An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [29]
“Hello,” Alek said, opening the door to admit a lanky, official-looking gentleman. He wore a crisp business suit and from the tight set of his mouth, Alek guessed he would brook no foolishness. His expression was sharp and unfriendly.
“Patrick O’Dell,” he said.
“My name is Alek and this is my wife, Julia,” Alek said.
Julia stood on the far side of the room, her smile fleeting and strained. “Welcome to our home, Mr. O’Dell. Would you care to sit down?”
“Thank you.” He moved into the living room and didn’t pause to look at the view. Indeed, there might not have been one for all the notice O’Dell took. He sat on the recliner they’d recently vacated and set his briefcase on the coffee table.
Alek walked over to Julia’s side and held her hand in his. Together they ventured to the sofa opposite the interviewer and sat down.
Mr. O’Dell removed a file from his briefcase. He scanned the contents, then frowned with clear disapproval. “How did you two meet?”
“Through my brother,” Julia said quickly. “He’d met Alek several years earlier while he was in Europe. They corresponded for a number of years and then after the fire…” She hesitated and turned to Alek.
“Jerry offered me a job in this country almost three years ago. I’ve lived here for the past two.”
“Tell me about your work.”
Alek answered the questions thoroughly, while minimizing his importance to Conrad Industries. No need to raise suspicions.
“Alek is a gifted biochemist,” Julia added with unnecessary enthusiasm. “The company was nearly ruined a few years back following the fire I mentioned. I don’t know what would’ve become of us if it hadn’t been for Alek.”
Although he smiled, Alek was groaning inwardly. Julia was offering far more information than necessary. He wished now that they’d gone over what they planned to say. Jerry had advised them to do so, but Alek had felt spontaneity would serve them better than a series of practiced responses.
“In other words, you needed Mr. Berinski.”
“Yes, very much so.” Julia was nothing if not honest.
“Do you continue to need him?” the interviewer pressed.
“No,” Alek answered before Julia could.
“I disagree,” she returned, looking briefly at Alek. “I find we need him more than ever now. The new line of paints Alek’s been working on for the past two years is ready to be marketed. That’s only the beginning of the ideas he’s developing.”
Alek’s concern mounted as O’Dell made a notation. Julia really was as bad at pretense as she’d claimed.
“My husband has worked hard on this project. He deserves to reap the fruits of his labors.” Fortunately, Julia didn’t stumble over the word husband. She’d said it a number of times since their marriage and it always seemed to cause her difficulty.
“You give me more credit than I deserve, my dear,” he murmured, feeling they’d dug themselves into a pit.
“Nonsense,” Julia said, obviously warming to her subject. “Alek is a genius.”
Another notation.
Alek squeezed Julia’s fingers, willing her to stop speaking, but the more he tried to discourage her, the more she went on.
“If you two held each other in such high esteem, why did you wait until Alek’s visa had almost expired before you agreed to marry?”
“Love isn’t always planned,” Julia answered quickly. “No one completely understands matters of the heart, do they? I know I didn’t.” She glanced shyly toward Alek.
“I understand why the Immigration department is suspicious of our marriage,” Alek added. “We realized you would be when we decided to go ahead and marry. It didn’t make any difference.”
Another notation, this one made with sharp jagged movements of his pen.
There were several more questions, which they answered as forthrightly as possible. Alek was uncertain of how well they were coming across. He’d rarely heard Julia sound more animated and, to his surprise, sincere. When he’d first learned of the interview, his biggest concern had been Julia, but now he suspected she’d be his strongest asset.
If he was forced to return to