Select (Select #1)(18)
Novak had foreseen our inability to have children in spite of all attempts. He knew Liv would be our future leader, and for reasons that weren’t clear to me a vision had brought us to Austin. These foresights were also what enabled Novak to see three steps ahead on the chessboard of our lives and know just how to manipulate and outrun an increasingly volatile world.
I was sure there were other billionaires hiring top minds, figuring out how to protect their direct descendants as the planet grew warmer and the world more unstable. But it made members of the group nervous that Novak was out front and center, influencing political leaders and CEOs, ensuring they made decisions that landed in his favor. As he smiled in public, behind the scenes he was using the wealth he’d accumulated to secure resources for our future by any means necessary, within an inch of the law.
The office seemed smaller to me now that I was older, but by entering the room I still felt that shift in perspective, as though you were walking into the presence of something larger than yourself. The door closed behind me, and for a second I wondered if my father had closed it from several feet away or if I had imagined that. Just like outsiders watched us, the kids in our group grew up vigilantly watching the adults, trying to catch them doing things they didn’t yet trust us to know they could do.
My father sat behind his marble-topped desk that I always thought looked like a cloud. Floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides made it look like we were sitting directly atop the lake. Wood built-ins with a series of locks on them like safety deposit boxes lined the wall. The vault was disguised by the built-ins. I wondered if Liv and the others had seen inside.
Usually all surfaces in the home were clear, but today his desk was covered with photographs. Pictures of what looked like nature scenes straight out of storybooks—streams, mountains, forests. I scanned a piece of paper with a census of game that must be in the area, such as fish, elk, deer, and fowl.
“It’s perfect, isn’t it?” Novak asked me. “It will be like going home,” he said more quietly.
I nodded wholeheartedly in agreement. In a flash, Novak gathered up the photos and they were out of sight. There was no point in asking where it was. He wouldn’t tell me.
I didn’t know if I should take a seat, so I stood waiting. His energy was calm and neutral. Any trace of that morning’s loving father—or his version of how an average loving father behaved—was wiped away. Not being able to read any emotion made interactions disorienting.
“This will be quick,” my dad began. “You need to tell me what that boy saw.”
It was my chance for full disclosure and sparing myself months of worry, wondering if any lies would come back to haunt me. Still, I chose to lie. I couldn’t risk what might happen if Novak knew how bad it was.
“He helped pull Liv to the side. He only saw what everyone else did. It was too cloudy under the water to see much of anything.”
“Why was he arrested?” I’m sure my father already knew the details but wanted to hear it from me.
“He was in the middle of everything. Just wrong place, wrong time. It was a mistake. Can you get him out of it?” I knew he wasn’t my responsibility, so I surprised myself by asking.
Novak narrowed his eyes and said ruefully, “Really, Julia? More damage control?”
“Can you fix it?”
“You know I don’t like to interfere with them.” But I sensed an agreement that he would take care of it. He wouldn’t risk someone going to court.
Suddenly Novak stood up, crossed to the other side of the desk, and perched on the edge, directly across from me. He rubbed his face and then slid his hand into his hair. All at once I realized he was about to break some bad news. Oh shit. He was purposely giving me time to steel myself.
“Sit down, J,” Novak said. I sat on the edge of a nearby chair, which brought me even closer to him. Now I had to crane my neck to look up at him.
“Dad…,” I began.
“Let me start.” That put me back on my heels. “You let randomness in today.” He leveled his eyes on mine. I wanted nothing more than to break eye contact and look down. “That makes it much harder for me to do my job, to keep everyone safe and to see clearly. Do you know what it took to get everyone’s fingerprints back? Not to mention getting Angus off those charges? If anyone had been badly hurt today, if someone had gone to the hospital, if our blood had been taken…”
Novak lithely stood up and circled back behind the desk, quietly sitting down in his chair across from me. He then looked at his watch, as though he didn’t have much time left for this conversation. It was the longest I’d been alone with him in so long I couldn’t remember. But I was relieved we were almost done. Maybe this talk was the extent of any punishment.
Before continuing, Novak seemed to take me in, pausing to study my features closely for a moment, like he was trying to recognize something, or someone, in me. I may have been wrong, but I thought I saw some kind of recognition pass over his expression. This time, he broke eye contact first. I wondered how often he thought about my mother when he looked at me.
“Julia, I need to put some distance between you and the other kids. I’m aware you’ve been showing the boys your tricks. This is after I specifically warned you never to do that. You’re going to have to leave the group for a bit.” Novak looked at the ceiling while he said this, before turning his once-again-impassive expression back to me.