‘Well, apart from Paula getting marooned on the high wire,’ said Charlie. He was smiling, but there was a hard undercurrent to his voice.
‘Oh come on,’ said Rachel. ‘Paula’s fine. I expect she’s forgotten all about it. I really don’t think we need to keep bringing it up.’ Her voice was like flint hitting rock, fine splinters of words spraying into the air on impact.
‘If I could just say something.’ Will’s interruption broke the tension. ‘Though what happened to Paula was unfortunate and we’ll certainly be having a thorough investigation into what went wrong with that safety cord, in many ways it was also an invaluable learning experience for you guys. The quality of a great team lies in how the stronger members bring along the weaker ones. Not that I’m saying you’re weak.’ He turned his smile on Paula, who had flushed so that her rounded face, damply glowing from all the rich food, took on the texture of lightly sweating red onion. ‘It could have happened to anyone. But it was wicked how everyone rallied around. I think you should all give yourselves a round of applause.’
They all clapped politely, even though Paula looked as if each clap was causing her physical pain.
‘And now,’ Will went on, ‘we’re going to play a few after-dinner games. Nothing involving heights, don’t worry,’ he aimed that remark at Paula. ‘Just a bit of fun to hopefully help us all get to know each other even better.’
Amira’s stomach muscles clenched involuntarily at the last few words. She had a flashback to being the new girl at school and a well-meaning teacher sitting her at the front of the classroom with a tennis ball that she had to bounce to different children in turn asking them their name and then saying hello to Toby or Melanie or whoever when they bounced it back to her.
‘So you might have played this one before,’ Will continued. He was in his civvies tonight – plain black T-shirt, black jeans. Amira wondered what he made of them all. Was he really as enthusiastic as he appeared to be, or were they just another bunch of grey office types, interchangeable with the last lot he’d had in? Reason told her the latter, but still there was that foolish, hopeful voice that said maybe he’d found something unique about them, about her. Suddenly it seemed important that this man, this perfect stranger, didn’t lump her in with all the other faceless workers who streamed in and out of this hotel. I have a degree in Psychology with Criminology, she wanted to tell him. I once spent six months travelling around South America. I climbed a mountain without proper equipment and thought I was going to die, I surfed sand dunes and cycled down a road in Bolivia so dangerous the locals call it Death Road. I volunteer with the Samaritans and dance around my kitchen to the Black Eyed Peas on Saturday mornings. Don’t judge me, she wanted to say. Don’t judge me on my job and the person I have to be at work and the way I simper when my boss makes a joke.
‘This is a word association game. We take it in turns to decide on a category, say “colour”, and then we go around the table saying which colour best sums up our neighbour and why. So I’d say, for example, “Rachel is red because she’s powerful and sexy.”’ He broke off to wink at Rachel. ‘Or you could choose sports, so I could say, I don’t know, “Charlie is snooker because he’s got a lot of balls.”’
Everyone laughed obligingly, though Amira suspected Will had made that joke many times before. She was aware of a tightness around the table, as if people were holding themselves in, muscles tensed, nerves stretched out like the wire cord they’d been balancing on earlier that day. The air between them all vibrated as if someone was blowing one of those whistles so high-pitched that only dogs could hear it.
‘This isn’t going to end well,’ sing-songed Charlie under his breath as he leaned across the table. Charlie was in a strange mood. He’d spent most of dinner looking down at his lap, texting – which was pretty rude, Amira thought. And even when he joined in with odds and ends of conversation, he seemed distracted, his eyes constantly drawn down to his phone. Though he was next to Sarah, he’d hardly said a word to her. He must feel shut out, Amira decided. Normally Charlie would have been the first person Sarah confided in.
‘Right.’ Will smiled. ‘I’m going to sit this one out as I haven’t had the chance to get to know you guys properly yet, but I want you to have fun. This is the chance for you to really think about each other’s qualities. Be creative and generous and don’t spend too long thinking about your answers. Spontaneity is key. Mark, as you’re The Man, why don’t you start. What category are you going to pick?’