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"You *finally* figured out how to work Caller ID? I'm amazed. Stunned, even. How many times did Logan have to explain it?"

Parker held out the phone toward Isabel, grinning.

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"The week I'm having it was either you or Veronica," Angel replied. "I took a chance."

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"Hi Angel!" Isabel called to the phone. She might have waved a bit as well. "Look! We know how to push the buttons and actually call people!"

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Now Angel was smiling. "Hey, Isabel. How's it going? Wait - that was Parker just a second ago, right? Because hallucinations would not be out of the question right now."

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"It's going well," she said happily. "And yes, that was Parker. We decided to have some fun and call you. It's the new sport."

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Taking the phone back, Parker said, "So, what kind of week are you having, that you're anticipating a call from me or V? Hmmm. Ah, right. One where you're already in over your head."

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"If you already know I don't have to go into any details," Angel pointed out.

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"But the details are the best part." Parker started walking around the room, eyes narrowing. "Right. We can play Crime & Justice, if that's the mood you're in. Money or work or love, those are the usual causes for homicide or brooding, aren't they?"

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Angel made himself comfy in a chair. "All of the above minus the money part."

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"Crap. Which reminds me: tell Logan he has to be in Los Angeles Civil Court by noon Tuesday, okay?" That out of the way, Parker shook her head. "Start with the work. Your love life always leaves me enervated. I need to save my strength."

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"I will," Angel said. Not that he'd been brooding about that at all. Then, with a slightly perverse glee at knowing where this was going, he answered her request by saying, "I hired a new employee."

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"Did you now? My, how enterprising." Parker's suspicion had to be audible to both Angel as well as Isabel, who was settling herself into one of Parker's big beanbag chairs, grinning. "To do what? Did you finally find someone to back you up in fights? Or are we talking someone who'll do the books better than Logan?"

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"Oh this one's a fighter, no doubt about that."

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"What are you paying him? Or her. And I'm glad you're hiring back-up, but do they want dental? And do they know about you, and vampires and souls, or are you trying to be cagey? And stupid?"

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"She knows the whole deal," Angel said. He was kind of glad that this conversation wasn't happening in person, though he did rub his head as though she'd already hit him.

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"She does, does she?" Parker might've sounded hopeful, and she shot Isabel a thumb's up across the room. "Fighter, knows everything... are you, maybe, possibly, relaxing your stance on dating people? I hope? Even if it *is* a co-worker. Better than nothing. And you can't claim that whole honesty-problem or ignorance-stands-in-the-way-of-our-happiness if she already knows about you."

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Isabel perked up and listened. She had a feeling this was going to be interesting. Somehow she couldn't imagine Angel hiring a Buffy substitute, especially when Logan was still around.

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Angel squirmed. "Well. Uh - I don't know if you want to say relaxed...."

Which wasn't untrue. He'd hardly call the past few days totally relaxing.

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"Sooooo? How did you meet her? How'd you hire her? Is she human? Not that it matters if she isn't, that's probably a plus, in some ways." Parker curled up on her bed, grinning. "And are you *considering* relaxing said stance? Am I right about that?"

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When in doubt, make the stoic work for you. "She's human."

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"Why must you make me pull every detail out of you like it's a tapeworm from your spine?" Parker wondered. "Name, background, experience. Come on. And I mean fighting experience, not the other kind."

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"Come on Angel," Isabel called towards the phone. "Don't make us come out there to meet her in person!"

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Hearing Isabel made him weaken a little. "You already know her!" he called back.

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