Page 36 of Beau and the Beast

Wolfram shook his head.

"I prefer to eat alone."

"Do you want me to bring him back after lunch?" Violet asked as Beau crossed the room to her.

"Only if Mr. Blake would like to continue working," Wolfram said. "He's asked for a small tape recorder and a typewriter. I said that shouldn't be a problem."

And then to Beau: "I understand if you don't want to keep going until you have the rest of what you need."

Beau just smiled. "If you want to keep going, I'll come back and keep taking notes by hand."

"Good then," Wolfram said seriously, nodding. "I shall see you after lunch."

* * *

Beau steppedinto the hall and Violet shut the door before falling back against it.

"Well?" she asked.

"Wow," Beau said, shaking his head.

"'Wow?'" she repeated, eyebrows raised. "Fuckingwowis all you've got?"

He laughed. Beau felt elated, like he was walking on air.

"I guess that's all I've got. Justwow."

"Beau, I expected you to come tearing out of that room at the speed of light," she said. "You know that, right?"

"Sure," Beau said. "But he's just a man."

"He's a monster," she said, peering into his face.

"There's no need to be rude," he said quickly, not sure why he was suddenly defensive. "He's a human being just like you or me."

"Notlike you or me," she insisted. She squinted at him.

"Don't look at me like I'm a moron," he snapped. "I'm not calling him a monster because he looks different. I don't even know the man."

Her mouth dropped open. "Wow, Beau."

"'Wow?" he repeated back to her. "Fucking 'wow' is all you've got?"

She led the way to the kitchen even though Beau didn't need her guidance to find it. He was starting to get his bearings.

* * *

From the timeBeau left his study, Wolfram found himself eager for nothing but Beau's return.

Though the subject matter of their conversation—Wolfram himself—was distasteful for Wolfram, Beau had an incredible gift for making him feel at ease.

He skipped over the types of questions that Wolfram expected.Where were you born? Where did you go to school? What kind of upbringing did you have?Instead, his questions cut right to the heart of him.

Where was the safest you felt in your childhood home? Was it lonely growing up as an only child? What did you think you were going to be when you grew up and why did you settle on that?

Wolfram had been interviewed plenty of times before the curse. He'd been the subject of countless thinkpieces and profiles over the years, named to Forbes' Thirty Under Thirty and every other inconsequential list he could think of. People had seen him as a rising star in his youth and then as a seasoned professional in his thirties.

His wealth attracted attention. His good looks made him a prime interview subject. His predatory smile landed him on the cover of plenty of magazines.

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