Author: Vona
Title: Charm
Pairing: L/E undertones
Spoilers: After seeing Destiny, I wanted to play with how Lindsey and Eve met.
Rating: PG
Genre: General
Summary: Lindsey finds Eve and tries to convince her to help him. Their first meeting. It's supposed to be a one parter.
Charm
Lindsey MacDonald straightened his jacket after standing up from the bench. He was tired of waiting for her to come out of her classroom. She was a sophomore in college and showed great potential for being a partner to him. Of course, she had no idea. He'd been watching Eve for over a month, following her, almost stalking her. He didn't need to become impatient now. He'd been patient for a month. He'd stumbled upon Eve in Santa Barbara. She'd been walking away from the university towards her dorm room. Her long silky hair fell well past her shoulders in soft curls. She walked confidently and she was obviously very sure of herself. He was puttering down the road in his truck, not been gone from Los Angeles long. He'd been stopped on the way to Santa Barbara because of a beautiful bumper sticker Angel had pasted on his truck. He was crabby because of the stop the police had demanded, but he was still glad to be away from the City of Angels. And Angel. Eve turned heads; she was beautiful, no doubt about that. She had an aura around her; a sassy smarty alecky woman who had the brains to go far in life given the opportunity. She reminded him of Lilah Morgan. Maybe he was already a little homesick. He did miss the friendly, deathly competition between himself and Lilah. He immediately looked into this woman, discovering her name and her past. She was from a small town in Washington and had fled her hometown as soon as she possibly could. Yes. She reminded him of himself as well. He'd been following her for days and she never noticed. She wasn't exactly perceptive when it came to that. Perhaps he'd actually learned something with Darla and Angel always skulking about. He'd picked it up. Eve was clay ready to be molded, pardon the cliché, and he knew that she was perfect for his plan to bring Wolfram and Hart down. It wouldn't hurt if he could bring Angel down a few pegs as well. So he would have to sit here, on this stiff park bench, and wait for her. Luckily, she was descending the staircase with two other girls, making quite a mesmerizing picture. He ran a head through his shaggy brown hair and prepared to meet her.
She passed by him and he called out, "Eve!" She turned, her hair flipping over her shoulder, revealing a smooth expanse of skin across her shoulders. She wore a pink off-the-shoulder sweater and it only enhanced her attributes. She seemed puzzled at his appearance, and she was obviously trying to place his face. He was dressed casually, jeans and a shirt, a leather jacket over it. She didn't know him, only she didn't realize that.
"May I have a word with you?"
She was hesitant as she should be when a strange boy was asking her to walk off and talk to him alone. Her friends chattered in that language that only college girls knew and exchanged knowing glances. Except they didn't really know.
"Who are you?"
"I apologize for not introducing myself. I'm Lindsey MacDonald."
The name washed over her, but she still had no recollection of him.
"Do I know you?"
"No. Actually, I'm just a lawyer who wanted to speak with you."
She smirked sweetly, as paradoxical as that was.
"Well, that's hardly a convincing argument to get me to come talk with you alone."
Lindsey couldn't help but smile charmingly. Definitely one of his assets, his smile. Eve noticed and her eyes sparkled with unadulterated interest. Lindsey was amused with her, having finally spoken with her. He found her completely fascinating.
"If I bat my eyelashes and charm you, will you come?"
"I have the feeling you're very good at charming people into doing your bidding."
Lindsey simply sneered, unable to deny that fact. He was also aware that she was enjoying the conversation like he was, and the more she enjoyed it, the more likely it was she would accept his proposal to speak alone. Eve looked back at her friends as if looking for their permission. They had a seemingly secret conversation. Eve finally pulled her purse up on her shoulder and shifted her books to the other arm.
"I'll walk around the campus with you. That's all."
"That's all I need."
"You're awfully sure of yourself, Mr. MacDonald."
"All part of my charm, Eve."
She grinned at the reference from their previous words. She started to retrace her steps, not waiting for Lindsey to follow.
Lindsey held out his hands to take Eve's books, after finally catching up with her. She was spirited. Eve raised her eyebrows as she relinquished the books to him.
"Look who's being chivalrous now."
Lindsey laughed lightly, having never been described as chivalrous.
"I've always been polite."
Eve scanned her surroundings before placing her thumbs in her back pockets, waving her arms around at her sides.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
"You just jump to the point, don't you?"
"After that little song and dance we performed, you think we just jumped to the point?"
"You remind me of a colleague of mine."
Eve rolled her eyes, impatient to get to the point. "Lovely."
"Lilah. We always had some kind of competition going on, but we had some wonderful conversations and plans."
"That's great, but I don't think you wanted to talk to me about your old girlfriend, Mr. MacDonald. At least I hope not."
"Call me Lindsey, please."
"All right. Lindsey…" She stressed his name, sounding pretty exasperated.
"I've never heard my name sound so exquisite as coming from your lips in such adoration."
Eve was irritated. She'd taken time out of her schedule to speak with this stranger. He'd done nothing but evade the actual topic of her reason for talking with him and it annoyed her to no end. Even worse was that he seemed to be laughing at her, mocking her. She didn't have to put up with this attitude. She turned on her heel indignantly. Lindsey seemed to realize he'd crossed a line.
"Eve, wait! I'll tell you."
She stopped and waited.
"You always have believed in the supernatural. You read books about creatures of the dark and magick. You believe in magick."
"Have you been spying on me?"
"I've been researching you." He said carefully.
The look on her face worried Lindsey. She was outraged and confused and completely disturbed.
"You thought you could get me alone to what? Kill me?"
There was no real fear in her voice, only incredulous.
"To offer you to join my plan."
"You're plan? Right. Like I would move into an arrangement with a stalker."
Eve quickened her pace, trying to get away from Lindsey MacDonald. He called out to her, knowing this was the only way to talk her into his plan.
"I worked for a law firm, Wolfram and Hart in Los Angeles. They were basically Evil, Incorporated. They represented vampires and demons and all around evil humans. I became head of the projects division with Lilah. I helped raise a vampire from the dead, Darla, to complete a plan for the senior partners. She once sired Angelus, a vampire in Los Angeles with a soul. I was never really sure why they wanted her, but I fell in love with her. It's sort of misguided, falling in love with a soulless vampire. She, of course, betrayed me because that is what vampires do."
Even stopped, turned towards him, her interest completely piqued.
"And?"
"I finally left Los Angeles. After a bit of a problem concerning a hand…that's a long story. I want to get revenge on Wolfram and Hart and of course, Angel. I need someone to help me. A liaison. I looked into your credentials and I believe you would be perfect for the position."
Eve seemed completely shocked. Apparently he hadn't left any clue that he wanted to hire her.
"You're offering me a job?"
"Yes, I am. Are you interested?"
Eve shrugged, her hair falling into her face.
"I don't know. You want me to become part of your revenge plot against vampires and evil lawyers that would likely get me killed with absolutely nothing to base it on. You gave me your reasons for wanting revenge, not reasons why I should help you."
Lindsey sighed and pulled on his jacket again. He had this deep fear that he would look like Angel in the leather jacket.
"Because I need you won't work, will it?"
Eve folded her arms crossly.
"It won't work on me."
"Eve, you show great potential. You have that personality, the attitude that could really help me. Plus, I'll be able to teach you some real magick that has real results. Come on, Eve. I think we would make an excellent team."
Eve paused after Lindsey's speech. She was obviously thinking, which gave Lindsey hope. If she was considering the job, she was halfway to accepting it. He waited impatiently, his foot tapping on the pavement nervously. Eve was chewing on her bottom lip, a sign that she too was nervous.
"Fine."
"Fine? You'll work for me?"
"I'll be getting paid, won't I?"
"Of course. A steady salary. I will also be paying rent on your apartment, buying you clothes, and pitching in with your tuition."
Eve stepped back in surprise.
"In return, I will be able to call on you when I need you and use your power and confidence for my own purposes."
"That seems fair."
She stepped forward to shake Lindsey's hand, but she wasn't expecting him to kiss her. He took her hand that she offered and pulled her towards him, planting a firm kiss on her mouth. Eve didn't struggle for long, allowing herself to fall into his kiss. Maybe working for him would be so bad. It ended abruptly with a triumphant smile forming on Lindsey's face.
"It's a deal, then, Eve."
"It's a deal, Lindsey."