dlg10

~~~Chapter ten~~~

"Willow." The relief was evident in Lindsey's voice as opened the door wider and allowed Willow inside his home. "I wasn't sure that you'd make it, so I took another day off of work."

Willow looked around the penthouse in amusement. Cordelia had said that Lindsey McDonald was always under control, no matter the situation. He could be facing death's door, and his Armani would still be wrinkle free, and not a hair out of place. It seemed then that being at Death's door, and having a four-year-old under his roof were two separate categories.

"Oh you didn't need to do that." Willow looked around for Sophie, "Where's Sophie?"

"She's in the bath." Lindsey combed a hand through his hair and led the way over to an overstuffed beige leather couch, with a huge red juice stain.

"Is it okay to leave her alone in there?" Removing her backpack and jacket, Willow took a seat next to Lindsey in the couch.

"Probably not, but I don't have anymore shampoo or conditioner to dump down the drain." Trying to force a smile at the redhead, he prayed that Willow would take the job. He didn't know how Wolfram and Hart would react if he had to take another day off. Holland had sounded slightly perturbed, a tone that he had never really heard before from the older man.

"Oh," Willow smiled. "I won't ask." Opening the bag at her feet she pulled out the file that she had taken hours writing and handed it over to Lindsey. They had stuck to the truth a lot. From past experience they had learned that the easier to remember that most likely they'd stand a chance at succeeding.

"Let's see here Miss Rosenberg. You're twenty-one, you're taking a break from your junior year at Sunnydale University..." Lindsey snapped the folder shut and glared up at Willow.

"What game are you playing here? Did he send you here? What, he thought that I'd fall for some cute little innocent act and let you into my home." Taking a deep breath Willow was expecting this, had counted on it.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. You asked me to come here, and I did." Yanking the folder from his hands, Willow shoved it back into her backpack and stood back up.

"Right, Angel has nothing to do with this?" Lindsey smirked; his once friendly eyes now had a hardness about them.

"Who's she?" Inside she was really laughing. But Lindsey looked ready to snap as it was and it probably wouldn't be to her benefit to laugh in his face.

Narrowing his eyes at her, Lindsey fought to control the anger eating at him from inside. "What about Cordelia Chase?"

"Cordy! You know that bitch? She made my years in school a nightmare. She teased me to tears everyday, always making fun of my clothes my hair, everything. In high school she stole my childhood friend away from me. I can't work here if you're friends with her." Willow wished that she could shed a tear, it would seal her performance. But Cordelia was the actress, not her.

Turning to hurry out the door, Lindsey followed from behind. "I'm not friends with her. It's just Angel and Cordelia have caused a lot of problems for me, and I just thought..." Lindsey looked into the emerald eyes that were staring back. Those weren't eyes that could lie. "I'm sorry. I over reacted. Can we start all over again?"

<Score one for Willow, zero for lawyer boy. > "I guess."

"Great. So tell me why you came to LA?" Lindsey sat waiting for her to answer. He needed proof that the redhead knew nothing about Angle and Cordelia.

"My aunt got ill, so I came out to take care of her... She died about three weeks ago." Willow looked down in her lap.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. She was old and had lived a full life." <I always thought that line sounded like a copout, and now that I've said it out loud I realize it is. >

"So what do you know about children." Lindsey jumped yet another crashing sound coming from the bathroom.

"You should never leave them alone for long periods of time." Willow got off the couch and headed in the direction of the noise. This job was so hers.

~~~*~~~

"Cordy, you're here early." Angel smiled at the brunette; he was sitting behind her desk waiting for her.

"Angel, its noon." Looking over at Wesley and Gunn she was puzzled when her two friends looked away without saying hello.

"Like I said...early." Looking down, Angel started typing on the keys of her computer, his eyes glued to the screen.

"Ummm, Angel?" Setting down her coffee and walking around the counter she walked over to see what Angel was doing.

"Yes?"

"It's noon, a time of day that you're usually all tucked up in your bed. You're on my computer, when you have one of your own... what's going on?" Cordelia looked back over her shoulder at the two other men who were listening to the conversation with way too much interest. As soon as she locked eyes with them, Wes and Gunn looked in different directions.

"I was looking for more stuff on Lindsey, and since you have all the places you've used to find information on him book marked, I though it would be
easier to just use yours." Angel flicked his eyes at her for a millisecond then looked back down. "I want to give Gunn and Wes a few leads before I leave for a few days."

Crossing her hands over her chest, Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the vampire. "Where are you going?"

"To Sunnydale. I feel bad that Willow and I left things so tense between us. I wanted to make sure that she knew I was just worried." Pushing the print icon, Angel got up from the desk and headed to the printer. "You can come to if you want."

Cordelia literally felt her chin hit the floor. "I umm, I talked to Willow last night and she sounded pretty angry still. I think you should give it a few
days."

"Cordelia I've learned from past experience that if you let angry simmer it can lead to bigger problems down the line." Patting her on the shoulder, Angel walked past her. "Besides this is Willow we are talking about. How long can she stay mad?"

"That's an interesting idea." Clapping her hands in front of her, Cordelia flashed her boss the biggest fakest smile she could muster. "Let's just say you don't go to Sunnydale, and we see how long Wills can stay mad at you."

Turning around to give Cordelia an odd look, Angel looked at his puzzled. "Why would you want Willow mad at me?"

"Angel really does it matter if she's mad at you or not? It's not like you're good buddies with her. You've barely talked to her while you lived in
Sunnydale, and since you been gone? Pfft, face it you don't even know Willow anymore." Cordelia knew that she had to talk Angel out of going to Sunnydale, he'd find out that Willow never made it back there. He'd put two and two together and it would be a big old 'let's blame Cordy day.'

Angel paused as Cordelia's words penetrated him. "Are you saying that you don't think that Willow and I are friends?" The words tasted bad coming out of his mouth, not to mention the sick way his stomach felt.

"No!" Cordelia could see the sudden hurt expression in his eyes. "It's just that..."

"I worry about her, about all of them in a way. Just because I don't call everyday doesn't mean that I don't consider Willow my friend." Angel sat down in one of the chairs nearest him.

"Angel I know she cares about you too, in that 'I haven't seen you in a long time and you ran me out of town,' kind of way."

Being reminded of Willow and Cordelia's lie Angel was able to pull it together. "That's why I need to go see her. Apparently there's a lot I need to say sorry for."

Cordelia blinked at the turn of conversation. "No, we need you here. Call her!" Running over to her desk Cordelia wrote down Willow's cell phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to Angel. "I don't think she's ready for a face to face conversation right now. Take baby steps." Nodding and flashing Angel another smile, Cordelia grabbed her purse and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Gunn asked as she passed him.

"Umm... out, it's a girl thing." Pushing the hotel doors open, Cordelia squinted into the bright afternoon sun. Oh this so wasn't going to work.