Page 96 of Not A Chance

“Ah, Indigo. Yes. Come sit down.” My father stood momentarily,obeying social niceties before waving me to the other empty chair in front of his desk.

I jerked my gaze away from the stranger, hoping my father was going to explain what was going on here.

I could have given Pinocchio a run for his money with the woodenness of my steps. Each joint and ligament worked against one another as I forced myself to take a seat.

“Hello, Father. I hope you are well.” The well-trained social robot had taken over my mouth with the appearance of this man beside me.

“Yes, quite. Thank you. Let me introduce you, Julian.” He’d turned his head toward the man in question, and I mimicked his movement. “Julian Fairbank, this is my daughter, Indigo.”

My eyes were trained on Julian as he smoothed his suit over his abdomen, half getting out of his chair and offering me his hand. Without my conscious direction, my hand met his halfway, and the soft, dry skin of his palm touched mine briefly in a polite squeeze.

“Lovely to meet you, Indigo. Both of our fathers have told me so much about you.” His smile was perfectly practiced, so I couldn’t tell what he really thought behind the calm stare he was aiming my way.

Since I hadn’t heard a damn thing about him before, I offered a simple “thank you” in reply.

“Julian and I were just speaking about the very important fundraisers happening this week. And, well, with his father, Robert, announcing his bid for the Senate next month, we all thought it was time I introduced you two.” My father’s eyes took on a hard glint, a severe warning against saying anything out of line.

“Congratulations. What an exciting time for your family” was the best I could offer. My gaze darted between the two men, desperate to figure out what was going on here.

Julian nodded his thanks while my father continued speaking. “Sohere’s the itinerary for this week. You will dine out Friday evening, just the two of you, followed by brunch with Robert and Elise and your mother and I on Sunday. There is one nonprofit benefit on Tuesday evening in San Francisco, which we will all attend. And we’ll finish out the week with your father’s campaign fundraiser on Friday evening, Julian.” My father gave the other man a confident smile.

“Sounds right to me, Gerald.” His self-assured tone matched my father’s.

It was clear that nothing was expected of me in this exchange because neither man spared me a glance until Julian stood. Had I been called home just to stand here as a prop? Neither my father nor Julian seemed inclined to enlighten me as to why I had to stand here feeling off-balance while they kept me out of the loop.

“Well, I wish I didn’t have to rush off so soon after we’ve been introduced, but I have a full day at the office with clients who can’t be put off, unfortunately.”

My father and I both followed suit, rising from our seats.

“Of course, Julian. A distinguished corporate lawyer such as yourself knows too well how business never waits for any of us.” My father chuckled like these easygoing chats were somehow a natural part of his personality and not some act.

The men shook hands, and Julian turned to focus exclusively on me. His gaze moved from my face, doing a brief sweep of my body, before he shook my hand again.

“I am really looking forward to getting to know you better in the coming days, Indigo.” A bit of heat slid into the controlled, confident expression in his eyes.

Ick. It was not that he was bad-looking at all, but I had absolutely no interest in any of the hidden implications of his statement.

“Nice to meet you as well, Julian.” Politeness was the only thingon my menu this morning.

I sat back down while my father walked Julian to the door of his office and shut it behind him. He made his way back behind his desk with measured steps.

He took his seat once more and shuffled some of the piles of paperwork on his desk from one side to another while I waited silently.

I’d never been so shocked in my entire life. My mind raced to catch up with the implications of what had just happened.

He picked up a page, scanned it, and then put it down again. He repeated the action three times before he acknowledged I was still in the room.

As much as I wanted to light every solitary piece of paper and the wood of his desk on fire for putting me through the last ten minutes, I held my tongue. I was smarter to figure out his angle first.

He would see my anger as some childish tantrum rather than true outrage at his absolute audacity to spring this meeting on me.

“So that went well.” He took a sip of the coffee on his desk and eyed me over the rim of the cup, assessing. “I’ve known Julian’s father since college. A brilliant man with a doting, supportive wife. Couldn’t ask for a better family. Julian is an excellent choice.” He set his cup back down, still staring at me intently.

“Excuse me, Father.” My voice was rough from the inferno raging inside me and from sitting like a bloody statue while the two men talked around me. “Could you just clarifywhatJulian is an excellent choice for?”

He wasn’t suggesting… He couldn’t be… Bile rose in my throat. I swallowed hastily to regain control of the urge to be sick.

“Indigo, you are many things. Impulsive, yes. Immature, yes. Naïve, definitely. But stupid, absolutely not. Julian is the ideal candidate for a husband.”

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