What the Lightning Sees: Part One

by Louise Bay

  It wasn’t the first time people had made assumptions about my background and character. I was used to it being an American living in London, and normally I didn’t give a shit. For some reason, Haven’s outburst got under my skin. “Wow, you’re a bitch.”

  She opened her mouth and there was a split second of hesitation before she hit back. “So I’ve been told. You’re a spoiled, entitled rich boy. We all have our crosses to bear. If you want to tell Robert that you didn’t want this assignment, I’m sure we could find someone else.”

  I was pretty sure that there was no way Sandy would be doing this feature with Rallegra if I hadn’t said I was going to be the photographer. But I wasn’t about to tell Haven that. She’d find out soon enough, and I was going to enjoy the expression on her face when she did.

  “Maybe you should tell Robert that you don’t want the assignment if you think I’m going to be such a problem for you.”

  She blushed, and for a moment she seemed stumped. “Robert isn’t going to bump me from this article. I’m really good at my job.”

  “Well, guess what, sweetheart, so am I.” Frustrated, I pushed my hands through my hair and stood up to leave.

  “Don’t ever call me sweetheart. How dare you? And where are you going? I’m not finished.”

  “Well I am. If you decide you want to be polite and professional, I’ll be around. But you’re not my boss, not now and not ever. And if you were? I’d resign. Get your shit together.” I really didn’t need more drama in my life, especially from a job that I was doing as a favour to a friend. Anyone would think Haven was on the brink of curing cancer, not planning an interview with Sandy Fox.

  Haven

  Bollocks. That wasn’t how that was supposed to have gone. I was just so fucking angry that he’d waved me off while he took a call from his girlfriend. Who did he think he was? This was his first day at Rallegra. I wouldn’t do that to a colleague, and I’d been here years. It might not be The Times but we had the highest weekly readership of any magazine in the UK. This was a great gig for him.

  I hated people who didn’t appreciate the charmed life that they had, particularly when it was handed to them on a plate. There must be a million people gagging for his job, but because of his connections he’d waltzed into it and therefore had no regard for it, or any of us that had worked our way up to get here. Life was just too easy for some people.

  But at the same time, I hadn’t set out to have an argument with him. I just couldn’t hold my tongue. I should have been more patient. I had enough enemies in the office, I didn’t need to make new ones.

  I had to get some air. I grabbed my coat and purse and headed to the stairs. I was the only one that used them. I never took the lifts if I was on my own. Six floors up and down. That and running were the only two bits of exercise I did.

  I bit back the tears of frustration that started to form. I seemed to have an amazing ability to sabotage anything good that happened to me. I didn’t want him going to Robert to tell him I was a bitch, and that he wouldn’t work with me. I couldn’t lose this feature. I might be good at my job, but that wouldn’t matter if I pissed off one of Robert’s friends. Jesus, why couldn’t I have sewn my mouth shut? I found it difficult when people brought their personal lives into the workplace, because I tried to keep my life inside and outside the office separate. I didn’t understand why everyone didn’t do the same.

  Once I was outside, I called my brother—one of two people in my life I could rely on. He and my best friend Ash were my people. The ones who I let see all of me. They saw the good and the bad and loved me anyway. Luke was always on my side, and right then I needed to be the whole Haven and not focused, driven, work Haven. “Hey. Am I interrupting?” I asked.

  “No, sweets, what’s going on?” Luke replied.

  “Oh, someone just called me a bitch.”

  “A bitch?” He wasn’t asking me to confirm what I’d said. He was asking me if it was justified.

  “Yeah. A bitch,” I replied sheepishly.

  “And? Were you?”

  I took a deep breath and tears began to trickle from the corners of my eyes.

  “Perhaps a little bit.”

  “You know people don’t get to see your beautiful heart if you do that. What brought that on?” Luke always said exactly the right thing.

  “I didn’t want to be, it’s just I found out I got the Sandy Fox interview and I want to do a really great job on it.”

  “That’s amazing. Well done, you deserve it.”

  “I’m not sure I do. Anyway, Robert will probably give it to Emily now I’ve upset his friend. I just got stressed because if I do a good job, it will help my chances at the promotion I told you about. I want it to be perfect. I want it to be the best celebrity interview we’ve ever done. I have to work with a new photographer, and he’s not taking it seriously. I lost my temper with him.”

  “Do you want me to kill him for you?”

  I laughed and it broke through the self pity. “Yeah, come down and fight your little sister’s battles for her.”

  Luke laughed with me. “I will though, if you want me to. Alternatively, you could apologise.”

  “You’re right. But it’s hard. I want him to care about this as much as I do.”

  “No one is going to care as much as you do about their job. You can’t hold everyone to your high standards, or you’re going to spend your whole life disappointed. So do what you’ve got to do and apologise.”

  I nodded, then realising he couldn’t see me, gulped “Okay” into the receiver.

  “Are you coming over next weekend? Emma’s on call so she might not be around,” he asked, changing the subject. Emma and Luke lived together, but as she was a doctor, she was gone a lot and we normally arranged to see each other when she was at work. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, it was just that I wasn’t sure anyone would be good enough for my brother. Anyone except maybe Ash, my best friend since I was five years old. Ash, Luke and I had grown up together, and Emma didn’t fit when it was the three of us.

  “I told Ash she could come over. But we could both come to you. I know she’d love to see you if Emma’s not around, probably because she can flirt outrageously with you.”

  Luke laughed again. “You’re such a pain. Ash just likes to joke around and she’s known me a long time. She’s like another annoying little sister to me.”

  “Whatever. She’s been in love with you since she was five and she first saw you naked in the paddling pool.”

  “Stop it, Haven. I’m hanging up.”

  I laughed and pressed cancel before he could hang up on me.

  Speaking to Luke always improved my mood, it was good to be reminded that outside of work, I had people who knew and loved the whole me. I marched purposefully toward the coffee shop on the corner and returned to the office, a latte in each hand. Buying Harry a coffee might be a good start at an apology.

  Thankfully he wasn’t around when I got back, so I scribbled a note on a Post-It, apologising if he thought I’d been a bitch, stuck it on one of the lattes and placed it on his desk quickly before he came back.

  I heard him return, but I didn’t glance up from my computer. I hoped I’d be forgiven. I’d over reacted and if we were going to be working together, I needed him not to hate me. My body clenched as I waited for him to say something.

  He didn’t react at all, just packed up his laptop, put on his coat and headed out of the office, taking his coffee, sans Post-It, with him. I guess he was a man who held a grudge. My stomach started churning. How was I going to make this right? I’d have to try a different tactic, but now I needed to be buried in work to take my mind off of it.

  “Jenny,” I said as she walked past my cubicle. “Can we go through the Sandy Fox research?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Five minutes in the conference room?” I suggested.

  She nodded curtly, clearly not happy to be working with me. I wasn’t a tyrant. I sighed.


  “Okay, this is exciting. You must be pleased all your work won’t have gone to waste?” I asked Jenny as she sat opposite me. I wanted to try and motivate her. She could really help with the prep for this interview, and I knew she was a hard worker.

  “Sure.” She said tentatively.

  Okay.

  “So, do you want to run through the main parts, highlighting things you think might create a good angle? We’ll go from there and identify areas that we can dig into during our time with her.”

  “Well, she’s twenty-four. She’s had three number one albums, sold twenty million records and was the youngest female Brit award winner when she won Best Female Artist for the first time.”

  This was all stuff I knew, but I didn’t hurry her along as I usually would have done. Instead, I nodded encouragingly. Sometimes I felt like this job and I were oil and water. I didn’t get the people, and they didn’t get me.

  “Toxic Love will be her first film, but she’s a stage-school kid, so it’s not like she’s never acted before. People say she’s pretty good,” Jenny said. Her shoulders dropped and she sat back slightly. She was starting to relax.

  “What about her personal life? She went out with that Justin Bieber wannabe for a while, didn’t she?”

  “From what I gather, that was all a publicity thing. They share the same manager.”

  “Oh, right. How bloody cynical is that?”

  “That’s show business,” Jenny said as she smiled. I grinned back at her.

  “I guess. Okay, what about other boyfriends? Drugs?”

  “There were rumors going around about her and her manager. She seems very anti-drugs. She’s spoken quite publically about it. I’d be surprised if there was anything there.”

  I sighed. “You think she has a thing for older men?” I asked.

  “Perhaps. I can do a bit more digging if you like? Speak to some of her old friends from stage school?”

  “Yes, that would be great. Good job Jenny. I think we’re going to make a good team.” I was relieved that she was going to be working with me. I needed someone good backing me up.

  “So, we’ll work together on this?” Jenny asked.

  “Of course, unless you don’t want to?”

  She nodded, and grinned. “Yes! I really want to stay involved. I thought you’d kick me off the piece when you got it.”

  I smiled at her, but didn’t respond. What could I say?

  “I heard Harry is going to be involved too?”

  I raised my eyebrows at her.

  “Don’t worry, he’s hot, but not my type. Not enough of a loser.”

  I laughed at her confession.

  “I heard he’s not a proper photographer though,” Jenny said. I liked that she was opening up to me, sharing information that she didn’t strictly need to.

  “What do you mean? Who said that?”

  “Something Robert said to Emily. I think he’s a keen amateur and is just passing time here. I’m not sure he needs to work. He’s loaded apparently.”

  I bloody knew it. No wonder he didn’t respond to my apology. A spoiled rich kid living off Daddy’s money.

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I get the go ahead from Robert. I can’t promise that I’m going to take you to the interviews, but if I get the opportunity I will.”

  “Okay, that would be awesome. I’m just happy to be involved, I wasn’t expecting to get to meet her or anything.”

  Jake

  “You’ve lost your first mover advantage, Jake.”

  “Hal, you and I both know that there’s no such thing. Apple has made a business of letting everyone make their mistakes first and then swooping in and doing it better. That’s exactly what I’m suggesting here. We’re going to do renewable energy better. The initial results of the simulation are incredible.”

  This lunch meeting wasn’t going as well as I’d expected. I’d made a lot of money for Hal in the past. Apparently that didn’t count for much. If I’d known that our conversation was going to be this tricky, I would have chosen a different restaurant. The tables were close together and there seemed to be a million waiters buzzing around, filling our water glasses, bringing us bread, then drinks, then food. It was never ending.

  “But renewable energy is such a long-term game.” My gut twisted at his negativity and my mind started to race, thinking of ways I could break down the science so Hal really understood the potential here.

  “Yeah, but it’s a means of spreading your risk and saving the planet at the same time. I bet you don’t get offers like that every day.” I tried to sound calm and confident, but my palms were beginning to sweat. I should have started investigating getting funding elsewhere. I’d been complacent, assuming Hal was going to hand me a pile of cash.

  “I don’t care about saving the planet, and everyone who’s met me knows that. I don’t get offers like this because I don’t want them.”

  I paused while the waiters interrupted again to clear our plates away. Shit. I could go to other investors, but it would be a long road. I thought Hal would come through for me. I thought he trusted me.

  “We can always go down route two, which means selling out to a Shell or BP at year five. Take a look at the proposal. I think you’ll like it,” I said. I’d done my homework on this technology. If my initial tests were right, we could become a real alternative energy source.

  “You don’t think the oil giants have this capability in house already?”

  “I know they don’t. They try it but ultimately they’re crap at the entrepreneurial stuff, which is why they go around buying companies like Elemental Energy once it’s proven. I know this industry, I’ve seen the results of the testing and I know it will work.”

  “And what are you putting in?” he asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin and placing it on the table. Was he about to leave? My heart started to race.

  “I’m contributing thirty percent of the funding up to year five,” I replied.

  “Fifteen million?”

  I nodded. Would that make a difference?

  “You’re committed, I’ll give you that. I’ll look at it, speak to some people and get my guys to crunch the numbers. No promises.”

  “Good. Thanks. I know you’ll like it.”

  I felt like I’d been in the ring with Tyson when I put a slightly inebriated Hal into his car and started to walk home. I’d been working on this business plan for eighteen months since the sale of my first business, Energy Trade. But Energy Trade had been simple in comparison and hadn’t required anything like this amount of start-up capital. We’d just needed phones, computers and office space to start operating. With Elemental Energy we would need lab research, computer expertise and a much longer lead time before we were making any money. I didn’t want it to fall apart now. Energy Trade had made me money, but Elemental Energy, as well as being profitable, might actually do some good. It could be a legacy.

  “I’m home,” I shouted into the apartment as I closed the door.

  “Hey,” Beth replied. “How did it go?”

  “It was exhausting, but I think I had a break through by the end. He’s going to read the proposal.”

  “You look so tired. Why are you doing this to yourself? You don’t have to work. Why not buy a yacht and become an international playboy?”

  “Yeah, nice idea, but I don’t think that’s really me, do you? I really believe in this renewable energy thing. I know I can make it happen,” I said

  “Well at least get a decent place to live. This place is really starting to gross me out.” My sister had lived with me since following me to England from Chicago.

  “I’m sentimental about the place, what can I tell you?” I was still in the apartment I rented while I was in college. I’d bought it, and my two roommates had moved out eventually, but I’d never had time to decorate it so there were nicer places to live, for sure. I didn’t notice the stuff Beth hated. It was home and it was comfortable. I didn’t want to become one of those guys who started ma
king some money and then felt the need to let everyone know. The wealth didn’t and wouldn’t define me. I was my father’s son however much I made.

  “I’m going to start looking at new places for you.”

  I grinned at her. “You mean for you.”

  “Well for me too. But think how you can impress your dates if you bring them back to mews house in Mayfair or an apartment in Marylebone.”

  “A mews house in Mayfair? You’re planning for me to drop a cool five million on a new house when I’m perfectly happy where I am?”

  “Think of the women.”

  “Now, you’re being offensive. You think I can’t get girls without a big house?”

  Beth laughed. “I admit, my logic is flawed a little there. You’ve never had an issue getting women. But how nice would it be to have somewhere new with more space and a nicer kitchen? And you could get a place without the rat problem or the damp problem or the seventies carpet problem.”

  “Okay. You can look, but I’m not committing to moving.”

  “Wooohooo!” Beth flung her arms around me.

  Seeing her happy was worth every penny of the money I was sure I’d end up spending on a new place. She seemed to be getting better and better since she’d moved to London. Chicago hadn’t been good for her, but in the last few years, she had blossomed. She was sober and about to graduate—neither of which I would have thought possible four years ago when she’d landed at Heathrow. Distance from our father and his new family had helped us both.

  “You’ve not told me about Rallegra? How was it? How’s Robert?” Beth asked.

  “He’s good. He says hello.”

  “Did you enjoy your first day?”

  I shrugged. “I think I ran into some office politics. The girl I’m working on this Sandy article with doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

  “You mean she didn’t beg you to sleep with her within five minutes of meeting her.”

  “I mean she called me a spoiled, entitled rich boy.”