Morning
1630 Revello Drive: Kitchen
"Go and brush your teeth." Angelus said, taking the finished breakfast plates from Katie and Liam and turned to the sink, placing plates down. He quickly straightened up the counter and glanced over his shoulder to see Liam struggling to get out of his seat.
Smirking with amusement, Angelus stepped over to the toddler and helped him down. He playfully spanked the child's backside, making him squeal and run away.
He untied the apron covering the front of his work shirt and trousers. He tucked in the tails of the dress shirt into his pants just as Buffy entered the kitchen holding Liam on her hip.
Putting the boy down, Buffy stepped around the counter island and stood in front of Angelus. He leaned back against the counter letting his wife fix his shirt collar and the top buttons.
Angelus tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. The back of his index finger slid down the line of her jaw to her chin. Leaning in closer, Angelus' forehead pressed against hers.
More than anything, Angelus wanted to lay her across the counter island and kiss every inch of her body, but he knew they would be extremely late to bring the kids to school and their jobs and they would undoubtedly be interrupted by their children, scaring them for life.
"Who thought it was a good idea to get jobs?" Buffy said, circling her arms around his waist.
"A sadist." Angelus replied, making Buffy laugh. Lowering his head, Angelus lovingly kissed his wife until the screams of their children in the living room tore them apart, bringing them back to the real world.
Buffy sighed heavily and removed her arms from around him. She mentally counted to five in her head before exiting the kitchen and gathering the children to bring them to school and pre-school.
Maple Court: The O'Connor and Wyndam-Pryce LLP
For most of the morning, Angelus neglected all of his cases and surfed the internet. He used the Google search engine looking up high profile cases in Los Angeles. The top link in the search was an article from the Los Angeles Chronicle which mentioned Wolfram & Hart.
Narrowing his gaze, Angelus read the name 'Faith Lehane-Wood' in the small blurb, which was enough to peak Angelus' interest.
Curious, Angelus clicked on the link.
Speed reading through the article, Angelus' brows pensively pinched together. "'Plaintiff proclaims no clemency to soon-to-be multi-million dollar ex-husband. 'I am not gonna wind up a thirty-one-year-old divorcée on welfare. That's bullshit', says Faith Lehane-Wood.'" Amused by the woman's language, Angelus smirked. "Colourful girl. Who are you Faith Lehane-Wood?"
Angelus opened another tab in his search and typed in Faith Lehane-Wood's name into the Google search bar.
Scrolling down the page, looking beyond the repetitive articles saying the exact same thing, Angelus took a gamble and clicked to page three in hopes of uncovering something different.
In a forum page discussing the on-going case, Angelus grew interested. In the past, nosey wifes with nothing better to do were a great source for information.
Skimming through the mixture of comments praising Faith for her bravery to leave the marriage and comments that damned her, Angelus clicked a link of an image.
It was a black and white image of the graduating high school class in South Los Angeles, California. Angelus reread the comment pertaining to the picture, which simply said, 'I graduated with Faith Lehane. She was as rebellious then as she is now.'
Enlarging the picture, Angelus searched for the attractive brunette sitting on the gymnasium stands.
Spotting her in the sixth row, eight spaces in from the right, Angelus found the embattled woman in question.
He dropped his gaze to the bottom of the picture which read, 'Class of 2000.'
Angelus compared the factual notes in the article to the class picture. "I'll be Goddamned." He mumbled.
With the new information that could turn this entire case around, Angelus reached for the desk telephone and dialed the number to Lilah Morgan's office.
He waited a few moments until he heard the secretary pick up the call.
Without letting her finish her standard greeting, Angelus said with confident authority, "Direct me to Lilah Morgan."
"Who may this be?" The secretary asked.
"Angelus O'Connor. It's of great importance."
"One moment, please."
After a few quick rings, Lilah answered the phone call.
"Ms Morgan, my name is Angelus O'Connor. I am a lawyer in Sunnydale. I've been following the case of Lehane-Wood vs Wood and it seems that your team has missed a very important detail in the case. If you would like to hear my thoughts, I am glad to schedule an appointment at your earliest convenience." His gaze flicked over to the computer screen, staring directly at the black and white image of Faith Lehane-Wood.
Next Afternoon
Los Angeles, California
Wolfram & Hart: Plaza
Stepping into the plaza of his former offices, Angelus willed his nerves away and straightened his tie by the knot.
Clearing his throat, Angelus walked confidently towards the front security desk, holding a brown-leather padfolio under his arm containing the printed photograph that would be vital evidence for the case.
Charles Gunn, the security guard that Angelus had met a month ago, looked up from the sports magazine in front of him. Gunn recognised Angelus and began to laugh. "It's you. Crazy-man."
Angelus remained stoned face, not at all amused.
"You got an appointment this time?" Gunn asked.
"I do." Angelus cracked a smile, signing into the visitor pad.
Gunn smiled, sitting back in the chair, propping his feet up on the desk. He held the magazine up.
Angelus walked across the plaza to the elevators.
5th Floor
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Angelus stepped out from the elevators only to be immediately greeted by Lilah Morgan, partner at the law firm.
"Mr O'Connor," she held out her hand for him to shake, "it's a pleasure."
"Likewise, Ms Morgan." He firmly shook the woman's hand and followed her down the hallway. Scurrying all around the 5th Floor were so many familiar faces. Angelus felt a bit overwhelmed but was thankful that he couldn't remember anyone's name besides the few core people that were in his general area.
Conference Room
Standing at the head of the conference room table, Angelus' gaze wandered around the long table to a few senior partners including Holland Manners, and the legal team working round the clock on the case, spearheaded by Lindsey McDonald. They waited for him to begin his presentation.
As Angelus looked around the room, he fell right back into feeling confident and self-assured. He was very good at his job and he knew it. "On a single document, Mrs Lehane-Wood lied… about her age." He revealed, much to everyone's surprise.
"Pfft. Nonsense." Lindsey scoffed, finding this entire meeting with a 'nobody' a waste of time. "Faith said it herself, she was born in nineteen eighty-one. Check her license."
"She lied." Angelus unbuttoned the top button of his expensive suit jacket. "Mr McDonald, if you and your team did a semblance of research and I dunno… Googled Faith Lehane-Wood's name, you would've come across this." He opened the padfolio and tossed a stack of printed high school class pictures to the centre of the table for all to examine.
One-by-one the picture was carefully studied by each member sitting around the table.
"As you can probably make out, the girl in the sixth row, eight spaces in from the right is Faith Lehane-Wood." He pointed to her in the picture. "And if you look at the bottom of the class photograph, you will read, 'Class of 2000' which means, your client lied about her age because she was only seventeen-years-old when she married the wildly respected education guru and future multimillionaire, Robin Wood in 1999 which makes her a minor. And in the state of California, no minor can enter into a legal contract without parental consent including prenuptial agreement. Mrs Lehane-Wood is entitled to half of the marital assets or the fifty-nine point six-nine-five million dollars."
"Let me see that." Lindsey swiped a copy of the class picture from someone's hands beside him.
"I'm not done." Angelus said. "The age of consent in California is eighteen-years-old. You can put Wood away for a long time and take everything he's got." His gaze wandered around the room, feeling a thousand curious eyes on him.
Lilah leaned over to Holland as he whispered something into her ear. Angelus watched on with a bit of nervous anticipation.
"Mr O'Connor," Lilah said, shaking Angelus from his nerves. "I'd like to speak to you in my office." She stood from the chair and led Angelus out of the conference room.
Angelus fixed the top button of his suit jacket and followed Lilah towards the door, catching Lindsey's gaze. Angelus smirked triumphantly and exited the conference room.
Lilah Morgan's Office
Opening the office door, Lilah gestured for Angelus to enter first.
Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers, Angelus looked around the office that coincidentally used to be his corner office looking over Los Angeles. The office was not decorated as feminine as he expected.
"Please, sit." Lilah directed, stepping around the large desk and sat down. She leaned on the desktop, holding her hands together, eyeing Angeus carefully for a long moment. She noticed the rather peculiar looking silver ring around Angelus' left hand ring finger. "Are you married, Mr O'Connor?"
Angelus lowered his eyes to the ring on his hand and smiled, picturing his love in his mind. "I am." He answered.
"Do you have children?"
Angelus hung one leg over his knees, feeling quite relaxed. "Actually, I do. Two. They're pretty great." He said, and genuinely meant it.
"Hm." Lilah said with a bit of judgement. "That's… good. Your eye for detail is impeccable. It's something we are severely lacking around here. It was made no clearer than five minutes ago. You just won our case by two technicalities."
"It's always the small details." Angelus replied.
Lilah studied Angelus for another grueling long moment, sitting back in her chair. "Do you like working pro bono, Mr O'Connor?"
"Not at all." Angelus answered without hesitance, which amused Lilah. "The paycheck is abysmal."
Lilah laughed. "Isn't nonprofit beneath most?" She asked, then tried hard to cover her insensitivity. "I'm not trying to insult you."
"It's okay. I get it." Angelus shrugged, not at all offended. "If I were in your position, I'd be wondering why anyone would want to go into nonprofit. The thing is… the law is the law. Whether it's the most esteemed law firm in the country or a two room office nonprofit, it's all just a bunch of people waking up in the morning trying to figure out how they're gonna send their kids to college. But the skill I've developed in nonprofit is knowing people and I know people."
Intrigued by Angelus' confidence, Lilah wanted to know more. "You do, do you?"
"I do." The corner of Angelus' mouth slid into a mischievous smirk. "Let's take you for instance."
Lilah's brows rose high up her forehead.
"You're Lilah Morgan. Your ruthlessness is attributed to the corporate glass ceiling. You lack empathy because being a woman in a place like this—Wolfram & Hart, you have to be quicker, smarter, faster than any man around you."
Lilah held her chin into her hand.
"You're a heavy drinker, favouring the 30-year Scotch in the decanter you hide in the closet behind me. Your favourite colour is green and you believe that you look better in diamonds then anything gold or silver, you love limousines, and you pride yourself on finding talent in unusual places." Angelus' smile widened.
"Oh? And how would you know that, Mr O'Connor?"
Angelus shrugged. "Because I'm here." He leaned in closer, the easy smile gone from his face. "I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to be at this law firm. The biggest part of judging character is knowing yourself and I know this. I know the law better than any blood sucking lawyer you have here. Give me a chance. I won't let you down."
Pensively, Lilah pursed her lips, pretending to think long and hard, never telling Angelus that Holland Manners had whispered into her ear 'hire him' before she exited the conference room.
Angelus waited patiently, having put the ball in Lilah's court.
Lilah reached across the desk to the phone. She pressed a number on the phone box and waited for the secretary to answer. "Get me Lindsey McDonald. He's going to show Mr O'Connor around."
Hallway
Angelus couldn't wait to run out of this office and tell Buffy the good news. Throughout all of this, all he wanted to do was run home and tell Buffy.
Lindsey interrupted his thoughts when he abruptly turned around, facing Angelus. Lindsey was a few inches shorter than Angelus. His suit fit well, but it was not designer. There were scuffs on Lindsey's brown shoes, which Angelus deemed 'unacceptable'.
"Let's cut the bullshit, O'Connor." Lindsey said, not at all fond of Wolfram & Hart's newest lawyer. "What you did in there," he pointed at the conference room with his thumb, "embarrassed me."
Unbothered by Lindsey's obvious jealousy, Angelus held his hands inside the front pockets of his trousers. "You should've figured out that simple little detail yourself."
"That little circus act you did in there may have dazzled Lilah and the partners but I see straight through you." Lindsey jabbed a finger into Angelus' chest. "I'm telling you now, they lose interest in their pet projects fast. I've proven myself here. It's gonna take more than a Google search to get in my way. Especially a pro bono lawyer from Sunnydale." He sneered. "Watch yourself and stay away from Lilah and the partners. Do you understand me?"
Silent, Angelus stared unblinkingly at Lindsey, not at all intimidated. The expressionless look on Angelus' face softened and a slow smile grew wider across his face. "God, you really are a jealous little prick, aren't you? Wow, I mean, I'm impressed. Good for you. Why shouldn't you protect what's yours?"
"I don't think you understand me."
Angelus held up a hand, silencing Lindsey. "No, no, I understand you. Heard you loud and clear. That's not the problem." He clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue. "The problem is that what you think is yours, is really mine. It doesn't matter how low on the totem pole I start, I'm still always going to be better than you." Angelus towered over Lindsey, showing his dominance. "I guarantee, I will make partner before you. So do yourself a favour and don't get too attached to the room with a view or the leg you stand on because I'm coming for you, McDonald." He smacked Lindsey's shoulder and walked past him, heading to the elevator.
As Angelus stepped into the elevator, Lindsey glared murderous daggers at the dark-haired man's back, hating him with every fiber of his being.
Angelus caught Lindsey's eye and smiled victoriously as the doors closed.