Chapter 7

Beatrix peers through the window from her office to the crowd gathering below. For the past half hour, more and more people have arrived at a steady rate. She expected journalists rather than the average Joes and plain Janes of the city to come, not the other way around. Reports have been coming in at regular intervals since early morning and many are women with hopes of better employment opportunities.

“You know, staring isn’t going to make the time pass any faster,” Danyelle remarks smartly. The girl is lying across the couch, her top open and her finger lazily circling her nipple. “Maybe you should come here and give me some of that attention.”

Keeping her focus out and at the gathering mass, Beatrix frowns. “There are a few more important things this morning that I need to think about.”

“And I’m not on that list, I suppose,” Danyelle fires back, almost childishly.

The tone of the girl’s voice and especially the attitude behind it is enough to drag the CEO away from the window. Beatrix spins, forcing herself to take a seat in the leather chair rather than stomp across the room to slap her girlfriend. “Once again, Danyelle,” she begins, adding a little of her anger to her tone, “this is a business, not a whorehouse.”

Danyelle abruptly bursts out in laughter. “Not a whorehouse?” she demands. “Please.”

“Here it comes,” Beatrix mocks. “What argument does my immature girlfriend have for me today? Or is it better to call it a tantrum?”

“Why are you treating me like a child and not your actual girlfriend?” Danyelle asks, climbing to her feet. “And here I thought you loved me!”

Leaning back in her chair, Beatrix’s frown deepens. “You’re here because I love you,” she explains with as much sympathy as she can. “But you’re acting like a child lately, whining and complaining all the time. You remind me a lot of my sister.”

Danyelle smiles and chuckles a bit. “Great. Now you’re comparing me to your dead sister.”

The comment stings, but Beatrix casts it aside. “Alright, how about this: You’re acting like a horny little boy who just lost his virginity and is begging for more?”

“Whatever,” the girl says dismissively, waving her hand about the air. “Anything to turn this shit on me.”

“I’m not turning shit on anyone,” Beatrix fires back. “I’m just telling you how I see it.”

“And you don’t see your own hypocritical bullshit,” Danyelle nearly yells and she slams her hands down on the desk. “You don’t remember how you fuck clients and prospective business partners? Or how you fucked that reporter to get the story you wanted out there?”

Beatrix smiles, and it’s a genuine one this time. “You’re jealous.”

Danyelle stands up straight, throwing her hand through the air once more. “Here we go with the jealousy crap.”

“I may use it too much,” the CEO admits, “but I’ve got reason to. Both of us may be free to fuck who we want, when we want, but you...” she stands, pointing her finger at the younger woman. “ ... you want to be included. Always.”

Danyelle cannot hide her reddening face. She can equally not deny that she has just been caught. “And is that a problem?” she asks, acting more and more like a neglected child rather than an adult.

Beatrix stops cold. She doesn’t have an honest answer. This was something she has no answer to because she never expected it to be asked. “Maybe not,” she says slyly. “Maybe we need to take a good look at our relationship.”

Danyelle looks up from her stare at the floor with eyes wide like a puppy’s. “Really?”

Beatrix smiles warmly and opens her arms. “Of course. Come here.”

The girl slides forward, embracing her girlfriend. Her breasts mash into Beatrix and for the briefest of moments the woman wants to just tear her girl’s clothes off. But now is not the time for pleasure, nor do they have the any time for distractions. “Let’s stop this bickering,” she offers, stroking Danyelle’s hair. “Let’s get through this press conference and I’ll take you to lunch. We need to talk about some things, yes?”

She feels Danyelle nod against her shoulder. I’m more her mother than anything these last few weeks.

With the crowd roaring and cheering outside, Beatrix stands just within the massive glass doors of the New Eden Enterprises building. Outside, in front of the company’s grand fountain, is her greatest achievement. The suit is covered by an oversized sheet as to keep it hidden until the big reveal. Next to it is the podium where she is to give her speech.

“Are you feeling nervous, ma’am,” Beatrix’s top engineer asks her as she steps up next to her boss.

“I’m not nervous,” Beatrix says, glancing at her young assistant. “In fact, I’ve not felt stage fright in a long time. What about you? Are you nervous?”

“A bit,” the engineer says, looking back. “Well ... maybe quite a bit.”

“Which part are most nervous about?” Beatrix presses. “Is it your performance and having to be nude in front of probably most of the city?”

The young woman laughs nervously. “Not just most of the city,” she says, looking away and down briefly. “This is going to be recorded, too.”

“Then I guess you’ll get your fifteen minutes of fame,” Beatrix says jokingly. “Who knows? Maybe we’ll end up losing you to the call of entertainment.”

The young engineer blushes. “I doubt that’s going to happen.”

Beatrix smiles while looking out toward the podium. She takes a quick glance at her assistant. “You never know. But right now, we’re on.” She pushes the door open and steps through with the engineer on her heels.

As soon as the duo steps onto the platform, the crowd begins to cheer even louder. New Eden’s security assists the police in holding back the mass where needed. When they reach their destination, Beatrix points for her assistant to take her place beside the suit while she proceeds onto the podium.

The CEO stands quietly, waiting for the roars and whistles and cheers to die down before speaking. “Thank you all for coming here today,” she begins. “I am going to reveal to you something that will revolutionize many fields of the working classes from construction to deep sea treasure hunters. This change will herald a new demand for women in the workforce.”

A combination of cheering and booing follows which effectively cuts Beatrix off. She sits silent waiting for the noise to die down again. “My assistant is going to demonstrate, right here, right now. Say hello to the first of a new generations of power suits!”

Two of New Eden’s security steps up, grabbing each a corner of the cloth and pulling it away to reveal the suit. A collective gasp escapes the mass. It brings a smile to the woman’s face. She nods to the young engineer. From this point on actions are going to speak louder than words. The young engineer, covered in only a white cotton robe, places a hand on the suit’s chest plate. The entire front of the suit peels away, allowing easy access for a person to enter it. With her back to the crowd, the engineer drops the robe from her shoulders and lets it fall to the ground.

Hoots and whistles abruptly erupt from across crowd watching. With her back to them, the young woman doesn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her face redden at the unwanted attention. She lifts her leg up to get in, when a loud sound erupts over the gathered people. She spins around to find out what’s going on.