An Offer You Can't Refuse | loistheintrepid
Nearly a week had passed since their unorthodox meeting, his coming foreshadowed in a way James would very much have preferred it not be. This was a formal request, and he'd made it that way, had given a false name and arrived in what today's generation called casual business dress. Really, he needed to set an impression, and all he had hoped for the past five days was that he hadn't already given her the wrong one.
Her secretary was kind enough, and the building was not difficult to navigate. He'd cleaned himself up recently, in preparation. Gotten his hair trimmed by a professional, practised slicking it back and how to walk like he wasn't weighed down by an extra thirty pounds on one side. Months of training himself made it easy to smile at all the faces he passed, engage only the few that he needed to, and look comfortable waiting outside her office.
In reality, of course, he was flooded with cool terror. This was the end of his life. They were drawing so close to a tipping point, and he had just barely made it in time. Thank God he'd had the strength to go through with this step on his own. It may just save his life.