Page 14 of The Life Experiment
With a nod, Peter’s controlled persona slotted back into place. ‘Sure, son. I’ll see you outside.’
Angus watched his father walk away. The departure created an ache in his soul that he couldn’t put words to, but Angus’s phone ordered him to push those feelings aside and answer the call.
‘Angus,’ Saira said when he picked up. ‘I’m glad I caught you. I’m calling with what I hope is exciting news.’
‘Oh?’
Through the window, Angus saw his father return to Gilly’s side. He kissed her cheek. She leaned her head on his chest. Together, they stood tall, like two people who belonged in their world completely.
‘I’m pleased to say we’d like to invite you to participate in The Life Experiment. Congratulations!’ Saira cheered. ‘If you’re still on board, we’ll set up a meeting to run through the aim and expectations of the study, then send the contract for you to read over. As previously mentioned, you have seven days to think—’
‘I’ll do it,’ Angus interjected. ‘I want to do it. I want to be part of the experiment.’
‘Angus,’ Saira replied sternly, although he could hear the ghost of a smile in her voice. ‘While I appreciate your enthusiasm, you need to be sure that this is something you want to do. The work we’re doing could change your life.’
Dry-mouthed, Angus studied the scene outside once more. The glasses full to the brim, the tables stuffed with uneaten food. The abundance, the insincerity, the privilege – it was all he could see. It was everything he needed to change.
As Angus’s gaze settled on his father, something in his chest tugged. Whatever Peter was hoping for him to find, Angus was going to do it. The Life Experiment would be the catalyst. From there, Angus would bloom. Anything to make his father, and himself, proud.
7Layla
‘Layla, have you got one? Layla? Layla!’
It was only when Rashida clapped in her face that Layla realised she had drifted into a daydream. Startling, she looked to her friend. ‘Sorry, what?’
‘Michelle wants an updated witness list for the Iso-Marks hearing. Do you have one?’
Straightening, Layla searched her computer. The names of clients and codes for current matters flitted across her screen. When she found what Rashida was looking for, she mailed it across.
‘Thanks,’ said Rashida, before flicking her gaze to Layla once more. ‘Are you okay? You seem distracted.’
‘I’m fine,’ Layla replied, but the words weren’t entirely true. In three days’ time, she was heading to OPM Discoveries headquarters again, but she wouldn’t be completing a test.
This time, she would find out when she would die.
Goosebumps lined Layla’s arms. Initially, they had been the markers of excitement, but now only nerves hummed through Layla. And who could blame her for being scared? All her life, she had followed a plan and ticked off her goals one by one. Sure, a lot of hard work went into making them happen, but Layla wasn’t afraid of hard work. No, she was afraid that her hard work might be for nothing.
Knowledge that The Life Experiment could provide.
Discovering when you were going to die was not a decision to make lightly – Saira had stressed that multiple times. For every positive it could bring, Layla worried that there were three negatives. When Layla felt as tired and beaten down as she did, was there room in her brain for more pessimism?
As if to illustrate that point, Sinead chose that moment to return to her desk. Layla could tell she’d been crying.
‘You okay?’ she asked as Sinead took a seat.
‘I’m fine,’ Sinead replied, in a voice that sounded anything but.
Rashida and Layla caught each other’s eye. It wouldn’t take much time out of their day if they took Sinead for a coffee. They could use the machine in the breakroom if they didn’t want to leave the office and be back at their desks in twenty minutes.
But as Layla’s attention drifted to the forty-three unread emails in her inbox that had arrived in the last hour, she stamped down those thoughts and got back to work. Across the pod of desks, Rashida did the same.
Opening a draft of a briefing, Layla skimmed what was written so far. William Addington was taking the lead on this one, and his work was sloppy as usual. Part of Layla wanted to leave it and let William stumble over his own incompetency, but she couldn’t do that. Not when Mayweather & Halliwell demanded perfection.
So, silently and resentfully, Layla got to work improving what was written. With each letter she fired through the keyboard, the anger Layla spent her days suffocating smouldered. Soon, her lungs were aflame. What was she doing?
Seriously, what was shedoing?
Covering for colleagues who wouldn’t think twice about throwing her under the bus and ignoring the pain of someone sat two desks away… Was this the life Layla wanted? Was this the person she wanted to be?
