Chapter 4
William pulled down the blinds and locked the front door
“Hey, did you read that article about Stebson – he had a piece of so-called work dumped!!”
“Oh yes, I saw something…what an idiot! Mind you it’s where it belongs – in the dumpster!” Xander said
“The trouble is, when you’ve got rock-stars like Rack Kidson, and people with more money than sense like Prince Azzeera who’ll buy just about any old tat, he gets away with it” William said, setting the burglar alarm.
Walking through the underground parking lot together Xander and William said goodbye and made for their respective homes.
When he got home, William took out his sketch pad and began to draw the girls face from memory. He knew every curve of her cheek, the funny cute bump on her nose, the rosebud lips, the tumbling blonde hair………
ooOOoo
The Lincoln Building, Belgrade and 7th, Manhattan
“Angel, you want me to book this venue in LA then?” Cordelia asked her boss. Angel was idly sorting through the already sorted for him pile of mail.
“Which one is it?” he asked tossing down an invite to a book launch, and picking up a catalogue
“Giles Fine Art – it’s the biggest venue in LA, as regards floor space – for galleries anyway”
“Hmm, Giles huh…used to know a guy at Art School called Giles…William Giles”
“That’s him!” Cordelia said, looking at her computer monitor, she began to type.
“Hmm, he’s got a gallery has he…I’m surprised he sent you this knowing it’s for me…” Angel waved the floor plan and booking leaflet
“He doesn’t, yet, I got him to send to my home address in California, I bought it with me”
“So…he must be doing well for himse – CORDELIA – What’s this?!”
Angel waved the Art World Magazine under her nose.
“Ah, that um…I don’t know how it got out, it must have been the gallery that tipped the press”
“Advertising their own incompetence huh…oh well, it’s all publicity I suppose” he threw the offending magazine down
Angel’s mobile trilled and he fished it out of his pocket
“Rack – you old SOB – how are you doing………uh huh…when, tonight – could do, could do yeah………have you now, interesting………so how many at this party hmm – hahaha – just you and me huh………AND some ladies from the House of Aphrodite huh… sounds like my kinda party, count me in!”
“Angel!” Cordelia warned quietly, rolling her eyes
“Hold on…hold on Rack, Little Miss Tightly-Wound is trying to warn me here!” Angel said grinning. Cordelia could hear Rack laughing
She gave Angel a filthy look and continued typing – she didn’t know why she put up with him.
“Hoo woo! If looks could kill – hahaha yeah…okay great, I wanted an early night too – coz if I’m not in bed by 7.30pm, then I’m starting without you!” Angel ended the call; he still had a big grin on his face.
“When are you going to grow up?” Cordelia asked sitting back in her chair
“And when are you going to stop acting like my mother!” Angel parried
“What – you wish!”
“Well, my ‘moral guardian’ then – I’m a big boy now Cordy, I can look after myself.”
“You get yourself into scrapes and situations, the media have a field day, and-“
“And, AND? Don’t you understand, it’s ALL publicity!” Angel stood from perching on the end of her desk and faced her.
“Yes, BAD publicity!” Cordelia reasoned
“And has it done me any harm? Hell, I get papped coming out of the Chameleon Rooms at 3.30 in the morning, and next thing Prince Azzeera is on the phone wanting to buy my latest piece for ‘X’ million – all to the good, AND it pays your wages, so stop fucking moaning, s’not what I pay you for”
Cordelia clicked the cursor on ‘close’ and her monitor went off. She stood up and hitched her bag on her shoulder and said,
“Just remember where you are Angel, New Yorkers take their art seriously – you have an opening of an exhibiton tomorrow afternoon, is it really wise to go and get wasted the night before?”
“Told you, I’m a big boy now!” Angel said moving in close. Cordelia backed away from him invading her personal space and said,
“One of these days Angel, you’ll come to your senses, either that or the public will, and you’ll be left with nothing”
Angel frowned and thought, ‘what could she mean?’…but he said nothing and watched her leave.
He picked up the leaflet form the William Giles Fine Art Gallery and looked at the floor plan.
“Okay, Angel’s coming to town…hehe, you won’t know what’s fucking hit you” And with that, he put the leaflet down and left the building.
ooOOoo
The next day, Xander and William were going through the mail………
“Okay nearly done ……… there’s this one, Book launch, the invites’ from the publishers, Vayber and Deane, ‘Art History of the Victorian Era’” Xander asked
William frowned who’s it by?”
“Um, guy called Charles Gunn”
“Never heard of him…the invites from the publishers did you say – where is it?”
“Yup, from the publishers, and it’s at The Book Cellar in Montroy”
William screwed up his nose and shook his head saying,
“No, decline, I hate those things, standing around sipping warm sauvignon waiting for the author, who turns up for two minutes to be whisked off again without so much of a glimpse of them – so, is that it?”
“Er no…I’ve been saving this till last”
“Save the best till last then?” William said with a grin, and then he saw Xander’s face
“Come on then, out with it…letter from the IRS is it, the tax men want their pound of flesh do they?”
“No, nothing like that, we’ve had this come” Xander passed William a booking form
“Oh yes, I remember, from that woman what’s-her-name – from last week”
“Cordelia Chase” William put the form on the desk again
“That’s her! So when does she want the gallery, and for and how long?”
“Um, it’s not exactly her…two weeks, all the space available, premium rate”
William rubbed his hands and was grinning with glee
“So what’s the problem?”
“It’s for um…Stebson, Angel Stebson” Xander said flatly. Suddenly looking horrified, William snatched up the booking form and scrutinised it.
“Well, no way. I’m not having his…his rubbish cluttering up MY gallery, and that’s that!” William said
“But Will-“
“Don’t try and change my mind Xander, I can’t stand the bloke, his so called ‘art’ or his moral-less lifestyle! Did you see the front of the Herald yesterday, did you- he fell out of one of those trendy nightclubs, punched a photographer, threw up on the sidewalk and then told them to ‘let it dry and sell it to the Cobra Gallery as they’ll buy any old S.H.I.T of his!”
Xander had to smile at the way William spelt out the word shit!
“No! I won’t have my morals compromised for $1000 a day while his, his stuff is in here!”
“Ahem…Will…not $1000 a day…I told them $10,000 a day. Anya thought it a good idea too”
“She, you…how much?” William asked confused, his arm still in the air from his earlier rant
“Ten THOUSAND a day…Anya said it’ll cover your tax bill, and it’ll let him know this isn’t some little gallery – think of the publicity”
“But I don’t want…”
“Come on Will – where’s your sense of adventure, everybody needs publicity!”
“Not the bad kind HE produces we don’t!”
“Well you tell Anya then…coz I’m not that brave! Xander said smiling, William frowned.
ooOOoo
“Hey babe, it’s me!” He was trying for deep and rumbley, got croaky at best
“Sorry, who’s this?” the blonde girl asked, looking in the hall mirror checking her make-up, it was 7.55am
“It’s me, Angel!”
“Angel? – Oh………what do you want at this time of the morning?”
“Well that’s nice! I phone you up, to see how you are, and –“
“And Bullshit. What do you want Angel, I need to get to work, some of us do do that you know, work for a living
“Hey I work!”
“You roll naked in paint over canvasses and sell it to people with more money that sense – I’d hardly call that work!”
Angel’s smile left him, there was no sweet-talking this one, unless…
“You still live in Sunnydale don’t you?”
“Yes”
“Do me a favour”
“Why should I?”
“Because you love me?”
“Pfft!”
Angel frowned and rolled his eyes
“Okay like me then”
“Not even warm!”
“Well, want to do something out of the goodness of your heart for m-“
“Look, Angel, it’s three minutes to eight, if I don’t leave in three minutes, I’ll hit traffic at Parkway, and-“
“Well shut up and listen!”
“Charming!”
“BUFFY! I’ll book you into The Tudor Grange Spa Club for a weekend”
Buffy’s brows rose with interest, she said
“Make it a week and I’ll listen”
“Good girl!”
“I only said I’d listen, not that I’ll do what you want” Angel rolled his eyes, this was tougher than he thought it was going to be, had he pissed her off at sometime – most probably………
“Do you know a gallery by where you work, it’s called…hold on where’s the form………it’s called the William Giles Fine Art Gallery?”
“Yeah, I know it, what of it?”
“Only that’s where I’m holding my next exhibition”
“Really, I thought it looked a classy place too”
“HEY!” Angel said indignantly
“Time’s running out here Angel, that’s the eight o’clock news I can hear!”
“Go in the gallery, and see if there’s a geeky looking guy with almost Afro hair and glasses”
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Well use your imagination, go in, ask them opening times or something and look around”
“And then what?”
“And if there is, let me know”
“How?”
“Phone me”
“I don’t have your number anymore”
“You don’t?” Buffy was pleased he sounded almost hurt at that!
“Look, just leave your number to the message machine here, I’ve got to go, bye”
“Okay bye then Buffy and tha-(CLUNK – beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep) well thanks!” Angel looked at the receiver and put it down…he must have either REALLY pissed her off at one time or he was losing his touch…
ooOOoo
“Just went off mid call…I managed to phone them back, but it’s because the phone jack is very stretched” Xander explained to his boss William nodded and got down on the floor
“I’ll just get under the desk and…hold on, let me lift the mat here…that’s got it…oh the wire is stretched hang on let me…”
The gallery door opened and Xander eye’s popped
“Good morning I wondered if you could help me…”
“Cer, um cert certainly!” Xander stuttered
“Ow! Ow! Xander stop kicking…almost got – XANDER will you stop kicking me I almost (THUMP) Ow! Bloody hell I almost had it then and you…you – (an irate William with his hand on his head rubbing the bump glared at his assistant who was staring straight ahead) William followed his gaze and his eyes popped too!
“It’s you!”
The blonde giggled and said
“Ow, I bet that hurt!”
“Um, er, well, uh huh…”
“Can you help me – what are your opening times here?”
“Times? – Um er well er, times…um leaflet? Leaflet Xander?”
Xander scrabbled around the desk for one and held it out to William
The blonde reached over and plucked it out of his hand.
“Thankyou – oh by the way, is the manager around?
“Um er, der, er that’s um…that’s me!” William quickly stood, held out his hand, withdrew it just as the blonde went to shake it
“Um…floor…sorry hands a bit dirty…he wiped it on his trousers, held it out again. This time she shook it and they both felt a tingle run up their arm
“I’m um, I’m William Giles, the owner and this is my assistant Xander Harris”
The blonde smiled
“I’m Buffy, Buffy Summers…pleased to meet you…um, how’s your head – I’ve got some Advil somewhere if you’d like” she dropped the shoulder strap and went to go into her bag
“I’ll be OW!” William patted the lump, it was the size of an egg!
“Let me look – ooh!” Buffy winced and put her bag down on the desk, found the Advil, popped two out of the blister pack and said to Xander
“Get him some water, please?”
Xander hared off
“I’d leave it all to your assistant this afternoon and go rest, that’s a nasty lump” Cool fingers fluttered by his brow
William smiled, he couldn’t think of what to say, he was mesmerised…
Buffy looked into the bluest of blue eyes she’d ever seen and a zing ran up and down her spine making her shiver
All too quickly Xander came back with the water, William took the two tablets and put the empty glass down on the desk.
“Thanks”
“Well, I better be off – thanks for (she held up the leaflet) and she was gone
“Oh Goooooooooooodddddddddddddddddddddddddd!” William closed his eyes and groaned
“What did you say to her while I was gone, I took my time getting the water!” Xander said expectantly looking at his boss
“Nothing – she must think me a stupid stuttering moron! – Oh god why me huh, why me!”
William not only had a headache, he was so angry with himself acting the way he did, after all, she was just a girl! Who was he kidding – she was the most beautiful girl in the world to him…and she touched him and he knew her name…
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