WILLEM (The Witches of Wimberley Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

I stepped in, took a seat in front of the desk, and waited, but not for long.
    In less than a minute a sleek-looking, raven-haired beauty click-clacked in on thin high heels, wearing a black figure-hugging suit and a white silk blouse. She even wore her hair pulled back into a bun, the slight concession to modernity being that it was more or less messy. The outfit would have met the corporate manual for women using battering rams against the glass ceiling if not for the smoky eyes and the siren-red lipstick.
    I’m sure she saw me take her in head to toe even though I made half an effort to do it surreptitiously. I would definitely do her. I was imagining pulling out that spike holding her hair in place and loosening that tight-fitted jacket. The chest she was hiding was very promising and clearly in need of being freed from restrictive clothing.
    That fantasy dissolved when she said, “Mr. Draiocht?”
    I jerked my gaze from her chest to her eyes and said, “Yes. That’s me.”
    She smiled, sat down, took the paperclip off the stack of pages she’d brought with her and began leafing through them. She glanced at me a couple of times as she was scanning, eyes moving fast, but kept her eyes to the paper when she asked her first question.
    “I see you’ve been seeking work as an actor.”
    I cleared my throat and sat up a little straighter. “That’s right. Seeking being the operative word.”
    “No luck?” Keeping her head down in reading position, she looked up at me from under her eyelashes.
    I gave her my best smile, hoping to look like I didn’t care. “No,” I shook my head.
    She nodded. “If you’re not admitted to Orientation tonight, what’s your plan?”
    The guy on the phone told me I couldn’t prepare, and I wasn’t prepared for that question. So I stalled.
    “I didn’t get your name?”
    She gave me a smile that broadcast that I’d been caught stalling. “Ms. Blackwell.”
    “I’ve been moving in one direction for ten years and only decided yesterday that I’m done. I haven’t really had time to contemplate what’s next.”
    “I like honest answers. Actors have a tendency to improvise on the spot. It’s always easiest on everybody to just tell the truth.”
    “Well, I’m glad you feel that way because, honestly , I don’t know why I’m here.”
    She graced me with the same brilliant smile I’d been given when she entered. I’d call it the first-impression smile. “I’m sure you think that’s unusual, but it’s far more common than not. We don’t recruit, you see. We simply let the right people find us.”
    I nodded as if I’d just absorbed something profound, even though I knew nothing more than I had prior to stating that I didn’t know why I was there.
    “Would you like something to drink while we’re finishing up?”
    “No. Thank you. I’m fine.”
    “Very well. I see here that you’re from Alabama, but your speech doesn’t give any hint of that.”
    I shrugged. “I’ve spent the last ten years and a truckload of money working on getting rid of any hint of that.”
    “Well, it worked. If I wasn’t reading your file, I would have guessed Illinois.”
    “Yeah, well, speaking of that file…”
    “You’ve made it as far as the foyer office, Mr. Draiocht. Trust me, that’s a little bit of an accomplishment all in itself. It’s not a guarantee of admission to the Orientation, but only a handful of young men in the area get this far.”
    My lips parted, ready to give voice to the appropriate response, whenever it came to mind. Unfortunately that response never gelled in my head. She went on.
    “What do you like to do with your free time?”
    That was easy and the answer wasn’t especially incriminating so I didn’t hesitate. “Read.”
    “Hmmm. What do you like to read?”
    “Non-fiction.”
    She set the papers down and focused a laser-intensive look on my face that made me want to squirm in my chair.
    “Are you being evasive?”
    “Not at all. Most