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Matthew wasn't sure why he'd done it. The dust on the case alone was enough to remind him of how long it had been since he had touched the instrument. The simple violin his parents had scraped their money together to get him. He'd given her beautiful new strings, but he had never replaced her, no matter what anyone said. Even Lawrence had never managed to convince him.

He set the case on the table and stared at it for what felt like an hour. Feeling his own fingers twitching with memories. Lost in the music that never left his head, even if it had fled his heart long ago. He'd had little love for music since he closed that case. What he did, he did for the money, not for pleasure. So very different from what he'd set out for just under two decades ago. He reached for the case and hesitated, running his fingers through his hair and staring hard at the worn old case.

What if he couldn't actually play anymore? The notes were all their in his head. The chords, the positions, the tempos. But could he really still do it? Why should he? What did it matter?

If anyone could be around to see him hesitate like this... Matthew never hesitated. He never had these outward moments of pause and indecision. But no one was here, so no one would ever know. Why keep up the pretenses when he was alone?

Matt clicked open the case and slid the violin from the case, tuning it on auto pilot. When he finally lifted the instrument up to his shoulder it had been 3 hours since the time he pulled the case from it's stored space. Three long, conflicted hours. But there was a song in mind, and it was as good a song as any to see if his skill had vanished in his self-imposed removal from playing. He was lying back on the couch, the back of it folded back out of his way, and his own back to the door. The music coming from the violin one he had never played before but he knew the notes well, played them better. Hesitation gone and eyes closed as the bow slid along the strings and his fingers moved over never-forgotten chords.

You have an hour.

Matt stared at the text for a long moment, watching the little blinking cursor on his phone as he slid the screen idly back and forth. This meeting had been dragging on for hours now. Matthew had given his opinions and he was of the opinion that they had gone past 'consulting' and in to 'wasting his time'. There was only so much of it in a day and too much of it went to the sort of dead end musicians trying to get him to give them a good word or a place to start.

You have an hour to get your ass to my place.

The message, now a bit longer, blinked at him from the screen as the man from Shade Records prattled on some more about their new vision and what they were looking for with it. A bunch of inconsequeintial nonsense that he was going to disregard the moment they left. Truthfully he already had. What was this idiot thinking? New direction his ass. They would be right back to the same old air-headed pop in short skirts they had always done this time next week. Same pattern as six months ago. Same pitch. Same empty headed ideas.

You have an hour to get your ass home.

Matthew smiled at the young businesswoman to the man's left and rocked his finger back and forth idly another moment. She would be taking over soon. She had the right look for it. She was already the better brains of the company. Maybe then Shade Records would be worth a damn. Time to keep an eye on them.

You have an hour to get your ass home, sweetheart.

Oh he hoped Gabe could hear the sarcasm in his text as he hit send. Rolling his eyes before clearing his throat and forcing the meeting to an abrupt end. He still had some paperwork to finish up and he was done wasting his time on this shit. Come back when you have something useful for me, he thought. Instead he smiled and showed them to the door.

"I'll take it into account. See you next week."

Please don't hurry back. We'll call you, don't call us.

Now. Where was that secretary with his coffee.

These were the times Matthew liked the most. He rarely ever took vacation or time away from his job, so it was rare that he ever let the irritation of dealing with the over-privileged brainless 'talent'. He hated them. Nearly every last one of them. It was nothing personal, really, they were just incredibly infuriating.

He dropped his laptop case on the floor by the door, unbuttoning the suit vest over his shirt and his cuffs. He just wanted to stretch out on the couch with a sandwich and a glass of alcohol. He sighed and glanced around. No sign of Gabe, not that he really expected it when the TV was off. So he slipped into the chair and leaned back with an arm over his eyes.

He just wanted to sleep.

( Matthew hasn't always been this fucked. )

97) The worst feeling in the world:

being bored enough to fill this shit out.

98) The best feeling in the world:

Playing your music, your way, because it's what you want

99) Who sent this to you?: Fuck you Gabe

100) I tag:
The secretary is doing this. I'm sure you'll be enthralled by her answers.

86) What's the weather like:

It's raining. Get a TV. Or a window. Or just step outside.

87) Your favorite time of year?:

Fall

88) Your favorite holiday?:

89) A material weakness?:

Clothes and Food.

90) The weirdest food or drink that you like:

I eat a lot of strange things.

91) At the top of your "to-do list"?:

Does not belong on this

92) The hardest thing about growing up:

Bones.

93) A pet peeve?:

See previous file attachment

94) Your scariest moment:

Falling out that window on the 12th floor was interesting.

95) Your attitude about love?:

If it's your thing, enjoy it.

96) The funniest or most desperate thing you've done to get the attention of the opposite sex?:

There is a tattoo that goes from my wrist to just under my skull. I think that counts.

55) Relationship with your parent(s):

Is fine and none of your business.

56) Do you believe in yourself:

No. I'm a fictional being.

57) Do you believe in love at first sight?:

No.

58) Consider yourself a good listener:

When I'm in the mood to be.

59) Have a future dream that you would like to share?:

No.

60) Get Along with your parents:

Yes.

61) Save your e-mail conversations:

Automatically

62) Pray:

No.

63) Believe in reincarnation:

No.

64) Brush your teeth twice a day?:

Yes

65) Like to talk on the phone:

Text is simpler.

66) Like to eat?:

Yes

67) Like to exercise?:

Yes

68) Like to watch sports?:

No.

69) Sing in the car?:

Yes.

70) What is a dream that you have all the time?:

I don't usually try to remember them

71) Dream in color:

Yes.

72) Do you have nightmares?:

Yes.

73) Sleep with a stuffed animal:

74) Right next to you:

A stack of CDs I will be throwing away soon

75) On your favorite coffee cup?:

I don’t have a favourite cup. I left most of my shit back in LA. Wouldn’t mind getting it back.

76) On your mouse pad:

Nothing

77) favorite flavor of gum?:

'Fresh' Mint Vanilla.

78) Your brand of deodorant?:

Kouros, currently

79) Your dream honeymoon spot:

No.

80) Your dream husband/wife:

Your dream husband is the person you think you look like? How very narcissistic of you, Gabe.

81) Hiding in your closet?:

Clothes

83) The name of one of your closest/best friends?:

Gareth.

84) Your bad time of the day:

Generally, morning.

85) Your worst fear(s):

That this won't be over in 15 questions

1) Full Name:

Matthew Rhys Blake

2) Male/Female:

Male.

3) Were you named after anyone?

My grandfather. Mother's side.

4) Does your name mean anything?

Gift of God.

5) Nick Name(s):

Matt, Blake

6) Who do you think you look like:

People claim I look like a young Ralph Fiennes. Personally, I think I look like myself.

7) Date Of Birth:

April 7th

8) Place of Birth and Current Location:

Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales

9) Nationality:

Welsh

10) Astrology Sign:

Aries.

11) Chinese Astrology Sign:

Horse.

12) Religion:

13) What’s your favorite smell?:

Mint leaves.

14) Political Position?:

Positions are pointless. Pick the better liar. At least then they will fool the rest of the world as well.

15) What do you prefer to drink in the morning?:

Coffee

16) Hair + Eye color:

Brown & Blue. Colors are not math.

17) Do you look like anyone famous?:

Not famous enough to care

18) What do you look like?:

Is this a dating sight now?

19) Any unusual talents?:

Yes

20) Rightly, Lefty, or Ambidextrous?:

Left

21) Gay, Straight, Bi, or Other?:

Gay.

22) What do you do for a living?:

Place musicians with label companies

23) What do you do for fun?:

Gardening. Fuck you.

24) What are your favorite art materials to work with?:

Sheet music

25) What kind of materials would you like to work with?:

Musicians with actual talent.

26) Have you met your grandparents?:

Yes

27) Boyfriend / Girlfriend:

Depends on who you ask and how you define it.

28) Crush:

Orange

29) What celebrity would you date if you could?:

Celebrities are more media politics than I care to bother with.

30) Current worries?:

Nothing particular

31) Favorite online Guy/Girl(s):

I am not even sure what you are asking anyomore.

32) Favorite place to be?:

Iceland.

33) Least favorite place to be?:

If you are planning on using this against me later, it is a bit pointless. Generally, crowded elevators.

34) Do you burn or tan?:

Tan.

35) Ever break a bone?:

Yes

36) What is your favorite cereal?:

Honey Nut Clusters.

37) Person you cry with:

If I think of someone I'll not let you know.

Do You Have...

38) Any sisters:

Yes.

39) Any brothers:

Not any more.

40) Any pets:

No.

41) An Illness:

Some might claim so.

42) A Pager:

No.

43) A Personal phone line:

Yes.

44) A Cell phone:

Yes

45) A visible birthmark:

No.

46) A Pool or hot tub:

Yes

47) A Car:

Yes

Describe Your...

48) Personality:

I'm a warm and fluffy ball of kittens, Seriously. Why the hell do you do these. Why am I still doing this. There is no reason to ever do these.

49) Driving:

I get where I need to go. In one piece.

50) Your clothing style:

No reason not to look good if I'm going to be out somewhere but I do enjoy blue jeans and tees.

51) Room:

Has a bed in it.

52) What’s missing:

Go play Clue with the other children.

53) School:

Graduated.

54) Bed:

King. And comfortable. Very.

I expect you in my office before I finish the rest of this fucking waste of time. Why are you still reading

1: What eye color do you find sexiest?

Can't say I ever developed a preference. Is 'shut' an option? Fine. Coffee.

2: White, milk, or dark chocolate mocha?

Keep your chocolate out of my coffee unless you are adding alcohol

3: If you could get a Sharpie tattoo on your back, what would it be?

Sharpies have an unpleasant smell and a tendency to smear onto clothing. Give me a real one over that any day

4: Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?

Started small town, went big city quick. I prefer the city life.

5: Your favorite adult as a child?

Jamison Kreves. Music and English Teacher

6: What kind of smoothie sounds really good right now?

I'm not really a smoothie person. Was forced a kiwi one last week. Not terrible.

7: Most embarrassing moment from your elementary school years?

Jocelyn's elementary years were far more damaging to my standing than my own.

8: Most embarrassing moment from your middle school years?

Getting my ass handed to me by Less Brooks. Still worth it.

9: Most embarrassing moment from your high school years?

Being a small town kid in a city high school was enough

10: Pirates or ninjas? Why?

Ninjas. Pirates don't actually sing shanties. And these days they have moved on to naval terrorism. Ninjas draw less attention to themselves. Flying a flag is a bit like painting a target on your back. "I am after your things". Fire at will.

11: Have you ever climbed a tree more than twenty feet off the ground?

Yes. And fell. Twice. Managed to make it back down on my own after that.

12: Did you like swinging as a child? Do you still get excited when you see a swing set?

No. And no thank you.

13: If you could have any pet in the world, illegal or not, what would you get?

Lyrebird

14: What's your most favorite part of your body?

Eyes

15: What's your most favorite part of your personality?

'Part'. Interesting. Let's pretend I do care and say 'my charm'.

16: Madonna or Lady Gaga?

Madonna. Why am I still doing this.

17: Have you ever watched the Superbowl all the way through?

Just the commercials. Occasionally halftime.

18: Have you ever watched any major sporting event drunk?

Yes

19: What's the most delicious food you've ever eaten in your life?

That changes frequently. Nothing stands out enough to come to mind. They make good bagel sandwiches at Breugger's

20: Margarine or butter?

Butter

21: Whole, skim, 1%, or 2% milk? (Did you know they make 1 1/2% milk?)

Chocolate

22: Which continents have you been on?

North America, Europe, Australia

23: Do you get motion sickness? Any horror stories?

No.

24: Backpacks or satchels?

Backpack

25: Would you wear a rainbow jacket? A neon yellow sweater? Checkered pants?

If it was a suit jacket, possibly, no and yes.

26: What was your favorite cartoon growing up?

Spiderman

27: If you had to have a cow or a pig, which would you take? Why?

Cow. Steak is good. So is leather, occasionally.

28: If you had to look at one city skyline for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Darwin, Australia

29: Longest plane ride you've ever been on?

15 hours

30: The latest you've ever slept?

Time of day, or number of hours? Time of day seems fairly pointless. Schedules vary. 21 hours.

31: Would you buy a sweater covered in kitten pictures? Would you wear it if someone gave it you for free?

No and No.

32: Do you pick at scabs?

Yes.

33: Favorite kind of bean? Kidney? Black? Pinto?

Sean Bean

34: How far can you throw a baseball?

Can't say I've bothered to try

35: If you had to move to another country, where would you move?

Iceland

36: Have you ever eaten Ethiopian food? Vietnamese? Korean? Nepalese? How was it?

Yes. I find most food, regardless of origin country, to be good if it's made right.

37: Small, liberal arts school or public university? Why?

Whatever is available to you.

38: A relationship with love or one with sex?

Sex.

39: Do you eat enough vegetables?

Sure

40: Do you like horror movies? How about thrillers?

Yes.

41: Would you scratch a crotch itch in public?

Who writes these questions. What do you do for a living? Probably not.

42: Do you swear in front of your parents?

Never my mother.

43: Coolest thing you've ever been for Halloween?

I was a one man band in middle school. I thought it was cool then.

44: If you could change your natural hair color, would you? To what?

I think you have been out of the world a while. And no.

45: Do you want to get married? Have kids?

Not interested.

46: Do you use a reusable water bottle? If not, you should.

Now you're telling me what to do? Not fond of that.

47: City or nature person?

City.

48: Have you ever used something other than "makeup" as makeup? (Like paint? Markers?)

Yeah

49: Can you walk well in high heels? Even if you're a guy?

50: Post 5 awesome things about yourself. BRAG AWAY!
Bragging now, are we? I thought this was an exercise in humiliation and boredom.
I'm a fairly good cook.
I place more musicians with labels that stick than any one company
I have never watched American Idol
My relationship with my family is not fucked 7 ways to Sunday
I actually finished this pointless questionnaire

A - Age: 34
B - Bed size: King. Live large.
C - Chore you hate: There is a reason Dry Cleaning companies bring in so much money.
D - Dog's name: Dog.
E - Essential start to your day item: Coffee
F - Favorite color: Blue, Brandeis Blue (#0070FF)
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 6’1”
I - Instruments you play(ed): Violin, Piano
J - Job title: Music Consultant
K - Kid(s): No.
L - Living arrangements: I own a nice place. I'm not really interested in telling you where.
M - Mom's name: Annalee
N - Nicknames: Matt, Blake
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: You could find the records if you tried hard enough, I'm sure.
P - Pet Peeve: See attached file.
Q - Quote from a movie: "You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays." - The Musicman
R - Right or left handed: Left
S - Siblings: Younger Sister, Jocelyn
T - Time you wake up: No earlier than 8 am if I can help it.
U- Underwear: Only on work days
V - Vegetable you dislike: Pumpkin
W - Ways you run late: Never.
X - X-rays you've had: Seven
Y - Yummy food you make: Did you really just use 'yummy'?
Z - Zoo favorite: African Wild Dogs.

One of the downsides to being an influential piece of the success and failure of so many musicians was that Matthew was expected to attend certain events. Attend and pretend to be interested in the people and the events around him. It was a flaw he found particularly annoying in wealthy society and he always preferred to bring a 'guest' along that he could bolster reasonable excuses to escape the increasingly dull conversations and even duller company.

No one in the community ever made a comment about Matthew's tendency to always bring a different man to the parties and other social calls he was forced to attend. In their eyes he was a charmer. A bright smile and brighter blue eyes that caught more gazes than would admit. And he always brought an attractive and charming enough guest with him.

It was a widely accepted fact that Matthew was something of a playboy. People chalked it up to his career before he became a consultant.

He offered Gabe an opportunity. There was some chance people would recognize him, but it was the more modern music crowd at the party he was attending. It was a simple enough job. Show up with Matthew, smile and pretend to enjoy himself, whether he did or not. He could help himself to the food, if he wanted, but he could not go far from Matthew's sight.

He even took Gabe shopping before hand. Let him pick out a nice, expensive suit of his liking.

Normally Matthew preferred not to bring people he actually slept with to these snobbishly dull parties. That was set aside for people who could put on a show of friendly smiles and act as though they actually enjoyed Matthew's company. But the truth was, he never really brought the same person around too many times because the longer the act went on the more invested in the story those gossip hounds got.

Matthew did not care if he was seen as a player, if people assumed he had a long string of lovers that he left behind, let them. Better that than show up alone and endure the dreary prattle of fake smiles and pretended interest. Or the people who, half-cocked and loose on free champagne, decided to throw themselves at him.

This particular event was a music awards party. After the ceremony. One of the young and upcoming stars he had placed with an unlikely record label that had shot off into popularity.

He just could not bring himself to give one damn about her, or her success.

But he was quite skilled at pretending.

He glanced at Gabe out of the corner of his eye, flashing him a bright and pleasant smile. A glass of champagne held loose between his fingers. He would pay Gabe very well, if he pulled this off. Though there came another downside to mixing the two sides. Business with pleasure. His eyes lingered, trailed down the well-fitted and expensive suit.

Gabe was a very attractive man.

That was a problem.

It was nearly a week later that Matthew made arrangements to meet with Gabe again. The suit he had forced the Cellist to leave behind had been dry cleaned, and was hanging in the closet by his garage door. Matthew was off from work for the following day, and he smirked to himself as he turned a flute glass in his hand before putting it up with the rest.

He was something of a vain man. Matthew liked things in the proper places. It was not a compulsion. If they were out of place, he did not put up a fuss. He just liked them better the way he wanted them.

The sound system had the radio tuned in to a random station, background sound he hardly noticed. The artists and songs go unnoticed.

He didn't care how Gabe managed to get there. Metro, Cabbie, walking. Hitch-hiking. He told the other man if he wanted his suit back, he would come and get it.

For his part, Matthew had just gotten out of the shower. He had a pair of black slacks and a pale blue dress shirt pulled on. Untucked, no belt, two articles of clothing and a bottle of water. sprawling back on the couch, he shifted, adjusting to a more comfortable position, and flicked a button on the remote. The tele was still on the channel Gabe left it on, and if that was not a telling sign of how little he used the impressive digital HD display, well-

He rested the side of his face against his palm, propping his head up as he took a swig of water. It was complete shit. And mildly entertaining.