The following day, Spike opened up the restaurant to his employees to hold a meeting, one which Buffy was expected to attend.
“Why should she be here?” Andrew asked as Spike walked around the kitchen, making sure it was completely clean.
“Because I want her to get situated and be comfortable here,” Spike said. “If she enjoys working here, maybe she’ll stick to it.”
“Did you two ever decide how long she has to work here to fulfill the deal?” Xander asked, frowning when Spike’s eyes widened. “I’ll take that as a no, then.”
“I never specified it,” Spike mumbled, continuing to survey the room. “We’ll figure it out later.”
“Figure what out later?” Buffy asked, appearing in the doorway, smiling at the men. “Good afternoon, boys.”
“Hey, Buffy,” Xander said, returning her smile. “How was Joyce’s this morning?”
“Just fine,” she answered, shrugging. “We sold a birthday cake to the Mayor, so that was cool.”
“How’s Anya?” he asked casually, causing Buffy to giggle.
“She couldn’t stop talking about you,” she said. “You must be quite a ‘stallion’, since that’s all she ever calls you now.”
“Fantastic,” Spike said, clapping his hands together to get their attention. “Ready to sign a contract, luv?”
“Isn’t there going to be a meeting?” she asked, confused. “I thought that was the point of having me come in today.”
“There will be a meeting afterwards,” he said, walking over to her. “Follow me, pet.”
“Should we do anything while we’re waiting?” Andrew asked, and Spike waved it off. “Okay.”
“Just make sure everyone’s assembled in the dining room,” he answered, looking over his shoulder at his friends. “We’ll be out there soon.”
Xander and Andrew watched them go before looking at each other.
“Is it just me, or do you think they’re going to be fighting a lot?” Andrew asked quietly.
“Oh, I think we can count on it,” Xander said, crossing his arms. “Their personalities are too similar.”
“Should we prepare for chaos?” Andrew asked, smirking.
“Definitely.”
* * * * *
“Have a seat,” Spike said once he walked inside his office, letting Buffy in before shutting the door. He walked behind his desk and sat down at the same time she did before finding a contract in one of his folders. “It was brought to my attention this morning that we never set an exact timeframe for you to work here.”
“I thought we decided I’d work nights,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Not that,” Spike said, looking at her. “Are we talking days, weeks, months… years?”
“Well, how long is this place going to be named after me?” she asked, smiling.
“A while, at best,” he replied, shrugging. “But I guess it’s up to you when it comes to how long you plan on working here.”
“Well, we’ll see how it goes,” she said. “I’ll decide later on.”
“That works,” he said, handing her the contract and a pen. “Just sign all of the lines that have an ‘x’ beside them.” She began signing it as he continued, “Do you have any preferences for which days you work?”
“Weekends are fine,” she answered, not noticing his surprised expression. “I don’t go out often enough to warrant asking for Fridays and Saturdays off.”
“Well, maybe we can change that,” he said, grinning when she raised her eyes to his. “You owe me a date, after all.”
“How could I forget?” she joked, flipping her contract over. “Can I trust you enough not to read all of the fine print?”
“Not looking to screw you over, Buffy,” he said in a serious tone.
‘But screwing you in general is at the top of my priority list,’ he thought, shifting in his seat as he began to imagine her naked.
“Spike!” a woman said, walking into the office, her arms crossed and a stern look on her face.
“What can I do for you, Harmony?” he asked, looking at her. “I’m in the middle of a meeting with Miss Summers.”
“Is it true you’re moving me to the afternoon shift?” she asked, becoming angrier when he nodded. “No one tips well in the afternoons!”
“But you go out at night and don’t like coming in whenever I give you later shifts,” he pointed out. “I thought you’d be happier with this.”
“If this is because I was friends with Lily-”
“I’m fairly certain I’ve now warned everyone here to never say her name,” Spike said sharply.
“Fine,” she replied, sighing. “But now that she’s out of the picture, can we date again? We used to be so good together.” Buffy looked between the waitress and Spike for a moment, not knowing whether to laugh or leave the room as tension seemed to fill the air.
“We’ll discuss it later,” Spike said, motioning for her to leave.
“Good,” she said, grinning. “We’ll definitely talk after the meeting.” She left the office, closing the door once again.
“So, date all of your female employees?” Buffy asked curiously, biting her lip to keep from giggling when he shot her a look.
“I’ve dated a lot of women,” he said, looking away for a moment. “Some of which work here, yes. Is that a problem?”
“Not for me,” she said, smirking. “Especially if you get uncomfortable around all of them and start twitching like you just did.”
“I didn’t twitch!” he said loudly before calming down and looking at her. “Have you finished signing the bloody contract? I have minions to order around so we can open this place again.”
“Am I a minion, too?” she asked, studying him when his expression became soft.
“No, you’re more of an equal to me,” he said. “Not that I necessarily want you to be, but it wouldn’t be fair to rule over you.” He paused. “Although I will be as much as possible. I like making you squirm, Summers.”
‘And wouldn’t mind making you squirm in the bedroom,’ he thought.
“Well, I’m sure it will be quite an experience working for you,” she said, handing him the contract. She watched him put it back in a folder before standing up. “So, when do I start, boss?”
“Whenever we get the new sign,” he said, standing up, too, and walking to the door. “Maybe next week.”
“You didn’t tell me you came up with a name,” she said, smirking. “What is it?”
“A Summers’ Night,” he said, taking a deep breath when she raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Are you sure you want my last name in there?” she asked. “Wouldn’t a more common name like Elizabeth be better?”
“You don’t like it?” he asked, frowning. “I’m kind of partial to it. It came to me in the shower this morning.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said, shrugging. “I suppose it could work. Makes it seem like I own the place, but whatever floats your boat.”
“It makes sense as long as you’re one of the head chefs,” he replied. “Along with me, of course.”
“Of course,” she agreed, giving him a small smile. “So, ready to lead us all to victory, coach?”
“You’re not funny when I’m anxious, Goldilocks,” he said, taking a deep breath.
“So, when is our date?” she asked, giggling when he looked at her with wide eyes. “What?”
“Didn’t think you’d be the one to bring it up,” he said. “I’m always the one who mentions it.”
“Well, maybe I’m looking forward to it,” she replied, smiling.
“So am I,” he said, returning her smile and putting his hands in his pockets.
“Should we wait until the restaurant opens?” she asked, and he looked away. “No?”
“Don’t know if I can wait that long,” he said, getting her to laugh. “I’m an impatient man, Buffy.”
“I can see that,” she replied, winking at him before walking away.
“Hey, where are you going?” he asked, following her.
“To the pep rally,” she answered, giggling when he chuckled behind her.
“Can we talk later about the date?” he asked, happy when she stopped walking and turned to face him.
“Shouldn’t you be talking to Harmony later?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.
“You’re not a nice person,” he mumbled, narrowing his eyes at her.
“Thanks!” she said jokingly before walking away and joining Andrew, Xander, and the rest of the employees in the dining room.
Spike took several deep breaths before coming to stand in front of the group, clasping his hands together and drawing their attention.
‘Get it together,’ he thought. ‘You’re going to run a restaurant named after a girl you have feelings for, and as a bonus, she’ll be working under your management.’ He paused. ‘Buffy… under me… Bad thoughts to save for later, mate.’
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for all of the reviews for the last chapter! I'm happy people enjoyed the (brief) kiss LOL Spike pitches a name idea to Buffy in this chapter for the restaurant, so hopefully people will like it. If you don't, I'm open to suggestions. I have another idea for it, but we'll see if I decide to use it. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the next one will be posted within a couple of days:)