When Lex saw it, he tried to be generous. He allowed for the fact that there was no sound on the video feed and he might in fact be misinterpreting what was happening. It wasn't like the item taken was anything terribly valuable. They were available by special order and Lex could have had a new one in hand within the hour if necessary. Clark would have felt terrible about losing the original, but he'd get over it. Probably.
Lex knew, intellectually, that no matter how rude, thoughtless, or despicable her behavior, the woman hadn't committed a jailable offense.
Honestly, it wasn't her taking it that set him off.
It was when he saw her giving it back.
Lex had been eating lunch at his desk, watching the live feed of the Daily Planet's security cameras. It came direct to his digital recorder and large screen TV, and allowed him to watch Clark the whole time he was at work. He could even review while recording.
Which he often did.
Sometimes with slow motion.
Usually he enjoyed reviewing the video feed. Not today.
Lex hit review and tapped his desk impatiently for the five seconds that it took to go back to Clark's entrance into the cafeteria. Colette loped along at his side, nosing her way through the crowd and sniffing at people's legs as she guided Calrk through the surge of lunchtime patrons. Clark was talking with Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane, and Cat Grant. Of all of them, the only one Lex could tolerate was Jimmy. The kid was annoying, but he watched out for Clark and he didn't get curious, and he made Clark laugh. So. Good kid.
Lois was not a kid. She was Clark's partner, and no matter what Lex thought of her ethics or attitude, he knew that Clark respected her. Even liked her. And certainly he had to admit that Clark was very happy working with Lois, which when it came down to it was all that mattered. Or at least that is what Lex told himself.
The fact that Lois was far less observant than Clark on his worst day was just a bonus. Both Lex and Clark had agreed early on that Lois was one of the key elements in keeping secret Clark's link to Metropolis's guardian alien. However, it wasn't just that she couldn't see Superman behind Clark's dark glasses. The thing that allowed Lex to tolerate Clark's partner was her complete inability to see Clark behind the dark glasses.
All she saw was a blind man.
Lex liked it that way.
Until today, he'd been under the comforting impression that Jimmy and Lois's oblivious attitudes towards Clark were the norm at the Planet.
He'd been eating and watching the television that he'd had brought in just to view the Planet's security feed. Clark and his three coworkers were now sitting down with their trays of food now. Clark had a salad, milk, and a large slice of peach pie. Lois and Jimmy were on Clark's left, Cat was on his right.
After sitting down with his blue plastic tray at the wood-grain-look Formica table, Clark fiddled with his Braille watch, took it off and set it on the table at three o'clock. He always did that. Said it bothered him when he was eating or typing, but he always had it with him. Lex had given it to him last Christmas. They had both laughed at the embossed Batman logo on the watch face and Clark had had to work very hard to distract Lex from calling LexCorp R&D to develop a similar line of jewelry based on the emblem of the house of El.
It had been a most memorable Christmas. Lex hardly ever needed Clark to remember it for him, that's how vivid the happiness had been.
Which probably explained the look of panic that crossed Clark's face when he thought he'd lost the watch. Lex gritted his teeth as his lover patted the empty space to the right side of his tray. Of course if Clark had been in uniform he'd have had no trouble locating the watch using the feed from the AI's sensor array, but Clark made a point of not accessing the array when he wasn't playing Superman. They both knew it would too easy to become dependent on the sensors, and it would blur the lines they had clearly drawn between Clark Kent, reporter; and Superman, Hero and last son of Krypton.
Still, this was one of those times when Lex wished Clark would let the lines blur a bit.
Lex used the DVR features to back up the recording up a few seconds and then played it again, frame by frame. He watched as the Planet's gossip columnist, Cat Grant, casually dropped her napkin over the Clark's favorite Braille-faced Batman watch and swept it into her lap.
Conniving bitch.
He flipped the feed back to real time.
It didn't take much talent to lip read the string of curses Clark was muttering. Lois and Jimmy leaning in with concern. Cat leaning even closer. They all started helping, pushing their chairs back, looking under trays, and asking people at the next table. Lex could see Clark growing uneasy, and he knew what his lover was thinking: How did I lose it? I thought I had it.
Lex shoved down the feeling of sympathetic panic that had started in his stomach. After all, he knew Clark hadn't lost or forgotten the watch.
Lex hit the intercom button on his phone.
"Mercy, I'm going across the street for lunch. Have Charity cancel all my appointments for the day."
"Sir-"
He didn't wait to hear what her objections might be. Lex decided it was time to meet his boyfriend for lunch.
Looking at his reflection in the polished brass doors of the executive elevator, Lex schooled his expression to one of professional poise. Of course, he would remain calm. It was some office practical joke, no doubt. Ms. Grant would have some explanation. A traditional hazing of blind employees, perhaps.
Bitch.
As his teeth began to grind Lex focused on the memo he'd be dictating to his lawyer to be sent to the Planet.
Clark had said he couldn't threaten to sue every time work called them at home, but this was a hell of a lot more than a phone call.
The elevator doors opened, and Lex strode out, eyes already focused on the entrance to the building across the street. He barely noticed when Mercy appeared at his shoulder on the way out of the LexCorp Tower lobby.
He didn't stop for the security check in the lobby of the Planet. Mercy handled it. She was at his shoulder by the time the elevator doors opened and Lex punched the button for the basement. He didn't need directions to the Planet's cafeteria. He never needed directions to find Clark.
Perhaps two minutes had passed since held left his office. Walking into the cafeteria, parting the sea of lunching Planet employees by the magic of simply not deigning to notice them, he could see that there was still a bit of an uproar going on at Clark's table.
Clark was standing, running his fingers over the tabletop. The look on his face was a shadow of the anxiety Clark had fought off years ago, but it froze Lex's heart anyway.
"Is this it, Clark?"
That was when Cat held up the watch, grabbed Clark's hand and placed it in his palm. He opened the face and ran his fingers over it to check that it was really his, smiling as he found the Braille numbers and embossed batwings under the watch-hands.
Cat didn't let go of his hand.
Lex gritted his teeth.
"Where did you find it, Cat?" Clark asked as the bitch pulled Clark's wrist towards her.
Lex snarled.
Clark's head went up and he half turned towards Lex as Cat took the watch and fastened it to Clark's wrist while tugging on his arm enough that Clark's hand rested squarely in her cleavage.
Lois and Jimmy caught sight of Lex and their eyes both widened. Jimmy took a step back. Lois grinned and took a step forward.
"It was under my chair Clark, I don't know how it could have gotten there," Cat started.
But Lex finished it. "No doubt you napkin accidentally landed on the watch and then brushed it to the floor when you went to put your napkin across your lap, Ms. Grant. It was the sort of clumsy accident that could have happened to anyone."
Moving in close to stand at Clark's side he bared his teeth at Cat.
"Lex?" Clark's voice was delighted and a little breathless, and it made Lex think of bed.
"Lex Luthor?" Cat gaped. Here eyes flicked from Clark to Lex and back again.
Lex ignored her. "Here Clark let me do that for you." He plucked Clark's wrist from Cat's grip. "I'm sure Ms. Grant was as surprised as any of us to find your watch under her chair. After all, no one would think to try and hide it from you. Especially in a monitored lunchroom where taped evidence would support a charge of harassing a fellow employee. That sort of record would certainly result in a ban against her from all future LexCorp sponsored social events, and possibly even the loss of her job after the Planet was sued for mental hardship."
Lois giggled.
Clark frowned and brought his free hand up to trace the side of his lover's face. "Lex, what's going on?"
Lex leaned into Clark's touch and kissed his palm as he finished with the buckle of the wristwatch. "I just decided to have Lunch with you today. Let's all sit back down, shall we? Ms. Grant I'm sure you won't mind moving down one seat would you? Mercy, why don't you go get us a couple of trays, whatever looks good."
"Of course, sir."
Lunch went on from there. Lois discussed her latest leads on political corruption in city hall, Jimmy asked Clark if he wanted to go to the next Sharks game, Lex offered seats in the owners box, and Clark slowly relaxed even though Lex wouldn't let go of his right hand.
Lex had no doubts there would be questions when they got home. They hadn't planned on outing themselves publicly so soon, and certainly not to Cat Grant. Although, Lex was fairly sure their names would not be appearing in her column.
Freedom of the press worked both ways, and he would be sure to have Mercy inform her that the Planet security tapes could accidentally fall into the hands of the Inquisitor's rival gossip columnist.
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