XAVIER CARRINGTON
The lecture hall is empty now, the last traces of students fading into the hallway like smoke dissipating into air. I stand at the front of the room, my hands braced against the lectern, and I watch the door with a patience that I don't feel.
My mother's voice echoes in my head, the conversation we had just this morning still fresh and raw. "Xavier, you need to think about the future. The board is restless. Your father's will requires you to marry within twelve months, and Barbara Sterling is a perfect match. Her family is respectable. Her father is the Vice-Chairman. She would bring stability to the company." I told her I wasn't interested. I told her I didn't want the company. But she wouldn't listen. She never listens. "You have a duty to this family, Xavier. You c
