I sneak back and sit down next to Kaia and Tolu again. Horace sees me, and the sides of his lips twitch up, only to drop again as his eyes move to someone coming up behind me.
Oh God, the knot is back in my gut. I need to be super helpful to Horace today so Mark can see I wasn’t lying.
I don’t lie. Most of the time.
Horace finishes his little talk and gives the podium back to Mark, and I actively try to tune his deep voice out as Horace shuffles across the carpeted floor towards the corner where I’m sitting.
He waves and catches my attention before he dips down.
“Can you take me through the programme for the rest of the day?” Horace whispers and nods towards the exit.
“Absolutely,” I say, and we leave Mark and the new starters behind. “This way,” I say to Horace, as I assume he doesn’t know which computer room they’re meant to be in next. “It’s in room five today. I’ll take you through the week’s agenda. Why don’t we shuffle some topics around to better suit your expertise? Frank can pick up the rest when he’s back.”
Horace sighs, and he sounds so relieved I could hug him. I’m happy I’m actually helpful.
“What does an art director do?” I ask, more curious than I dare to admit.
“Oh, I define the visual style of our games and make sure what we put on screen matches what we’ve agreed.”
“Like what?”
I push the door open to the computer room, and look back to show him I’m listening.
“Everything. The worlds, the characters, the user interface.” He shrugs as if that explains it.
“What’s your favourite game?”
“From Infinio?”
That’s an interesting follow-up. I’d assume it would be a given.
“In general?”
“Questnite’sthe best-looking game out there. It’s a competitor’s game, so I’m not allowed to say. But ourDragon Trialsis up there too. Damian did an excellent job on that.”
“That’s the flagship game, isn’t it?”
I turn on the computer at the front of the room, and it chimes to life in an instant.
“That’s right,” Horace answers.
“So this is how the induction works.” I talk as I open the documents he’ll need on the computer. “There’s a range of topics they need to learn, all listed here. The newbies will, by the end of the week, have a really clear idea of Infinio.”
Horace breathes out a long breath as if I asked him to solve a two-page algorithm in his head.
“What’s my part in it?”
“I believe all these sections here are yours,” I say, pointing to the screen. “We can move them to today. There are slides in here for you. Have you been shown this before?”
He shakes his head, and I swear he’s sweating.
“What’s wrong, Horace?”
He sits down on a chair next to mine and scratches his temple. “Look, I just don’t enjoy improvising. I like being prepared.”
“It’s all here,” I point, and he nods.
I swivel in the office chair to face him. “Can you tell me about concept art?”
