so...'
He smiled with her. 'So the bed was maybe a little too comfortable.'
She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded. 'It was perfect. Thank you.'
'Don't mention it. So, you're leaving,' he said gesturing to her belongings in her arms.
'Just one night, remember?' she reminded him. 'I wanted to make an early start. Guess that's out the window.'
'An early start to anywhere,' he said leaning back in his chair to study her.
'Wherever the road takes me.' As long as it's far away from Metropolis.
'You never did mention what happened.'
'I told you I wasn't in any trouble.'
'What are you running away from, Kennedy?'
She drew in a quick breath and dropped her eyes from his studying gaze. 'I'm not running away from anything. I just want to make a fresh start. That's all.'
Lex nodded. But he knew there was more to this than met the eye. He didn't think her trouble was the breaking-the-law kind, but there was something she wasn't telling him. 'You hungry?' he asked her.
She shrugged. 'I guess.'
'Then stay and have some breakfast. Can't have you going all the way to anywhere on an empty stomach.'
She lifted her eyes back to him and found he was smiling at her.
'What do you like?' he said picking up another handset on another telephone on his desk. 'Eggs? Bacon?'
She nodded. 'Sounds good.' She wandered over to the billiards table at the other side of the room.
'Constance,' Lex said into the mouthpiece. 'Can you rustle up some eggs and bacon?'
'I could go for some OJ too,' Kennedy said.
Lex smiled at her. 'And some orange juice. Thank you.' He hung up the telephone. She was racking up the balls in the triangle and he stood up. 'You play billiards?' he asked.
'I've been known to.'
'How about a game?'
'Don't you have some work to be getting on with? Companies to buy, exploit, whatever.'
A wry smile touched Lex's lips. 'You think you have me all worked out, don't you?'
'I don't care what you do. It's none of my business,' she said looking at him as she walked back around the table.
'Was that a subtle attempt of telling me to stay out of yours?'
'I'm really grateful for last night, and for you not turning me over to the cops. But I'm not planning on sticking around long enough for us to become new best friends. I just want to move on. Start again somewhere new.'
'Why not here?'
'Smallville?' She shook her head. 'I don't think so.'
'Too close to Metropolis?'
She frowned and looked at him. 'I never said I was from Metropolis.'
Lex shrugged. 'Lucky guess.'
She didn't say anything, she didn't need to. He had seen it in her face. Whatever she was running from, the city of Metropolis was the key. He knew that now.
'So,' she said quickly changing the subject, 'this is a great room.' She looked up at the high carved ceiling and the magnificent glass chandelier that hung from the centre. The stone fireplace and the books that adorned the bookcases on the balcony above. She also noticed the office equipment. 'You work from here?'
'Most of the time,' Lex replied. The change of subject hadn't gone unnoticed. 'When I'm not in Metropolis,' he added, waiting for a reaction from her at the mention of the city. He didn't get one.
Nodding, she turned and got her eye on the stereo system the other side of his desk and walked over to it. 'Wow,' she said, stopping in front of the antique sideboard it stood on. 'Pretty cool. You're obviously into your music. This must have cost you something.'
'Kennedy, I - '
'Got some hot CDs too,' she said ignoring him. Her fingers running down the spines of the cases.
'Kennedy.'
'I used to have this one,' she said pulling a case out from the rack and looking at it. Then again I used to have a lot of things.
'Kennedy. I'm trying to talk to you.'
She turned and looked at him. 'What?' she snapped.
The defensive look was back in her eyes and he resisted the urge to sigh. It only made him more convinced that what he was about to suggest was the right thing to do. 'Look,' he said leaning back against the billiard table. 'I've been thinking and I have a proposition for you.'
Her eyes narrowed in distrust. 'A proposition?' she repeated, slipping the CD back into the rack.
'I don't know what your story is and to be honest, if I never do then that's fine. We all have secrets, Kennedy.'
'Even you?'
He half-smiled. 'Like I said. You obviously have no idea where you're going and you clearly have no-one to go to, so why not stay here.'
She blinked at him, brow knitting together. He had said it so matter-of-factly, like he offered strangers a place to stay every day of the year. 'Excuse me?'
'It's not like I don't have the room.'
'You can't just invite me to stay.'
'I think I just did.'
'You don't even know me.'
He took a step towards her, hands in his pockets. 'I have tried. You're not very forthcoming with information, Kennedy.'
'Are you for real?'
Lex gave a casual shrug. 'I hope so.'
'You want me to stay here?'
'It's not about what I want. It's about what's right.'
'And you think inviting me to stay is the right thing? I'm not a lost cause, Lex. You can't offer someone a place to stay just to make you feel good about yourself.'
'I'm not trying to do that.'
'Then what are you trying to do?'
'You need someone to - '
'Look after me? Who died and made you my father?'
The challenge was back in her eyes again. He slowly nodded his head. 'So your father's dead. I'm sorry.'
Kennedy let out a hiss and then turned away from him, shaking her head. 'My father is none of your damn business.'
He didn't push the subject. 'I'm just trying to help you out,' he said. 'I thought I made it clear last night there was no hidden agenda and that I don't want anything from you. I thought we'd reached an understanding. You're obviously in some sort of trouble and I'm just offering you a safe harbor. That's all this is.'
She turned and looked back at him. 'I'm not in trouble,' she stated.
'I think you are.'
Her eyes narrowed. 'And you think by keeping me locked up in your castle that everythings going to be just peachy? Nothing will have changed. I left Metropolis because I - ' She stopped and let out a long breath, dammit, then she lifted her hand and ran it over her hair. He was studying her, she could feel his gaze upon her. She had given away too much information. She took a deep breath and shook her head. How was he managing to get to her like this?
'So,' Lex began, adopting a softer tone. 'We've established that you are indeed from the city. An honest truth, at last.'
'Look.' She took a breath. 'I'm touched, really. But I can't stay here and not just because I don't know you, but because if I do then nothing will have changed.'
'You keep saying that. Explain what you mean.'
She turned away and let out another long breath. He's not stupid. He's already figured out most of it anyway. Just give him a snippet and get him off your back. 'I had to get away. I was in a controlling relationship.'
'Boyfriend?'
She took a moment before answering. 'It doesn't matter who. I can't stay here, it'd be like - '
'Nobody here is going to control you or keep you locked away from the world, Kennedy. You'll be free to come and go and do exactly as you please.'
She turned to face him. "I don't think so. I've trusted people before. What makes you so different?"
"I think that - "
"If I stay, it'll be just like it was there. I have to be on my own; it's the only way I know. The only way to break the cycle. From now on, I'm in charge of me."
'Kennedy - '
'You think I'm going to spill my life story just because you're being really, really kind and - '
'Your past is your business,' he interrupted. 'Maybe it's time to put it behind you and embrace your future. I'm not asking you to stay here in the hope that you'll spill anything. I'm just trying to be a friend. I don't want anything from you. I don't want to hurt or exploit you, I just want to help. That's what makes me different. The choice is yours, you can walk out of here now and we forget this adventure ever happened or you can do yourself a favor and give yourself the chance of that fresh start you're so keen on embarking upon. It's up to you.'
They looked at one another for a long moment. Lex's gaze upon her was steady. As if he were trying to prove a point. She had never met anyone like him and she really didn't know how to cope with the barrage of emotions she was experiencing. It wasn't just about his obvious kindness, or the fact that she really believed he didn't want anything in return; there was something else. Something which she'd never felt before. And it took her completely by surprise.
I trust him.
This enigmatic, young billionaire was offering her something that she had been offered once before by two equally nice people who had found her on the streets of Metropolis. They had taken her in. Given her a safe harbor. And for a while it had been good. Until things had taken a sudden turn. How was she to know it would turn out to be one long and terrifying nightmare? A nightmare she thought she would never escape from. But escape she had. Only to end up here. In a billionaire's mansion in a small town. Being offered another way out.
But it feels different. It feels safe. But why?
She didn't get a chance to say anything as there was a knock at the door and in came a small, stout grey-haired woman wearing a maid's uniform and carrying a silver platter. The maid didn't even cast a glance in Kennedy's direction. Obviously she was used to seeing strange girls around the place. A thought that should have unnerved Kennedy yet didn't. What Lex did in his spare time was his business. Besides, her relationship with him was completely platonic. And no matter what she decided that was the way it would remain.
Lex nodded at the maid. 'Thank you, Maria.'
Maria placed the platter down onto the table by Lex's desk and she turned to him. 'Will there be anything else, Mr. Luthor, sir?'
'No. Thank you,' he said and she left the room, closing the door behind her. Lex turned to Kennedy. 'You should eat. Before it gets cold.'
Kennedy sat down, picking up the knife and fork began to scrape them around the plate. Lex moved over to his desk and while she ate he turned back to his laptop but found his concentration wasn't quite there. He kept glancing at her, at the wavy strands of red hair falling into her eyes. She shoved them back and chewed on the bacon. He leaned back in his chair rolling his pen between his fingers.
He had lied to her. He told her he didn't want anything. But he did. He wanted to get to know her, really get to know her and not just because of the obvious secrets she was keeping. He had never been more intrigued with a woman his whole life like he was with this one. A thought that unnerved him. As she lifted the fork to her mouth his eyes caught the dressing.
'How's the hand?'
She shrugged. 'It's okay. Think the dressing might need changing though.'
Lex nodded. Then he noticed the strange marking, a tattoo on the inside of her other wrist. He had never noticed it before and the circles and interlocking arcs made him curious and he had to ask. 'What's that on your wrist?'
She swallowed a mouthful of eggs, before glancing at her wrist. 'Just a tattoo,' she shrugged.
'I can see that. What's the significance of it?'
'It's a triquatra. Celtic symbol for goodness. It stands for justice, compassion and love. Reminds me to stay centered. '
'Fascinating,' he murmured, a wry smile touching his lips. 'I find it ironic that someone who tried to rip off a guy's car and break into his house should have a tattoo on her body that stands for goodness.'
She eyed him, shook back her hair. 'It's not like I do it every day.'
'Glad to hear it,' he told her, just as the internal telephone on his desk rang. He picked it up. 'Yes?' It was the butler telling him that Lana Lang was here to see him. 'Show her in.' He put the telephone back down and looked at Kennedy. 'So, have you thought anymore about my offer?'
She shrugged and swallowed down some juice. 'I don't know. It's a lot to take in. I can't help thinking that it seems too good to be true.'
'I thought we'd already covered that?'
'We did. But you can't blame me for being doubtful. I only just met you and you're offering me a roof over my head.'
He nodded, understanding. 'Okay then,' he said leaning forward in his chair and resting his hands on the desk. 'Let me put it a different way. Why don't you stay here until you decide what you want to do and where you want to go. How long that takes, is entirely up to you.'
The offer was becoming more and more appealing by the second, but part of her was still unsure. 'I don't know,' she sighed shaking her head. 'I mean, it's not like I have any money to pay - '
Lex's laugh cut her off mid-flow and she looked at him. He smiled. 'I'm sorry,' he said, holding up a hand. 'I don't expect you to pay me for letting you stay here, Kennedy. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm not short of a dollar or two. If you decide to stay you'll be a guest.'
She let out a sigh and looked down into the glass of juice she held in her hands. 'I'm not a charity case, Lex.'
'I know that," he said, pausing for a moment to think. "Wherever you're going, you'll need funds to get you there.'
She shrugged. 'So?'
'So I can find you work.'
'Work?' she repeated.
'Did I stutter?'
'Doing what?'
'I have something in mind.'
'Explain how you getting me a job is supposed to make me feel any better about you letting me stay here? It's still charity no matter which way you look at it.'
'You need money.'
'Yeah. But a job...I can't just take a job and then quit when I decide it's time to leave.'
'With this one you can. Besides do you have any other suggestions? Or were you planning on robbing a bank to solve your financial problem?'
She scowled at him. 'Very funny,' she murmured.
Just then there was a knock at the door. 'Come in,' Lex called out. The door opened and Lana Lang poked her dark head inside.
'Hey,' she said smiling, and then caught sight of the red-haired girl and looked back at Lex. 'I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I can come back.'
'No, Lana. Come in,' Lex said waving her in.
Kennedy watched the pretty, young girl come inside the room, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a floral printed shirt, over it a long denim coat. In her hand she held a manila file full of papers. She smiled at Kennedy as she walked over to Lex's desk and handed it to him.
'The figures you wanted,' she said. 'I think you'll be pleased.'
'Thank you,' he said accepting them. He opened up the file. 'Lana, this is Kennedy. Kennedy, Lana Lang.'
Lana turned to the red-haired girl and smiled at her again. 'Hi.'
'Hi.' Kennedy nodded back.
'So you're a friend of Lex's?'
Flicking through the papers, Lex smiled to himself. He knew Clark's friends were curious about his love life and the women they had seen come and go over the years. But Lana was a nice girl and her remark had been completely innocent. Kennedy was about to reply when he spoke up.
'Lana, have you managed to resolve the staffing problem at the Talon yet?'
Lana shook her head. 'No. And Cheryl's leaving for Metropolis at the weekend.'
'Right,' said Lex. 'Well, Kennedy's looking for work.'
Lana turned to Kennedy, whose mouth had dropped open unable to believe his presumptuousness. 'Right, well,' she said shrugging and giving Kennedy another warm smile, 'I mean, the offer's there if you want it.'
'She wants," said Lex. He lifted his head and met Kennedy's scowling eyes. He smiled at her. "When can she start?"
'How about right away?" offered Lana. "I could do with some help this afternoon, I gave Cheryl the day off to start packing and someone else called in sick, so..." She gave a shrug.
Kennedy shifted her eyes away from Lex and looked at Lana. 'Thanks,' she said and meaning it. 'Thing is I'm not sure I'm going to be sticking around.' She cast another sharp look in Lex's direction.
'Oh,' Lana nodded, slightly puzzled. 'Okay.' She glanced back at Lex.
'Spending the afternoon at the Talon might be just what you need to help reach a decision,' Lex told Kennedy with a smile.
Kennedy grit her teeth and resisted the urge to go over and wipe the smug smile off his face.
'You going down there now, Lana?' asked Lex.
Lana nodded. 'Yeah.'
'Then that's settled.' Lex turned his gaze back to Kennedy who was obviously displeased at his meddling, the scowl on her face said it all. He smiled again. 'Kennedy?'
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COPYRIGHT. © ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Debra Jay. 2003