Chapter 28

Lex just sits back and watches the people in the room as they slowly start to comprehend what they just saw. She was mentally counting down for when they would come out of their stupor. It was not all that long ago that Lex introduced the quantum

Communications device, and now a full on commercial version of a quantum computer. They were stunned, unsure of what would be next.

"So, I'll ask again, what can you do for me?" Lex jolted them out of their stupor with her comment. And she was looking directly at Mr Valorie.

He slowly turned to her, controlling his face, but the glint in his eye was all the more prominent. "We can offer an investment of three billion, for thirty percent," this statement started a full on bidding war between them all. Which suited Lex just fine, it achieved part of her goal after all. As she never intended to work with them or take their investments, but she wanted them to play into her game and so that she could seem to be playing nice with them as well.

She held up her hand as the amounts were getting crazier and crazier, the room quieted down "I'm pleased that you all think so highly of this prototype. I'll have to be ending the meeting here, but I will be looking forward to seeing your offers in writing. You can go ahead and send them to my assistant and she will make sure I see them." She motions to Amanda who at that time puts on the table a small stack of business cards then heads to the door. "Gentlemen, I bid you good day and farewell."

As she leaves the room someone heads in and gathered up the computer and carts it out, and security standing outside to escort the executives to their vehicles. "Amanda, I'm going to spend some time in the lab, let me know if anything important comes up." Lex heads off to one of the functional research labs.

After some time in the lab, being lost in the research Lex was conducting, a shake on her shoulders pulled her out of her thoughts. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO…" she started shouting as she turned around to see a smirking Amanda standing behind her. "Amanda why? I though I said I was going to be here for a while?"

Amanda nods "you did, that was six hours ago. I came by to make sure that you went home on time"

Lex opens her mouth to say something and Amanda cuts her off "Nope, no negotiations and no arguing, I'm driving you home, and your coming now."

Lex sulks a bit and stands up, having gone stiff and clearly having lost herself in her thoughts and the progress she made that day, with the help of the computer prototype to crunch some of the numbers, she figured that she had made the equivalent of about a weeks worth of progress in these six hours. "Fine let's go."

"Nu-uh, first your going to go get showered and changed in your office. I'm not letting you go out of here looking like that." Amanda drags her off to the office and Lex speaks up, "but I don't have a spare set of clothes in the office, and we're heading home so why does it…" Amanda places a finger over Lex's mouth "shh… no arguing." At Lex's office Amanda shoved her in and closes and locks the door.

In the far corner of the room off to the left of the entrance where they are at was the suite room, and Lex had asked the builders to make an executive suite attached to her office, and they made it a full on executive apartment. It was a bit overkill, but Lex figured that if she had to pull some late nights, and wouldn't make it home, at least she would be able to get some sleep.

Amanda dragged her into the bathroom, and started getting the shower ready. "Mandy, I can do this myself you don't need to…" Amanda stares at Lex "no complaining. And it's not like I'm going to go into the shower with you, just strip and get in."

"Oh? And what if I did want you to join me?" Teased Lex. "Strip! Now!" Amanda demanded and started to remove the clothes off of Lex "and I'm not going to play onto that game today"

"Ok, alright," Lex pushes Amanda away and finishes undressing "so forceful right now. What would your boyfriend think?" Lex stepped into the shower while still teasing Amanda.

"You know full well I'm still single," Amanda complains while she gathers up Lex's clothes. "I'm going to put your clothes in the dry cleaning bag to be sent off.

"WAI…. WHA…. MANDY I DIDNT."

*click*

The door closed cutting off Lex mid sentence she shouted out "MANDY BRING BY CLOTHES BACK, I DIDNT BRING ANY CHANGE OF CLOTHES!!… MANDY!!!" Lex shouts but Amanda does not respond nor does she bring the clothes back. So Lex finishes showing quickly and gets out of the shower wrapping herself in a towel and leaves the bathroom. Greeted by a smiling Amanda with an elaborate and chic blood red nightgown.

"Here's your change of clothes," she hands Lex the gown, "and undergarments" she passes over crimson lace lingerie. And Lex states daggers at her, also noticing that she's changed as well but into a slightly less eye-catching black nightgown with a high wasted side slit. "Oh, and shoes are by the door." She offers helpfully.

"We're not going home are we" Lex states as a matter of fact and not as a question.

"Yes, your astute observation is correct, now get changed and I'll help you with your hair and makeup. We are running a bit behind schedule" Amanda starts to help Lex get dressed. "Where are we going?" Lex asks.

"How should we do your hair? Tied up? Curdled? No, not enough time and the curls are still there from the morning. Ah, I got it." Amanda starts talking, and Lex can tell she is blatantly ignoring the question she just asked. A few moments later and Lex is dressed sitting in front of a vanity while Amanda plays with Her hair getting it worked into a flattering style. Which ends up being loose with hair spray and styled to fall just over the right shoulder. The makeup session is faster with Amanda taking over, by the end, it looks like Lex could be about to walk down a runway during fashion week, or a red carpet.

Lex things about this "wait… we're not going to some red carpet Gala are we? You know I don't want to be dealing with a bunch of people" Amanda shoves a small handbag into Lex's hands. "Come, we might not be late if we get a move on right now, the driver is waiting at the front"

Lex sighs and slips on the heels by the door as they are walking out. There was still some of the construction staff present, as well as research, and security staff on sites with Lex and Amanda being glammed up in the office the two ladies caught a lot of attention, as not a single person could not help but stop and admire the two as they walked out to the waiting limo.

Lex stepped into the awaiting vehicle all the while shooting daggers at Amanda, would it kill her to at least tell her what's going on? What's with the night-gowns, limo and the whole kit-n-caboodle of this all. Lex just couldn't for the life of her figure out just where they were going, why they both had to be dressed up, nor why they were taking a limo to wherever it was they were headed. And the driver distinctively avoided all eye contact with her, and wouldn't even look at her. It was weird.

Amanda sits on the other side of the limo, and takes one of the awaiting glasses of Champaign and passes it over to Lex and one for herself "a toast to successful business dealings, and a new era of humanity." Lex holds up the glass to the toast, and sips the drink, never the biggest fan of Champaign, but she did have to admit this particular vintage was pretty good.

"Are you going to tell me what this is all about?" Probed Lex "or are you going to remain silent about what's going on?"

Amanda sips from the glass then looks at Lex, she then moves to the seat next to her, and leans in suggestively. Lowering her voice to a soft sultry whisper to tease Lex as revenge for the shower bit "my dear, you'll find out soon enough"

Lex smirks at Amanda, turning to face her, and takes on a similar tone "darling Mandy, don't write checks your body can't cash" she leans in closer leaving there faces only centimetres apart. Amanda quickly moves away blushing and turning towards the window causing Lex to laugh. "And you'll have to do better than that if your going to try playing that game" they continue in the vehicle for the rest of the trip in silence, Lex deciding that Amanda was going to obstinately keep her mouth shut about where and what they were going to be doing.