freshoffthefarm | [AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

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[AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

After two years at the Agency, Annie's job hadn't gotten any better (or worse). Sure, it had it's downsides - namely, being shot at (or being shot), but the biggest one had to be the Agency parking lot.

She could never, ever find a parking spot.

Of course, the morning that she'd gotten up early and proceeded to spill coffee on her first outfit, had to jump start her car and then fill a tire with air? She managed to get behind the chatty son-of-a-bitch in the compensation car at the guard shack. She sat there, plotting the ways to key his car without actually getting caught and then he'd moved on.

Smiling at the guys in the shack, she showed her ID, waited until they'd looked under her cars with mirrors, and then picked up the pace on the way to the agent parking lot.

It just wasn't her morning.

The short cut she took through the visitor lot took her right past the spots in front for all the diplomats and the Agency hotshots. She didn't see Mr. Compensation trying to adjust his parking until she'd plowed into his rear bumper.

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Clay's morning was always very routine. He woke up, took a shower, got dressed in whatever suit wasn't at the cleaners, had a cup of coffee with his newspaper then got in his Aston Martin and drove to the office. Depending on traffic, he'd arrive at the guard sack sometime between 20 minutes and an hour later. He'd say 'hello' to whoever was keeping watch that day, then be in his parking space and at his desk ten minutes later.

Today was all going according to plan until he heard that unmistakable sound of his rear bumper coming into contact with someone else's front bumper.

When he got out of the car to see who it was he was not happy.

Not how things were supposed to go. Not at all. And though she'd been in far worse situations and had far worse days? For some reason, hearing the crunch that came with hitting someone else's ~~fancy, expensive~~ car just made her want to cry.

Sucking it up, she took a deep breath, pushed her emergency flashers and pushed open her door. Four inch heels, short skirt and a blouse that was probably questionable in terms of professional? Fine. She'd accidentally left her blazer on her backseat. It was spring.

"Are you okay?" First things first.

"I'm fine. My four hundred thousand dollar car is not." Clay was not happy, not at all and he planned on making that known. So much so that he wasn't even going to ask how she was.

He did look her over quickly. She was young and she must be new.

His expression kind of pissed her off because, let's face it: "Four hundred thousand dollars? Who drives a four hundred thousand dollar car around here? Who can afford that kind of car?"

She walked closer and gave the car a longer look. The damage wasn't really that bad, maybe a thousand dollars. Okay, fifteen hundred if she pushed it or the paint job was custom. Of course, with that price tag, it probably was. She barely refrained from rolling her eyes. Compensating, indeed.

And he planned on making her pay for every cent of that custom paint job, just because she gave him that look.

He reached into his wallet for his registration and insurance before going for the cell phone. He planned on calling the police, simply because of that look.

"Insurance information." He demanded more than asked for it.

"In the car."

She walked - more like stalked - to her passenger side and opened the door, then slid sideways into the seat so that she could get the pouch with all her information out of her glove box. Then she walked - STALKED - back to the front of her car. And then, because he was being such an asshole with his tone, she leaned against the front of her car and waited for him to make the next move.

"Do you think this is some sort of power game?" He asked when he saw what she was doing. "I've been playing all of those games for decades." Clay was clearly not impressed, intimidated or anything else by Annie's actions. He took her information from her, and handed her his.

One quick camera phone snapshot and Annie's information was ready to be handed back to her. Annie Walker was not going to be a name he'd forget any time soon.

"Power game?" She watched as he took a photograph of her information and then snatched it back from him. "I was sitting here until you deigned to look in my direction. You were on the phone and I didn't want to interrupt as that's considered bad manners in polite society, which is apparently not where you were raised."

Annie Walker was not someone to be bullied, especially by some smartass in a suit.

"You have no idea how politely I was raised."

He was on the phone taking care of something that he was sure was above her clearance level, and could not wait the twenty minute commute he had from his condo in Alexandria to Langley.

"Do you want my information or are you going to stand there and continue to insult my upbringing?"

"I'd love your information, especially since you backed right into the front of my car, but again, my politeness would stop me from just demanding it from you."

She held out a hand and actually smiled at him.

Annie's smile softened his demeanor just a little and while didn't smile back, he didn't yell at her either, as he handed her his information. He knew he was being an ass, but he couldn't help it.

It was still obvious that he was angry.

Since she had just accused him of hitting her, she was surprised he didn't yell. The anger kept her from smarting off further, though she went back to the inside of her car and used good old-fashioned pen and paper to write it all down. Frankly, she had a feeling she'd be paying out of pocket, but that didn't worry her as much as it should have.

Really, she hoped that, whoever he was, didn't mention anything to her bosses now that he had her name.

Handing back his information, she nodded once. "Thanks."

Clay was choosing to ignore Annie's accusation and took his information back. "I'm sure you'll be hearing from my insurance company."

He didn't plan to tell her bosses about what happened, but he was sure they'd hear about it. There were, after all, other people in the parking lot.

"I'm sure I will."

She should have left it at that as she stood there, but as she turned away, she couldn't help but add, "Men who drive their midlife crises around in cars that cost four hundred thousand dollars probably have nice insurance policies."

Then she reached for her door handle.

He was even less amused, "The car is not a midlife crisis."

She paused and smiled at him again, this time without any hesitation.

"I'm sure that's what they all say." Her grin grew. "Compensation, then?"

"I am not compensating for anything either."

Her smile was enough to infuriate him but he assumed that was going to just get what she wanted out of him, a reaction.

"I'm sure they all say that, too." She looked him over once more, then eyed his car. "It should be fine. A day, maybe two, in the shop. And for those, I bet they give really nice loaners."

Thankfully, she'd been driving the Golf and she still had the Corvette in reserve.

"Believe me, Ms. Walker, when I tell you, you have no idea what you're missing."

She also wasn't wrong about the loaners either.

"What I'm missing?" Considering that she'd just made a joke about the size of his-- well, she wanted him to make himself clear. "Do elaborate, Mr. Webb."

"I'd really rather let you fill that in yourself."

He was sure she could, and it would allow him to side step a sexual harassment complaint that could be filed.

And she really wanted him to get as specific as possible. Minus the accident, and the fact that he was a dick, Annie had to admit he wasn't bad looking. Definitely older than most guys she ever looked at, graying even, and who wore a three piece suit anymore? Not her type, that was for sure, but the fact that he'd even gone there with that kind of joke amused her to no end.

She couldn't help but glance over the front of his slacks, her smile as tiny as she could make it. "It'll be the stuff of dreams for at least week."

With that out of her system, she pulled the door open and slid into her car.

Clay got back in his car before re-pulling into his parking space.

He wasn't planning on drawing attention to anything other than the accident. Everything else was just something that happened, nothing worth mentioning, so he thought right now.

Annie was his type though, at least physically. Younger than him and blonde.

WAY on the other side of the parking lot. Agents side. A long walk. In heels. Which she did on the phone to her insurance company, though she did as they said and admitted no fault. Also said nothing about playful banter, at least on her side. Did say something about the possibility of Mr. Webb and/or his insurance company being jerks about it since the car she'd hit was an Aston Martin.

She hung up with no good news and sighed as she walked into the Agency. Bad day was worse and so she headed to the coffee stand. Ugh.

Since Clay's walk was shorter, he was already at his desk and putting out a fire in counter-intel. The same one that caused him to be on the phone all the way from his condo to his parking space. It was not a good situation.

Three hours, three dead informants, and a phone call to his insurance company later, he headed down to the Agency Starbucks. More coffee, that wasn't the swill they brewed on his floor was needed.

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[AU] ... from the 'meet at a different time' meme

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