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Author's Chapter Notes:
Buffy and Spike meet....
Buffy walked into Mr. Masters' office, surprised to see Spike sitting there as well. The pep talk she gave herself before coming over was still beating a mantra in her brain. "I will not let their words break me."

"Buffy, come have a seat." Thomas greeted her with a fatherly smile, noticing that she had been crying, but he was not about to call her on it in front of William.

Spike managed to keep the shocked expression off his face as he thought to himself, 'Looks like Ice Queen might feel more than we think.' He noticed the freshly cried look around her eyes.

Buffy took the seat next to Spike, and offered a silent nod of acknowledgment that he was there. She could not help but wonder if her boss's son had been in the break room agreeing with what the others had been saying about her. The last thing she needed was to find out that he thought of her the same way the others did.

"Buffy, how did you hear about the Giles case?" Thomas asked, knowing she would not say.

"I heard it being bantered around," she replied, feeling proud of how she was keeping herself together right now.

"Care to tell me who?" he asked, wanting to let Spike see her for the good person she was.

"You know I don't work that way." Buffy reminded him she was not a tattler of tales.

Both men noticed the brief look of pain that flashed across her face. If they had not been looking they would have missed it. One man wondered what else Buffy had overheard; the other wondered what could possibly penetrate that thick layer of ice that surrounded her.

"To the business at hand then. You see, Rupert Giles is looking to save his little center called The Magic Box. It's really a wonderful place that helps people, young and old, deal with their problems. It's like an outreach program that thinks no problem is too big or too small. With all the government cuts, he is finding it harder and harder to find the money to effectively stay open, and he has come to us for help," Thomas explained knowing one of the people here would step up to the plate no questions asked.

"Okay, so when do we start?" Buffy asked.

"What no questions on how much you get paid?" Spike could not help but ask, and he regretted it as soon as it left his lips.

Buffy's expression hardened as she fought back her original vulgar reply. "Some thing's are not about the money, but you wouldn't understand that since you've always had it."

"That coming from Buffy Summers, whose father is among the rich and famous," Spike snorted.

"For your information, so we get things clear here." Buffy's voice sounded deadly. "After my father left my mother, we never saw a penny more than what he had to pay in child support until the day I turned eighteen. I mean up until the day that celebrated my birth. What kind of man prorates the month? My mother helped put me through college where my father never coughed up a dime. The day my father moved out I was fifteen, and it was the last time I saw him. Not that I didn't try, but the fact is that he never called me back."

Spike sat back amazed at her transformation from cold and aloof to burning, passionate anger. For the first time, he realized his father was right; there was more to this slip of a girl than he first thought.

"Please accept my apology," Spike said to her, his voice and expression sincere.

Buffy fought to get her emotions back under control, feeling awful for losing control like that. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lost my temper like that."

"No, you had every right to put me in my place. Never apologize for calling me on my bad behavior. I can be a bad, rude man at times." Spike acknowledged that he deserved her little rant, and that he was thankful for it as well. It opened his eyes to the passionate woman that was buried deep inside.

Thomas smiled, seeing that there was a part of him in his son after all. It made him proud to watch his son accept fault for his rude behavior; a trait his wife never learned, because Gloria never thought she ever did anything wrong.

"Do you have the file for me?" Buffy asked, deciding it was time to change the subject and get back to the business at hand.

"I have everything right here in duplicate," Thomas said with a smile, as he handed them both a file.

"Duplicate?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, you see, I want you and William here to work together on this," Thomas explained. "I think with both of your resources together we just might be able to save The Magic Box."

Spike noticed how she blushed. He found it endearing and thought how it made her appear younger. He would have to ask his father a few more questions concerning the young woman he was beginning to really see for the first time. She intrigued him, and for the first time he wanted to know what made a woman tick, other than sex.

"How about we do the reading and then arrange some time together to go over our ideas?" Buffy suggested, fighting hard not to let him see how nervous she was about working with him.

"I think that's a great idea," Spike agreed, knowing he would be calling her tomorrow first thing. "Then maybe we can make an appointment with Mr. Giles and look over the place."

"I have Wednesday afternoon free," Buffy offered.

"Great, it's a date," Spike teased, enjoying the tinge of pink that appeared on her cheeks.

Buffy decided not to make a fuss by telling him it was not a date. "Do you want to call Mr. Giles or let me?" she asked, as she tried to ignore him calling their meeting a date.

Spike knew she was avoiding his comment, and it made him smile. He wanted, no needed, to find that woman hiding behind the wall of ice. His instincts told him that she was hiding the woman he witnessed earlier for a reason. He would uncover the why, and then he would fight to bring her out into the open.

"How about I call you Monday?" Buffy asked, hoping he did not notice how attracted to him she was. The last thing she needed was for that to get around the office.

"Better yet, let's meet for coffee in your office Monday morning, eight o'clock sharp," Spike suggested. "I'll bring the coffee, and you pick up something all sweet and sinful."

"Black, with splenda," Buffy said. She avoided looking at him, not wanting to see if he was laughing at her…still wondering if he was a part of the group of gossipers in the break room.

"Real sugar, none of that imitation stuff in my pastry, and no prune," Spike requested.

Thomas enjoyed what he was seeing. His son was finally taking a look at Buffy Summers, and he was starting to see the woman hidden beneath the protective shell she had erected around herself. His dream of seeing his son happily married to someone worthy seemed closer to coming true, as he watched his two favorite people interact with one another.

*******





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