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I’mnotjealous.
I’m not.
‘Oh, no, babe, it’s not even on the table,’ Verity says – and though she tries to sound upbeat, it falls a little flat; she’s obviously disappointed. She’s squishedin the middle of our group on the sofa: Freya and Izzy, either side of her, reach to rub her arm or pat her leg sympathetically. EvenIfeel a little bad for her for a second. ‘I asked him for drinks last weekend, but he made some excuses. Didn’t give off very “interested” vibes.’
‘Maybe he’s just being polite,’ Izzy suggests. ‘You know, because of the whole being the boss’s son thing.’
Yeah, it was real ‘polite’ when he pretended not to know me.
‘I don’t think so. No offence, Ver,’ Dylan adds quickly, offering a smile to soften the blow. ‘He mentioned a thing with some girl he used to date – they went out for a drink, like, a week ago. He didn’t seem too keen to talk about it, so I didn’t wanna pry too much, but I wouldn’t want to get in the middle of all that if I were you.’
‘Well,definitelynot on the table in that case. I don’t need to be the other woman!’ Verity giggles.
I laugh, too, because everybody else is, but my mind is spinning. Was this other girl on the scene when he kissed me? An ex from a long time ago, maybe, one he’s just friends with these days? Is she a newer development – the girl he lost his heart to last week, maybe?
More importantly:Why do I care?
I don’t. Idon’t.
The others start speculating – is there someone in the office? Someone from his uni course? An intern from years gone by, maybe, if nottheintern, the one he did date. Most likely, he met her on a dating app. Dylan suggests maybe she’s a friend of his brother’s – which is when basically the entire rest of the group find out about Will.
‘I knew there was another one, but I thought he was, like, way younger, or something,’ says Monty.
‘You should hear Topher talk about Lloyd. It’s like the sun shines out of his arse,’ Freya says, then blushes and adds hastily, ‘but obviously, Lloyd’s great, and it’s super cute his dad is so proud of him and stuff. I just mean, I could count the times he’s mentioned Will on one hand. I get the vibe Will just doesn’t care about Arrowmile. It’s kind of weird, right? He’s probablyreallyup himself, or something.’
‘Now ifhe’ssingle …’ Verity jokes, but I get the impression she’s at least halfway serious.
‘Maybe we’ll meet him at the summer party?’ Elaine suggests.
The summer party is an annual company event, an excuse for a friendly piss-up under the guise of being an all-office meeting with updates on how the company is doing so far that year, with a team-building exerciseor two sprinkled in. There’s lots of food, lots of booze, and ‘always’ (so I’m told) lots of fun. An excuse for everybody to let their hair down, a reward for their hard work.
I’m looking forward to using it as a networking session. It sounds like a perfect opportunity for it.
I guess it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Will could be there. Thinking about his self-deprecating, quiet humour and his awkward, natural clumsiness, I tell the others, ‘I ran into him once. He was at the office looking for Lloyd. He’s really lovely, actually. Kind of … quiet, I think? More introverted than Lloyd is, anyway. But he seemed really nice.’
‘Surprise, surprise,’ mutters Tasha, but it’s so quiet that I wonder if maybe I imagined it – especially when nobody else seems to notice. I must have misheard, I decide; it’s a weird remark, and I can’t figure what she means by it. Anyway, the others are already busy grilling me on exactlywhenI met Will and what that conversation was like.
‘You’ll have to find out if he’ll be at the summer party,’ I tell Monty and Dylan, trying to distract the attention away from myself. ‘Ask Lloyd next time you see him. Let us know in the group chat.’
‘Oryoucan ask him,’ Izzy says, nudging me in the side and smiling. ‘If you see him first.’
Tasha scoffs, and I definitely didn’t mishear it that time. Some of the others notice, too.
Does he fancy you or something?she’d asked me.If you thought you were being sneaky, you’re not.
Shit. Does Tasha think there’s something going on between me and Lloyd? Something serious and more than just a kiss from before the internship started that nobody even knows about?
I don’t care if she sees me talking to Lloyd around the office, but Idocare if she honestly believes there’s something between us. The others all seem to like her well enough, but she’s the very last person I’d want leaning into some kind of office-romance rumour. She gives every indication she’s the kind of person who drags others down to try to boost herself up.
Maybe I was too harsh on Lloyd for pretending he didn’t know who I was that first day. It’s clear now that hewasdoing me a favour; I really don’t want to risk anything undermining the work I do on this internship.
Maybe I owe him an apology after all.Maybe.
Tasha, thankfully, keeps her mouth shut, and nobody calls her out on it. I don’t either, because I can’t bear the idea of dragging this discussion out any further and digging myself into a hole. Everyone returns to idle chatter and the movie, but it’s a longwhile before I feel myself relaxing back into the sofa to enjoy the rest of the night.
I smooth my hands over my skirt, making sure my blouse is tucked in neatly for the umpteenth time. My laptop sits open in front of me, the presentation mirrored on the large screen behind me. I’m glad I booked this meeting room out for the half hour before my big presentation; it took me ten minutes to figure out how the projector worked.
The whole thing is nerve-wracking, but the waiting is worse. My adrenaline builds with each passing minute. I watch the clock in the corner of my laptop screen like a hawk. And I know, I know, a watched pot and all that, but …God, why can’t this be over already?
