Determination Read Online Free PDF Page B

presentation, then looked at his cell phone tucked next to the laptop on the podium. “Alright, everyone, we’ve been here a couple hours. Go take a break. I’ll page you all when to come back.” He set down a small remote with a shaky hand, gave Roxie a meaningful look, and headed out the mahogany door next to the projector screen. The other suit-wearing people gave each other stunned looks, then rummaged around for their own phones and conceded Luis’s unscheduled break. Roxie slipped out the door after Luis before it could close, her footsteps soundless on the thin carpet.
    They headed down a broad hallway at a brisk walk, Roxie almost a dozen steps behind him. “Wait up!”
    Luis glanced back, his face serious. He brought a finger to his lips and rubbed his chin with his hand. He continued his brisk pace, greeting the few people he walked past. He knew all their names, and they his, and they spoke to him respectfully, not casually. Luis veered down a side hall and headed for the first door on the left, punched in a passcode on the number pad, then stepped in and held the door open for Roxie. She slipped inside and he gently closed the door behind her.
    The office was impressive. Tons of books lined two walls to the right and left of the door. The wall opposite the door was one big window looking out over whichever city they were in, the blushing sunset making the skyline look otherworldly. Long shadows sprawled behind every skyscraper. A huge desk sat in the middle of the room, a lone iMac wreathed in clutter consisting of mostly packets of papers, foam Dunkin Donuts cups, pens, cords, notebooks, books, framed pictures, a fancy lamp, and a bottle of skin lotion.
    Luis gave Roxie a studious look, then drew closer and reached out to touch her shoulder. She recoiled but, since he could clearly see and hear her, she relaxed. His fingers brushed her bare forearm, feeling so warm and comforting.
    He recoiled with a startled exclamation. “You’re freezing!” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. “It’s great to see you, Roxie, but how and why are you here? You scared the heck out of me back there.”
    Roxie didn’t feel cold but she wasn’t interested in arguing. She returned the hug, grateful for some contact, even though it made her think of all the hugs she and Aerigo had exchanged, and how they would never do that again. She felt the hole in her chest claw outward, trying to devour more of her heart. Her eyes stung with tears aching to be released.
    Luis let go and rubbed his arms, trying to warm himself. “Wow, I just felt a huge wave of emotional pain from you. Tell me what happened.”
    Roxie shook her head, unable to describe Aerigo’s death. “Luis, I need your help. I’m alive, but I somehow got into the spirit world, and now I’m stuck there until I find a way out.” She paused, considering what she just said. “That has to sound so crazy.”
    Luis let out a laugh. “I grew up in a haunted house, so not really, minus how you landed yourself there. And that explains why you’re freezing to the touch.”
    “Would you have any idea how I got here? There. The spirit world I mean.”
    He held up his hands and shook his head. “How did you get into the meeting room?”
    Roxie opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She’d just zoomed across almost the entire mainland in seconds. Or had it been longer than that and she just couldn’t tell? “The spirit world doesn’t follow the same laws of reality of the living world. In other words, I have no idea. I’m just here. What city is this?”
    “San Francisco. I have offices on both the east and west coast, but I work mainly out of this one. Take a seat.” He gestured to a lavish chair facing the front of his desk. He circled it and sat in his chair.
    Having no good reason to refuse, she slipped into the chair and sank into the shiny leather cushion.
    “So why exactly have you sought me out for help?”
    “I tried