JULIAN

I was there for appearances.

I want to be precise about this because the precision matters, I was at the foundation meeting at eleven o'clock on a Friday morning because Nate had included me on the event correspondence three weeks ago with the specific and pointed quality of a man who believed Julian Blackwood's visible presence at his wife's charity event was good for the foundation's donor relationships and the relevant professional optics, and this was a reasonable and legitimate basis for attendance and the specific and only basis I was prepared to acknowledge.

I was there for appearances.

I arrived at eleven-oh-four.

The room was already full and...