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I barely managed not to groan out loud. It was too late to escape. All I could do was hope that it was some other errand we were on that had nothing to do with Philip.
I had to hurry to keep up with Roger as we left the office. He called for a car while we made our way down to the lobby, and a limo waited for us. For me, the ride was intensely uncomfortable. Did he know I knew Philip? Probably, given that they seemed to have researched me thoroughly. But why was he making me come along? I didn’t think my presence would make any difference in the outcome. Was this one of those loyalty tests, to see how I’d act when one of my friends was the foe? I reminded myself that this excursion might not have been related to what we’d just read in the book, but I had a hard time believing it.
By the time the car stopped, my stomach was churning, and I was afraid I’d throw up. If I looked nearly as green as I felt, Roger would have been sure to keep his shoes out of range. Then again, they were probably company shoes, and he didn’t care what happened to them because his own Italian loafers were in his changing room, assuming executives had to go through the same security procedures as we did.
My heart sank when we got out of the car and I saw that we were, in fact, at Philip’s business. I’d visited this building before, when I was helping Philip find out what had happened to his family company. It hadn’t changed much since it had returned to its original ownership. It still looked and even smelled like old money, with heavy antique furnishings, paneled walls, and thick carpets.
Roger approached the lobby receptionist with a smile that would have looked genuine even to me if I hadn’t known what lay behind it. “Hi, I’m here to see Mr. Vandermeer,” he said.
“Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asked.
His smile remained friendly, even as his eyes hardened slightly. “Yes.” I felt the tingle of his magic being used.
“Sorry, that doesn’t work on me,” she said, raising an eyebrow, and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from grinning. I was impressed that Philip had thought to hire a magical immune.
Roger’s expression returned to nonthreatening blandness. “Oh, sorry, but I thought it was worth a try, it really is urgent. You see, Katie here is the one who needs to see him. She’s a good friend. Tell her, Katie.”
Now I knew why he’d brought me. My name would get us past the guardian at the gate. I wanted to refuse to play along, but did I really have a choice? Not if I wanted to get to the bottom of this. “Yes, tell Philip it’s his friend, Kathleen Chandler.” I never used my full name, so I hoped Philip would get the clue.
The receptionist pushed some buttons, then said into her headset, “I have a Kathleen Chandler and an associate here to see Mr. Vandermeer. She says she’s a friend.” There was a long pause, then the receptionist gave me a smile. “You can go on up. You know where his office is?”
“Yes,” I said. “Thank you!”
My sense of dread grew as we went up in the elevator. Philip knew about my mission, knew who I was working for, so he should know that if I was there on a weekday, it had something to do with the Collegium. I didn’t habitually visit him at work. Everything about this visit should have come across as weird.
I braced myself when the elevator stopped and the doors opened, ready for whatever defense mechanisms Philip had in place. But all I saw was the executive lobby, with furnishings even fancier than in the main lobby below. Maybe Philip was trying not to blow my cover, I thought as I stepped out onto the plush carpeting. If he acted like he knew me visiting was a problem, that would reveal that he knew something.
Philip came out of his office to greet us even before the receptionist could say anything. I thought there was a wariness in his eyes, so I was pretty sure he knew something had to be up. “Katie, it’s good to see you,” he said. “Though it is a surprise. Was there something you needed?”
“I’m afraid I used her name to get through the door,” Roger said, all smooth geniality as he reached out a hand for Philip to shake. “I’m Roger. I
work with Katie, and I really wanted a meeting with you. Can we talk?”
Philip glanced at me, and I wasn’t sure how to signal him. The entire situation was very “run, while you still can,” but if I did anything to indicate that, I’d give myself away. I wished I knew Morse code, so I could have blinked a message.
It didn’t matter much, anyway, as Roger didn’t even wait for an answer. He just barged into Philip’s office and took a seat in one of the guest chairs in front of Philip’s massive desk. That left Philip and me facing each other in the doorway. “Be careful,” I mouthed silently, and Philip nodded before turning to head to his desk. I followed and perched uneasily on the edge of the other guest chair.
“What can I do for you, Roger?” Philip asked once he was seated.
Still being so friendly that you’d never guess that he was basically the devil, Roger said, “I’m sure you’ve got your hands full getting back in the swing of things after being away for so long, not only getting used to an entirely new era, but also getting caught up with the business. The world’s changed a lot in the past century.”
“It has, indeed,” Philip said.
“Well, I’d like to offer my help to you, in exchange for some help I could use from you.”
“What sort of help?”
“I know that when the interim leadership of your company got ousted, you probably lost a lot of business because the Meredith family had certain…connections.”
“Yes, I noticed. Though most of the business we lost wasn’t actually all that profitable for the company. The connections, as you put it, were more of a liability than an asset.”
Roger’s pleasant mask faded ever so slightly. “I think you’ll find that there were other benefits related to those connections. We can call them intangibles. The company might not have remained in operation without those particular benefits. Now, I can bring a lot of business your way, as well as provide you with those intangible benefits, in exchange for a line of credit. You see, I’m going to require some funding to carry out certain plans. Those plans could benefit both of us in a big way.”
“We do offer lines of credit to certain qualified clients,” Philip said evenly. “Usually, though, we require those clients to have accounts with us. If you’d care to open an account and fill out an application, we’ll see what we can do about a line of credit. What sort of business are you in?”
I found it very hard to keep a straight face. I never would have guessed that Philip had it in him to be this cool. What really surprised me was that Roger laughed. “Oh, come on,” he said. “Can we stop playing around? I know you know exactly who I represent and what I can—and will—do. Do you really want to go through that again? Now, do you want to work with me here, or what?”
“The passage of time—much of it spent on a lily pad—has not changed my stance toward your organization,” Philip said. “My answer remains the same. I will not do business with you. I will not give you money. Now, good day.”
