"You said you wanted to try a forthright approach. I don't see why it's appropriate to change topics now." Lex's reaction to decline was immediate. He needs to show Lionel that he isn't intimidated, that he can handle whatever the city throws his way, and if that happens to be an interrogation, then so be it. He would conquer this just like anything else.

He takes a sip of his own glass and leans back in his chair, assuming the posture of a man who has nothing to hide.