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‘Oh.’
Crap.
‘You’re …’
Not Lloyd, but … I have to pause to take a better look, feeling like my brain has stalled. The guy is a bit older than me, with thick dark hair and brown skin like Lloyd, green eyes and a lean stature, but he’s decidedlynotLloyd. His hair is cut shorter, his nose is smaller, and he’s skinny where Lloyd is slightly more built.
Also, he’s dressed very casually in green shorts, a faded band T-shirt, and a pair of brown-framed glasses.
So, no, not Lloyd.
His mouth pulls into a wide smile, and while it’s uncannily similar to Lloyd’s, it’snot quitethe same. It’s not as all-consuming, as infectious, as Lloyd’s smile.
‘Wrong Fletcher,’ not-Lloyd tells me. He sticks out a hand towards me. ‘I’m Will. His –’
‘His brother, right, yes, God, I’m – I’m so sorry, I just, um …’
Just made an atrocious first impression on the CEO’s other son. Brilliant. Well done, Anna, gold star.
I trail off helplessly, cheeks burning, and then look at Will’s outstretched hand and gesture with my own hands: Frappuccino in one, brown bag of cake and panini in the other. Will grimaces and drops his hand back to his side, trying to laugh it off.
I almost ask what he’s doing here, because it’s been a month and this is the first time I’ve seen Lloyd’s brother around the office. Actually – nobody’s eventalkedabout him. The only reason I know Will exists is because Lloyd mentioned him that night by the river. Why isn’t he hanging around the office like Lloyd, making a nuisance of himself? He’s clearly not as arrogant as his brother, but is he invested in the goings-on at Arrowmile like him?
Has he hooked up with interns in the past, too?
No – I can’t ask that. That’s a bad route to go down.
‘Hi,’ I say again, getting more of a grip on myself – and giving him a proper smile, this time. ‘Will. I’m Anna. I’m on the internship programme. Sorry about that … I just –’
‘It’s all good.’ The smile he gives me this time is sincere, but small and fleeting. Where Lloyd takes up so much space, Will leans against the back wall of the lift and seems to shrink into it. I’m not sure what to say – what kind of polite small talk will carry us through the next twenty seconds without being cut to a sudden, awkward end. Instead, we lapse into silence until the lift eases to a halt and the doors slide open.
‘Well, see you,’ I say.
I get out, and only make it a short way when I hear a hand catch the doors and Will hurrying after me. I stop and he tries to fall in step, but ends up bumping into me and has to stumble around me to prevent us both from crashing to the floor. He flings a hand to my shoulder to steady me. My coffee and snacks survive – Will’s pride, not so much. I can’t help but laugh at the flustered, embarrassed look on his face.
‘Sorry,’ he says. ‘So, you’re on the internship programme? How’s it going?’
I think he’s only asking to be polite, but say, ‘It’s tough, but I’m really enjoying it. I’m guessing you hadmore exciting ways to spend your summer than working here with us?’
‘Ah. Um. Yeah. Something like that.’ He lets out a breath of laughter that I think is supposed to sound nonchalant, but is more of a self-deprecating snort. He reaches up to scrub a hand through his hair a few times, making it stick up at odd angles.
‘You didn’t take a year out like your brother, then?’
‘Oh, definitely not,’ he says. ‘So, you know Lloyd, huh?’
I look at him for a long moment, confused. I settle on an answer that’s honest – maybe, judging by how dry my tone is, it’s a littletoohonest. ‘Doesn’t everyone?’
Will laughs. ‘Right. You’re not his biggest fan, I take it.’
To put it mildly.
Suddenly, I wonder if Will knows aboutme. Would Lloyd have told him about our kiss? Would he have talked to his twin about how angry I was when I realized who he was? It had sounded like they were close when he talked about Will before, but … Well, a lot of things sounded different to the reality that night.
‘What gave me away?’ I ask Will.
‘Well, you looked a little bit like you were going to either throttle me or dump your coffee over me when you thought I was him.’
‘I wouldnever,’ I inform him, ‘waste such a good coffee on him.’
