Page 97 of Not A Chance

I was going to vomit. Had I walked onto the set ofBridgertonunknowingly? A Brontë novel movie adaptation? Was he going to start spouting off about dowries and maidenheads next?

“Marriage? I don’t want to get married.” The thought of marrying someone—in this case, Julian Fairbank—for political or business reasons made me want to flee the country. Hell, maybe the continent.

Time to brush up on that high school French, girl. You can change your name and never have to deal with any of this. Would Theo consider running away to Paris with me?

“Of course marriage,” he snapped. “You’re twenty-five years old, directionless, and a Layne!” A vein in his forehead became raised with how hard he was frowning.

“I’m not directionless. I have huge plans to start a nonprofit. I’ve been planning it for years.”

An inheritance that was still eight months away.

“See!” He slapped his palm on his desk angrily. “That is what I’m talking about. You are so naïve that you think you can make all these unrealistic dreams come true just because you like the idea of something. The Layne family donates millions of dollars to charities every year. We do notrunthem.” His last words came out on a sneer.

“Aligning ourselves with other well-placed families through marriage is the way to maintain our place in the world. To maintain the status and influence our family has achieved for generations.” His eyes locked on mine. “Now, it is your turn to do your duty to this family. You’ve spent years messing around, achieving nothing while pursuing your little tutoring hobby in Amado. And I’ve allowed it. It’s time to grow up and live up to the responsibilities of this family’s legacy. Beyond doing it for your inheritance, as your family, you simply owe us this loyalty.”

“But…” My mind was reeling after having my lifestyle and goals completely shredded with a few harsh words. Did he really think so little of me that he hadn’t actuallycaredwhat I’d done with my life these last several years?

“No ‘buts,’ Indigo. You will go out with Julian two evenings from now. You will summon every ounce of propriety and charm you can excavate from your upbringing, and you will wow him. You will show him how lucky he is to be in the presence of a Layne. And you will reinforce his wise decision to follow me and his father’s directions regarding this match. Or you will regret it, I guarantee you. My assistant will contact you with the details of your reservation. Now, go.”

His eyes narrowed when he looked at me, and he used his free hand to point at his door.

It was almost as if I was outside my body as my limbs moved out the door and shut it behind me. I still couldn’t believe what had just happened. My father had made it sound like a done deal.

A suffocating feeling in my chest formed. My dreams of making an important impact with my nonprofit plan felt further away than ever. What would it mean if I couldn’t help people the way I always wanted to? What if I couldn’t get out of this?

And Theo. My heart squeezed painfully. Everything we had was so far removed from the reality I faced.

“Indigo?” Julian’s quiet whisper ripped me from my mental haze.

“Um, I’m sorry, you were saying?” I hadn’t heard a word anyone said since we’d sat down at the brunch table.

A tolerant, possibly sympathetic, smile formed on his lips. “Never mind. It wasn’t important. Let’s talk about you. You’ve let me go onand on about work all week, and I realize we’ve hardly scratched the surface of what makes Indigo Layne tick.”

There will be no scratching of any kind, buddy.

I was still reeling from the fact that I was sitting at this table at all, surrounded by both sets of parents, who were all too happy to ignore how freaking insane this entire situation was.

I’d mistakenly called my mother after I’d left my father’s office several mornings ago.

“My god, Indigo. You interrupted my partners’ meeting forthis? Since you never call, I thought it was something important, like you or your father were in the hospital or something. I don’t know what you are going on about here. This is how things happen in our world. Do you think good matches just happen at random? These types of things take careful planning and care. Honestly, you should be grateful.”

“But…” I began.

“I don’t have time for this. If you insist on belaboring the point, we can do that when you’re not costing me one thousand dollars an hour.”

As I glanced at my parents across the table, so united in their goal of this merger, it was all too easy to picture myself and Julian in their place in twenty-five years. Would there be any shred of myself left in that future?

It would have been easier to get up and storm out of here if Julian had been an asshole. He wasn’t. He was polite and seemingly respectful. He didn’t talk over me. There was even a chance he seemed a smidgen less arrogant than the average twenty-something male in my parents’ social circles. He was also classically handsome and well-dressed.

I bet my parents liked him so much they wished they could just swap kids with the Fairbanks rather than deal with all the fuss of a wedding.

“Uh, well, I’ve spent the last few years figuring out what I wanted to do. Not very interesting at all. I really want to hear more about the intellectual property case you mentioned.” I arranged my facial features in an expression that hopefully appeared genuine.

“I see what you’re doing here.” Julian winked conspiratorially. “But you don’t need to worry. I was already interested before we even met this week.”

Barf. He thought I was fawning all over him to charm him in some way. Before I could consider a polite response, my phone buzzed from where I’d slid it between my leg and the chair.

“Um, would you excuse me for a moment? I just need a quick moment in the ladies’ room.”

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