Genesis Girl (Blank Slate #1) - Jennifer Bardsley Page 0,12

as a bad father,” I say, “and start thinking of yourself as a good person who’s on the road to getting his son back into his life.”

Cal doesn’t say anything. He stares down at his asparagus.

“A grand gesture,” I continue. “You’re showing Seth that you’re the type of father who will do whatever it takes to win back his son. How can Seth say no to that?”

“Do you think it will work?”

“Of course it will. If you want to be a good father, then I want that too. I’m going to make it happen.”

I say that because I have to, never mind that I still don’t know where I fit into all this. Cal wants to be a father to Seth. Not to me. What will happen when this is all over? Does Cal want me to lure Seth or be with Seth? Is there still a chance Cal wants me for himself afterward?

“Do you think tomorrow night will work?” Cal asks. “I know that if I invite the McNeal Solar Enterprises board of directors to a party in your honor, they’ll come. But what about Seth? He’s never bothered to show up before.”

“He’ll come,” I say, tapping on my platinum cuff. I fake a confidence I’m not sure I deserve.

“I hope so.” Cal folds his napkin. “I’m banking on it.”

Chapter Four

Wrap me in silk, twirl me around, and tie up my chest with diamonds. My bare arms are cold, even though Cal has every fireplace in the house burning. I lean into his shoulder and drape my wrist around his arm. His wool jacket is scratchy but warm.

“I didn’t think I’d be so nervous,” Cal says as we descend the stairs. There are executives everywhere, filling up the great hall. The McNeal Solar Enterprises board of directors is out in full force, watching my every step.

“You’ll be fine.” I try to sound reassuring, but I’m not used to so many strangers. Invisible butterflies beat in my stomach. In mere seconds, an older lady in a sequined top approaches, her black hair pulled tight in a French twist with a fleur-de-lis inked on her neck.

Cal whispers in my ear. “Here comes Nancy Robinson, my attorney. Don’t let her manners fool you. Nancy is a shark, and the whole board listens to her opinions.”

“Cal, darling!” Nancy gushes. “I’ve been dying to come as soon as I got the invitation.” She holds out her hand to be kissed, which Cal does, graciously.

“Nancy, I’d like you to meet my new daughter, Blanca.”

“Daughter?” Nancy’s tattooed eyebrows arch. “Is that what you’re calling her?”

“Yes,” Cal answers.

“How … unexpected,” Nancy says. There’s an uncomfortable pause. Other guests join the circle, hungry for information.

I want to tell Cal he doesn’t have to say anything. His private business is just that— private. But Cal’s not a Vestal, so he keeps talking. “My wife, Sophia, was fascinated by the Vestals.”

Nancy’s jaw sets into a fake smile, and her teeth glisten. “Sophia was a wonderful person,” she says. “A true genius.”

I feel Cal’s arm flex right below my elbow.

“You’ll get no arguments from me. My wife was the most brilliant anthropologist Stanford ever had. And she was mesmerized by the Vestals. Sophia wrote her dissertation on Barbelo Nemo.”

“That quack,” Nancy says, her face flat and shiny.

“He’s not a quack!” I say.

“She speaks!” somebody from the back of the crowd pipes up.

Cal places a hand on my arm, already linked with his, and gives a little pat. “Sophia was inspired by Barbelo Nemo,” he says. “She was amazed that he could create something so powerful in forty-five years.”

“Fifty, now,” I correct.

“Whatever happened to Barbelo Nemo?” Nancy asks. Her gray silk skirt swishes around her.

“That’s private,” I answer. Barbelo has retreated to Plemora now, his estate at an unknown location. But that’s nobody’s business either.

“You mean you don’t know or you can’t say?” Nancy asks.

Heat prickles up my spine as I feel everyone watch me. I know these strangers are hungry for information, but there’s no way I’ll betray my Brethren. So I offer a placid smile, straight from Ms. Corina’s lessons in charm and deportment.

Cal clears his throat. “The mystery enchanted Sophia. She wanted to know the unknowable. Vestal secrets fascinated her. That’s why I knew Sophia would have been concerned about that picture of Blanca gathering unfavorable attention before her Harvest. She would have felt responsible. She would have wanted to do something.”

“Because it was Seth who took the picture?” somebody says.

“So it’s true then?” another guest asks. “Veritas Rex