Chapter Twelve

Buffy had been to Angel's workplace twice since they had started dating. The first time had been for the retirement party of one of Angel's favorite colleagues. It was at this party that Buffy had her first up-close-and-personal experience in the merciless world of executives and their wives. Buffy had been thrown into the lion's cage of saccharine smiles, pointless banter, and malicious gossip. And she hated all of it.

Her second visit was slightly less unpleasant. She had decided to take a homemade lunch to Angel thinking that he would be very happy to see her. On the contrary, her visit was not well-received at all by Angel's secretary, who insisted with an irritated expression that Angel had already gone out to lunch with some colleagues and would not return for another hour.

Both experiences had been terribly unpleasant and Buffy had every reason to believe that this visit would be no different.

As she stepped through the intimidating glass doors, she found herself in an entirely different world. The lobby was a large expanse of glossy marble floors, mahogany countertops and extravagant chandeliers. Unnoticing of Buffy's presence, employees passed by talking on their cell phones and carrying large briefcases, whilst trying to juggle coffee cups. Some were heading off to lunch and others heading back to their office. The room was alive with activity and Buffy couldn't help but wish she hadn't come at all. She felt out-of-place in her worn jeans and shabby grey tank top and had a great desire to turn around and go home. But she had come here to tell Angel the truth and that was what she was going to do.

She barely remembered her way around the gigantic building and after heading down several wrong corridors and passing the front counter several times, Buffy received a curious look from the woman at the front desk.

"Can I help you miss?" the woman asked with little interest.

"Yes, could you point me in the direction of the elevators please?" Buffy replied nervously.

"Down that hall and to the left," the woman replied before yawning and looking down at the magazine on her desk once again.

Buffy stepped into the elevator and immediately felt all eyes on her. She stared down at the floor like a child who has just been caught doing something bad. The elevator ride seemed to last an eternity with more and more people getting off different floors. Angel's office was on the top floor, which made the ride up excruciatingly time-consuming.

Finally, when all the employees had left the elevator, Buffy found herself alone with the first friendly face she had seen since she had entered the building. He had a large muscular build and golden blond hair. His smile was genuine and oddly familiar, but Buffy couldn't place it. He was wearing the brown uniform of a UPS deliveryman and in each of his arms was a large brown package. When he finally spoke, Buffy jumped, not expecting the sudden break of silence.

"Hi, you're Buffy Summers, aren't you?" he asked.

Buffy was taken aback. How did he know her name? Was he some kind of crazy stalker? Where had she seen him before? He spoke again.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. I'm Riley Finn. Didn't you go to Sunnydale High? I think my school played yours in a few football games. You were a cheerleader. I guess I never forgot your smile."

"Oh my gosh. I thought you looked familiar. I can't believe you remember me," Buffy replied, happy to have a friendly someone from her past to talk to.

"You look great, Buffy."

"Thanks, Riley. You look really good too. So what are you doing all the way over here?"

"I'm just finishing up school, so I can get back home. I wanted to get out of Sunny D for so long and now I can hardly wait to get back. So, what about you, Buffy?"

She like the way he said her name and how his attention remained on her like there was nothing in the world he was more interested in. It made her feel like she wasn't being ignored and that for the first time in a long time, someone cared about what she had to say.

"Oh, well uh...the same, yeah."

She wasn't sure why she couldn't tell him she was engaged. She supposed since everything was so screwed up in her life she didn't know how much longer her engagement would last. But it was something else too. She felt a sudden longing for single life and how much fun it had been. She missed it. She missed flirting with guys like Riley, who didn't look right through her as Angel seemed to these days. She missed being a teenager and having a crush and feeling butterflies in her stomach after a first kiss. It all seemed like so long ago and not just a few years. Her mind wandered to that evening she'd spent with Spike. She had more fun that night than any night she could remember, but she forced that memory out of her mind as the elevator finally reached the Angel's floor.

They both headed toward a large desk in the at the end of a short hallway, where Buffy recognized Angel's secretary, the unpleasant woman who looked at Buffy as though she was a piece of gum stuck at the bottom of her shoe. The woman's name, Buffy recalled, was Darla. As Buffy and Riley approached, Darla didn't glance up at all. Buffy noticed that she was painting her nails hot pink and she couldn't keep from rolling her eyes. Finally, Riley spoke.

"Excuse me. I have a couple packages here. Could you sign for them please?"

Darla finally looked up and met Buffy's gaze with a glare. But as soon as she noticed Riley, the glare turned quickly into a flirtatious smile.

"Well, hello Mr.?" she said sweetly ignoring Buffy altogether now.

"Finn. Riley Finn." Riley wasn't smiling back, however. "But I think Ms. Summers is here to see someone, so you might like to help her first."

Darla glared at Buffy yet again.

"What can I help you with?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm here to see Angel. Is he in?"

"Nope. Sorry."

Buffy knew perfectly well that the stuck-up cow wasn't sorry at all. And she also knew that somehow she was going to get into that office this time.

"Well, I guess I better get going then," Buffy said.

"Yeah. I guess so," Darla whispered with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Well, it was great to see you Buffy. Maybe we can get together sometime. Here's my number. Give me a call." Riley told Buffy with a smile.

"Yeah, sure," Buffy replied having no intention of doing so. However, the look she caught from Darla was completely priceless.

Before anyone could notice, Buffy rounded a corner into another hallway that she hoped would lead to Angel's office. She wasn't completely sure where it was located as she had never actually gotten inside, but she had a general idea and knew that she was at least headed in the right direction.

"Okay. Six doors down, turn left, turn right, first hallway, turn left and it should be right...here," Buffy finished.

She was actually standing in front of the door to Angel's office. The door was closed, which made her hesitate. Should she knock? Go right in? She didn't want to get caught by Darla, so she thought she'd better just go in.

When Buffy first opened the door, she thought she had the wrong office, but as her shock died away and understanding and rage took over, she realized she was indeed in the right office. And there was Angel sitting in his chair, and being straddled by a dark-haired girl with a black tank top and a tattoo at the small of her back. Her lips were on his neck, while he moaned with pleasure.

It took Angel a few seconds to notice Buffy standing in the doorway and in that instant the dark-haired woman was on the floor and Angel was standing up and pleading with Buffy.

"Buffy. This was a mistake. Please-" Angel started.

"Don't."

Buffy's eyes were filling up with tears and she was more angry than she'd ever been in her life, but a small voice inside her was whispering that she hadn't been completely faithful either. Still, she had to ask.

"How long has this been going on Angel?"

"Baby-"

"Don't you dare call me baby. How long Angel?"

Finally, the dark-haired woman spoke up.

"Relax, blondie. It's only been a few weeks."

"Faith-" Angel warned.

So the slut had a name after all and it was also tattooed on her back. Buffy hated her, but she hated Angel ten times more.

"A few weeks? Angel?"

"I'm sorry Buffy."

She couldn't stay in that room any longer. Buffy tore out of the office, past Darla and into the elevator where she burst into tears. Finally getting out of the building, Buffy realized she hadn't been breathing for the last few seconds and took a huge breath in the cold air. She knew she couldn't go home or she would go insane, so she did something that surprised her more than anything. She called Spike.

"Summers?" he answered in a concerned voice.

Spike couldn't explain why he already knew something was wrong before he even heard her voice.

"Spike. Can you come get me? Please?"

"Where are you, love?"