Jet Set Confessions. Maureen Child

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СКАЧАТЬ he could really think about was what she was doing to him. Hard to come up with a conversational starter beyond Let’s go upstairs to my room. “No. You start.”

      “Okay.” She shrugged, and the bodice of her blouse dipped again. “What’re you doing at the hotel?”

      “At the moment, trying to keep my mind busy.”

      She grinned. “Let me rephrase. Are you from San Francisco?”

      “No,” he said. “I’m from Orange County. Newport Beach, specifically.”

      She grinned. “We’re practically neighbors, then. I live in Long Beach. So, why are you here?”

      “Business,” Luke told her. “I’m here for the tech conference.” Though he hadn’t been enjoying it until she had dropped onto his lap. With all the thoughts racing through his mind—his grandfather, Barrett’s, his own new company, he’d been silently stewing. She’d interrupted all of that.

      “Ah.” She nodded and gave a quick glance around the restaurant. “A conference. That explains all of the badges, not to mention the fact that everyone I see has their nose glued to a phone or computer.”

      He took a look, too, and had to admit that almost everyone in the dining area was reading a phone or scrolling on a tablet. Even at a table with six people sitting around it, all of them were busy with their own phones. He frowned a little, then shrugged it off. This conference was, as he’d said, for business.

      “Guilty,” he said, turning his gaze back to her.

      “So if you’re here for the conference, you’re in the tech business, right?”

      “I am.” One of the reasons he came to these conferences was that here, he was surrounded by other forward-thinking people like him. People who understood that the future was in binary. “My company makes tech toys.”

      “Tech toys?” She tipped her head to one side. “What kind?”

      She actually seemed interested, and there was nothing he liked more than to talk about the latest in tech toys. If Pop hadn’t changed his mind, Luke would be even more eager to talk about them. He’d imagined steering Barrett’s into the future. Drawing on their already trusted name in toys to introduce kids to the what was to come. Still, his new company would do all of that. It would just take longer to take off. To get recognition. Luke took the conversational thread and ran with it. “All kinds. From tablets that are user-friendly for toddlers, to gaming boards, video games and miniature robots and drones.” He took a sip of his scotch. “We’ve got a full line of tech toys for every age.”

      She laughed again and the sound of it was like champagne bubbles.

      “I barely understand my computer now. I can’t imagine a toddler on one.”

      “You’d be surprised. Our test groups do very well at color and spatial relations and problem solving on the screen.” He hadn’t been able to convince his grandfather of that, of course. Because Jamison was concerned about pumping too much information into growing minds. But Luke believed that a young, open mind was far more likely to absorb information. And how was that a bad thing?

      “There have been dozens of studies to prove that in children as young as one, the brain is like a sponge, soaking up information far faster than it will in the future.”

      She shook her head. “My best friend has a toddler whose main focus is eating the dog’s kibble.”

      He laughed. “Maybe he needs a tablet.”

      “Maybe,” she allowed. “Still, I’m amazed at the idea of babies on computers. But maybe I need a toddler to walk me through running my Word program.”

      Luke smiled at her.

      “So, I guess ‘tech toys’ means you don’t make bikes and dolls and things?”

      His last encounter with his grandfather was still fresh in his mind, so his response was a little sharper than it should have been when he said, “No. The future isn’t made up of dolls and bikes and Frisbees. It’s in electronics.”

      She held up both hands in mock surrender. “Whoa. Okay. You convinced me. I give up.”

      Luke took a breath and blew it out again, reaching for calm. Wasn’t her fault that his grandfather was suddenly retreating into the past. “Yeah, sorry. Sore spot. My grandfather and I have been going around and around about this.”

      “That has to be hard, disagreeing with family.” She sipped at her wine. “Why are you?”

      No way was he getting into all of that right now. “Long story.”

      She nodded as if she understood he simply didn’t want to talk about it. But then she asked, “All right. But I’m still not convinced that tablets for toddlers are a good idea. Even tiny sponges need a teddy bear.”

      He smiled again, glad she’d dropped it. Back on safe ground, ground he knew like the back of his hand, he said, “There are plenty of companies that sell stuffed animals or dolls or whatever else you think a kid should have. But the future for kids today will be in technology, so shouldn’t they get a jump as young as possible?”

      She still looked unconvinced. “But toddlers?”

      “Sure. If we can get children as young as two involved with electronics, their brains will develop faster, and they’ll be more inclined toward the sciences. That’s a win. For all of us.”

      “The sciences.” She smiled. “Like making mud pies in the backyard?”

      “You’re a hard sell, aren’t you?” He stared into her eyes and liked the feeling of being pulled in. A damn shame, he thought, that he could have a real conversation about what was important to him with a stranger—but his own grandfather wouldn’t listen.

      “I’m just saying that being comfortable with tech at a young age will make them more accepting of it later.” As an example, he said, “We use colors and shapes and sound to get their interest.” He was warming to the theme, as he always did. “They learn without realizing they’re learning. Studies prove out that children who are challenged rise to the occasion more often than not.”

      “But aren’t there just as many studies saying that it’s not good to introduce small kids to tech too early?”

      “You sound like my grandfather,” he said.

      “Thank you?” She laughed a little. “Not trying to argue, I just think that there are two sides to this and maybe your grandfather has a point.”

      Luke grumbled under his breath. It wasn’t easy arguing for the future when everyone wanted to cling to the past. “My grandfather won’t even listen to the arguments on this, so it’s pointless to try any further.”

      “Have you listened to his side?”

      Luke took another sip of his scotch and studied her. He was trying to decide if he should keep talking or change the subject. She took care of that for him.

      “It sounds interesting,” she said. “And a little scary.”

      Frowning, СКАЧАТЬ