Rhapsody for Piano and Ghost by Z. A. Maxfield

Author:Z. A. Maxfield [Maxfield, Z. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: LGBT Paranormal
Publisher: Loose Id LLC
Published: 2011-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Fitz approached the enormous glass and steel structure that housed the expansive offices of Scheffield, Timmerman, and Radcliffe, wearing his edgiest clothes like armor. He’d thrown caution to the wind and lined his eyes and painted his nails. His hair was its blackest black, and it obscured most of his face. Sleek and shiny in the front, it looked like he’d barely escaped from a weed whacker from the back.

He’d ignored Julian and Serge’s advice to go in stealth and avoid a scene. To Fitz, anything less felt like selling out. Plus, wearing a virtual costume gave him confidence, allowing him to adopt a new, more daring persona, like when he donned his formal wear and took the stage to play.

In one sense, Fitz was excited and anxious. Even a little turned on. He felt powerful. Combined with the heady euphoria of Garrett’s attention, whatever Fitz had begun to unleash inside himself was waking up, nosing around, and hungry for exactly the kind of adventure a confrontation with Ari represented.

Fitz’s fledgling attitude entered the building with him, and it helped. The man he wanted to be didn’t care if Ari didn’t answer his calls. The man he wanted to be wasn’t going to accept Ari’s indifference unless and until Fitz had the chance to set the record straight. He made his way from the elevator onto the firm’s floor with a vague notion of where Ari’s office might be, based on his memory of visiting the place when he’d been a kid.

There were a few logical places to look, but first he had to approach Eileen Reid, the sentinel at the gate of the partners’ suite of offices. He had to take his hat in his hands figuratively and ask. She might not even recognize him. He had changed a lot since the last time he stood before her.

“Fitzgerald.” How was it that she looked exactly the same after ten years? Benjamin Scheffield always called her his pocket dragon; she was a tiny, doll-woman with bobbed red hair that never looked quite real to Fitz. She cultivated an impassive face and a long memory for Fitz’s office-behavior transgressions.

Eileen didn’t smile, but it was obvious she was pleased. The very air vibrated with her emotions, as they always had, even though her demeanor gave nothing away. If Eileen liked you, the office felt inviting. If she didn’t, the temperature could drop twenty degrees in a nanosecond.

She peered at him. “What a pleasure to see you again. So very grown-up. I see we’re enjoying a phase?”

“Possibly.” Fitz shoved his hands into the pockets of his overcoat.

“Did you want to see Benjamin? I’m afraid he’s in court today, dear.”

“Ah no. I was hoping to find Ari.”

“Ari?” One perfectly arched eyebrow rose. Probably she worried his outfit would collide with Ari’s usual sartorial resplendence and combust, taking the office with it.

“Yes. I need to talk to him.”

“I’m sorry, dear. Ari’s gone to lunch with some of his colleagues.”

“I see.” That wasn’t in his plans, damn it.

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