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Chapter 16- Fame

Fame makes a man take things over
Fame lets him loose, hard to swallow
Fame puts you there, where things are
hollow.
-David Bowie
Fame

Wesley Wyndham- Price, Wharton School of Business class of '92, had been employed as Lilah Morgan's executive assistant for the past 5 years. Soft spoken and possessing a keen intellect and quick wit, Wesley took care of Lilah with the tenacity of a truly gifted gatekeeper. He was privy to all her secrets and handled any assignment with alacrity.

She trusted and depended on him completely and he in turn regarded her as a brilliant mentor. She could always make the ruthless choice and he would always carry it out. They complemented each other perfectly.

When Wesley walked into her office late that evening and said “It's done,” Lilah waited for the elaboration that she knew would be forthcoming. Wesley always provided the small details she needed to do her job.

She motioned to the chair in front of her desk. He sat down and leaned forward. “I had Carol in HR fire her, but I'm afraid it's too late. Harmony has admitted to calling Ethan Rayne at Secrets almost immediately after finding that Spike was out of rehab. She even took the initiative to phone Dr. Walsh's clinic, pretend the call was from us, and check on Spike. A nurse over there told her he had been released and that he was leaving town. She refuses to admit how she found out his destination.”

Lila looked at Wesley. “Hmm, I would expect so; computer fraud is a prosecutable offense. Since Ethan knows everything, we have to assume that his reporters are with Spike.” Lilah looked grim. “God knows what they've dug up or twisted to their satisfaction.”

Wes sat up straight. “Shall I go and check on him? Find out what he's doing?”

Lilah grimaced at the thought of all the things a wayward Spike could possibly be doing and the potential headaches those same possibilities could cause. “Yes, I want you to go to Sunnydale. Leave in the morning and take Riley and Adam with you. You'll need bodyguards if word gets out that Spike's not in rehab any longer and word will get out. It's not like Ethan to keep the lid on any story for long.

In fact, don't you have a source at Secrets? Find out if Ethan's planning to run anything tomorrow or the next day and let me know before you leave.”

Wesley nodded and stood, already planning the steps he needed to take before boarding Lilah's jet.

Lilah held her hand up and looked at him intently. “Wes, keep him out of trouble. If he is writing-- and damn it, he better be-- bring him back here. We can protect him and the manuscript better here than in some backwater town.”

He nodded and closed the door softly.

Lilah reached over, opened her bottom desk drawer and pulled out a crystal decanter of Dewar's and a small glass. She poured herself a drink, leaned back in her chair and stared down at the bright lights of downtown L.A.

Why is it that a brilliant author like Spike always has to be such an equally brilliant pain in the ass? She took a long swallow and began to plan her battle strategy.

*****
Willow took one look at Buffy the next morning and grinned. Well, finally. She had noticed the looks between the two blonds and the little touches at the restaurant last night and in the limo on the way home.

In fact, she and Tara had decided to plead off from any late night clubbing on purpose. The UST had gotten so bad before the evening's end; they had almost decided to lock them up together in an unoccupied cottage.

“Professor Giles came in this morning and said goodbye.” He even noticed Spike stroking Buffy's leg in the limo. I saw him wink at Tara.

She turned innocently to Buffy. “So were you up late?” She shook her head. “Nah, I can't do this. Okay, I have eyes; you finally did the deed with Spike.” She smirked. “So spill already. I can't stand it.”

Buffy grinned at her best friend behind the counter. “He was wonderful. Willow? He told me he loved me last night.”

Willow smiled broadly. “He did? Well, it's about time. I see the way he looks at you. So what did you say?”

“I told him I was disappointed because I didn't get to say it first.”

Willow squealed and hugged her friend. “We'll talk some more later. I can't wait to tell Tara.” She walked back to sit behind the counter while Buffy went to the supply cabinet to pick up cleaning supplies to clean the Woods cottage. They'd checked out late yesterday.

Buffy walked through the back door as three men walked in the office from the front. Willow looked up brightly and prepared to welcome them to Beachside, only to quickly shut her mouth and frown instead.

Wow, those are some seriously large men. They sure don't look like they're on vacation. Did the President arrive and no one told me?

Two of the men, dressed in dark suits, sunglasses and earpieces, were tall and extremely muscular. They stood waiting quietly by the office door. The third man, equally tall, although more slender, and dressed more casually in tan slacks and a white polo shirt, walked to the desk and smiled down at Willow. “Excuse me. I'm looking for one of your guests. His name is William Jamison.”

Willow wasn't sure what to do. She started an internal debate. Well, he's asked for William, not Spike. So that must mean Spike knows him. Although Spike isn't the type to hang out with terrorists or mafia, so who are these guys anyway? Maybe they've found out that Spike's registered here and they're really media people. She mentally slapped herself. Think, Willow, and stop babbling.
Looking up at him, she hedged. “And you are..?”

“I am Wesley Wyndham- Price, a business acquaintance of Mr. Jamison.”

She breathed out a silent sigh of relief. Spike was still safe. “I'm just filling in for someone on vacation. Let me get the owner for you.” She looked at the two silent men standing stiffly by the door. “Um, make yourselves comfortable and I'll be right back.”

Hurrying through the back of the office, she almost ran over Tara walking around the corner. “Oh my God Willow, you almost made me drop these.” She was carrying a cut glass vase containing a dozen dark red roses.

Even on a mission Willow couldn't contain her curiosity. “They're exquisite, where did they come from?”

Tara grinned. “Have you seen Buffy yet? Did she and Spike finally do the deed?” Willow nodded a vigorous yes to both questions.

“Then we can assume these are from Spike. I just caught the florist. He was trying to find someone home at her cottage. There are five more arrangements just like this sitting outside the door. He sent her six dozen red roses this morning.”

Tara finally noticed Willow's agitation. “What's wrong?”

Willow quickly helped Tara move the roses out of the sun while she filled her in on her errand.

She found them both in the Woods' empty cottage. Buffy was cleaning the kitchen while Spike sprawled on the couch talking to her. Willow entered the cottage and he gave her a bright smile. “'Lo Willow. How's the office princess today?”

He noticed her expression and sat up abruptly. “What's the matter?”

Buffy heard him ask and walked out of the kitchen. “Is something wrong? Why aren't you in the office?”

“Tara's watching it. Spike, there's a man there asking for you, says he knows you. His name is Mr. Wyndham-Price and he has these two huge body builder type guys with him.”

Spike looked at Buffy. “I know him; he works for Lilah Morgan, my agent. If he's here, something's up.” He sighed. “Well luv, it looks like my world is about to intrude on yours.”

When Buffy and Spike walked into the office, Tara gave them a relieved smile. She walked over and whispered. “They're certainly not friendly. No one spoke at all while we were waiting for you. I still don't even know the other two guys' names.”

Spike glanced at the two men still standing silently by the door. “I do.”

He called out to Wesley, who was looking out the window with his back turned. “'Lo, Wes.”

Just as Wesley turned around, Buffy finally noticed all the roses dotted around the room.

She touched Spike's arm. “Are these from you? Oh Spike, they're absolutely beautiful.”

He whispered in her ear. “Not nearly as beautiful as you. I love you.”

She whispered “I love you, too.” She reached up and kissed him tenderly.

He pulled her close and kissed her harder.

Willow and Tara smiled at each other and then at the couple. They were locked in their embrace, oblivious to their surroundings.

Wesley, looking unsurprised, cleared his throat. “It's good to see you Sp-William.”

Spike reluctantly pulled away. “You can stop the pretense, Wes. This is my girlfriend Buffy Summers, and these are her close friends Tara Maclay and Willow Rosenberg. They all know who I am. So, why did Lilah send you all the way down here? Since you've brought Adam and Riley, I'm going out on a limb here and guess that it's not for the sun and sand.”

Wesley shook Buffy's hand and smiled at the other women. “It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Summers, ladies.” He turned back to Spike, suddenly serious. “You are correct. There was a leak in our office regarding your trip. It's been taken care of, but unfortunately Ethan Rayne had already been apprised of the situation.”

“Damn.”

Buffy looked questioningly at Spike. “Who's Ethan Rayne?”

Wesley answered. “He's the editor-in-chief of Secrets magazine. They've had an uncommon interest in Spike for the previous two years.”

Willow spoke up. “Uncommon interest? Ha. I'd say more like a vendetta.”

Buffy looked amused and Tara snickered.

Willow looked around. “What? I stand in line at the grocery store just like everybody else.”

Wesley looked pointedly at Spike. “Lilah believes they've had a reporter and a photographer on you since you first arrived.”

Spike blanched.

Buffy was confused. “The only two people I've had here was that cute couple from Cleveland. They didn't seem so bad. Wouldn't they need to display some sort of id or something?”

Willow shot her an apologetic look. “So, Mr. Wyndham-Price, if they were reporters, what should Spike do now?”

“Please call me Wesley. Lilah has requested that we return immediately to Los Angeles.”

Tara spoke for the first time. “Spike hasn't done anything wrong.” She gave him a shy smile. “He's not drinking and he's working again. There's nothing to write about now.”

Wesley looked pointedly at Buffy. “There is one thing.”

Turning back to Spike, he said, “Lilah has discovered that Ethan plans to run a series on you concentrating on your relationship history with various women. The working title is something like 'The Big Bad's Women', or some such nonsense. It follows several of your, ahem, more colorful relationships. We've been told it also contains recent information regarding Ms. Summers.”

Looking apologetically at Buffy, he continued. “My source mentioned several pictures which could prove embarrassing to Ms. Summers and yourself. They also supposedly have some excerpts from your most recent writing endeavors, which they plan to paraphrase. They will use brief excerpts, which they will then change enough to prevent us from challenging in court, of course. He will likely run a teaser in the next edition which is in one week.”

“That's why you brought Heckle and Jeckle.” He sighed. “So what does Lilah want me to do?”

“You need to pack and travel back to L.A. with me. It is imperative that you leave here and be safely ensconced somewhere before that edition hits the stands. It will be necessary to remain out of the public's eye. The article will probably be printed in the following issue, which would be three weeks from tomorrow.”

He looked over at the two women. “It would be to your advantage to leave as well.”

Willow thought out loud. “You want to leave a cold trail for the reporters, right? No one will know where anybody went.”

Buffy gasped. “Leave? Leave right now?”

Spike looked around the room. “Would you excuse us? Buffy and I need to have some time to ourselves. Willow, why don't you order lunch for everyone?”

He took Buffy's hand and gently pulled her away. “Come on luv, we need a sit-down.”

Willow tried to summon a smile. “So who here likes Chinese?”

Buffy was in shock. Things were starting to happen way too fast. Spike's leaving for L.A. now and I'm going to miss him so much. What am I going to do? What's going to happen to us?

Spike steered her into the office and gently kicked the door closed. He sat down with her on the old sofa. Taking her face in his hands, he tenderly looked into her eyes. She looks lost. Damn my life, it always becomes so complicated. And now Buffy's involved. I wanted to shield her at least for a while from all the crap.

“Buffy, luv, I know this is sudden. It's just not fair that we finally find each other and now everything seems different. But it's not really different. I still love you and you still love me.”

“Why do you have to go now? Can't you just hide here in my cottage or somewhere else around Sunnydale?”

He took a deep breath. “When that teaser runs, every magazine and newspaper in the country will send a reporter and a photographer here. They'll all be fighting each other, and me, trying to get quotes and pictures. They'll want to know about my rehab visit, my writing, about my life now. It will be an absolute circus.”

He looked at her solemnly. “They'll want things that I feel are extremely private printed on the front page and they'll want information about you, too.”

He hugged her tightly and then held her hand in both of his. “Which is the reason I want you to come with me to LA.”

Buffy was confused. “Spike, what are you talking about? I can't just leave for L.A. What about my business? And Dawn will be back in a couple days, what about her?”

“Buffy, I'm so sorry this has happened. Maybe if I'd been more vigilant, I could have figured out what was going on, but I didn't. Now I've got to face the consequences.”

He ran his fingers through his hair in the gesture Buffy found so endearing. “Unfortunately, you're stuck in this with me. When that article hits, this place will become a zoo. There will be reporters and photographers everywhere. They'll want you to answer very personal questions. If they've got pictures of us together, you won't be able to go anywhere without them following you. You really need the protection as much as I do.”

She started to shake her head.

Spike held her hands tighter. “Just hear me out a minute. You're going to need to close the business for a couple weeks. No one will be able to get in or out of here anyway, so your customers would be inconvenienced. Dawn can stay with us in LA or, if she'd rather, she can stay with a friend. I'm sorry this has happened, but now we need to think about the ramifications for everybody, not just ourselves. I'm sure you don't want Dawn involved, or Willow and Tara. They'll all be compromised if they stay here.”

Buffy considered his words carefully, trying to think. “Well, this was the soft opening. I don't actually have any customers scheduled until next month. I was going to use this time to finish the last couple cottages. And if we close, Tara and Willow can bring Dawn back to their place in L.A. or drop her off with us.”

“You can hire someone to finish while we're gone. I'll pay for it, since it's my fault all this is so screwed up.” He smiled, relieved that she was taking this so calmly. “I've been through this before, things will calm down after a couple weeks. You can stay at my place, it will be a little like a vacation. Personally, I believe you've worked so hard getting this place ready, you could use a couple weeks vacation before it really gets rolling.”

Buffy smiled her agreement. “I'll do it, on one condition.”

“What's the condition?”

“That you don't stop writing. Don't let me or any of this mess keep you from finishing your book.”

“Not a problem, it's almost finished now. But I've got a condition of my own. I want you to promise to use this time to relax, and not to worry.”

After lunch Buffy called Dawn on her cell phone. She elected to stay with Janice for a couple more weeks. Things began to move quickly. Tara and Willow walked back to their cottage to pack. Buffy checked the empty cottages, locking windows and doors.

She went home to pack some luggage and lock her own home. Wesley dispatched Riley and Adam to help the women with their luggage.

When everyone left to load luggage, Spike took the opportunity to speak privately with Wesley. He leaned against the side of the building. “So Wes, how bad is it really?”

Wesley grimaced. “It's bad, Spike. They've got pictures of you and Buffy kissing at the beach. They've got pictures inside your cottage, and some of you and her dancing somewhere. They can make up any story they want to go with them, you know how it works.”

Spike thought back over the previous few days. “There was a couple here and they tried to hang out with me, but they weren't really that pushy. I think I know when they probably got the pictures of the cottage; I noticed my laptop was turned on one day and they must have followed us to the restaurant last night.”

He put his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I wasn't being particularly astute, was I? It's been so long; I guess I've forgotten how to play the game.” He looked ruefully at Wes. “Or maybe I just didn't care. Now, though, it matters to me very much.”

Wesley took the opening offered. “She's a lovely girl, although, I dare say, quite different than your usual choice. This will be quite difficult for her.”

He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. “Yeah, she is different. I think that's part of the reason I fell in love with her. It was wonderful to have someone love me for just me. She didn't have a clue about Spike, until I told her.”

Wesley hesitated. “There is one more thing, something about Ms. Summers. It's an incident involving a car accident in New York. It seems if this article garners enough attention, they will run a separate profile piece on Ms. Summers.”

“She's already told me all about that, it was perfectly innocent.”

Spike suddenly felt extremely angry. He dropped the cigarette, crushing it into the ground with a boot. “Wes, you have to help me protect her.”

“We'll do our best. Now, I must apprise Lilah of our departure.”





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