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"You actually got the job?" Cordelia Chase said over the telephone line, her voice raised with astonishment. "You were hired just like that, by one of the city's most prestigious law firms? Wait till I tell Willow... She's gonna flip. Medical School has been kicking her ass."

"Well, Mrs. Osbourne has a lot to worry about, a baby being on the way and all. Plus, it also helps that I've known the family since I've been born," Buffy said with just a hint of sarcasm.

"Why is it that everything comes so easy for you?" Cordelia lamented.

"Me? You're the one trying out for a lead in Guys and Dolls. By the way, how did auditions go?"

"I don't know. It's so hard to tell. I would kill for that part, but everyone else was so good."

"Well, I have faith in you. You're a natural, Cordy." It was true, her friend had a knack for the dramatic, and that had always made their friendship so interesting.

"Between you and Devon, I'm going to get a big head."

"Too late."

"Look who's talking, Ms. Fiesta Queen."

"Ok, Prom Queen."

"Fine, fine. I give. I am amazing, but you already knew that. How did your interview with Spike go?"

"Really well, I think." Spike had dominated her thoughts all afternoon. He'd changed she decided, or maybe she was the one who was different. Whichever, she found herself enthralled by the man. The thought of working with him excited her.

"What about the other one? Angel?"

"I'm his legal assistant."

Cordy noticed the hesitation in her voice because she asked, "What? Are you scared you're gonna act like a total stalker-again?"

"What? No! I was thirteen!"

After she'd hung up, Buffy emailed Willow. When Willow and Oz moved to Boston, Buffy took a computer course to learn how to use the internet.

Despite her best efforts, her thoughts kept coming back to Spike. The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself over another Giles.

According to her mom, Jenny had complained that her elder son didn't take enough time for fun in his life. What Spike needed, Buffy had now decided, was to fall in love with a woman who would take his mind off his work. Someone fun. Someone who would make him laugh and enjoy life. Someone who appreciated him. Someone like me.



The following day, Angel didn't show up at the office until well after eleven. Tara had been pleasantly surprised to see him there before her lunch break.

"Good morning, Mr. Giles," she said, showing much more confidence than she had previously when he was around. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

Angel seemed to need time to think about this. "I hadn't noticed, but you're right, it is a gorgeous day," he said as he reached for his mail and leafed through the envelopes.

He was on his way into the office when he noticed Buffy sitting at her desk.

"Good morning, Mr. Giles," she offered.

"Angel," he insisted. "You can call Will Mr. Giles if you insist, but I'm Angel."

"Alright then. Good morning, Angel."

"It is a good morning, isn't it" he asked, giving her a roguish grin. Buffy couldn't help but respond with a smile of her own. She hadn't noticed it so much the day before, but there were definite changes in the Angel she remembered. He was thinner and his smiles didn't quite reach his eyes. Another thing she couldn't help noticing was the way everyone walked on eggshells around him. Tara had made a point of letting her know Angel's work load had been cut, and Spike had said Angel hadn't yet recovered from a broken relationship.

"It's been a long time since we've had a chance to talk, hasn't it?" Angel asked, walking over and sitting on the edge of Buffy's desk.

"A very long time," she agreed, praying he wouldn't bring up any of her childish attempts at capturing his heart. It was embarrassing enough to have Spike do it.

"I think we should make up for lost opportunities, don't you? Tell you what - I'll treat you to lunch." He checked his watch and seemed surprised at the time. "We'll leave in half an hour. That'll give me enough time to clear whatever's on my desk."

"Wait. You wanna take me to lunch? Today?" Buffy asked.

"It's the least I can do," Angel replied with a shrug.

"But-"

"That's a great idea," Tara interjected, clearly pleased.

"It's only my second day."

"Buffy, sweetie, we're going to lunch. Don't argue with your boss," Angel said with a smile.



Ten minutes later, despite Buffy's protests, Angel was leading her out to his car. As they passed Spike's office, he was walking out. His gaze shifted from Buffy to Angel.

"Buffy and I are on our way to lunch." Angel explained. "Do you need me for anything?"

"No. Go ahead. We'll talk later. Meeting in my office tomorrow, mate?"

"Don't miss me too much, brother."

"Oh, I don't know how I'll go on." Spike muttered sarcastically. "Now go. Your lady's waiting."



At lunch, Angel didn't want to talk about himself. Instead, he continually asked her questions about herself. Although he appeared attentive, Buffy suspected his thoughts were elsewhere. At least he refrained from bringing up the past and her crush.

After their dishes were cleared away, Angel took out a pad and pen. "I'm going to be working on a civil suit that'll demand a lot of research," he told Buffy. His eyes were bright with enthusiasm she hadn't seen since high school. "The case involves R.J. Brooks. Do you remember reading about him?"

Buffy nodded. The unusual details of the case had been in the local newspapers for weeks. The twenty-year-old former athlete was suing the Sunnydale School District for his education. She remembered that during her senior year of high school everyone was excited because RJ was a prominent freshman that would lead the athletic department to victory.

Buffy now wished she had brought a pen and a notebook herself. She listened carefully as Angel explained the suit. RJ was a very talented athlete as the quarterback of the football team, point guard during basketball season, and pitcher on the all-district baseball team. He had to maintain a C average to be eligible to play, but RJ had a learning disability and struggled with his reading skills. He graduated and was awarded a scholarship only because his teachers were pressured by the school district into giving him passing grades. When he went to college, he got a severe knee injury during football camp that ended his career. Within two months, RJ had flunked out.

Buffy needed to research the outcome of similar suits filed in other parts of the country.

So the real reason for this lunch was to work on the case, Buffy thought.

By the time they had returned to the office, their lunch hour had stretched to three. Buffy felt like every one in the office was staring at them. She tried to walk directly to her desk without calling attention to herself, but as she passed Spike's office he called out "It's called a lunch hour for a reason, pet."

Angel just laughed while Buffy looked at her shoes. It was all she could do not to tell him it had been a business lunch, but with Angel standing there she didn't want to look stupid. She decided to stay late to make up for the long lunch.

Although it was well after seven when she started out of the office, quite a few people were still there.

"Buffy." Spike said as he walked out of his office.

"Hey, Spike."

"How'd the lunch go with brother dearest?" he asked.

"It was great. We talked all about the RJ Brooks case," Buffy replied, trying to emphasize that they had been working.

They discussed Angel and the case a little more before finally parting ways in the garage parking lot.

As Buffy walked home, she at last understood why she was hired for this job. Spike still thought of her as a teenage girl obsessed with his younger brother. If ever there was a time Angel needed to feel idolized, it was now. She'd been hired, not for her legal skills, but to help his brother forget all about Faith.



The following morning around ten, Angel, his smile bright enough to rival the sun, breezed into the office and presented Buffy with a bouquet of a dozen blood red roses. Their perfume filled the room.

Buffy didn't know what to say. "For me?"

"I need a favor," Angel said, leaning against the edge of her desk, his face scant inches from her own.

"Sure." She was holding the flowers against her like a beauty queen, inhaling their heavenly scent.

Angel reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a folded sheet of yellow paper. "I need you to do some last-minute research for me."

"That's my job."

"There're some statutes I need you to look up and report back to me on as soon as possible. Will you do that for me, Buffy?"

Buffy smiled, but then as she looked at the number of items Angel wanted her to research her heart sank. "How soon do you need all this?"

"Yesterday," he replied frankly.

Tara made a sarcastic tsk-tsk sound, and Buffy smile returned. Angel's eyes twinkled and he whispered rather loudly, "There's nothing worse than a woman who can't let 'I told you so' pass. Remember that, Buffy."

Tara looked Angel dead in the eye and said, "I told you so."

Buffy laughed lightly. "I'd best get started. I'll get this all done tonight."

"Good girl," Angel replied looking at her. "And you, Ms. McClay, should really stop hanging around Anya. She's a bad influence on my once sweet and shy secretary."

Tara giggled and blushed furiously as she arranged the flowers in a vase and placed it on the edge of Buffy's desk. Buffy rushed down the hall to the legal library to get to work. She worked straight through her lunch hour. She didn't notice the time until it was well after three, when her stomach rumbled in protest. Even then she didn't take the time to sit down to eat, but grabbed an apple and munched on it while she continued to search for the required data.

The next time she looked up, the clock on the wall said seven forty-five. She'd heard the others leave, but that seemed like only minutes ago. She stood up and, placed her hand at the base of her spine, arched her stiff back and breathed in deeply.

Her eyes felt tired and her back sore as she carried her paperwork into the office. She stopped, surprised to find the room dark. She flicked the lights on and looked around, certain Angel had left a note for her.

He hadn't.

Picking up one of the roses, she held it to her nose and closed her eyes as she tried to battle down weariness-and disappointment.

"Buffy, luv, what are you doing here?"

"Spike." She could ask him the same question.

"It's nearly eight o'clock, pet."

"I guess I got a little carried away."

"You certainly did, little one. I thought I was here alone. You shouldn't be staying this late."

She glanced toward Angel's office. "What time did Liam leave?" she asked trying to sound casual, not wanting him to know how abused she felt.

"Peaches left a couple hours ago. Why?" the question was out of his mouth before he had time to suppress it. If Buffy was still infatuated with the wanker, it wasn't any of his business.

"Well, he acted like this information had to be done tonight-that he needed it right away." She'd been in a frenzy attempting to finish the task as quickly as possible. She'd assumed he would wait until she'd collected the data he seemed to need so desperately.

"I think he said something about a bloody dinner engagement. I don't know though. I don't listen much when that git talks," Spike explained.

"I see," she muttered. In other words, he'd cheerfully abandoned her.

"Are you okay, luv? You sound angry."

"I am. I worked through lunch hour getting this stuff for him." And dinner hour, too, she thought, feeling even angrier. She realized too late that she probably also sounded jealous.

"I'm sorry, luv."

"It's no big," Buffy replied, trying desperately not to sound jealous. That was the last thing she wanted Spike to think. "It was just rude of him."

"Yeah, well what do you expect from Peaches?"

"I don't know. He's not how I remember him."

"Yeah, well, things change. Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, a little hungry maybe." Her stomach growled in protest.

Spike smirked. "A little? When's the last time you've eaten a meal?"

"Uh."

"That's it."

"What?"

Spike grabbed her arm and led her outside. "I'm taking you to dinner, giving you a real meal."

"What? No. I mean you don't have to," Buffy replied as she fell into step beside him

"Pet, you're hungry. I'm hungry. Let's get un-hungry together."

"Um. Fine, but only cuz you used the phrase un-hungry," Buffy said with a smile.

"What?"

"Oh, originality scores big on the Buffy scale, plus earns you some Fonzy cool points," Buffy explained.

"Eh." Spike muttered as he led her into a restaurant only a few blocks from the office.

Dinner went by great. Spike seemed fascinated with Buffy's life. She told him stories about her friends, school, boys, everything.

"Cordelia Chase?! Of Chase Corporations?" Spike asked skeptically.

"Yes, what's so hard to believe about that?"

"She gave up all her money to become an actress?!"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"It's her dream. Her dad didn't support her, said that he wouldn't pay for her to become a nobody. She told him to take his money and shove it up his ass."

"Wow." Spike said in awe. "Sometimes I wish I had the guts to say something like that to Rupes."

"You don't want to be a lawyer?" Buffy asked as Spike paid for the meal.

"At first I didn't. I fancied myself a writer actually," Spike replied, grabbing her elbow and leading her out of the restaurant. "But now I love it. I always have wondered though. What if I...well, I suppose it doesn't matter."

"I suppose it does."

"It looks like rain," Spike said, changing the subject.

No sooner had he spoken when fat raindrops began to fall. Taking Buffy by the elbow again, he raced across the street. Neither had thought to bring an umbrella. Spike led her to an alcove in front of a bookstore. The business had closed hours earlier, but the covered entrance was a good place to wait out the cloudburst. A chill raced over Buffy, and she rubbed her arms vigorously.

Spike's slender hands replaced hers, then he stopped and peeled off his duster, draping it over her shoulders.

"Spike, I'm fine," she protested, not wanting him to be cold just because she forgot a jacket.

"You're shivering."

"Well now you will be."

"You're shivering," Spike repeated.

"Thank you," Buffy said softly, breaking the awkward silence that had occurred.

Spike tilted his head, and smiled a smile that was almost shy. "Don't mention it, luv."



The downpour lasted a good ten minutes. Buffy was surprised at how quickly the time passed. When the storm dwindled to a drizzle and eventually stopped, Buffy discovered she was almost sorry. She listened as Spike told her about the books that were on display. She loved to watch his eyes light up when she would ask about a particular book he liked.

"Did you drive to work this morning?"

"I can't drive," Buffy replied sheepishly.

"I'll give you a lift then, pet."

"Really, Spike I don't mind walking."

"Well I mind."

They returned to the office building, walking directly to Spike's car. Spike opened the car door for her and she nestled back in the leather seat.

One thing she'd learned during their time together was the fact that Spike was protective of his younger brother, though she doubted Angel appreciated that.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?' she asked, without clarifying her question.

"Yeah."

"Angel's the real reason you hired me, isn't he? You think I might be able to help him through this...difficult time." It wasn't a responsibility she welcomed or wanted. She was about to explain that when she noticed the way his mouth quirked into an amused smirk.

Instead she told him sharply, "I'm not thirteen anymore. What I felt for Liam was just a silly crush. It was over years ago." That was the simple truth.

He shrugged noncommittally.

"Nevertheless," she forged on, "you hired me because of Angel?"

It took Spike a long time to answer. "Sometimes I wonder," he finally said. "Sometimes, luv, I wonder."





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