Page 110 of Starrily

Phoebe clutched the locket in her hands and closed her eyes. For a minute, nothing happened. Then, even with the windows and doors shut, a gentle whoosh of wind passed Raleigh, and Phoebe opened her eyes once again.

She tilted her head, staring at Raleigh. “You have my body,” she said, her voice deeper, and somehow sounding like an echo.

It was the first time Raleigh had experienced something paranormal—save for his own problem—and the change inPhoebe’s behavior made him jump back and the chair screech. “Simon?”

“What’s going on?” Simon said through Phoebe’s mouth.

“Holy shit. I thought it’d be more … indirect.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, hi. I’m Raleigh, and I accidentally ended up in your body. Long story.”

“I was driving. I swerved off the road. I don’t remember …”

Oh, boy.“A quick recap, then.” Raleigh explained their deaths, Shanna’s resurrection, and how he ended up in Simon’s body.

“You atewhat?”

“Seriously? You, too?” Raleigh said. “It’s a specialty in Japan. Plenty of people eat it. It’s not like I was signing my death sentence, eating it—”

“And yet, here we are.”

Raleigh frowned.Fine, point taken. “Are all ghosts grumpy?”

“I’m not grumpy, but I would like to get to the point.”

“Fair. Tomorrow, we’re doing a ritual that will save you. As for me … possibly, not so much.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” If a voice could embody an empty corporateWishing You The Bestcard, that would be it.

To be fair, it was hard to judge someone’s emotions when that someone was being filtered through another person. And also a ghost.

Raleigh continued, “Since I spent some time in your body and people thought I was you, I wanted to clear up some things … and ask for a favor.”

“Go on.”

“You remember Everett?”

“My financial adviser. CFO of my company.”

“That’s him. We’re funding a few projects, and before I left to fix this ghost thing, we may have had a disagreement. I don’t know how it’ll work with this switch-up of ours, but it’ll be either Everett or you in charge of those grants.”

“I expect so.”

Ghosts apparently weren’t talkative, either. “I want to continue that funding. And I want to make sure Everett doesn’t cheat his way out of the contract.”

“What is the funding for?”

“Several science projects. Including one by Callie—she’s the niece of the woman you’re possessing.”

Phoebe tilted her head to the other side, her eyes fixed on Raleigh—attentive, focused, piercing. As if he was being studied by a hunter.

“Do you have a pen and a piece of paper?” Phoebe—Simon—said then.

Raleigh fetched some and put it in front of Phoebe, who started scribbling rapidly.

“You should ensure these clauses are in the contract,” Simon said. “You’ll need to cancel the current contract, then sign the new one.” He led with some more questions, which Raleigh answered to the best of his abilities, answering about potential ways Everett could circumvent the contract, cancellation clauses, and other. “You’ll also want to change it from continuous into one-time payment; that way, she gets everything she needs, and you’re done.” One thing Shanna had said about Simon was true—he was clever. Raleigh could only imagine the team he and Everett used to make.

“And have it signed by you and the representative at QueLabs as soon as you can.” Simon deposited the pen and slid the paper across the table. “Anything else?”

Now came the awkward part. But he had to get this cleared up, too. “One more thing. It’s about Callie.”