Starring: David Boreanaz as Angel, James Marsters as Spike, J. August Richards as Gunn, Amy Acker as Fred, Andy Hallet as Lorne, Alexis Denisof as Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

Guest starring: Mercedes McNab as Harmony, Danielle Nicolet as Tameeka

Original air date: January 14, 2004

Written by: Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft
Directed by: Vern Gillum

There’s a new human resources video for employees of Wolfram & Hart. In the video the announcer briefly explains the founding of Wolfram & Hart and the changes that have recently taken place. With Angel as the new CEO, the firm has an emphasis on using power for good. There’s also a zero-tolerance policy on killing humans and no drinking of human blood. As Angel himself says, “If you don’t kill, we won’t kill you.” Wolfram & Hart is a family now, and employees don’t need to fear employee sacrifices anymore.

Harmony is in her apartment getting ready to go to work. Harmony is the vampire version of Mary Tyler Moore. She showers, dresses, brushes both sets of teeth (human and vampire), picks up a dresser to find a missing shoe, and heads off to work. Once at work Harmony tries to talk with other women in the lunchroom but they pretty much ignore her. When Angel arrives Harmony runs down his appointments for the day and tells him that she’s already contacted the caterers for tomorrow’s big demon confab. Unfortunately Angel isn’t paying much attention to anything Harmony says. Gotta give her credit - Harmony is still trying to talk to Angel about the catering as he and Gunn walk to Angel’s office, at least until Gunn shuts the door behind him cutting Harmony off.

Back at her desk Harmony has to endure the indignity of a random test for human blood in her system, which she passes. Then Harmony talks a bit with Eli, an accountant who’s been called to Angel’s office. Gunn calls Eli into Angel’s office and Harmony, who realizes that Angel left his blood at her desk, follows about 15 seconds later. Harmony’s just in time to see Angel use a wicked long sword to decapitate Eli. Eli’s head flies off his body and lands at Harmony’s feet.

At her desk Harmony is asking Angel and Gunn why they had to kill Eli. Apparently Eli’s been dismembering virgins for fun during his off hours. Harmony thinks Angel should have given Eli a warning first, but Angel is sticking to the zero-tolerance, not a “do-it-once” tolerance policy. Lorne, Fred, and Wes arrive together a few seconds before Spike. Spike’s just stopped by to say his farewells. He’s been gone a couple of days recovering from a hangover but now he’s ready to leave LA and track down Buffy. Wes isn’t sure Spike’s departure is a good thing, after all the Shanshu prophecy is still unresolved. Spike tells Angel he can have the prophecy, he doesn’t want it. Wes tries a second time to convince Spike to stay but Angel tells Wes to let Spike go. Spike can’t get any money from Angel but does get a car. Before he leaves, Spike thanks Fred for trying to recorporalize him. He won’t forget that Fred tried to help him. As Spike starts to walk away, Harmony asks Spike if he won’t say good-bye to her because she tried to rip his throat out during sex. Harmony is nearly in tears as Spike leaves.

In Angel’s office Harmony is taking notes while the A.I. crew is meeting about the upcoming demon confab. Gunn runs down the history of the demon war which apparently started when, five generations ago, a Vingee used the wrong fork at a Saraven bonding ceremony. The clans are going to work out a truce at Wolfram & Hart with the help of a demon rights activist whom both clans trust. Wes knows that the Vingee and Saraven are pretty vicious demons, so he wants to know why they don’t just sit on the sidelines until both clans wipe each other out. Gunn thinks that negotiating the treaty will give Wolfram & Hart and the A.I. crew credibility in the demon world, making their jobs easier down the road. The whole crew has to memorize a long list of manners so that they don’t offend either the Vingee or the Saraven. Fred reports that the weapons scanners have been upgraded, and Gunn is going to be doing the translating for both clans since they don’t speak much English. And if that isn’t bad enough, both clans are superstitious. Harmony tries to contribute by telling everyone that the Vingee and Saraven think poodles are “wicked bad luck.” Wes is glad Harmony is there. He asks her to order everyone some lunch.

Later, in the lunch room, Harmony is eating (well, drinking) alone listening to some of the other assistants gossiping about Fred, Gunn, and Knox. Harmony tries to tell them that Wes is “totally crushing over Fred” but they look at her like she has worms crawling out of her ears. Just then Danny, Lorne’s assistant, brings in some muffins and shares them with every one but Harmony. One of the women at the table tells Danny that Lorne is grooming him. When Harmony tries to convince them that Angel is grooming her, too, they don’t believe it. Harmony gets a call from Angel on her cell. Angel’s yelling at Harmony to get down to the office but she tries to make it sound like she’s going to do him a favor.

Down by Harmony’s desk Angel is not pleased about the camel that’s just been delivered, and Fred’s a little confused. Harmony tries to explain that the caterers were supposed to deliver the camel *tomorrow.* Harmony found out that camel meat’s a delicacy so she thought the camel would be comfort food for the clans. Angel is not impressed. He loses it and yells at Harmony that she was supposed to answer phones, not start a petting zoo, and he orders her to get rid of the camel. After Angel leaves, Harmony breaks down into tears. Fred tries to help by suggesting that a cheese platter might be a better way to go. Harmony says that she did everything right and Fred tries to explain Angel’s tirade as stress over the confab. Harmony comes to the conclusion that everyone hates her. When Fred says she just doesn’t know Harmony that well, Harmony asks Fred out after work.

Later, in a nice bar, Harmony and Fred are talking over drinks. Harmony isn’t that happy working at Wolfram & Hart, but she doesn’t have any where else to go. Harmony thinks she’s useless and wishes she were a bit more like Fred. Harmony thinks that Fred has everything, including two hot guys. Harmony doesn’t understand why she was so popular in high school but, since she got vamped, she’s had trouble connecting with people. Fred thinks she should mingle more but the Wolfram & Hart folks in the bar are straights and Harmony prefers the undead. Harmony tells Fred that a guy has been checking her out, but Harmony isn’t sure what to say. Fred gives her a little coaching and Harmony introduces herself. Despite not coming off that well, the guy offers to buy her a drink. The next morning Harmony wakes up to her alarm to find the guy from the bar in her bed. Harmony tries to get him to leave but, uh-oh, discovers that the guy isn’t just dead, he’s dead from a neck wound. Oops.

Harmony frantically tries to dispose of the body without being detected by Mrs. Jacoby, her surly neighbor. Harmony shoves the body down the garbage chute, runs downstairs and shoves the body into the dumpster. At work Harmony is a little nervous so she tries desperately to “act normal” but can’t quite do it. It doesn’t help that Angel’s miffed that Harmony is late *and* she hasn’t brought him his blood yet. Angel tells Harmony that he can’t afford anything to go wrong today. As Harmony is warming up Angel’s blood she’s trying to remember what happened last night. She doesn’t remember squat. The more she doesn’t remember the more nervous she gets. Harmony tries to calm herself down by drinking some of her blood from the fridge. She tells the folks in the lunchroom that it’s stress eating.

At her desk Harmony confirms the catering for the summit when she is distracted by some tantalizing necks of folks in the office. A call comes in for Angel: it’s an LA detective. Harmony tries to listen in to the call, but all she learns is that the police found a body. Angel calls for Gunn and Wes and they talk just outside Angel’s office. The police found a body at the city dump wrapped in a laundry bag. The dead man is Toby Dupree, the demon rights activist who is supposed to be negotiating the truce between the Vingee and Saraven. This is a problem - Angel and company are going to have to do some *serious* damage control to make sure that the peace talks go as planned. Wes thinks that someone might be trying to derail the summit and Harmony, loudly, agrees.

Harmony watches as Angel, Wes, and Gunn take a phone call with a member of the Vingee clan. Gunn tries to convince the Vingee that the summit should proceed, but the Vingee want vengeance. After Angel accidentally tells the Vingee clansmen to “be disemboweled” Gunn convinces the clansman that the killer will be found and punished. Angel wants to find the killer and hopes that Fred will be able to help because she will be examining Dupree’s body. When Harmony finds out that the body is in the Wolfram & Hart labs she takes off.

Harmony finds Fred in the lab examining the body. Fred thinks that Angel sent Harmony in to rush Fred without actually seeming like he’s trying to rush Fred. Harmony tries to get as much information as she can out of Fred while Fred talks about last night at the bar. Fred figures out that the killer was female (bad news, Harm!). And when Fred asks about the guy at the bar, Harmony tells her that the guy was a big loser.

Harmony leaves the lab mumbling to herself about needing to flee to Mexico and starting over when she has an epiphany - Dupree was bitten on the right so she didn’t do it. Just then Harmony runs into the lab tech who tests Harmony for human blood. Uh oh. Harmony’s test is positive. She’s had human blood recently. Harmony panics and hits the tech, knocking him unconscious. Harmony nonchalantly puts the tech in a closet and runs into Lorne. Harmony asks Lorne about the random blood tests. Lorne tells her that the results are instantly transmitted to the lab when he hears moaning. Uh oh. Harmony knocks Lorne unconscious and puts him in the closet with the lab tech.

In the lab Fred has just received the results of Harmony’s lab test when Harmony walks in. Fred’s nervous because Harmony tested positive for human blood and Harmony’s nervous because she doesn’t want to be the next victim of the zero tolerance policy. Harmony gives Fred the brief run down that Dupree was the guy she talked to in the bar and she found him dead in her bed this morning. Harmony tries to prove to Fred that she didn’t kill Dupree. Apparently Harmony is a “right biter” meaning that her bites are on the left side of the neck. Fred points out that the results of the blood test are pretty incriminating, but Harmony thinks that someone might have tainted her blood in the lunchroom fridge. Fred tries to inch toward the phone and explain what happened to Angel, but Harmony is sure that Angel won’t listen and will just chop her head off. So Harmony does the only sane thing she *can* do: she knocks Fred unconscious and puts her in the closet with Lorne and the lab tech. Before she closes the closet door Harmony thanks all of them for being so understanding while she tries to clear her name.

Having figured out that someone tainted her blood, Harmony wants to get fingerprints from her thermos to find out who’s responsible for killing Dupree. Harmony has to walk by Angel’s office and finds Angel and Gunn trying to reason with members of both clans. The clansmen want the killer to die, but if they can’t find the killer, then someone from Wolfram & Hart has to die. When Angel finds out that they want a blood sacrifice, Angel tells Harmony to find Fred. Angel needs to know what Fred found out from Dupree’s body.

Harmony tells Angel she’s on it and heads straight to the lunch room. In the lunch room she finds Danny (Lorne’s assistant) holding her thermos. Harmony thinks that Danny is trying to get rid of the evidence. She accuses Danny of filling her thermos with human blood and, when Danny denies it, Harmony grabs him by the throat and tries to choke a confession out of him, vamping out in the process. When Harmony puts on her game face she spooks everyone in the lunch room and they bolt. Out of nowhere a glass hits Danny on the head and he’s now unconscious. Harmony is confused, turns around, and finds a woman standing behind her. The woman (Tameeka) tells Harmony she threw the glass to make it look like Harmony hit Danny. Harmony takes awhile, but she finally puts two and two together and figures out that Tameeka was behind Dupree’s death and framing Harmony for it.

Harmony doesn’t really remember who Tameeka is, but Tameeka sat next to Harm in the steno pool. Harmony was in the steno pool for five weeks and Tameeka was there for five years, but Harmony got the primo job working for Angel. And Tameeka is pretty pissed about getting passed over. Tameeka tells Harmony that, when Angel finds out that Tameeka saved Danny, Tameeka will be Angel’s new assistant. Tameeka kicks a table at Harmony who jumps over it. Harmony thinks she has the advantage in the fight, that is until Tameeka vamps out. There’s a big vamp chick fight, complete with wooden chopsticks. As they fight Tameeka tells Harmony that she slipped a roofie in Harmony’s drink, followed Harmony and Toby back to her place, broke in and killed Toby. Harmony wants Tameeka to confess to Angel, but Tameeka just wants to smash all of the unicorns that Harmony keeps on her desk. This does not make Harmony happy.

Harmony and Tameeka fight down the hallway and crash through the glass into the conference room where Angel and Gunn are meeting with the Vingee and the Saraven. Tameeka lands on the conference table and Harmony, using a wooden chopstick, dusts Tameeka. It’s not until *after* she dusts Tameeka that Harmony realizes that she should have waited until Tameeka confesses. The good news is that the Vingee and the Saraven demands for a blood sacrifice have been satisfied with Tameeka’s dusting. So the summit goes on!

In Angel’s office the lab tech, Lorne, and Fred are nursing some head bumps with ice bags. Angel tells Harmony that she should have talked to him. Harmony apologizes and tells everyone that she was scared because of the zero tolerance policy. Tearfully, Harmony admits that she made some bad choices, but that she is trying really hard to do a good job. Rather graciously, Harmony tells Angel she’ll pack up her desk. She assumes that Angel will fire her. Before Harmony can leave Angel’s office, Angel tells her to bring some coffee.

Later Harmony is at a bar complaining to the bartender that she saved the day, but all she got was, “Harmony, get us some coffee.” Harmony is pretty surprised when Spike walks in and sits down with her. Spike tells Harmony that he was ready to head off to Europe but then he stopped and thought about it. After saving the world and having a show-stopping exit, how could he jump off a ship in the south of France and walk back into Buffy’s life? Spike thinks his ‘grand finale’ wouldn’t matter. Harmony thinks that Buffy would be happy to see him, but she sympathizes with the “not mattering.” Harmony doesn’t think she matters to anyone at work until Spike points out that Harmony mattered to Tameeka. After all, if Tameeka was willing to kill a guy and frame Harmony, Harmony must have mattered. This makes Harmony smile and believe that she does matter.

Summary by Kirsten.