Playing With Power - Book 2: New Adult Office Romance by Adele Huxley Read Free Book Online Page B

change?”
    “Landon, really, I was out of line earlier. I shouldn’t have said those things.” She twirled the wine around in her glass, avoiding his eyes.
    “Okay, just so we can get past this, I’m officially stating that I’m not interested in investing with StyleSpur. Nothing you said affected my decision, it’s simply not the right opportunity for me at the moment. There. Happy?”
    “Well, happy isn’t the right word,” she laughed nervously. “Satisfied, I guess.”
    “Pretty, smart, and easy to satisfy,” he replied with a smirk. Before her jaw even had a chance to drop he said, “I’m sorry, now I’m the one speaking out of turn. Please, here’s your chance to get it out. Might even be therapeutic.”
    Lauren would look back at this moment for the rest of her life. It was one of the few times where it was obvious life could’ve gone down two different paths. She never regretted her choice but sometimes wondered, usually late at night after a difficult day, what the other path would have looked like. Something Landon said earlier in the day on the phone bubbled to the surface of her mind. I’m giving you the opportunity. It’s your decision. With a lump in her throat and plenty of liquid courage, she took a deep breath and told Landon about the idea she’d pitched to Parker.
    “One of the biggest problems StyleSpur has faced from the start was inconsistency in sizing between retailers. Not only do women come in all different shapes, there isn’t one standardized rule for sizing, sometimes not even in the same company. Add to this the growing trend of vanity sizing and the company has always struggled to manage this headache.
    “Now, believe it or not, I’m utterly clueless when it comes to fashion. I grew up in a rural area and wore jeans and sweatshirts most of my life. I faced a steep learning curve when I moved to the city and started working in a fashion-forward company. I knew nothing about body types, accessories, colors, fit, cut. Even now, I feel like I’m still a bit of a novice, but it’s something that’s always stuck with me. It’s a barrier to entry for a lot of women and that’s not good for business. Sure, we make it easier for them to buy clothes but they might not even know what clothes to buy.
    “So I started thinking. By triangulating three normal web cameras and a little user inputted data, I could conceivably tailor clothes perfectly to their body. Not only that, I could make suggestions on what colors work well with their skin type or what accessories work with a certain neckline. Levi’s has already proved that customers are willing to pay a little extra for custom tailored clothes. I think it’s a natural progression in the industry, especially as 3-D printing and manufacturing changes.”
    He regarded her for a long moment and his expression disclosed nothing. Lauren couldn’t handle his penetrating gaze and looked down to the empty glass in her hand. It wasn’t an emotion she’d anticipated, but she felt utterly exposed. To have her concept laid out bare, to actually stand up and declare what she’d do differently to someone outside her circle of friends, it was surprisingly terrifying. Why do I get the sense I’ve completely screwed things up here? she thought.
    “Do you have a working prototype of this?”
    “Not yet. I’ve worked on it in my spare time but I’m not close to finishing.”
    “But you know it can work?”
    “Yeah, absolutely,” she said. “There’s nothing that should prove too difficult. They already do similar modelling in video games.”
    Landon seemed to retreat into himself slightly, his mind working. After a moment he smiled and nodded, as if coming to some conclusion.
    “Listen, I appreciate you going through everything with me. It’s getting late and unfortunately, I’m expecting a phone call from Japan.”
    Lauren got to her feat clumsily, the wine and sudden shift in tone leaving her a little wobbly. He followed her