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Shit. Idiot, idiot. Of course that’s what she meant!
‘He’s been here basically full-time over the last year, though,’ Molly adds as an aside – either not noticing my embarrassment, or polite enough to ignore it. ‘So he’s probably, like,thego-to guy for any questions you have. Even my cohort relied on him, although it was a little weird having to ask a kid to explain the intricate dynamics of certain client relationships and stuff.’
Great. That’s just what I need: to have the go-to guy be the one person I’m determined to avoid.
‘He spends a lot of time around the office though, so he’ll be much easier to catch than his dad,’ Molly is telling me.
‘Oh, right. Cool. Um – sorry, you … Quick question. You said he’s here full-time? Like, he has a job here? Right now?’
‘I mean, “job” is probably stretching it. He kind of floats around everywhere, you know? As much as Ihatethis phrase because I think it’s super gross – he really does have his finger in a lot of pies. Like, every pie Arrowmile’s got to offer.’
‘You’re right. That is a … super gross phrase.’
Then Molly’s distracted by her frantically-buzzing phone. ‘Shit, that’s my next meeting. I’ve gotta go, sorry, Anna. But this has been fun! Don’t be afraid to reach out if there’s ever anything I can help with, or if you want to spend some time shadowing us in Marketing. And seriously – Lloyd’s your guy. Make use of him!’
‘Thanks, I will!’ I call after her as she hurries towards the lifts, hoping she doesn’t see that I’ve crossed my fingers.
Lloyd is anythingbut‘my guy’.
NEW EMAIL DRAFT
Dear Lloyd,
I don’t know how you’ve done it, but you’ve got them all fooled. You’ve got everyone thinking you’re some stand-up guy, with that winning smile and oodles of charm. You just radiate it, and they’ve all fallen for it.
I did, too.
You fooled me, worse than anyone. How am I supposed to forgive you for that?
Never mind forgive you. How am I supposed to move past it, pretend it doesn’t bother me? It does. I’ll never admit it to you, but it bothers the hell out of me. I liked you. And now I very much the opposite of like you. Would it have killed you to just talk to me when you saw me here last week?
I just wish I’d known who you really were, before you kissed me.
Sincerely Yours,
Anna Sherwood
The Arrowmile labs are out near Canary Wharf, so it takes us a little while to get across the city in the minibus Nadja organized from the office. The labs are housed in an old renovated factory near the river and walking in, it takes my breath away.
The front doors are seven feet tall and open into a light, airy space with a small, single reception desk and a well-organized collection of products and prototypes. A series of podiums with glass cases on top boast a display of Arrowmile’s EV engines through the years. Four of their scooters-for-hire are lined up: three are painted and branded to match the city they’re already in and the fourth is dark grey, the base simply readingCOMING SOON. The lights are industrial spotlights on black poles, and everything is accented in wrought iron (or at least, a good imitation of it).
The instant I step through the doors, Ifeel it.Everything I’d expected to feel when we met Topher Fletcher for the first time. The inspiration, the awe, the way my brain is set spinning with a fresh wave of ambition and ideas andwant.
There’s something magical about this space.
While the foyer isn’t huge, it’s partitioned off by a wall that’s plain white halfway up, and then glass the rest of the way, reaching up towards the high ceiling. Through it, I spot raised walkways wrapping around the sides and leading to various rooms. The noise of machinery can be heard over the radio the receptionist is playing.
She gets up, waving to Nadja as we all pour in through the doors. ‘Hang on, I’ll just go fetch him. Can you have everybody sign in?’ she asks.
I’m one of the first to sign the visitors’ logbook, so I step away to look at the displays. I pause at the giant infographic poster showing a timeline of Arrowmile since it was first founded twenty-four years ago (although back then, they focused on regular old motorcycles and motorized scooters before pivoting into electric vehicles). It’s punctuated with facts about the benefits their work has for the environment and their steadily soaring profit margins; photographs of products or the team help illustrate it. There’s a giant photograph of Topher Fletcher with a quote:
Here at our labs, even our best and brightest know that to make an arrow fly, you have to pull back first – and we here at Arrowmile always strive to keep moving forward.
I must be staring at the quote a little too obviously, because beside me, there’s a soft snort.
‘He really loves leaning into the whole “bow and arrow” metaphor, with a last name like “Fletcher”.’
I look over, only realizing a beat too late why the voice is familiar. Immediately, I feel my eyebrows knitting into a scowl, my mood darkening.Of courseLloyd is here. He’severywhere, all the damn time.
