Impact,” “Life’s a Breach, Don’t Burn Your Brand” and “Orgasm: The Broadband of Human Connection.” Eve read out the names of the panels she wanted to attend later that day, scratching her fingernail along the conference schedule on her tablet. She tapped on a few of the links to read who would be speaking.
“Blergh! This guy’s a douche. That guy is really a douche. Ugh, who gave him a panel here? Why didn’t anyone give me a panel here over that guy?” she grumbled.
The lanyard attached to Imogen’s badge stuck in her hair as she tried to pull it over her head.
“Keep your badge,” Eve snapped, looking up. Her tone was enoughto push Imogen over the edge. Rude just didn’t work with her. She had been through the terrible twos twice and was not about to go through it a third time.
“The badge was just for today, and I am heading back to the hotel,” Imogen said, weary of this constant micromanagement.
“Who cares?…The more badges you have on here, the more important you look.” Imogen noticed Eve now had a plethora of brightly colored plastic rectangles hanging from her neck in addition to plastic bracelets parading up and down her forearm. She had accumulated them visiting various booths and suites within the conference hub.
“Eve, I’m tired.”
“That’s lame. You should make the most of being here.”
Did she just say “lame”?
“I’m exhausted and this isn’t really my crowd.”
The lack of women at the event was startling. Imogen had never been somewhere so laden with testosterone or with people who looked like they would prefer to be alone in a cool, dark room.
Eve narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, ready to explain yet again the gravity of being at such an important tech conference. Then she turned her head, distracted. “Oh! There’s Jordan Brathman from FashionBomb. We’ve been emailing about doing a content partnership. I’m going to catch up.” With that, Eve gravitated in the direction of someone more important, shoving the double doors back open with both palms, not bothering with a good-bye.
As the doors closed, Imogen breathed a sigh of relief and again tried to tackle the task of removing all badges and name tags from her person.
“Imogen?” She turned to see who could possibly be asking for her. His bright blue shirt was even more dazzling in the sunlight.
“I’m Rashid. We met earlier.”
Imogen was surprised by how happy she was to see a familiar face here. “Of course. Hi. Lovely to see you again.”
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled expectantly at her.
“I am trying to figure out where to get a taxi so I can head back to our hotel. We have an early flight in the morning.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, the idea of going back to that dingy hotel room grew less and less appealing, even if it did mean a few blissful hours free of Eve.
“That’s a shame. I was hoping you would stick around. Have a bit of fun? There is always the Awesomest Party Ever….”
She glanced at her watch and thought about the sound of the ice machine. What did she have to lose?
“I could probably join you for an hour or two. What exactly is there to do here?”
“What isn’t there to do here is the better question! My lady, I am going to give you the full DISRUPTTECH! experience.” Rashid bent down to one knee. “Are you ready for this?”
Imogen shook her head from side to side. “I don’t actually think that I am.” The young man handed her what looked like a milk carton.
“Here. First have a box of water.”
“Box?” She flipped the rectangle over in her hands.
“Better for the Earth. Entirely made of recyclable biodegradable hemp-based cardboard.” The writing on the side of the carton simply read: “I am not a water bottle.”
Rashid introduced her to two of his colleagues. AJ, his chief technology officer, was the tallest Asian gentleman Imogen had ever seen in
“Blergh! This guy’s a douche. That guy is really a douche. Ugh, who gave him a panel here? Why didn’t anyone give me a panel here over that guy?” she grumbled.
The lanyard attached to Imogen’s badge stuck in her hair as she tried to pull it over her head.
“Keep your badge,” Eve snapped, looking up. Her tone was enoughto push Imogen over the edge. Rude just didn’t work with her. She had been through the terrible twos twice and was not about to go through it a third time.
“The badge was just for today, and I am heading back to the hotel,” Imogen said, weary of this constant micromanagement.
“Who cares?…The more badges you have on here, the more important you look.” Imogen noticed Eve now had a plethora of brightly colored plastic rectangles hanging from her neck in addition to plastic bracelets parading up and down her forearm. She had accumulated them visiting various booths and suites within the conference hub.
“Eve, I’m tired.”
“That’s lame. You should make the most of being here.”
Did she just say “lame”?
“I’m exhausted and this isn’t really my crowd.”
The lack of women at the event was startling. Imogen had never been somewhere so laden with testosterone or with people who looked like they would prefer to be alone in a cool, dark room.
Eve narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, ready to explain yet again the gravity of being at such an important tech conference. Then she turned her head, distracted. “Oh! There’s Jordan Brathman from FashionBomb. We’ve been emailing about doing a content partnership. I’m going to catch up.” With that, Eve gravitated in the direction of someone more important, shoving the double doors back open with both palms, not bothering with a good-bye.
As the doors closed, Imogen breathed a sigh of relief and again tried to tackle the task of removing all badges and name tags from her person.
“Imogen?” She turned to see who could possibly be asking for her. His bright blue shirt was even more dazzling in the sunlight.
“I’m Rashid. We met earlier.”
Imogen was surprised by how happy she was to see a familiar face here. “Of course. Hi. Lovely to see you again.”
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” He clasped his hands behind his back and smiled expectantly at her.
“I am trying to figure out where to get a taxi so I can head back to our hotel. We have an early flight in the morning.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, the idea of going back to that dingy hotel room grew less and less appealing, even if it did mean a few blissful hours free of Eve.
“That’s a shame. I was hoping you would stick around. Have a bit of fun? There is always the Awesomest Party Ever….”
She glanced at her watch and thought about the sound of the ice machine. What did she have to lose?
“I could probably join you for an hour or two. What exactly is there to do here?”
“What isn’t there to do here is the better question! My lady, I am going to give you the full DISRUPTTECH! experience.” Rashid bent down to one knee. “Are you ready for this?”
Imogen shook her head from side to side. “I don’t actually think that I am.” The young man handed her what looked like a milk carton.
“Here. First have a box of water.”
“Box?” She flipped the rectangle over in her hands.
“Better for the Earth. Entirely made of recyclable biodegradable hemp-based cardboard.” The writing on the side of the carton simply read: “I am not a water bottle.”
Rashid introduced her to two of his colleagues. AJ, his chief technology officer, was the tallest Asian gentleman Imogen had ever seen in
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