Library of the Dead by Glenn Cooper

He'd never done a meeting like this and was too sheepish to inquire about dress codes. Did agents wear suits in this day and age? Did writers? Should he try and look conservative or flashy? Buttoned-down or casual? He opted for a middle ground to play it safe--gray pants, white oxford shirt, blue blazer, black loafers. As he drew closer to the disk, he saw himself, undistorted, in a single mirrored pane and quickly looked away, self-conscious of his bony litheness and receding hairline, which he usually hid under a baseball cap. He did know this--the younger the writer, the better, and it appalled him that his balding nut made him look way too old. Did the world have to know he was pushing fifty?
    The revolving doors swept him into chilled air. The reception desk was fabricated from polished hardwoods and matched the concavity of the building. The flooring was concave too, made of thin planks of curved slippery bamboo. The interior design was all about light, space, and money. A bank of starlet-type receptionists with invisible wire headsets were all saying, "ATI, how may I direct your call. ATI, how may I direct your call?"
    Over and over, it took on the quality of a chant.
    He craned his neck at the atrium, and high up on the galleries saw an army of young hip men and women moving fast, and yes, the agents did wear suits. Armani Nation.
    He approached the desk and coughed for attention. The most beautiful-looking woman he had ever seen asked him, "How may I help you?"
    "I have an appointment with Mr. Schwartz. My name is Peter Benedict."
    "Which one?"
    He blinked in confusion and stammered. "I--I--I don't know what you mean. I'm Peter Benedict."
    Icily, "Which Mr. Schwartz . We have three."
    "Oh, I see! Bernard Schwartz."
    "Please take a seat. I'll call his assistant."

    If you hadn't known Bernie Schwartz was one of the top talent agents in Hollywood, you still wouldn't know after seeing his eighth-floor corner office. Maybe a fine art collector, or an anthropologist. The office was devoid of the typical trappings--no movie posters, arm-around-star or arm-around-politician photos, no awards, tapes, DVDs, plasma screens, trade mags. Nothing but African art, all sorts of carved wooden statues, decorative pots, hide shields, spears, geometric paintings, masks. For a short, fat, aging Jew from Pasadena, he had a major thing going for the dark continent. He shouted through the door to one of his four assistants, "Remind me why I'm seeing this guy?"
    A woman's voice: "Victor Kemp."
    He waved his left hand in a gimme sign. "Yeah, yeah, I remember. Get me the folder with the coverage and interrupt me after ten minutes, max. Five, maybe."
    When Peter entered the agent's office, he felt instantly ill at ease in Bernie's presence, even though the small man had a big smile and was waving him in from behind his desk like a deck officer on an aircraft carrier. "Come in, come in." Peter approached, faking happiness, assaulted by primitive African artifacts. "What can I get you? Coffee? We got espresso, lattes, anything you want. I'm Bernie Schwartz. Glad to meet you, Peter." His light thin hand got squashed by a small thick hand and was pumped a few times.
    "Maybe a water?"
    "Roz, get Mr. Benedict a water, will ya? Sit, sit there. I'll come over to the sofa."
    Within seconds a Chinese girl, another beauty, materialized with a bottle of Evian and a glass. Everything moved fast here.
    "So, did you fly in, Peter?" Bernie asked.
    "No, I drove, actually."
    "Smart, very smart. I'm telling you, to this day I won't fly anymore, at least commercial. Nine/eleven is still like yesterday to me. I could've been on one of those planes. My wife has a sister in Cape Cod. Roz! Can I get a cup of tea? So, you're a writer, Peter. How long you been writing scripts?"
    "About five years, Mr. Schwartz."
    "Please! Bernie!"
    "About five years, Bernie."
    "How many you got under your belt?"
    "You mean just counting finished ones?"
    "Yeah, yeah--finished projects,"