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tamingthemuseI'm back!!! Sorry it's not a new chapter of The Boy Next Door but this prompt just wasn't doing anything for Stanzie. So I had starting working on the next part of my Poker'verse and this kinda happened. I hope you like. *g*
Title: One Step Closer
Pairing: None in this chapter - Angel/Spike/Xander for series
Rating: This chapter - Teen. Adults only for series.
Spoilers: None - all human AU.
Warnings: None for this chapter.
Word Count: 777 - and I'll bet I couldn't do that again if I tried. *g*
The beginning of the series is here at my IJ.
One Step Closer
Angel sighed and laid his hands on his desk once more. His fingers ached as the short nails fought to dig deep into the polished wood. It was the best the private investigator could do at the moment since his true desire was to wrap his clenching fingers around the delicate throat of his secretary until she would just shut the fuck up.
He hated to be in the hot seat like this, especially with Cordy staring him down. She could really be scary when she put her mind to it.
Cordelia refused to accept Angel's simple answer to her complex question. Why had he decided to take this case?
Angel, of course, simply told her that they needed the money and the job was benign enough that he didn't feel bad doing it. But the former cheerleader hadn't bought it.
Since he had started his own investigation business, Wolfram and Hart had sought the former police officer for some of their trickier jobs that they didn't want handled by their own security team. Angel always refused. He didn't like the way they operated. There was something about them that he didn't trust. It might have been the fact that some of their lawyers had butchered him on the stand more than once when he had still been on active duty or it might have been the fact that he witnessed more than a few of his fellow officers take money to 'conveniently forget' certain details. It bothered Angel more than cared to admit.
But this job was different. It was simple. It paid well. And it would give Angel the perfect alibi.
He needed this job.
Everything was finally in place for him to finally make the boys his own. He'd contacted Ethan and he knew that everything could hinge on having the perfect alibi. The last thing he needed was for anyone to suspect him, to look to deeply at his life, to question his motives.
No, he needed this job to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was Spike and Xander.
Running his fingers through his hair, causing the perfectly gelled strands to stand on end, he sighed before looking at his employees. Cordelia glared, her arms crossed beneath her perfect breasts in annoyance, while Doyle smirked from his spot leaning against the door way to Angel's office.
"I don't see what the big deal is, Cordy," Angel tried once more. "We need the money, alright? You've been bugging me for months that you need a raise and we desperately need to upgrade our surveillance equipment. We're being left behind with all this archaic machinery and we're going to start losing business."
"But Wolfram and Hart," the brunette woman protested. "Why them? When we first started up, you swore you would never, ever do jobs for them? Why now?"
"New blood," Doyle supplied genially. "Right, Angel?"
"Yeah," Angel agreed, bobbing his head heartily. "McDonald and Morgan may still be asshole lawyers, but they were willing to listen to all our demands and even get us set up with all the equipment we'll need, no questions asked. I'm not saying I trust them or that we're going to take every job they throw our way, but this once, I think we're safe taking their money."
Cordelia huffed, stamping her Steve Madden wedge on the parquet flooring. "Well, I'm glad we've decided to take a job that will give us some decent income, I'm still not happy about working for them. It makes me a little wiggy inside."
Angel smiled his best 'ah, Cordy smile' and relaxed, knowing he'd won this battle. Doyle chuckled as he turned and left the office. "Come on, Princess," the Irishman called as he walked into the lobby. "I'll show how the new toys work. The boss man went all out for communication so you'll be able to nag at us all day."
"I do not nag," the young woman complained as she followed Doyle out of the office. "You two are just so high maintenance; I have to keep an eye on you all the time."
Both Angel and Doyle laughed at that. Angel had once told Doyle that if he looked up 'high maintenance' in the dictionary, he would find a picture of Cordelia right next to it. Of course, that hadn't stopped the young Irishman from trying to winning the budding actresses' heart, but at least Angel had warned him.
Finally alone, Angel reached into his desk and pulled out the file to review one more time. He had to make sure everything was perfect.
His future – his boys – were depending on it.
~~~The End~~~
Title: One Step Closer
Pairing: None in this chapter - Angel/Spike/Xander for series
Rating: This chapter - Teen. Adults only for series.
Spoilers: None - all human AU.
Warnings: None for this chapter.
Word Count: 777 - and I'll bet I couldn't do that again if I tried. *g*
The beginning of the series is here at my IJ.
Angel sighed and laid his hands on his desk once more. His fingers ached as the short nails fought to dig deep into the polished wood. It was the best the private investigator could do at the moment since his true desire was to wrap his clenching fingers around the delicate throat of his secretary until she would just shut the fuck up.
He hated to be in the hot seat like this, especially with Cordy staring him down. She could really be scary when she put her mind to it.
Cordelia refused to accept Angel's simple answer to her complex question. Why had he decided to take this case?
Angel, of course, simply told her that they needed the money and the job was benign enough that he didn't feel bad doing it. But the former cheerleader hadn't bought it.
Since he had started his own investigation business, Wolfram and Hart had sought the former police officer for some of their trickier jobs that they didn't want handled by their own security team. Angel always refused. He didn't like the way they operated. There was something about them that he didn't trust. It might have been the fact that some of their lawyers had butchered him on the stand more than once when he had still been on active duty or it might have been the fact that he witnessed more than a few of his fellow officers take money to 'conveniently forget' certain details. It bothered Angel more than cared to admit.
But this job was different. It was simple. It paid well. And it would give Angel the perfect alibi.
He needed this job.
Everything was finally in place for him to finally make the boys his own. He'd contacted Ethan and he knew that everything could hinge on having the perfect alibi. The last thing he needed was for anyone to suspect him, to look to deeply at his life, to question his motives.
No, he needed this job to get what he wanted. And what he wanted was Spike and Xander.
Running his fingers through his hair, causing the perfectly gelled strands to stand on end, he sighed before looking at his employees. Cordelia glared, her arms crossed beneath her perfect breasts in annoyance, while Doyle smirked from his spot leaning against the door way to Angel's office.
"I don't see what the big deal is, Cordy," Angel tried once more. "We need the money, alright? You've been bugging me for months that you need a raise and we desperately need to upgrade our surveillance equipment. We're being left behind with all this archaic machinery and we're going to start losing business."
"But Wolfram and Hart," the brunette woman protested. "Why them? When we first started up, you swore you would never, ever do jobs for them? Why now?"
"New blood," Doyle supplied genially. "Right, Angel?"
"Yeah," Angel agreed, bobbing his head heartily. "McDonald and Morgan may still be asshole lawyers, but they were willing to listen to all our demands and even get us set up with all the equipment we'll need, no questions asked. I'm not saying I trust them or that we're going to take every job they throw our way, but this once, I think we're safe taking their money."
Cordelia huffed, stamping her Steve Madden wedge on the parquet flooring. "Well, I'm glad we've decided to take a job that will give us some decent income, I'm still not happy about working for them. It makes me a little wiggy inside."
Angel smiled his best 'ah, Cordy smile' and relaxed, knowing he'd won this battle. Doyle chuckled as he turned and left the office. "Come on, Princess," the Irishman called as he walked into the lobby. "I'll show how the new toys work. The boss man went all out for communication so you'll be able to nag at us all day."
"I do not nag," the young woman complained as she followed Doyle out of the office. "You two are just so high maintenance; I have to keep an eye on you all the time."
Both Angel and Doyle laughed at that. Angel had once told Doyle that if he looked up 'high maintenance' in the dictionary, he would find a picture of Cordelia right next to it. Of course, that hadn't stopped the young Irishman from trying to winning the budding actresses' heart, but at least Angel had warned him.
Finally alone, Angel reached into his desk and pulled out the file to review one more time. He had to make sure everything was perfect.
His future – his boys – were depending on it.
~~~The End~~~
