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“Of course they do. It’s aspirational. I don’t mind that – I approve of ambition.”

“Why am I here?” Alex changed the subject abruptly. “You don’t need to impress me – you own me.”

“That’s right, I do.” Tyler sat down in his huge leather desk chair and reclined, looking pleased with himself. “It still gives me a kick, every time, to know I own a Lytton. Who’d have thought it, huh? With all our family history.” He shook his head, chuckling.

Alex gazed at him stonily; Tyler waved a hand.

“Aw, you have no sense of occasion, Alexander. Okay – have it your way. You’re here because I say so – that’s your entire life in a nutshell now.

However…” Tyler paused, looking thoughtful.

“It’s been a couple of months, and I thought it was time to broaden your experience, so you’ll accompany me to my meetings today. ”

“Why?” Alex blurted, confused.

Tyler pursed his lips irritably. “We’re back to ‘because I say so’, Alexander. Do keep up. You’re brighter than this. I want you to watch and learn today – think you can do that?”

“Yes, I’m sure I can manage it,” Alex snapped, not even bothering to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

“Good. Now sit over there, keep still, and shut up,” Tyler ordered, jerking his head at yet another vast leather sofa in the corner.

Alex did as he was told, watching in silence as Tyler recorded some memos, blasted a few hapless staff members in a group holochat, and played twenty minutes of carpet golf.

He followed when Tyler went walkabout, stopping to talk to various members of his staff along the way, sharing jokes and asking about their families as if he really cared.

Alex noticed that they all wore ID tags.

He remembered his father saying that the government provided tax incentives for every IS he employed.

This was to tackle the huge housing crisis and get people out of the Quarterlands and government work camps, but Alex wondered if the unintended consequence was to turn everyone into indies and reduce their rights and freedoms accordingly.

Tyler’s office indies stared at Alex curiously, much to his discomfort.

To them, he was probably shocking and exotic: the drug addict playboy who’d brought down his family.

He’d been bored on Ghost Eye City, but now he almost wished he was back there, locked away from prying eyes.

Luckily, the workers were so scared of Tyler that they didn’t speak to him directly; they just looked.

Returning to his office, Tyler instructed Alex to sit again by clicking his fingers and pointing at the sofa.

A short while later, two staff members entered and perched in front of his desk to discuss the budget for a project Tyler was keen to pursue.

There seemed to be some kind of a cash-flow crisis that they were concerned about.

“We can’t really afford it at the moment. It’s not in the budget,” an earnest middle-aged man said.

“You know I don’t like the word ‘can’t’, Anders,” Tyler said genially.

“It’s a significant investment, and you’ve sunk so much into the floating city project,” a small, mousy-haired woman pointed out.

“We’ll get a huge return on it one day.” Tyler shrugged.

“Yes, but not today. Can’t this new project wait?”

“No.” Tyler glanced at Alex. “No, it can’t.”

It seemed that even Tyler’s massive wealth had its limits; Alex wondered why this project was so important to him.

Tyler dismissed his employees and turned to Alex. “In business, if you’re not moving forward, you’re going backward,” he announced. “There’s no standing still.”

“But if you don’t have the money?” Alex asked, genuinely interested in how Tyler ran his business.

“Money.” Tyler laughed. “Money attracts money, Alexander. That’s something your father never learned. You have to borrow money in order to make money. ”

“My father hates borrowing. He likes to own everything he has, so that no bank can ever take it away from him.”

“I know, and that’s why he’s run his company into the ground over the years.

You need to speculate to accumulate – that’s the oldest business wisdom in the book.

Your father needed to invest, but instead he’s just trundled along.

He’s pedestrian, uninspired. Being in business is about creativity, not caution. ”

Alex wanted to argue, but instead he remembered why he’d fallen under Tyler’s spell in the first place. He might be a complete bastard, but nobody could deny his business acumen.

“You had vision,” Tyler said, leaning back in his chair and gazing at Alex broodingly. “You could have turned that company around. You could have been a great businessman, Alexander. You still can.”

He said it as if it were tantalisingly within reach, instead of the impossibility Alex knew it to be. What was going on here? Was Tyler offering him a lifeline?

“We make a great team,” Tyler continued. “You and I – we’re more alike than you think. There’s work to be done here, and you’re the one to do it, Alexander.”

Alex didn’t know what to make of that, but he had no chance to reply because Tyler stood up suddenly. “Lunch!” he announced, striding towards the door.

They ate together in a private dining suite a few floors down. Tyler was as amusing and entertaining as he’d been the night he’d taken Alexander to Ghost Eye for dinner and tried to impress him. Alex didn’t know why, because Tyler had made it clear that Alex was nothing more than his whore.

“Your duck designs,” Tyler said, leaning across the table towards him. “Wouldn’t you like to see them in action? Wouldn’t you like to drive around in one of those beautifully designed AVs, Alexander?”

Alex frowned. “Are you taunting me?”

“No, I mean it. Your designs are good – wouldn’t you like to be part of making them happen? I don’t think you ever cared about making money. I think you only ever cared about making something beautiful. Well, I’m offering you that chance.”

“To be part of your team, working on my ducks?” Alex felt his breath catch in his throat. Maybe Tyler realised he’d made a mistake in locking him up. Perhaps he realised how much more use he could be making something beautiful. Or was he being tricked again?

“You have a talent, and I want to make good use of it,” Tyler said earnestly. “The Destiny AV range will happen; the question is whether you want to be a part of it or not.”

“You told me you have engineers and designers – why do you need me?”

“It’s in the name – Destiny. Your destiny, Alex, and mine. Those designs are fantastic – and I know you want to make them happen as much as I do.” Tyler sat back and glanced at his watch. “We should move on. We have an important meeting to attend.”

He led the way to yet another floor and another suite of plush offices – this time to a boardroom with a gleaming white table in the centre and twelve black leather chairs around it. Alex followed, still reeling from the unexpected turn the day had taken.

Tyler sat at the head of the table and gestured to Alex to sit on his right-hand side. At 2p.m. the door opened, and a tall, silver-haired man entered the room.

“Ah, Jake – good to see you.” Tyler stood up and shook hands with the man.

“This is Alexander Lytton – although I’m sure he needs no introduction,” he added with a grin.

“His reputation precedes him. Alexander – this is Jake Harper from Parminters.” Alex looked at him blankly.

“The bank,” Tyler explained. “It’s small but exclusive – it specialises in private banking services. ”

Harper looked at him curiously. Alex wondered what he saw – the “bad seed” who’d ruined his family or someone to be pitied?

He couldn’t tell. The man was in his forties and fit, with a lean, hard body clothed in an expensive suit.

He was also very handsome, with aquiline features and a square jaw.

His crisp cologne teased Alex’s nostrils.

They all sat down at the table, and one of Tyler’s many assistants brought them coffee.

“So, I asked you here today, Jake, because—” Tyler began.

“You want money,” Harper interrupted brusquely. There was nothing affable about this man. “Question is, why not go to your other financiers, George? Why come to Parminters? Could it be you’re so maxed out that they won’t lend you another penny? If so, why should we?”

“You’ve seen the designs.” Tyler clicked on his holopad, and Alex was mesmerised to see one of his own designs floating as a holoimage in front of them. “They’re good.”

Harper glanced across the table at Alex. “These are the Lytton designs? The ones that got him arrested?” He looked oddly interested in that fact.

“Oh yes. Alexander here has been a very bad boy. Talented and beautiful, but very naughty.” Tyler grinned.

“I thought his designs were crap,” Harper said dismissively.

“They’re not crap!” Alex cried hotly, without meaning to, the words just coming out.

Harper raised an eyebrow. “Tyler Tech couldn’t get them to work last time – what makes you think we should sink money into a second attempt?”

“They will work.” Alex felt his hands clench into stubborn fists. “They’re beautiful, and people will buy them.”

Harper glanced at him coldly. “Your IS seems to be talking out of turn,” he said to Tyler.

“You’re right. He is.” Tyler suddenly leaned over and slapped his cheek. “Sit still and shut up, boy.”

Alex pressed his hand to his face in shocked surprise, the humiliation smarting more than the slap. Harper’s eyes gleamed.

“You know the designs are good,” Alex said to Tyler. “You know the only reason they didn’t work last time was because you sabo–”

Tyler jumped to his feet. “Excuse us, Jake. I want to have a few words with this rude young man.” He grabbed Alex’s arm and dragged him into a small, empty room next door.

“I don’t understand,” Alex protested as Tyler closed the door. “I thought you wanted me involved. I thought that’s why you took me in there. I thought you wanted this bank’s money.”