The Midas Game by Abi Silver

Author:Abi Silver
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eye Books
Published: 2021-03-30T13:29:43+00:00

26

Luke stood, open-mouthed, gazing down into the atrium from the first floor balcony. Hundreds of people were pouring into the space-age conference centre. Arriving at the airport had already set his expectations high; the plane swooping down low over the bluest sea – they didn’t call it the Côte d’Azur for nothing – and dropping fast onto the small, sandy spit of land, with the snow-tipped mountains in the distance. And the balmy temperature of 15°C, as he stepped onto the asphalt, only served to lift his spirits even further. Which was just as well, because there was a considerable amount of angst jostling for position inside his body, and it ran the risk of overflowing, if he didn’t keep it at bay.

Naturally, he was chuffed to bits that Eric had asked him to attend, even with the challenge of the new game and the speechwriting elements. But now that both were complete – the former having filled almost every waking moment since that November morning he had taken Eric a coffee, the latter having required five nights of research and some help from his sister with the English – it was always good to have a sounding board for your ideas – he should, in theory, be able to relax.

They had arrived early this morning, checked into their hotel (overlooking the beach) – separate rooms, what a relief – and then taken a short taxi ride to the convention. For the first hour, Eric had introduced Luke to people he knew. In fact, Eric appeared to know everyone they encountered, or have at least one common acquaintance. And, even if he didn’t know the people he met, he had heard stories about them, some of which he recounted to tremendous hilarity. This was Eric at his most affable and charming, all traces of threatening behaviour or martial arts tendencies banished. And with every handshake or back slap or kiss on the cheek, Luke began to believe, for the first time, that Valiant might be in with a shot at the top prize.

Now, one hour into the afternoon session, and after a quick reminder of the key points, delivered in part via a timely trip to the men’s toilet, Eric was on the podium and everyone was listening to him. Not only the 700-strong delegates, but thousands via the online stream. And there was his name in lights: ‘Eric Daniels, CEO, Valiant Enterprises’.

‘Thank you so much for having me,’ Eric began, enveloping the audience in his broadest smile.

Luke felt his pulse begin to rise and sweat broke out across his forehead. Although he was no showman and preferred to stay behind the lens, being the coach rather than the contestant did nothing to reduce his apprehension as Eric opened his mouth again, to speak the words Luke had prepared.

‘I’ve been asked to appear today to represent the small, independent game manufacturer. My company, Valiant, is tiny in comparison to some of the big names. But we’re one of one

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