A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to redrider6612 for helping me work out the kinks.
As Brennan dressed the next morning for work, she decided a break from Angela's plans didn't mean that she couldn't wear one of her new outfits. Remembering Angela's advice, she selected a business suit that hugged her curves and a low-cut tank top to go under the jacket. She put on her usual funky jewelry as she walked to the kitchen for her cup of coffee.
Not long afterward, she was seated at her desk. She looked at it and groaned, thinking about the time it would take to complete everything that had piled up. After prioritizing what needed to be done, she started on the most urgent.
When Angela arrived an hour later, she was still ensconced behind her desk. "Hey, nice outfit," she commented with a sly smile.
Brennan jumped at the unexpected voice and then relaxed.
Angela continued, "I thought you were going to wait a few days before starting the next phase of our plan?"
Before Brennan could defend her decision, Booth's voice came from the doorway, "What plan?"
The two women exchanged glances, and Angela said quickly, "Oh, we're throwing a surprise party for…" she paused trying to figure out whose birthday was next, "um… Cindy in paleontology. It's next week."
Booth studied them for a moment and said, "You can't expect me to believe that! You're both hiding something," he said, suspicious of the innocent looks they wore. "I wish I had time to ferret it out now, but I came down for some papers that Cullen wanted yesterday. Of course he didn't tell me until this morning."
As Brennan jumped on the change of topic and began to question Booth, Angela slipped out quietly. 'I hope he'll forget about finding out what we're up to for a little while. Otherwise, he'll ruin my plan.'
From a seat on her couch, Booth finished describing what he needed. As Brennan leaned across the desk to grab one of the stacks, he had an excellent view of most of her milky white breasts. His breath hitched. 'Wow!' he thought. 'I've always thought she was attractive…'
Triumphantly she said, "Here it is." She opened the folder, perused the contents, and signed the last page. "Booth, why are you staring at me?"
Her voice jerked him back to reality. "I was just noticing how nice you looked today." He sighed quietly, inwardly grateful that his voice was steady.
"Well, Angela insisted that I needed some new clothes," Brennan replied.
"She steered you right with that outfit." Booth searched his mind desperately for another topic before he turned into the alpha male she accused him of being. "We might have a case later today. The coroner's looking at a corpse right now. He's not sure if he'll be able to identify it, so we might need your team's expertise."
Brennan nodded. "Thanks for the warning. I'll try and be as efficient as possible this morning. Since Angela insisted on dragging me shopping I'm further behind than usual."
Booth took her not-so-subtle hint and headed toward the exit.
Not more than five seconds after the sound of Booth's shoes stopped echoing in the hall, Angela careened into Angela's office. "He obviously didn't believe me about that birthday party."
Brennan snickered, "That's because there is no surprise party."
"As of right now, there is. We need it for cover in case he overhears anything. I started working on it while you were talking with Booth."
Brennan interjected, "Don't expect me to help! I'm no good at planning parties."
Angela ignored Brennan's comments. "He didn't by any chance happen to notice your attire, did he?" She wiggled her eyes suggestively.
Brennan tried to brush off her question with a "He told me I looked nice," but Angela persisted until she described everything in minute detail.
When she heard about his distraction, she let out a small squeal. "I knew it. This plan will work."
Eventually Brennan was successful at shooing Angela out of her office and she returned to her work.