Page 10 of Julian

Home?He wasn’t sure he considered the estate home.

The familiar pang of guilt twisted in Julian's chest as he looked at Angela. Twenty-four years, and he still couldn't shake the weight of what he'd done. And what he'd failed to do.

He moved to the sideboard, where a spread of breakfast foods waited under warming lamps. The smell of bacon and fresh biscuits should have been appealing, but his appetite remained nonexistent. Still, Julian served himself a small portion of scrambled eggs and a single slice of toast, knowing he needed something in his stomach before facing his father.

“We got in about midnight," he answered Angela belatedly as he took a seat at the table. "It was a long day."

Angela nodded sympathetically. "Singapore is quite far. Did everything go well with the meetings?"

"Very productive," Julian replied, forcing himself to take a bite of toast. He had to follow it with a sip of his coffee to wash it down. "The projects there are making remarkable progress."

He noticed Jude's arm was still in a sling, a reminder of the injuries he'd sustained protecting Angela. The security chief was watching him with that unreadable expression he always wore. Julian had never been able to determine whether or not Jude liked him.

There was a five-year difference in their ages, but sometimes, Julian felt like Jude was closer to Duncan’s age. He wondered if it had to do with Jude losing his dad when he was a young adult. The man had had to learn to take care of himself. Meanwhile, at that age, Julian had been partying at college.

“How are you doing, Jude?” Julian asked.

“Better than I was,” Jude said. “But still have a little way to go.”

Angela reached out to lay her hand over his. “He is chomping at the bit to get back to work.”

That didn’t surprise Julian. Jude was nothing if not devoted to his job.

“Where’s Kiara?” Julian asked.

Angela and Jude exchanged a look similar to the one Duncan and Elizabeth shared when they communicated without words. He was still trying to get used to the idea of Angela dating Jude. Most surprising was how Duncan had accepted the relationship between the pair.

But right then, the look between the two had him curious. “Is she okay?”

“She’s… fine,” Angela said with another glance at Jude. “She just hasn’t come down yet.”

There was something in the air that validated the feeling in his gut that everything with Kiara wasn’t fine.

“Well, I’d better not keep Duncan waiting,” Julian said as he finished the small amount of breakfast he’d taken. He drained the last of his coffee, then left the breakfast room.

As he walked to Duncan’s office, Julian smoothed his tie. He had to stop himself from running his fingers through his hair, since he didn’t want to appear disheveled when he met with the man.

When he reached the office, he knocked on the door. Julian heard Duncan's voice call out for him to enter. The deep baritone carried the same authority it always had, and Julian straightened his shoulders one final time before turning the handle.

Duncan sat behind his massive mahogany desk with papers spread before him. The morning light streaming through the tall windows cast sharp shadows across his face, making his expression difficult to read.

He looked up as Julian entered, and those familiar gray-green eyes—so like Julian's own—studied him with an intensity that made Julian's stomach clench.

“Have a seat," Duncan said, gesturing to one of the leather chairs positioned in front of his desk.

Julian settled into the chair, working to keep his posture relaxed despite the tension coiling in his shoulders. The whiskey from the night before had left him with a dull headache that pulsed behind his temples, and he hoped it didn't show on his face.

"Thank you for coming back."

The formality in his father's voice made Julian's stomach tighten. He settled into the leather chair, fighting the urge to fidget with his cufflinks. "Your message made it sound urgent."

Duncan leaned back slightly, his penetrating gaze fixed on Julian's face. "I received your report from Singapore. Excellent work. Sean's progress with the FemPulse is impressive."

"Thank you." Julian waited, knowing that wasn't why he'd been summoned.

"However, that's not why I asked you to come back." Duncan folded his hands on the desk. "I need to discuss a personal matter with you."

Julian tensed. Personal discussions with his father rarely went well. The last one had been about Angela's return, which had been fine, but before that… well, he preferred not to think about those conversations. They usually turned into lectures about the choices he made regarding who he dated.