Willow stepped up to the huge building. Well, this is it, she thought. She had just wanted to get away from Sunnydale, from the memories of being cheated on by both girlfriend and boyfriend. First Oz, then Tara. And what were the chances she would walk in on them together? Cordy was right. Once a cheater always a cheater. She had gone down to LA to work for Angel, and ended up investigating a mysterious company. What kind of name was the Centre, anyway?
Sam watched the slip of a girl walk through the Centre with wide eyes. She certainly looked out of place, and he had always liked redheads. He took pity on her. "I'm Sam. Do you need help?" She gave him such a radiant smile he was instantly glad he asked.
"Yes, I'm Willow Rosenburg. I'm looking for Mr. Parker."
Sam had to take a step back. This little girl was seeing Daddy P? "He is on floor 16. Would you like an escort?" Miss Rosenburg once again smiled at him and took his outstretched arm.
Miss Parker was sitting on her father's desk, swinging her legs around. He was looking out the window, ignoring her as usual. She jumped off the desk as Sam opened the door for a young girl-she couldn't have been over twenty- and left. She knew he wouldn't dare come in her father's office. She wasn't so sure about the redhead however.
"Mr. Parker?" She asked with an authoritative voice. Miss Parker quickly stepped in front of her.
" Do you have an appointment? My father," she emphasized her place, "is very busy."
" I'm sure your daddy is expecting me, and if he isn't then he will have problem. Now I would like to speak with him if you wouldn't mind stepping aside?" Miss Parker was shocked. No one spoke to her like that except…well, Jarod. She slowly made her way to other side of the room.
Mr. Parker, however, was most pleased. He knew his daughter usually needed a strong rebuttal, but he wanted to keep her faith in him so he couldn't be the one to do it. He turned his attention to the girl.
"Hello, you must be Miss Rosenburg. I'm glad you had time to meet with me. Please excuse my daughter, I didn't have the time to explain your appearance." Miss Parker left uncertainly, not quite sure if she should leave the redhead with her father.
"I understand you've been having problems with one of your…projects? I would like to meet Angelo very soon. Is today too sudden?" Mr. Parker let out a loud laugh.
"Not at all, Miss Rosenburg. I'll show you to his place. And I hope you will be able to work with the team he is serving." Willow had a hard time hiding her disgust for the way they treated him. She followed the balding man until they were in an office holding about four computers and several laptop cases. She was practically drooling when she saw their brand names. Willow had to give herself a strong reminder that she was not supposed to be a computer hacker, she was a behavior expert. At least she had taken psychology in Sunnydale. She turned around to see two men; a sophisticated one the other who was currently stammering at Mr. Parker. She turned her attention to their conversation.
"This is Miss Rosenburg. She will be helping you develop Angelo's skills and tuning them to our purposes. I assume you will help her feel more comfortable." The younger balding man managed to get out a goodbye by the time Mr. Parker had left.
"Hello, Miss Rosenburg, I'm Sydney, and this is Broots. I hope you will be staying around for a while?" Willow was pleased to see this man reminded her much of Giles, with a Belgian accent.
"Please, call me Willow. And yes, I plan on practically living here."
Sydney was thoroughly confused. This girl looked much too innocent to be involved with the Centre. He felt a sudden need to protect her, almost as he did with Jarod. He noticed Broots gazing at her, not quite focused. This must have been what Jarod was talking about.
Broots was stunned with the beauty in front of him. She was small and looked like she needed to be taken care of, but the way she held herself said anything but. He decided to figure out what exactly this little girl was doing here.
"You're working with-with Angelo?" He asked, choking in the middle.
"Yes, I would like to develop his skills. Do you know where this horrid 'place' they keep referring to is?"
"Yes, actually. It's in the ventilation system," He told her, guiding the way to Angelo's place. "Say, did you know he saved my life once?"
Sydney laughed. They were perfect. He just hoped Jarod knew what he was doing.