I’m about to betray all of that.
He’s being so nice that I want to be sick. But at the same time I can smell the booze on his breath and feel the heat of his body shoved up against mine, and all I can think of is my father, lowering over me.
I am about to nervously crack the joints in my fingers when a voice comes into my head unbidden. If you make that disgusting sound one more time…
I flinch, in spite of myself.
“And that makes me so proud,” Topher is finishing.
I have no idea what to say. Before I can come up with anything, there is a high ringing noise from the far side of the foyer. It is Eva’s assistant, Ani. She is wearing a silk dress that looks like it is made of two scarves tied together, and she is standing on her tiptoes and tapping two champagne flutes together. It makes a ting ting ting sound that echoes around the foyer.
Everyone falls quiet, apart from Elliot. He is still speaking to Rik. His deep bass monotone booms around the silent lobby.
“—server problems with the geosnoop rollout, if we can’t—”
Rik nudges Elliot, who looks around. He breaks off midsentence, his face confused.
Beside me, Topher has gone completely stiff, and his expression is taken aback. This must be Eva’s presentation. But it looks as if Topher knew nothing about it.
Suddenly I know what this is. I know what is happening. This is an ambush.
No. That’s not the right word.
This is a coup.
ERIN
Snoop ID: LITTLEMY
Listening to: Offline
Snoopers: 1
Snoopscribers: 1
“Snoopers!” Eva is saying, in a high-pitched, artificially jolly voice. She is standing on the bottom step of the spiral staircase, though she doesn’t need the extra height, and she looks amazing in her flawless cashmere sheath, like a tall flute of champagne. “I know this wasn’t on the agenda, but Ani and I wanted to welcome you all here and begin the week with a few highlights from the Snoop journey, just to remind you all how amazing you are, and how far we’ve come, and what you, all of you, have contributed to the phenomenon that is Snoop. Will you come into the den for a few minutes? You can bring your drinks.”
There is a general shuffling and a weird feeling of electricity in the air that I can’t quite pin down.
Looking around the room, I can see from the reactions of everyone here, and the expressions on their faces, that the group divides into three camps.
First, there is Eva’s little coterie—which seems to comprise Rik and Ani. They knew about this, and were waiting for her cue. They were gathering round even before she made the announcement, and now that she has spoken they look tense, as if ready for battle.
Then there is a middle ground of people who are surprised, but pleasantly so, and looking forward to the diversion with a cheerful obliviousness. That group includes Tiger, Miranda, and the lawyer, Carl. They are picking up their drinks, chatting away, seemingly quite unaware of the tensions flowing around them.
And finally there is Topher’s little group, who are also surprised—but not in a good way. His assistant, Inigo, looks like a kid who has stepped in a dog mess in new shoes and is about to get shouted at by his dad. Techy Elliot is standing in the corner with his arms folded, and he looks mulish. He is tapping his foot and glaring through his glasses like he’s just been bluffed in a poker game. Topher himself has risen from the couch where he was talking to Liz, and he looks positively alarmed. It’s the first time I’ve seen his boyish charm properly ruffled, and I realize that beneath the charisma and the projected confidence, there’s something else. I’m just not sure what. Is his smooth surface hiding a frightened little boy inside? Or is it something very different, more dangerous perhaps? For a minute I think I see a flicker of anger cross his face.
Finally there is Liz. And I am not sure what camp she is in. She doesn’t fit into any of them—but I think she does know what’s going on. Her face is blank, her glasses reflecting the overhead light so that I can’t see her expression. But she doesn’t look happy. In fact she’s got her arms wrapped round herself like she’s fending off a blow.
“Hold on a second, Eva—” Topher says, with an attempt at his customary tone of command, but