Chapter 10 - THE OFFER HE COULDN'T ACCEPT
Anastasia read Julian's name twice.
Then she closed the envelope.
“Who proposed him?”
Margaret Weiss answered carefully.
“The Austrian bank's independent supervisory group.”
“Does Julian know?”
“No.”
“Does Mercer?”
“The proposal has been circulated to the appropriate review officers. It is preliminary.”
Anastasia walked toward the library windows.
Snow was falling over Vienna.
Only hours earlier, she had finally put the painful questions of her marriage behind her.
Now Julian's name had returned to her desk.
Not as a husband.
Not as an enemy.
As a professional decision with consequences for hundreds of people.
“Why Julian?” she asked.
Margaret opened her notes.
“He understands the transaction. He cooperated with the investigation. And he has relevant restructuring experience.”
“He also failed to supervise the original approval process.”
“Correct.”
“Then that must weigh against him.”
“It will.”
Anastasia nodded.
“Ensure the selection committee treats him like every other candidate.”
Margaret studied her.
“You don't want to recommend him?”
“No.”
“Or oppose him?”
“No.”
“Understood.”
Anastasia looked toward the chandelier reflected in the glass.
Three years earlier, Julian had treated her professional identity as an embarrassment.
Now she would refuse to let their personal history influence his career in either direction.
It was the only fair choice.
The next morning, Julian received a formal invitation to interview for the independent program.
He read the description.
The assignment involved reviewing restructuring practices, strengthening disclosure standards, and helping protect smaller investors affected by failed infrastructure assumptions.
The compensation was modest compared with his old position.
The responsibility was substantial.
He was tempted.
Not because it sounded glamorous.
Because it sounded useful.
Then he read the eligibility conditions.
Any candidate who had participated in the original Austrian transaction required heightened independent review.
Julian understood.
He was not the obvious choice.
He was a controversial one.
That afternoon, he met Arthur Sterling for coffee.
Arthur had known him for nearly a decade.
“You could leave Mercer,” Arthur said. “Take a role in private equity. Start fresh.”
“Would you hire me?”
Arthur considered the question.
“Perhaps. After a thorough review.”
Julian smiled.
“Fair answer.”
Arthur stirred his coffee.
“People are talking about what happened.”
“I assumed.”
“Some think you were betrayed by Richard.”
“I was.”
“Others think you should have caught it.”
“They're right too.”
Arthur raised his eyebrows.
“You've become less entertaining.”
“I'm hoping to become more reliable.”
Arthur laughed.
Then grew serious.
“This Austrian assignment could restore your reputation.”
“Or make me look like I'm using Anastasia again.”
“Are you?”
Julian looked out at the snowy street.
“No.”
“Then why hesitate?”
“Because I don't want her to spend another minute wondering whether I'm trying to benefit from her position.”
Arthur nodded.
“That, at least, sounds like something worth considering.”
Julian went back to his hotel and drafted a response.
He thanked the committee.
Disclosed his former marriage to Anastasia.
Outlined his professional involvement in the transaction.
Accepted responsibility for the oversight failures.
Then he withdrew from consideration for the program's leadership position.
He offered instead to provide factual assistance to any independent team without additional compensation.
He read the message three times.
Then sent it.
The following day, Daniel Krüger met him.
“I understand you've declined the leadership opportunity.”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because the people affected by this transaction deserve a leader without my conflicts.”
Daniel nodded.
“That's a defensible decision.”
Julian gave a small smile.
“I've spent most of my life trying to win every position I could.”
“And now?”
“I'm trying to understand when stepping aside is the responsible thing.”
Daniel closed his notebook.
“The committee may still ask for your assistance.”
“I'll provide it.”
No conditions.
No title.
No cameras.
That evening, Julian visited the small bookstore near his hotel.
He spent an hour browsing.
For years, he had entered bookstores only to buy expensive gifts for clients.
Now he wandered without purpose.
In a section devoted to European literature, he found a French edition of the novel Anastasia had been reading when they met.
He opened it.
The first page smelled faintly of old paper.
He smiled.
Then purchased it.
Not for Anastasia.
For himself.
He wanted to understand something she had loved.
Back at the hotel, he opened the book beneath the reading lamp.
A folded postcard slipped from between the pages.
It had been left there by a previous owner.
The photograph showed a quiet street in Vienna.
On the back, someone had written in English:
Some places are worth returning to only when you know why you left.
Julian read the sentence twice.
Then he laughed softly.
For once, he didn't interpret coincidence as destiny.
He simply placed the postcard beside the lamp.
And began reading.
Across the city, Anastasia was preparing to review proposals for the next year's conservation fellowships when Helena entered her office.
“Julian declined the leadership appointment,” Helena said.
“I heard.”
“Does that surprise you?”
“Yes.”
“Disappoint you?”
Anastasia considered.
“No.”
Helena smiled.
“That is progress.”
Anastasia returned to her papers.
Then noticed an envelope beneath the fellowship applications.
It contained an unsigned proposal for a New York conservation partnership.
The participating institution was familiar.
The rare-book studio in the East Village.
The place where Anastasia had once worked.
The place where she had built her ordinary life.
And the program's proposed American financial adviser was listed under a new consulting entity.
Thorne Advisory Services.
Anastasia frowned.
Julian had just declined a position connected to the Austrian bank.
Why was his name appearing on another Caris-related proposal?
She picked up the accompanying correspondence.
Then realized the submission date was six months earlier.
Before the gala.
May you like
Before the investigation.
And before Julian knew she was the Grand Duchess of Caris.
