Two weeks later
She swept the powder brush across her face softly, dusting each and every pore. Buffy smiled at her reflection in the mirror. The phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Er, Buffy?" he sounded uncomfortable.
"Giles?"
"Have you left your apartment yet?"
"Why? Was I supposed to be in early?"
"No, no…you won't need to come in today."
"Uh, Giles…'splainy?"
"Buffy, I don't think it's working out for you here at Ellison-"
"ARE YOU FIRING ME?"
"No, I'm not 'firing' you. I'm simply letting you go. You have a lot on your plate as it is…"
"Oh, I know why you're doing this…It's because of Angel isn't it?"
"Mr. O'Connor is but a minor reason, Buffy-"
"The straw that broke the camel's back…" She whispered.
"Buffy, it's simply not working out. You er, have er, a lot going on with your modeling contract and promotions…"
"I can't believe you're firing me, Giles."
"It wasn't solely my decision, Buffy, the Ellison Council voted, I'm just carrying out their orders. You may come to work at 2:00 to pick up your things and sign our severance contract. I am truly sorry…Remember that this decision is what has been deemed the best for our magazine's new direction. I do wish that you won't be bitter with me over this, please be civil when you return to the office for our meeting."
She was crying. "Of course." She bit her lip. "I'll be kind and try to restrain from kicking Quentin Travers' ass." She laughed softly.
Giles chuckled "That's my girl."
The office was dead silent when Buffy entered. All of the staff looked at her with respect.
"Hey, Jeeves? Where can I put my punching bag?" Someone unfamiliar yelled from what seemed to be Buffy's office.
"Faith! My name is not Jeeves! It is Rupert Giles, and I am your boss! Please hold some respect for me." His frustrated voice rang out.
Faith. Buffy thought to herself. My replacement. Buffy thought bitterly. She walked into her old office and found that her belongings, some incredibly expensive, had been jumbled into cardboard boxes. Buffy frowned.
"Hey, sorry, B." Faith grinned. Buffy's jaw clenched. "I had to get my stuff in here. I hope you don't mind."
Buffy picked up the boxes "No, F, I don't mind!" She said sarcastically and walked out.
She walked into Giles' office and sat down.
"Ahh, Buffy." He looked at her. "You seem to be taking this very well." He laughed softly at her tear-gleaming cheeks. He handed her a wad of neatly folded tissues.
"Th-thanks." She hiccupped.
"You really are taking this well. I remember when India Cohen left. Poor thing got hit by a bus on her way out." He winced.
"That makes me feel so much better, Giles." She sobbed into the tissues.
"Just look both ways, Buffy. You should be fine."
"You know what might make this better? A big fat severance check."
He laughed at her bluntness "Ahh, yes. You must sign the contract first."
She read through it fairly quickly. She signed the assigned line with a sigh.
"Are you clear on everything?" He asked.
"Of course." She nodded.
He handed her a check. "$50,000" jumped out at her from check.
"Wow. You guys have gotten really generous." She smiled weakly.
"Get on now." He winked "You have to be out of the building in ten minutes. You don't want Lars on your tail, do you?" Lars was the threatening security guard that always stood at the entrance.
"Great." She groaned. "I guess I'll see you again." She smiled. "I love ya, Giles."
"I know." He smiled and she walked out.
"HEY, JEEVES!" He could hear Faith yelling from the next room. He rolled his eyes and groaned.
"I love the stars." She whispered as she laid down next to Angel on their picnic blanket in Central Park.
"What do you know about the stars?" He laughed.
"They're bright and pretty." She whispered. She pointed at the sky. "See that one? That's Pegasus. And that one-" She pointed to another spot "Is Perseus. He was the son of Zeus and Danae." She noted. "I took astronomy in college." She shrugged.
"You okay?" He asked gently, kissing her cheek.
"Yeah." She replied, taking his hand. "The $50,000 helped a lot." She grinned.
"What are you going to do now?" He asked.
"I guess deal with the modeling and maybe write a novel."
"A novel? What about?"
"Why are you so interested?" She nudged him.
"Oh, I don't know-"
"Liar." She whispered in his ear.
"Okay…Hey, get up." He sat up. She didn't follow.
"Why?" She groaned.
"I have do this all proper. Go on and stand up." He replied.
"Ookay." She stood up.
He kneeled in front of her. "Are you -?" She gasped
gawsh, I love me some cliffhangers.