Lair of Lex. Lex, in a stretchy black fabric, greets Clark, who's been waiting for him. Lex wants to talk about Clark's miraculous recovery. Clark gets straight to the point about Mr. Sullivan's firing. Lex says that the job performance of Chloe's dad was seriously lacking. Clark counters that the guy worked for the company for years. He says this could ruin Chloe's family. Lex spins and says Papa Luthor thinks Chloe's dad was the one spreading the rumors about him. Lex says he assumed that Chloe overheard the gossip and passed it on to Clark. Clark says it isn't right. Lex says it's not about that; he says it's about positioning. Oh, how I've longed to hear the word "positioning" in a conversation between Clark and Lex. Lex says that Papa Luthor won a battle today. "And Chloe's father is a casualty!" Clark whines. It's even more annoying with the glasses. Lex says that the war's just starting, and that he has the greatest advantage: his dad thinks he's weak. Lex tells Clark that he should be relieved. He was able to keep Clark's name out of this whole fooferaw. Well, damn. He's got a point there, Clark.