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She hadn't paused once since she had first put her plan into action but now she was here, she suddenly had this overwhelming feeling that this was a bad idea. What did she really hope to achieve? She knew he was lying to her. He could stand in front of her and deny it all day long but she knew it in her gut that he was seeing someone else. Her intention had simply been to catch him in the act, to see it with her own eyes and prove to him that she wasn’t the naïve little woman that he thought her to be but now, she wasn’t so sure.
The building was tall and imposing, the glass front a gaping chasm in the night sky. The entrance was bustling with cloaked figures moving in and out, shielded under umbrellas from the light mists of the twilight rain. It hadn't been raining when she left their apartment so she had only a lightweight denim jacket to protect her from the wet. Shifting from foot to foot, she shivered a little.
Faith had agreed to meet her at ten and it was quarter past already. Silently, she cursed but then if it wasn't for her, this whole thing wouldn't be possible at all. Faith was Angel's cousin yet their relationship was somewhat strained to say the least. Buffy had met her way back when things were still civil between them and Angel had given her a job at his hotel when she was just two days from being evicted from her flat. Over the years, their relationship had deteriorated and now they weren’t even on speaking terms. He disapproved of her wild lifestyle and she thought he was an arrogant bastard with no concern for anyone but himself. And she was right. However, Faith still worked at his hotel, something which galled Angel and made Faith laugh with glee whenever she had a few too many shots.
If the pay hadn't been good, she would have left a long time ago yet the threat of mouthing off about him had earned her a hefty rise. He'd offered her a payout to leave but she needed the regular income and the job wasn't so bad. Nobody knew she was Angel's cousin and Angel wanted it to stay that way. When Faith had discovered and informed Buffy of his cheating ways, she had merely confirmed Buffy's suspicions. Sure, he co-owned a hotel but the hours he kept were verging on ridiculous. He'd even taken to sleeping in one of the suites and not returning home for days at a time. At first, she had understood but that soon gave way to suspicion and frustration. And that had led her here.
A whistle piercing the night air drew her gaze to a side door a few metres down from the hotel entrance. Faith beckoned wildly and bobbed back inside. Jogging across the road, she ducked inside, brushing off her damp clothes.
"Hell B, I tell ya, it's crazy in here tonight!"
"Tell that to my hair."
Faith laughed. "Nobody does the down and out girlfriend better than you, that's for sure."
"Yeah, something I've always strived to be." She followed Faith, winding her way through stacked crates and out into the kitchen. Faith was right, it was madness. There were rows of chefs, each brandishing a knife chopping at a million miles an hour. People bustled from one end of the room to the other with plates, glasses, bottles and various vegetables.
"He's been in the bar most of the evening but Anya said he slunk out around a half hour ago. Oz said he took the lift to the Diamond Suite and he hasn't been back down since." She stopped abruptly at the kitchen exit, peering around the corner into the corridor.
"Faith, you and your friends are risking everything by doing this - if he finds out he might sack you all and then -"
"Quit yabbering already! He's that far up his own hole it wouldn't occur to him he was being watched - sure, he might have a rant at me but what's the worst he can do huh?"
That question hung in the air between them, unanswered. Angel had a temper. That was something they were both quite clear on. Buffy knew Faith was pulling her bravado routine but what would this little escapade really cost them?
Faith caught Buffy's look of doubt and gave her a little shove on the shoulder. "Come on girl, don't even think of chickening out on me now. We've got him trussed up like a turkey up there, here is your chance once and for all to show the bastard how mistaken he was when he thought he could fool you."
Buffy smiled, her enthusiasm returning at the thought of giving Angel a piece of her mind.
"That's my girl." She pulled Buffy to her for a tight hug. "Ok, nip into the toilets through those double doors and slip this on." She shoved a maid outfit into Buffy's arms. "It's your size, don't worry. I figured this would make it much easier for you to make it up there without getting stopped."
~~~
Emerging from the toilets, she made her way back to the kitchens. Faith whistled loudly, "Well girl, I'd say you belonged here if I didn't know better!"
Buffy twirled. "Yeah, this starchy linen does wonders for my figure. Won't he suss out where I got this from though?"
"Stop worrying your pretty little head. He's gonna blame me whatever happens, so you just focus on the task in hand and let me worry about tall, dark and forehead ok?"
Buffy smiled a watery smile, nodding slowly.
"Right, let’s get this mission underway! Go through the door at the end of this corridor and take a right. Go through the double doors, hook a left and then a right. Go through the door at the end and you'll find yourself in the main lobby. Hop in the lifts and hit 30. The Diamond Suite is right in front of you. Take this." She shoved a bottle of champagne in Buffy's hand. "If anyone asks where your trolley is, say your running an errand for another maid on another floor. By the time you get to the suite, it'll just be a handy weapon to slug him with!"
"Faith, I'm not gonna hit him!!!"
"Relax, I'm kidding! It just makes your cover more realistic is all." She twirled Buffy by her shoulders and gave a tap on the behind. "Call me when you're done and I'll come get you!"
"Thank you. For everything."
"We're five by five. Now go!"
Buffy clutched the champagne tightly as she made her way down the corridor desperately trying to remember the directions Faith had given her. Breathing deeply, she pushed through the double doors and made a right.
~~~
William sat at the bar nursing his orange juice. He was the master of all he surveyed and he felt pretty damned good about it. Sure, he'd have preferred to have been sipping a whisky rather than an orange but due to his rather wild history and the fact he was technically still at work, orange would simply have to do.
The waiting staff were run ragged tonight. The room was full to capacity with the ladies in their evening finest and the gents in their dapper suits, posing at the bar with their ten dollar cocktails or picking through the low calorie portions of their gourmet six course meal. They reeked of money and power and success and he, William, was sat amongst them, more likely richer than all of them still feeling out of place.
Sure, his hotel was a goldmine and he wanted for nothing but having the money and being surrounded by money were two separate things entirely. He had closet after closet of Armani suits, four sports cars in the garage and a penthouse apartment to die for... yet he still liked to spend his Sundays watching Manchester United in his shorts with a bottle of Bud. He couldn't imagine any of these people doing anything like that. Doing something real. But hey, they were the reason he could afford to lie around all day in his shorts and for that, he had to at least show some gratitude.
Slugging down the last of his juice, he breathed in deep and slipped his work persona back on like a glove. Standing, he angled his shoulders, straightened his back and began to move through the crowd at the bar. The men turned to greet him with a handshake and a tight smile. He found jealousy an intriguing thing and something he himself didn’t experience often.
The ladies met his eyes with fluttering eyelashes and coy smiles, offering their hand for a chaste kiss to assault him with their $100 perfume. The women fascinated him. Their flawless skin and their perfectly applied make-up, their hair which never seemed to move and their faces fixed with a gallery of preselected expressions.
The one who had been different, who had stood out amongst the crowd had made sure he was forever immune from the wiles of these women. A compliment and a teasing caress on the inside of his wrist no longer made him feel special. It made him grimace. He had paid greatly for his previous mistake and never again would he believe that it was him that held the charm and appeal for these women. He knew it was the bulge of his wallet rather than the bulge of his trousers which inspired all the attention.
Of course, a man had to eat as Angel would say, and he would sometimes succumb to his needs and entertain a lady or two in the privacy of his suite. Lately, these occasions had been fewer and further between. Angel however, took full advantage of his status and wooed girl after girl, often never leaving his suite for days at a time. Thankfully, William was the more hands-on partner of the two and Angel's lack of input into the business suited him nicely. He was grateful for Angel's investment but it had always been his aim to earn enough to buy him out. However, it seemed that Angel loved the lifestyle and didn't have any intention of selling up.
After realising there were only so many sports cars that he could drive at once, William realised that he was happier ploughing his profits back into the hotel transforming it into one of California's trendiest venues. It had an exclusive rooftop fitness suite with a glass roof and exclusive privacy areas, a basement casino that rivalled Vegas and each room had recently been refurbished to five star standards. It was his very own Utopia. And he loved it.
Smiling wider with his own sense of accomplishment and pride, he navigated the bar with renewed enthusiasm. The staff watched him in awe, surprised how he never tired from schmoozing his guests. He would work the various rooms until the early hours of the morning and would still be smiling when he'd finished. None of them knew how grateful he really was. They just assumed he was keeping an eye on them all.
And indeed he always kept a watchful eye on his staff. He did have a tendency to be a harsh boss as his expectations were high and his tolerance for anything less was extremely low. He knew that the staff were a little afraid of him and that suited him as he knew they were less likely to try and pull any stunts. More importantly he was fair and no matter how many orders he barked at them, they all knew they could approach him and he would always listen.
However, there were times when he despaired of his staff and this was one such time. One of the chambermaids had found her way into the bar and was trying to find her way to the exit, bumping into various guests and leaving numerous spillages in her wake. He didn’t recognise her which was unusual and she certainly didn’t recognise him as her gaze passed over him without recognition or fear. He stalked towards her, bemused at her complete obliviousness to the disturbance she was creating.
~~~
How she had missed the lobby and found the dining area, she had no idea. She had no sooner turned the corner from the kitchens and found herself lost in a maze of stark white corridors. Having tried to find her way back, she had only succeeded in becoming more confused. Hearing distant music and voices, she followed the tinkling laughter in the hope it would lead her to the lobby. Instead, she found herself in the restaurant with no way of knowing exactly where in the hotel she was. If she could find the exit, she surely would manage to find her way to the lifts but her white pumps had reduced her height down to a rather short five foot and she had no hope of seeing the exit over the sea of people milling around the room. Cursing under her breath, she edged her way through the bar area trying to make herself as inconspicuous as she possibly could. She just hoped she wasn’t too late getting to the suite. Head down, she elbowed her way more forcefully through the clusters of guests, determined that this mission wouldn’t go up in smoke because of her poor sense of direction. Suddenly, a hand gripped her shoulder tightly, stopping her dead in her tracks.
A voice whispered low in her ear. “Are you lost, miss?” William spun her round on the spot. Her stomach turned as she realised her game was up, her scared eyes lifting to meet his. He scrutinized her carefully, his hand still gripping her shoulder. Even with her dishevelled hair and her over starched uniform, she was the most breath taking woman in the room. But what the hell was she doing here?
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