AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He looks at Nadja, though, as if waiting for permission.
Topher looks irritated, and more than a little apprehensive.
Nadja shrugs, and tells Lloyd, ‘Well, it’s unconventional, but … Why not? You know the drill: ten minutes to present, ten for Q&A.’
He nods once. ‘Got it.’
‘Floor’s all yours.’
This wasn’t the original plan. When I met Lloyd on my birthday and found out exactly what his file of secret projects was all about, I offered to give up my slot today. I felt like I’d made a solid impression on my manager and some other people (before the whole emails/photo horror show, anyway) and I could send my presentation to people after the fact. I’d probably get another chance to show off what I’d done here.
Lloyd hadn’t had that chance – ever.
It was his idea that I keep my spot, and he take Tasha’s instead – everything fell so perfectly into place.
Now, he steels himself, and I watch as he shakes off his nerves and trades them for a more muted version of his usual, charming smile. He looks less like the Lloyd Fletcher who swans around his dad’s office, and more like the one I’ve fallen for.
And he starts talking. Oozing charisma in a way that holds everybody’s attention, and diving in quickly to one of the projects he picked from his file to talk about. He goes into an incredible amount of detail on how much it’s cost the company so far and the truth of just how ‘eco-friendly’ it is under all the layers of buzzwords and corporate varnish, backing up his suggested changes with other Arrowmile projects or existing initiatives from other companies. There are costprojections and calculations and animated diagrams, and even a model he got one of the scientists in the labs to create for him.
People hang off his every word. A couple take notes, or murmur to each other, but nobody takes their attention completely off him for even a second. The attention they give him now is different to the usual deference because he’s the boss’s son – it’s respect, because they realize how keenly he understands all of this.
He clicks onto a final slide that readsTHANK YOU FOR LISTENINGand looks around his audience, unsmiling but relaxed, and confident.
‘Any questions?’
A couple of hands shoot up. A few people start speaking.
Topher shoots out of his seat, marching up to Lloyd. He doesn’t raise his voice, but the room has fallen quiet enough that I’m sure everyone hears when he hisses, ‘What the hell are you playing at? How many times do I have to tell you to stop interfering and wasting people’s time like this? I haverealemployees to do this kind of thing.Qualified scientiststo put together proposals like this, if there was any real value in them. When are you going to learn to leave well enough alone? This isn’t your playground, Lloyd – this is a business.’
The edge of Lloyd’s mouth twitches, and his jaw sets before he gives a thin, sardonic smile that doesn’t belong on his face.
‘Gosh, Dad. It almost sounds like you don’twantme involved in what you’re doing here at Arrowmile.’
Topher grits his teeth, hand bunching into a fist at his side.
Lloyd steps sideways, away from where his dad blocks his view of everybody, reclaiming the audience. The spotlight here has always belonged to him, and now he’s finally using it.
‘I’ve spent my whole life here. Some of you have known me since I was small. Some of you celebrated my exam results with me from school. You’ve seen me around here every summer, elbow-deep in everything Arrowmile. I’m not wasting your time. I’ve checked these things withyou.You’verun the models for me, answered my questions, helped me do calculations or understand where things went wrong in the past, what we could do differently. I’ve just – consolidated all that information. I’m not saying I know better,’ he adds, and turns now to his dad, speaking directly to Topher. ‘But I’ve been taught to step back and look at the bigger picture, and that’s exactly what I’m doing.’
Topher stands there, mouth agape, speechless.
‘So,’ Lloyd presses. ‘Nadja, if you can start that ten-minute timer – does anyone have any questions?’
After the allotted ten minutes of question time wraps up, it’s clear that some people – Topher included – aren’t quite done with Lloyd, but Nadja steps in to wrangle back control. She resumes her closing speech to thank all of us interns for our hard work and everybody who attended the presentations, then swiftly sends us away. Lloyd and some of the managers disappear into his dad’s office, all laser-focused.
We linger for a little while and the others pepper me with questions because they had no idea Lloyd had been working on that kind of stuff all this time; he’s the man of the moment, and they want a piece of him, too. But it isn’t my place to share his secrets, even if there aren’t very many left to keep for him: it must be obvious to everyone from the way Topher spoke to him that there’s some underlying tension in their relationship, and that he hasn’t given Lloyd’s ideas the time of day before.
When Lloyd doesn’t reappear after fifteen minutes, Monty suggests we all make the most of the early finish and head to the pub. Nobody argues, and I text Lloyd to let him know where to find us later, if he wants.
I hope he does; I hope it’s going okay, and he’s not in trouble.
Everybody forgets about Lloyd’s surprise presentation as they fall to dissecting how their own went. Conversations start to overlap, making it hard to focus on any one of them, so I sit quietly with one eye on the door until, finally, Lloyd arrives. He spots me instantly and makes a beeline for our table, looking a little drained and a little wired. Coming down off an adrenaline rush – although I’m not sure yet if it’s the good kind or not. His shoulders slump and he scrubs a hand through his hair, but when he reaches us, he breaks into a grin.
‘What’re you all sat around staring for? I thought we were celebrating! Anybody need another drink?’
‘How’d it go?’ Dylan bursts out, and Elaine shuffles over to make space for the extra chair Burnley is bringing over for Lloyd.
Freya asks, ‘What happened?’
