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I’ve done this a hundred times, and I know it all inside out and back to front, so it’s not onerous, but I feel the weight of responsibility on me today as I explain the research and deliver the results of our initial trials. I don’t need to embellish the results because I believe personally they’re impressive enough, so I stick to the facts, and let the numbers speak for themselves.
When I’m done, I get a round of applause, and then the questions start.
They grill me like a twelve-ounce ribeye, for a total of two hours. Perhaps grilled is too strong a word. They’re not aggressive or confrontational. They’re knowledgeable and interested, even fascinated, and there’s a sense of excitement and wonder in their questions at what the future holds if they have access to the kind of research that my company is producing.
Despite their pleasant manner, by the end of the meeting I’m damp under the arms beneath my jacket and relieved it’s over.
Alan takes me back to his office, then excuses himself and returns to the boardroom to finish up the meeting.
Jade sticks her head around the door. “That was a long one.”
“I’m knackered,” I say with feeling.
She laughs. “Would you like a cold lager?”
“Oh my God, seriously? Yes, I would kill for one.”
She smiles and goes out, then returns after thirty seconds with an opened bottle of Speight’s.
“Don’t tell me,” I say, accepting the Kiwi beer, “Alan’s doing.”
She grins. “He wanted you to feel at home. Can I get you anything else? Would you like something to eat?”
“No, I’m good, thank you.”
“I don’t think he’ll be long.”
“No worries.”
She goes out, and I take the beer over to the comfortable chairs by the sofa, sink into one, and prop my feet on his coffee table. I have a long swig of the beer, sigh, and lean my head on the back.
I should text Heidi and tell her how it went, but a wave of tiredness washes over me. Instead, I rest my hand on my tie pin, and think once again about having her in my arms tonight.
Less than five minutes later, the door opens and Alan walks in.
“I see Jade sorted you out,” he says with a laugh, coming over and sitting on the sofa. He’s holding a beer, too. Blowing out a breath, he flops back. “Sorry about that. It was a long one, eh?”
“Hopefully I did okay,” I say, having another swig of beer.
He gives me a strange look. “You’re kidding me, right?”
I blink. “Uh, what do you mean?”
He studies me for a moment, then leans forward, elbows on his knees, dangling the bottle in his fingers. “Titus, you totally blew them away.”
My eyebrows rise. “They want to invest?”
“Of course they want to invest. That was never in doubt.”
“If I stay here,” I clarify. “Right?”
“Titus,” he says softly, “We’d love you to stay, and our scientists are very keen to work with you. But I understand that your life is in New Zealand. Acheron will invest in your project regardless of your location. I’m sorry. I should have made that clearer.”
My heart lifts. “Seriously?”
“Of course. This work goes beyond ownership and location—it’s of international importance. The only question is, are you willing to share your research with us?”
It’s then that it hits me. Alan wasn’t nervous about the board’s reaction, and whether they’d agree to the funding. All along, he hasn’t thought of my visit as an interview. He sees it as me interviewing him. He’s afraid that I’ll be precious about the research. That I’ll want to keep it to myself.
