When he’d told her there’d be a wait, Justin had mostly said it to justify his offer. He hadn’t actually expected to be stuck in the reception area for a half hour. Mae stuck her head in three times, anxious about being away, and he waved her off each time. The receptionist responded haughtily when Justin reminded him they had an appointment.
“The senator is very busy. Often his meetings run over.”
Justin wondered if that was true or if Lucian had simply fallen asleep in his office. In the old days, that wouldn’t have been out of character.
But when the door finally opened, two official-looking women stepped out and shook hands with Lucian, gushing gratitude for his time.
“The senator will see you now,” said the receptionist.
“There’s a woman with me,” Justin told him. “Show her in when she gets back.”
“Of course there’s a woman with you,” said Lucian. “There always is.” He shook Justin’s hand and beckoned him inside.
Once the door was shut, Lucian sat on the edge of his desk and shook his head. “Unbelievable. When I saw your name on my schedule, I thought it was a joke.”
Justin took a few moments to assess his old friend and roommate. He looked just as he had on TV, smiling and charming, with that new tawny hair color that the saleswoman had claimed was “hot.”
“That’s funny, because I thought the same thing when I saw you running for consul.” Justin walked over to a bottle of scotch sitting near the window. At least some things never changed. “May I?”
“Knock yourself out.” Justin could feel Lucian’s eyes weighing him. “The election’s old news, but then, I hear you’ve been away.”
Justin poured a glass. “Yeah? How’d you’d hear that? I mean, aside from me not returning all the calls I know you must’ve made to me these last four years.”
“I did a little investigating when I saw your name come up. Well, my assistant did.” Some of Lucian’s swagger faded. “What the hell did you do? People don’t get exiled. And they certainly don’t come back from it.”
It was a relief to know that Lucian’s access didn’t stretch that far, but Justin wasn’t surprised. The majority of Internal Security didn’t even know his full background.
“It’s not really that interesting of a story,” Justin said. “Especially compared to how a guy who was once on the committee that regulated pets riding on public transportation became a candidate for consul.”
Lucian took the hint and smiled again. “You don’t think I care about our country? And its pets?”
“I think you’ve always been the type to take the easy way out. You always tried to get by under the radar.”
“Yeah, well, one day, I made myself a target.” Lucian’s brown eyes narrowed as he drifted into some memory. “A comment at a lunch about how it was time to get rid of the last of the mandates. It was supposed to be off the record—but wasn’t. The next thing I knew, Lucian Darling was the champion of those seeking genetic freedom. My party rode that popularity and convinced me it was an opportunity we couldn’t miss.” He spread out his hands. “And so here I am, one of the youngest consular candidates in history.”
“Having to own your words.”
“It’s not that bad. I really do believe in what I do, you know.” He nodded toward Justin’s scotch. “What do you think?”
“Excellent. Of course, I’ve been in the provinces, so my bar’s still pretty low these days.”
Lucian laughed. “I heard that too. You know who gave it to me? Religious-freedom lobbyists.”
Wow. Lucian really was involved with heavy platforms now. College days and dorm-room parties seemed like centuries ago.
“You’re trying to break open everything. Genes and religion. It really is a new age.”
“I never said I supported them.” Justin noticed Lucian also didn’t say he opposed them either. “You worried you’ll be out of a job?”
“I’ll just run for public office. I hear it’s not that hard.”
That brought another smile from Lucian, and Justin wondered if it was the one Tessa said they shared. “Don’t worry, I have plenty of antireligious ones knocking at my door—and they’ve got a lot more money. Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company? You never paid me casual visits before you left.”
“I have a favor to ask.”
“The last time you asked for a favor, my girlfriend ended up bent over your desk.” Lucian poured himself a glass.
Justin sighed. “When are you going to get over that? She was your ex-girlfriend, and she really was helping me with my essay.”
“Yeah? What exactly was it on?”
Lucian’s receptionist suddenly opened the door and stepped aside so that Mae could enter. “Sorry,” Mae told Justin. “I didn’t realize you’d gone in.”
She’d become serious again, back to her professional mode, but he could still see a little of that light in her face. Lucian saw it too. He swiftly set down the scotch and strode over to her, his gallant smile turned all the way up.
“Senator,” she said, taking his hand. “It’s an honor to meet you.”
“You can call me Lucian. We aren’t big on formalities around here.” Lucian kept holding her hand. “And I can call you…?”