Time Passages (Queen or Freddie Mercury Fanfic)

45. Round Two

Freddie

I pressed the "up" button on the lift, cursing my idiocy.  Already I knew somehow, that I had made the wrong choice.

I should have gone back for the notebook, I kept saying to myself.  What am I doing here?  What's the point of this?  I did Wes the first favor by staying so long yesterday afternoon, do I even owe him this now?

Then I rolled my eyes, remembering, Yes, I do- in the amount of no less than three thousand dollars and a binding contract agreeing to show up again within forty-eight hours.  Fuck!  This is why I don't negotiate anything without my people; I make stupid decisions.

I wouldn't have even signed the damn thing if I hadn't been trying so hard to get out.  They simply couldn't bear to see me go, it seemed.  Every time I attempted to leave, Wes would convince me to stick around just another few minutes, until finally I'd ended up spending more than three hours interacting with Benji, callers, viewers, and of course, numerous other people from the station who kept drifting in and out of the producer booth, gawking at me in disbelief.  I wasn't kidding when I said Charles had to basically hustle me out of there forcibly.

But even with his help, I still was tricked into a commitment.  Very well.  Here I was now, living up to the promise.  After this, I would be a free man once more.  But I still felt foolish for not snatching the notebook away from Danny first.  Maybe it would work out.  Maybe he would respect my privacy and my wishes, maybe he'd leave it alone.

Or, maybe not.

This had better be worth my while, I grumbled to myself, and there had better be a little money involved.  If not, I'll-

At that moment, the lift doors opened, and I stepped in with confidence.  While it was inevitable I should attract some attention, I had a plan to keep the majority at arm's length- and not just through Charles.  My coat collar was turned up round my jaw, sunglasses fitted over my eyes, and the dark blue ivy cap I bought on a whim the day before covering my head.  Did I look ridiculous?  Perhaps.  But I was in no mood for another deluge of admirers, and if this somewhat silly disguise would help buffer that, I considered it an all-around success.

"Are you sure it's going to work?" Charles whispered as we rode up.

I lowered my aviators and smirked at him.  "Like a charm, darling," I cooed.

Charles was none too convinced, but his lips stayed sealed.  The lift came to stop a couple of times, and few others stepped on for the ride.  They came and went with nary an off glance in my direction.  I smiled to myself.    I may just pull this off.

As it turned out, however, Charles may have been right to doubt after all. 

When the doors finally opened on the twelfth floor, I found things rather peaceful.  I let myself relax just a bit.  Perhaps I really was making mountains out of molehills.  I'd run into a bad batch there in front of the church, that's all.  Nevertheless, I still just wanted this over with; I simply needed to find Wes.

I'd only just approached the receptionist desk when none other than Benji shuffled round the corner.  I hesitated, waited to see if he'd recognize me- but he didn't so much as look up from the little screen in his hand.  He was thoroughly distracted, walked right past me.  With a sigh, I shook my head.  It was probably just as well.

"Can I help you, sir?" asked the woman at the front.

I cleared my throat and spoke softly, "Uh, yes- I'm here for the meeting or something, I'm Rick Dubroc-"

Her eyes lit up.  "Oh, Mr. Dubroc!" she exclaimed.  "Welcome back!"

"Sh!" I hissed nervously. "I mean, yes, thank you-"