Elliot sips his drink, watching me with a cock-sucking smile. “Is that how you landed the job at Starley Solutions? I suppose contacts are always useful.”
“I’m sure Leon earned the job all on his own,” Violet says, surprising me. She gives her stepbrother a cold look before turning to her stepfather. “Didn’t you say Leon was the Superman of coding?”
“Leon merits his position, but Elliot is right,” Gus says. “Contacts in the right places never hurt.” He checks his watch. “If you’d like to grab a refill, now’s the time. I’m starting my speech in five.”
“I need a juice,” Candice says, batting her eyelashes at her husband.
The group disperses, leaving Violet and me on the veranda under the stars.
I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “You didn’t have to defend me, but I appreciate that you stood up for me.” I can’t resist adding, “Does that mean you like me?”
“Elliot is an ass,” she says, turning her face away.
A trio of young startup entrepreneurs descend on us.
“Leon Hart, right?” the skinny dude says.
His pale friend juts a bony hand in my direction. “Pleased to meet you. I’m developing a new animal health insurance scheme as a corporate fringe benefit with tax deductibility. We’d like to ask you a few questions about custom-developing the software.”
I’m not going to bore Violet with shop talk. I’m about to tell them to make an appointment when Violet says, “I’ll leave you to talk. I haven’t eaten today, and the caterers just brought out the warm canapés.”
Not waiting for a reply, she escapes inside and makes her way across the hall to the opposite side, as far away from me as she can get.
Bullshit.
She has no interest in the mini pizzas and cheese souffles that have been set out on the table. When a waiter carrying a tray loaded with deep-fried shrimp tails coated in sticky sweet-and-sour sauce stops in front of her, she declines with a shake of her head. She takes a veggie skewer from a food pyramid and pulls it apart piece by piece, leaving the cherry tomatoes, buffalo cheese balls, and basil leaves in a neat row on a plate.
“…and then we need to validate the tax deduction with government, but getting an appointment is like pulling teeth,” the skinny guy says.
I’ve tuned out most of his monologue, my attention always hijacked by a certain obstinate and very delectable woman.
The clinking of metal on crystal reverberates through the room.
Tapping a spoon against his glass, Gus climbs onto the podium. “May I have your attention please?”
Like one man, the audience goes quiet.
“I’m not going to bore you with an hour-long speech like last year,” Gus says. “If my memory serves me right, some of you fell asleep.”
Laughter erupts.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Carter says, his voice thundering through the hall. “That was an alcohol-induced sleep.”
Everyone looks at the poor idiot from accounting who tries to make himself small behind a table flower arrangement.
“I’d like to make a toast,” Gus says.
“Well?” Carter turns in a circle, his arms outstretched. “Get the man a drink.”
A brownie point candidate runs up with a glass of champagne.
Gus takes the glass. “To doubling our turnover.”
“Hear, hear!” someone shouts from the back.
“The growth in a time when most companies are folding wouldn’t have been possible without you.” Gus pauses to slide his gaze over the room. “Expect to see a pay raise on your next salary slip.”
Loud clapping and whistling follow.
Lifting a hand, Gus waits for the noise to die down before he continues. “As you know, growth requires investment, not only in money and time but also in manpower. Alas, I’m not getting younger.”
“You’re a spring chicken,” Carter interjects, following the statement up with a bout of laughter.
“Yeah, yeah,” Gus says, waving a hand. “It’s not polite to make fun of an ageing man. Jokes aside, it’s time to take a partner.”
Everyone claps enthusiastically again.
The words make me reel. As far as I know, the announcement wasn’t on the agenda.
From across the room, I catch Violet’s gaze. Her brow is pinched. This comes as a surprise to her too.
“You know me well enough by now to know I didn’t take the selection process lightly. The man I’m promoting is a man who’ll not only be on the frontline of innovation, but also a man who’ll be able to fill my—may I dare say—very competent shoes. He’s a man of honor and exceptional talent, a programmer of the kind the country has never seen.”
Whispering breaks out among the crowd.
It’s too early. I’m yet to present him with the software.
“Everyone,” Gus says. “Please put your hands together and welcome Starley Solutions’ newest shareholder, Elliot Starley.”
It’s like a bucket of ice water in my face.
What the fuck?
A second of surprised silence follows. Carter is the first to slap his beefy palms together, a single clap filling the space before the men pick up on his cue and clap as if their lives depend on it.