My Accidental Billionaire Husband (Katia and Julian) novel Chapter 216

The Dinner He Wasnt Invited to Run

The Dinner He Wasn’t Invited To Ruin

-Julian-

I knew what this was the moment I walked through the door.

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Martha Kensington had arranged the seating like a military operation. I clocked it in four seconds – the table, the chairs, and the name cards that were trying very hard to look casual but were not castal at all. Katia was seated in the middle of the left side. And next to her, in the chair that should have been mine based on any reasonable reading of the room, was a man I had never seen before.

Tall. Well dressed. The kind of jaw that suggested he was aware of it. He was already at the table when we arrived, which meant Martha had briefed him, and he had arrived early to establish himself, which meant this had been planned with considerably more care than a family dinner warranted.

I sat across from them.

I smiled at Martha.

Martha smiled back.

We understood each other completely.

His name was Christopher.

I found this out because he stood when Katia sat down-stood, actually stood, the full gentleman’s performance -and said, ” Katia. Wonderful to see you again.”

Again?

I set my water glass down.

Again. I scoffed. My little kitten had met this man.

They had met before. At some point, in some room, on some occasion that Katia had never once mentioned to me, this man with his jaw and his charter jet and his Meridian Capital fund had been in the same space as my wife, and she had not told me about it. Not once. Not in a week of mornings and coffee and cockpits and every conversation we had managed to have in the in- between spaces of everything else.

She had not told me.

Katia smiled at him. “Christopher. Good to see you.”

She did not look at me.

I did not look at her.

I picked up my water glass again and drank from it and looked at the centrepiece and thought very carefully about nothing at all.

I will deal with that later. I know how to punish her; besides that, Kitty, that kitty is still swollen from last night.

Grandma was watching me from the end of the table.

I looked at the centerpiece.

Aiden was seated on my right.

This had not been part of Martha’s seating plan-I had moved him there quietly before anyone sat down, which Gail had noticed and had said nothing about, which is why Gail is my favorite person in this room at present.

Aiden had his napkin on his lap and his back straight and his eyes on Christopher with the focused, assessing attention he gave things he had not yet categorized.

The Dinner He wasnt invited to Run

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“pal,” he whispered, which I was grateful for because if the Kensingtons heard him calling me Dad, they would put two and two and it would give them four

“Yes,” I said.

“Who is that man next to Mummy?”

“His name is Christopher,” I said.

Aiden looked at Christopher. Christopher was saying something to Katia about a recent trip to somewhere that was clearly chosen to be impressive. Katia was nodding with the polite attention she gave things that did not interest her.

“What does he do?” Aiden asked.

“I don’t know,” I said.

“I’ll find out,” Aiden said.

“Aiden-”

But he had already turned in his chair.

“Excuse me,” Aiden said. His voice carried. The table went slightly quiet. “Christopher.”

Christopher looked at the six-year-old, addressing him with the gravity of a High Court judge.

“Yes?” Christopher said.

“What do you do?” Aiden asked.

Christopher blinked. “I’m in finance. Private equity.”

“Which fund?” Aiden asked.

Christopher stared at him. “Sorry?”

“Which fund?” Aiden said again, patiently. “There are different kinds of private equity funds. Which one are you in?”

I pressed my lips together. Oh, he’s good!

“I

Meridian Capital,” Christopher said.

“Is that the one that had the regulatory issue in 2019?” Aiden asked.

The table was completely silent.

Christopher looked at this child.

“I’m not

– that was a different Meridian,” Christopher said.

“Okay,” Aiden said. He turned back to his food, apparently satisfied. Then he turned back. “Do you have a jet?”

“Aiden,” I said.

“It’s a reasonable question,” Aiden said to me. Then back to Christopher: “Do you?”

“I

I use a charter service,” Christopher said.

Aiden nodded. Slowly. The nod of someone filing information and finding it adequate but not impressive.

“Mr. Windsor has four hangars,” Aiden said.

I looked at the ceiling.

The Dinner Me Wasn’t invited to Ruin

+25 BONUS

Martha recovered admirably.

She redirected the conversation to something about the Kensington summer house, and Christopher found his footing again and began talking to Katia about sailing, which was either a genuine interest or something Martha had told him to mention because it sounded appropriately affluent.

I ate my lamb.

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