Page 46 of Total Creative Control
But ultimately, his biggest assets were his wealth and his power, and on those two fronts, he simply could not compete with Charlie Alexander, whose family were bona fide billionaires. Charlie could buy and sell Geoff twenty times over and would not hesitate to do so if it suited him.
As Geoff watched his wife hanging all over Charlie and giggling her inane little laugh, his unremarkable face was utterly miserable.
Toni took pity on him. “Hi, Geoff,” she said, drawing his attention away from them. “It’s good to see you again. How have you been?”
Geoff blinked, his expression at first puzzled, then grateful. “Hi! Toni, right? I’m good, thanks. And you?”
“Never better,” she replied mildly and launched into the small talk she was so good at. Lewis tuned out of their conversation, uninterested, and, pocketing his phone, moved towards Aaron.
When he reached him, he said, under his breath, “So, you actually read the information pack?”
“Yup,” Aaron replied. “I couldn’t get to sleep last night.” His gaze on Lewis was suddenly intent. “I gather you didn’t?”
Lewis laughed, though it was a hollow sound. “Fuck, no. Bad enough that I have to be here.” He tried for an insouciant smile but could tell from Aaron’s expression that he’d failed. Aaron’s light brown eyebrows furrowed.
He looked—worried?
“It can’t be that bad,” Lewis said. “No one ever died of embarrassment, right?”
Aaron opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped when Hippolyta clapped loudly and said, “Okay, we’re all here now, so we’ll make a start very soon.”
Everyone fell silent and looked at her. She smiled serenely.
“Before we get going, I want to tell you a little bit about what we’ll be doing today. Then we’ll have a short break to give you all the opportunity to come and speak privately with me if you have any concerns or questions about the process. And then those of us that want to go ahead will make a start.”
“I really don’t think you need to—” Charlie began, but he fell silent when she shot him a look. Hippolyta let the silence drag for a few moments, letting it just edge into awkwardness before she returned her gaze to the broader group.
Lewis felt like cheering. He glanced at Aaron, expecting him to be biting back a smile too, but Aaron’s brows were still knitted together in that faint frown.
“So,” Hippolyta said, “for the next few hours we’re going to be focusing on using movement to unlock creativity. We’re not aiming to get too heavy or deep, but sometimes, this sort of work can open difficult things up for people, especially anyone who might have any unresolved issues.” She let her assessing gaze travel over the group, and Lewis felt a prickle of discomfort travelling up his spine.
“As it happens,” she went on, “most people experience some level of emotion during the workshop, so again, if that’s something you think you’d be uncomfortable with, please do speak to me. In terms of what we’ll actually be doing, I prefer to let that unfold over the course of the workshop, but in very basic terms, you’ll be working in the group and with your partner in a variety of movement-related exercises which will help you identify and explore areas where you may feel creatively congested.”
She went on in the same vein for a while longer, blabbing on about movement being theprimary human languageand how it could help people having problems accessing their creativity toaddress internal obstacles through an alternative form of creative expression.
Lewis fought the desire to openly scoff. His shoulder twinged, and he rubbed absently at the sore spot. Hippolyta caught his eye and, raising her brows, said, “You may even find it helps you with that sore shoulder you’ve got.”
Before he could respond, she was clapping her hands again. “Okay, so take a few minutes just now. Anyone who has questions, come and see me at the other end of the gallery. Everyone else, get yourselves some water from the drinks area and each pair grab a mat. Spread yourselves out—each pair should be a good couple of metres away from the other pairs. Oh, and we’re going to be working barefoot, so take your shoes off.”
With that, she strolled off, leaving the rest of them standing there.
Charlie immediately set a proprietary hand on Milly’s shoulder and steered her towards the drinks table. Geoff stared after them forlornly.
Toni sighed and walked over to him, saying cheerfully, “I gather you and I are going to be partnered up.” Geoff smiled wanly at her.
Which at least proved to Lewis that todaycouldbe worse. He could be Toni. Stuck with the guy being cuckolded by a billionaire.
Putting Toni and Geoff out of his mind, Lewis took a step towards the pile of rolled-up mats.
“What are you doing?” Aaron asked.
“What does it look like?” Lewis retorted, turning to look at him. “I’m getting a mat. Figured we’d do that first, then grab our drinks.”
“But aren’t you, you know…?”
Lewis frowned. “Aren’t I what?”
Aaron was silent for a moment. Then he blurted, “Aren’t you going to speak to Hippolyta?”