Page 7 of Julian

Julian’s expression sobered, but his enthusiasm held. “Got it. I’ll loop in our cybersecurity team. No leaks, no compromises.” He clapped Sean’s shoulder. “You’re doing brilliant work, Sean.”

“I appreciate your support with this, Julian,” Sean said, his voice taking on a sincere tone. “We wouldn’t be here without the support of you and your dad. I’m so grateful that you saw the possibilities and took a chance on the FemPulse.”

“When you first shared your vision with us, the lack of products geared specifically for women’s health surprised me. Even things being marketed for women seem to be created using non-gender specific research.”

Sean nodded. “It’s what spurred me on to pursue this.”

“Well, I’ll be back tomorrow to hear updates on the rest of the ongoing projects,” Julian said. “I’m exhausted, but I was excited to hear about these developments.”

“We’ll be ready for you.”

“And let’s plan for dinner tomorrow night,” Julian said.

Sean smiled. “Sounds good. I can have my assistant make reservations if you’d like.”

“That would be perfect.” Julian shook Sean’s hand again, then headed for the elevator with Anthony, resisting the urge to stop and chat with other researchers in the lab.

He needed some solid sleep, so he’d be ready for the back-to-back meetings the next day.

Julian was so glad for the break from the heavy emotions back at the estate. He’d stayed there out of respect for Angela, and to some extent, his dad. But he was glad for a reason to escape, and for something that he was passionate about to distract him.

When they got back to the hotel, he told Anthony that he was in for the night, so the bodyguard went to his room in the suite they were sharing. He was no doubt as exhausted as Julian was.

Julian tossed his suit coat over the arm of the couch, then loosened his tie as he walked to the bar. After pouring himself a drink, he wandered to the window and stared out at the stunning Singapore skyline.

As he stood there draining his drink, thoughts flitted through his mind. There was no way he was going to be able to sleep with his mind whirling the way it was, his thoughts spiraling.

They were strange, disconnected thoughts.

The meetings the next day. Angela’s return. Her dating Jude. The report he’d need to give Duncan. Debating whether he should go back to the estate or just stay in NYC after this trip.

But the thought that kept popping up as he stood in front of the window drinking was about Kiara. They’d spent a lot of time together, talking in the library. Drinking. It had been nice not to drink alone, even though Kiara hadn’t indulged as much as he had.

There had been nights when Anthony had come to find him and get him to bed so that Duncan wouldn’t discover him passed out on the couch. Kiara had already been gone when Anthony had woken him up.

But those evenings in the library had petered off, and it had seemed that Kiara had started to avoid him. Maybe she’d justdecided she was done drinking with him, especially when he didn’t remember much of what they talked about after a few drinks. He couldn’t fault her for that, but he’d missed having someone to hang out with. Drinking solo was never fun, but if the alternative was not to drink at all, he’d do it alone.

Julian went back to the bar and refilled his drink. It took four drinks to finally get him to the point where he thought he could fall asleep when he got into bed.

Thankfully, he wasn’t getting to bed too late, so he’d have plenty of time to recover from the hangover in the morning. He was a pro at that these days.

Pro or not, the next morning was rough for Julian. He should have remembered that drinking and jetlag did not go well together.

He dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, where he stood for a long time, hoping the hot water would wash away the tangle of cobwebs in his brain because of his overindulgence.

Once he felt a bit more human, he got out and prepared for his day. After blow-drying his hair, he got dressed and then went into the living area of his suite. Anthony was already there, having ordered coffee and some food for them.

The bodyguard traveled with him exclusively and had done so for many years. He didn’t even make a comment about the fact that Julian looked a little rough.

“Here you go,” Anthony said, holding out a cup of coffee.

Julian gave him a nod of thanks as he took it. The coffee was perfectly made, but then Anthony was well aware of how he liked the beverage.

Over the breakfast that Anthony had ordered and was eating the most of, Julian reviewed his schedule for the day. It was going to be a long day, and he hoped he had the stamina to get through it.

This was the most important trip he’d taken since Angela’s return to the estate, and he wanted to make the most of it.

The first meeting of the day was with the engineering team, and Julian arrived ten minutes early, hoping the extra time would help him focus through the lingering headache. Unfortunately, the conference room's bright lights felt like needles in his eyes.