Page 81 of Totally Played
“You were at the fundraiser,” I say, and she nods.
“Yes, my company often buys plates at dinners like those. It’s good to give back, don’t you think?”
Red offers her a seat.
“It really is. Umm, is that how you heard about us? Did one of our staff talk to you at the event?”
She shakes her head.
“I met a lovely young man in the gallery who spoke nothing but praise for Red Tech, and more pointedly, for Ashley here.”
“She met Calvin,” I say, and realization crosses Red’s face.
“Oh, yes, well, he would have nice things to say about Ash. He’s his boyfriend, after all.”
“Hey, I’m also a great guy,” I say, suddenly feeling the need to defend myself and Calvin’s opinion of me.
“Yes. I mean, I didn’t…” Red begins, his face warming to near match his name. He’s never been great with the people part.Unless he’s talking about the tech itself, then he kind of finds his groove. “Calvin doesn’t work here, is all I mean.”
“Yes, well, work here or not, he certainly knew a lot about your technology. I take it that’s your doing?” She looks at me.
“We talk about everything. I guess he listened more than I realized.”
“He did. And now I want to listen. So tell me, Ashley, why should I invest in Red Tech?”
I spend the next ten minutes going over the tech itself, its applications, and performance in the field. Jennifer arrives then and shows the video we had made for the Millers.
“Looks like the farmers are loving it.”
“They’ve been waiting for tech like this for years,” Red says, and she nods.
“I agree. But the applications of it go beyond farms, don’t they?”
I frown. Red and I haven’t talked about other applications. I mean, we discussed horse ranches, but that’s still agriculture.
“I’ve toyed with human applications,” Red says, and I spin to face him.
“You have?”
He shrugs.
“The tech isn’t there yet. I ran a simulation to test feasibility. Technically, we could develop sensors to help track people’s health the same way we track cattle.”
“With an ear tag?”
“No, we’d look to do something wearable, a bracelet, or ring, maybe.”
“That is what I am interested in funding,” Lynette says, pulling out a thick stack of papers from her bag. “My investment proposal. Have a look and see if you’re interested. I think we could do a great thing together.” She stands, and we follow.
“Thank you, I’ll look it over,” Red says, and she nods.
“My contact details are in the proposal. When you have an answer. Oh, and Ashley, I hear Calvin has a game today. Do, wish him luck for me.”
“I will. Umm, thanks,” I say, and she leaves.
Red is already flicking through the papers when I turn back around.
“What is she asking for?”
