"Woah Emma. That's quite the..." West said.
"Statement." Kayla finished his sentence.
"You like?" Emma said as she twirled around.
The blue dress clung to her body, highlighting her curves. If she could even call it a dress. The only thing it was actually covering were her breasts, leaving plenty of cleavage on display with the low neckline, her hips and her ass, which she felt could slip out at any moment. She felt vulnerable wearing it, but her smile would never reveal that.
"What happened to the whole scantily clad women spiel you gave the twins?" West asked.
"They made some good counter arguments and I think they were right."
Kayla and West looked at each other. Although it blended with the dress, the bright blue light caught West's eye.
"Are you wearing a collar?"
Emma smiled. She had no recollection of what Francis programmed, but she knew what to say if anyone asked about the collar.
"Yes, you wouldn't believe how productive it makes me. I got so much done yesterday."
West was skeptical. Kayla hadn't the slightest clue that something could be wrong.
"Good to see you trying new things, Em." Kayla said.
Francis and Lyla stuck out like sore thumbs as they made their way towards the group. Francis was wearing a full suit complete with tie and Lyla was dressed professionally in a conservative dress that still showed off her hourglass figure.
"Good to see you went with our recommendation, Emma." Lyla said.
"I'm really happy you suggested it. I look amazing."
Emma couldn't believe she was wearing the ridiculous dress. Never in a million years would she wear something so slutty to a client meeting. She looked like a hooker they picked up off the street. West was the only one who thought something was off. With the collar around her neck, he was convinced the twins were up to no good. It gave Emma hope.
"By the way, it's just going to be the twins and I in this presentation." Emma said. "You two can enjoy the morning off."
"We got this." Francis added confidently.
"I think I'd like to see it." West said.
Emma looked at the twins. "Would you give us a moment?"
She grabbed her friends and brought them a few feet down the hallway.
"Look, I am giving them a chance to prove themselves here and I don't want you to be dragged in if this fails."
"Lockton would hate that we didn't give any input or feedback." West said.
Emma wanted West to keep seeing through her bullshit. But her clever mind knew how to work around that.
"Can you trust me on this, please?" Emma said.
Kayla was happy to have the day off, but she wasn't the issue. West hesitated, staring at the collar, but finally conceded.
"Fine, but if this blows up on all of us then that trust is gone."
His tone was serious. She couldn't tell if he was mad at not being in the presentation or if he knew something was up but had no justifiable means to act on it. They left and Emma returned to the twins.
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Francis said.
Emma smiled mockingly at him. Thankfully, the programming allowed her to be herself when it was just the three of them.
"What did you do to me?" Emma said.
"We didn't do anything." Francis said.
"I would never wear this dress to client meeting or dismiss West and Kayla. Tell me..."
"Kollar Bot." Lyla said.
Emma's face went blank and her body snapped to attention.
"Thank God for that trigger." Francis said.
Emma was again trapped as a passenger in her own body. With the collar on, the twins had free reign to do whatever they wanted. There must have been a reason she was dressed like this. The twins led her to the conference room to set up prior to their meeting. She had no idea what presentation they were using or in what capacity they were using her. The twins weren't stupid though. If Emma prepared a full presentation to avoid the risk of pissing off Mr. Lockton, then their best option was to use that same presentation.
Sure enough, the familiar slide from her productive day appeared on the screen. Crisis adverted. Lyla led her over to the side and placed a sign in her hands. She was dressed like a slut because they wanted to use her for their display. Even after she warned them, they still opted to use some form of sex appeal.
"Let's see, do pose 5." Lyla said.
When a new model started at Lockton, the first skill that was drilled into them was the poses. There were 30 different poses the models had to know, without hesitation, so all the leader had to do was yell the pose number. Lyla and Francis knew Emma's background and were using it to their advantage. Emma put her right leg forward with her right hand on her hip. Her left arm held the sign and she smiled big with perfect posture.
"Perfect. Stay like that." Lyla said.
Emma remained in her pose. Instead of leading the presentation, she was now a prop. Lyla and Francis prepared the room and patiently waited for the client to enter. Emma silently judged their every move. It's the only thing she could do being stuck as a mannequin. To her surprise, Francis and Lyla maintained a high level of professionalism. They greeted the clients, lead them to their seats and offered them drinks. The clients were receptive in the introduction and relaxed as they sat down at the table. A few eyes wandered her way, but all focus was on the presentation.
The difference between the twins' practice presentation and the one she was watching was night and day. Their composure and confidence gave the client comfort in what they were pitching. Emma, although still hating them for relegating her to an object, was impressed. The CEO, Norman, and CFO, Cliff, were grinning from ear to ear. But the man on the end stayed neutral throughout. The start-up investor Morgan Bradley, a handsome young man, made his money starting up tech companies and selling them at a large profit. This company was another one of his babies on the verge of breaking out and Lockton Consulting could either make or break them.
Morgan twirled his pen expertly in his hand. That was never a good sign. The goal was to have clients engaged, not actively passing the time by distracting themselves. By the end of the pitch, the twins were content, but they also picked up on the unenthusiastic third member.
"Any questions?" Francis said.
Morgan put his pen down.
"Yes, let's not put lipstick on the pig to dress up what we do. We build private server areas for companies in specific niches. Nothing sexy about that. But you're trying to sell us this premium service we don't even need." Morgan said. "We know what industries we're targeting and quite frankly your company hasn't the slightest idea about security concerns in this type of environment. So why do we really need you?"
Francis looked at Lyla who stood dumbfounded. A legitimate issue from the client and the twins had no idea how to address it. Emma knew Morgan was all about security concerns. His entire history of companies had security as a prime focus. The point of the presentation was not to present Lockton as a solution to all their problems, it was to present Lockton as a company that can brand it and spread it faster than they could themselves. A point that was clearly not communicated properly.
"Mr. Bradley with all due respect, our services are premium for a reason. You're right. We haven't the slightest idea about security, but that's your job, not ours. Our job is to make sure any company that needs a private well-secured facility built, the first name they think of is Legendary Vaults." Lyla said.
Emma always knew Lyla wore the pants for the twins. Morgan let the silence hang. The first person to speak after a tense stand off was usually the one conceding. The CEO and CFO waited patiently. Clearly it wasn't them making the final decision. Their eyes wandered to Emma. All she could do was smile back holding the client's logo in her arms.
"We'll give you two months." Morgan said.
"Two months is all we need to get you results. I propose we agree to the current deal for that time frame and then talk long-term plans after that point." Lyla said.
"I'll have my lawyers visit Lockton Consulting next week." Morgan said.
"Excellent. It was a pleasure meeting with you all." Lyla said.
Emma was mad. But she was proud. It became abundantly clear that Francis was an anchor on her career. If she didn't release him, she might just sink with the ship. If Emma could convince Lyla that Francis is only going to drag her down, then she might have a chance to get out from under their control.
The twins shook hands with the panel of clients, thanking them again for taking the time to meet. Morgan applauded Lyla on her confidence and negotiation skills. He motioned over to Emma. Francis happily took over the conversation and lead him over.
"This is a Kollar Bot. We used an image of one our models to give you an idea of the quality of models we have." Francis said.
Morgan made eye contact with Emma. He was nobody's fool.
"Do you mind if I take this Kollar Bot?" Morgan said smoothly.
Francis hesitated. Lyla stepped in.
"Of course. It belongs to the hotel, not us. She's all yours."
Morgan grabbed the sign out of Emma's hand and gave it to Francis.
"Perfect." Morgan said. "Kollar Bot follow me."
Emma followed Morgan out of the room. She couldn't believe they just gave her away as a party favor. The only silver lining was how attractive and confident Morgan was. Even if she didn't have the collar, she'd probably still go with him. Her dumb smile was stuck on her face as she followed him into the elevator. Inside, Morgan ignored her while he used his phone.
When they entered his room, he ordered her to walk to the corner of the room as he undid his tie.
