Beyond the Surface (The Breakfast Club Book 1) by Felice Stevens

Author:Felice Stevens [Stevens, Felice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-08-16T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

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Julian had never been a great believer in God, fate, or mysticism, call it what you will. He was too pragmatic a person, having been knocked down more times in his life than he’d care to remember. If fate did exist, something or someone could’ve intervened to allow his mother to enjoy a moment of her life, instead of having her die of a heart attack at the age of forty-five. Whip-thin from stress over her ability to pay their bills, her fingers stained nicotine-yellow from the ever-present cigarette, Emma Cornell never got the chance to see him graduate from high school.

Though she hadn’t been able to be around much, he understood why, and knew she loved him fiercely and was incredibly proud of him. On the rare occasions she had an evening off and they’d make popcorn and watch a movie together, she’d always tell him the same thing.

“Whatever you do, make sure you don’t end up like me. Make your life count, baby. Leave your mark so that when you’re no longer here, they’ll always remember you.”

“You’re special to me, Mom.”

She’d wipe her eyes and give him a kiss. Julian hadn’t thought about those days in years. He’d spent too much time clawing his way to the top of what turned out to be a dung heap of the most shallow, evil people he could ever imagine.

After the chance meeting with Nick, and learning his personal suffering and the heroic and selfless work he did with those children in the burn unit, Julian had taken a week to reevaluate what was important for his own life to have meaning, and in what direction he wanted to move forward.

He could continue on and hopefully garner enough interest in his next collection, making sure this time no one outside of his trusted circle had access to his ideas, apartment, or his life. He’d need to borrow from the bank, if they’d even allow it, at a ridiculously high interest rate that would take years to pay back. It would mean endless nights spent sucking up to people he personally detested but were professionally necessary to further the career he’d been striving for his entire life.

Or he could put it all aside and capture that excitement at creating something for these people he’d been visiting at the burn unit. He’d made sure to time his visits when he knew Nick wouldn’t be there. This had to be about doing it for the right reason, not to get close to Nick again. Jamal had become his personal assistant, the liaison with other people in the hospital. The young man had a tremendous sense of style, and Julian marveled at how he’d show him the rough sketch of an idea, and Jamal would have the perfect suggestion for what to do.

Julian had taken a risk and asked to meet an old friend, Helena Weinstock, a style icon he’d met studying under Lorenzo in Italy, and he’d given her a brief rundown of his plans.

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