Teddy Spenser Isn't Looking for Love - Kim Fielding Page 0,2

there.” Teddy pointed at an expanse of bare white wall. “A palm-tree beach or snowy mountains. If you framed it right, it would even look a little like a window, and your office wouldn’t be so claustrophobic.”

Romeo squinted at him. “I have screen savers.”

Teddy didn’t point out that the only visible monitor displayed a massive block of tiny text that was probably programming code. He stared pointedly at Romeo instead, eyebrows raised. “You commanded my presence?”

“I asked you to come talk to me, yes.”

“Here I am.”

“Right.” A flicker of emotion, which Teddy couldn’t identify, crossed Romeo’s face. It didn’t seem like a particularly positive emotion, but then he’d rarely seen Romeo crack a smile. He was probably too full of himself to be caught feeling happy with the peons, ordinary-looking people who worked in cubicles and attempted to put together interesting outfits from resale stores and vintage clothing shops.

Romeo grabbed a tablet—apparently three monitors weren’t enough—and came around the desk to stand beside Teddy. He didn’t quite loom, but compared to Teddy’s five-eight in his Bruno Magli boots with the thick heels, Romeo was closer to six feet. In loafers.

“I put something together for the midrange model.” Romeo tapped at the tablet a few times before handing it over.

The mock-up was rough, but it was clear enough to make out details. There was the vase Teddy had spent so many hours designing: a simple powder-coated steel frame around a cylinder of clear glass, and, in front, a gently curved video screen. He’d worked really hard with other Reddyflora employees to make sure the screen would be durable, affordable, water-resistant, and—most important—attractive. The results were excellent, production costs weren’t as challenging as with the base model, and consumers would be able to program the screen to match their mood and décor. Even when the screen was blank, the vase looked nice. Teddy had made sure of that.

But now he furrowed his brow and enlarged the image. “What the hell is that?” Something dark and bulky was just visible at the back of the vase, butted up against the metal frame. He swiped a few times until the tablet showed the back of the vase. “Is that your unit?” He was too upset to blush over his unintended double entendre.

“Yes.”

“But it’s really big!”

“It has to be. It needs to house a processor and battery and USB port, and it needs to be waterproof. Plus there’s the sensor.” He pointed at a plastic prong that extended from the unit into the bottom of the glass vessel.

“You didn’t tell me it would be this big.”

Romeo blew a puff of air. “I did my best. I can’t bend the laws of physics.”

“Scale it down, then. Get rid of some of the bells and whistles.”

“Which bells and whistles would those be? The ones that give it power? The ones that make it think? The ones that provide input from the flowers, which is the entire raison d’être for the unit in the first place?” For once, Romeo’s voice was raised.

Well, Teddy was pissed off too. “Your unit is fugly! Who’s going to want to buy a vase that looks like ass? And not good ass either.”

“Find a way to camouflage it.”

Teddy growled. “Find a way to camouflage it. Do you think I have a magic wand? Good design takes time, Romeo, and you can’t just throw stuff together on the fly. God, and we almost have the specs worked out on production costs. But if I start adding more pieces, Imani will eviscerate me. Slowly.”

“I can’t help any of that.” Romeo took the tablet and moved back toward his chair. “This is what we’re going to need to make the software operate.” His jaw was set and his eyes flinty.

Teddy opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t think of anything convincing. He didn’t know squat about programming or about the hardware needed to make gizmos run properly. He designed and marketed, making things look pretty and convincing people they couldn’t live without them, all without blowing the company’s budget. He had no idea how to work that now.

Through gritted teeth he managed “Send me those files,” before marching out of Romeo’s office and into the cubicle area. His imaginary upbeat show tune had been replaced by a wailing lament. Crap.

Time to find some lunch.

Chapter Two

“Jennifer Murray had another baby. I saw it on the Facebook. Very cute little girl.”

Teddy slumped a little deeper into his couch and considered switching to speakerphone. If he did, would