Day Fourteen, belated: Lilah/Lindsey
Title: Job Well Done
Author: Amy (alexia@innergeekdom.net)
Website: http://www.innergeekdom.net
Fandom: Angel
Ship: Lindsey/Lilah and Lindsey/Angel undertones
Spoilers: season one
Rating: PG
Archive: Anyone who wants it. Just let me know.
Summary: Wolfram and Hart has always been quite the competitive workplace.
Notes: Written for Lilah Month's Lilah/Lindsey day.
sallyanne's fault. Not sure how or why. But it is.
Props to queenofdenile for the read-through.
1,235 words
The first time Lindsey volunteered, Lilah was certain he had something up his sleeve.
He had to. This wasn't a job for someone at their level. This was a job for the interns, the truly disposable ones who ended up sacrificed to the highest bidder at the end of their term. This wasn't the job for him any more than it would have been for her. At least she knew her place.
But the Senior Partners had been so surprised and- damn it- pleased, that one of their up-and-coming lawyers was interested in working his way up the chain of command. That Lindsey MacDonald, one of the best they'd seen in years, was voluntarily taking video duty. It was the most boring of all possible assignments: just watching the security tapes streamed in from cameras placed discretely around Angel Investigations hotspots, trying to gauge their plans to break them before they started.
Lilah had scored a coup- a next-to-impossible case she'd been able to crack with the benefit of a few sleepless nights and a well-placed hemline- but against all odds, everyone seemed impressed with Lindsey fucking MacDonald.
Lilah didn't believe in words like "fair". They were inevitably stated by the less-deserving who didn't seem to understand how the winners deserved to win.
But Lindsey was playing dirty pool, and she was determined to find out why.
The second time the positions were offered up, Lilah watched him warily. She had considered grabbing video duty herself, but was worried about being played. Lilah Morgan was not going to be Tom Sawyered by a little boy from the sticks. She got a decent case instead, and watched Lindsey easily volunteer to monitor the video feeds again.
Something was up.
Curiosity finally got to the better of her after a few months, when both cases she'd really wanted were snatched up by higher-ranking lawyers, and she heard herself say, smoothly, "I wouldn't mind taking the video feeds."
Lindsey's mouth fell open, and either he was a better actor than she'd given him credit for, or this was not the way his game was supposed to be played.
Lilah smiled. "Sorry, cowboy," she whispered. "You've got plenty of cases to go after, though. Maybe you can even further your career."
"Bitch," he said neutrally, and promptly volunteered for what was probably the best out of the remaining choices.
Which was all well and good, and Lilah felt that pleasant self-satisfied feeling in her stomach, until she sat down to watch some of the footage and discovered it was the most boring crap in the entire history of the world.
If this was what Lindsey kept up his sleeves, he could keep it, thanks.
He came by her office around two AM, while she was alternating her gaze between the small television screen and her nails, to which she was applying a third coat of dark red polish.
"Yes?" she asked without looking up.
"That's such a small screen," he said. "You could miss something."
"Huh," she said mildly.
"I've got a big screen. You could watch on that, if you want."
"That's okay. I can fuck this up on my own, thanks," she said. Funny how, at any other workplace, this might be a hostile conversation.
"I'm actually offering to be helpful, you know."
"I'm sure you are. And the second you tell me the catch, I'll be able to tell you exactly how soon I hope the boat to Hell picks you up."
"No catch," Lindsey said. "You watch in my office. Free of charge."
Lilah considered, then frowned. "Way too generous. I don't buy it."
Lindsey looked almost desperate, which convinced Lilah she'd done the right thing. "Sorry. No." And she turned back to the video.
It took her a while to realize that Lindsey was still there- or, more accurately, she'd been aware o his presence, but assumed he'd disappear eventually, like a genie who's just been informed no one has any wishes, thank you.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked.
"What? Nothing."
"Oh. Then get out."
"Is it such a crime for me to want to spend some time with my friend in the department?"
"We're not friends."
"And why is that?"
"Because I hate you, and you return the compliment." Lilah held up a hand to see how the color looked, and realized Lindsey was blocking her light. "Also, get out."
He shrugged, smiled, and said nothing. All of which was making Lilah incredibly uncomfortable.
"Is this a random flirting thing on your part?" Lilah asked. "Because if so, I'd like to remind you of Wolfram and Hart's sexual harassment policy, I'd like to refer you to 17 C, subsection six, wherein the grounds for justifiable retributive castration are outlined quite clearly."
"I'm not coming on to you, Lilah," Lindsey said. "I think you're a very attractive woman, and I'm flattered that you'd even have given this thought, which you clearly have. But as far as what's in between your legs, I'm just not..." His eyes were suddenly focused on her nails- no, on the television- and his last word, "interested," was barely a whisper.
"Hey!" Lilah protested. "I have not been spending time thinking about sleeping with you. Trust me, I have much better things to do with my time. And you're awfully blase about what's between my legs for someone who's completely..."
Her eyes fell on what he was watching, and she too fell silent. One of the tapes was at such an angle that you got a definite view of certain... attributes of various Angel Investigations members. Like Cordelia Chase, wanna-be actress and future porn star in all likelihood, whose ass really was something to behold. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, former Watcher extraordinaire, actually looking attractive if you just took in the lower half and didn't have to hear him talk.
And then Angel walked by, all billowy coats and brooding rage, and she heard the sharp intake of air from behind her.
Oh.
Things made so much more sense now.
"So that's why you want the job," she purred.
"What?"
"Nothing. I understand now." Lilah smiled. "You can have the video job if you want. For a price."
"Why the fuck would I pay you for letting me have the shit job?" Lindsey asked, sounding almost insulted. Almost.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase. You'll be paying me whether or not you take the job. Calling it blackmail just sounds so... cheap, you know?" Lilah smiled brightly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" But his voice was defensive, his eyes were wide, and Lilah knew she'd won.
"Don't think the Senior Partners would be interested in having a lawyer working for them who's got a crush on the enemy. No matter how cute it might be to watch you bent over your desk, taking it from the big bad vampire." Lilah stood up. "Gosh, I'm awfully tired. I think I'm going to call it a night." She glanced at him. "Watch as long as you want, but turn off the lights when you leave, and... clean up after yourself."
She didn't listen for an answer.
Lilah didn't know of anyone else who felt so happy after a long night at the office. It was so rare that such a hard job could ever be so rewarding.
And Lilah Morgan loved the feeling of a good job well done.
Author: Amy (alexia@innergeekdom.net)
Website: http://www.innergeekdom.net
Fandom: Angel
Ship: Lindsey/Lilah and Lindsey/Angel undertones
Spoilers: season one
Rating: PG
Archive: Anyone who wants it. Just let me know.
Summary: Wolfram and Hart has always been quite the competitive workplace.
Notes: Written for Lilah Month's Lilah/Lindsey day.
sallyanne's fault. Not sure how or why. But it is.
Props to queenofdenile for the read-through.
1,235 words
The first time Lindsey volunteered, Lilah was certain he had something up his sleeve.
He had to. This wasn't a job for someone at their level. This was a job for the interns, the truly disposable ones who ended up sacrificed to the highest bidder at the end of their term. This wasn't the job for him any more than it would have been for her. At least she knew her place.
But the Senior Partners had been so surprised and- damn it- pleased, that one of their up-and-coming lawyers was interested in working his way up the chain of command. That Lindsey MacDonald, one of the best they'd seen in years, was voluntarily taking video duty. It was the most boring of all possible assignments: just watching the security tapes streamed in from cameras placed discretely around Angel Investigations hotspots, trying to gauge their plans to break them before they started.
Lilah had scored a coup- a next-to-impossible case she'd been able to crack with the benefit of a few sleepless nights and a well-placed hemline- but against all odds, everyone seemed impressed with Lindsey fucking MacDonald.
Lilah didn't believe in words like "fair". They were inevitably stated by the less-deserving who didn't seem to understand how the winners deserved to win.
But Lindsey was playing dirty pool, and she was determined to find out why.
The second time the positions were offered up, Lilah watched him warily. She had considered grabbing video duty herself, but was worried about being played. Lilah Morgan was not going to be Tom Sawyered by a little boy from the sticks. She got a decent case instead, and watched Lindsey easily volunteer to monitor the video feeds again.
Something was up.
Curiosity finally got to the better of her after a few months, when both cases she'd really wanted were snatched up by higher-ranking lawyers, and she heard herself say, smoothly, "I wouldn't mind taking the video feeds."
Lindsey's mouth fell open, and either he was a better actor than she'd given him credit for, or this was not the way his game was supposed to be played.
Lilah smiled. "Sorry, cowboy," she whispered. "You've got plenty of cases to go after, though. Maybe you can even further your career."
"Bitch," he said neutrally, and promptly volunteered for what was probably the best out of the remaining choices.
Which was all well and good, and Lilah felt that pleasant self-satisfied feeling in her stomach, until she sat down to watch some of the footage and discovered it was the most boring crap in the entire history of the world.
If this was what Lindsey kept up his sleeves, he could keep it, thanks.
He came by her office around two AM, while she was alternating her gaze between the small television screen and her nails, to which she was applying a third coat of dark red polish.
"Yes?" she asked without looking up.
"That's such a small screen," he said. "You could miss something."
"Huh," she said mildly.
"I've got a big screen. You could watch on that, if you want."
"That's okay. I can fuck this up on my own, thanks," she said. Funny how, at any other workplace, this might be a hostile conversation.
"I'm actually offering to be helpful, you know."
"I'm sure you are. And the second you tell me the catch, I'll be able to tell you exactly how soon I hope the boat to Hell picks you up."
"No catch," Lindsey said. "You watch in my office. Free of charge."
Lilah considered, then frowned. "Way too generous. I don't buy it."
Lindsey looked almost desperate, which convinced Lilah she'd done the right thing. "Sorry. No." And she turned back to the video.
It took her a while to realize that Lindsey was still there- or, more accurately, she'd been aware o his presence, but assumed he'd disappear eventually, like a genie who's just been informed no one has any wishes, thank you.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked.
"What? Nothing."
"Oh. Then get out."
"Is it such a crime for me to want to spend some time with my friend in the department?"
"We're not friends."
"And why is that?"
"Because I hate you, and you return the compliment." Lilah held up a hand to see how the color looked, and realized Lindsey was blocking her light. "Also, get out."
He shrugged, smiled, and said nothing. All of which was making Lilah incredibly uncomfortable.
"Is this a random flirting thing on your part?" Lilah asked. "Because if so, I'd like to remind you of Wolfram and Hart's sexual harassment policy, I'd like to refer you to 17 C, subsection six, wherein the grounds for justifiable retributive castration are outlined quite clearly."
"I'm not coming on to you, Lilah," Lindsey said. "I think you're a very attractive woman, and I'm flattered that you'd even have given this thought, which you clearly have. But as far as what's in between your legs, I'm just not..." His eyes were suddenly focused on her nails- no, on the television- and his last word, "interested," was barely a whisper.
"Hey!" Lilah protested. "I have not been spending time thinking about sleeping with you. Trust me, I have much better things to do with my time. And you're awfully blase about what's between my legs for someone who's completely..."
Her eyes fell on what he was watching, and she too fell silent. One of the tapes was at such an angle that you got a definite view of certain... attributes of various Angel Investigations members. Like Cordelia Chase, wanna-be actress and future porn star in all likelihood, whose ass really was something to behold. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, former Watcher extraordinaire, actually looking attractive if you just took in the lower half and didn't have to hear him talk.
And then Angel walked by, all billowy coats and brooding rage, and she heard the sharp intake of air from behind her.
Oh.
Things made so much more sense now.
"So that's why you want the job," she purred.
"What?"
"Nothing. I understand now." Lilah smiled. "You can have the video job if you want. For a price."
"Why the fuck would I pay you for letting me have the shit job?" Lindsey asked, sounding almost insulted. Almost.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me rephrase. You'll be paying me whether or not you take the job. Calling it blackmail just sounds so... cheap, you know?" Lilah smiled brightly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" But his voice was defensive, his eyes were wide, and Lilah knew she'd won.
"Don't think the Senior Partners would be interested in having a lawyer working for them who's got a crush on the enemy. No matter how cute it might be to watch you bent over your desk, taking it from the big bad vampire." Lilah stood up. "Gosh, I'm awfully tired. I think I'm going to call it a night." She glanced at him. "Watch as long as you want, but turn off the lights when you leave, and... clean up after yourself."
She didn't listen for an answer.
Lilah didn't know of anyone else who felt so happy after a long night at the office. It was so rare that such a hard job could ever be so rewarding.
And Lilah Morgan loved the feeling of a good job well done.