Clockwork | Brittana

Chapter 1

"...as you can see the new interface systems will work much more efficiently"

They weren't listening to a word she was saying and Santana knew it. She knew it by the way their eyes glassed over and the vacant nods they would offer at times, leaning to each other and whispering snide comments, earning smirks and grins from the guys next to them.

"...The design has been a few years in the making, the IT team at Clockwork and myself have been working on integrating it flawlessly with an upgrade to our older models without too much costumer hassle..."

A few of them were openly leering at her, eyes roaming, they hadn't once looked at the display for the new IT model, not once. She wanted to scream. She wanted to take her years worth of computer programing and circuit mapping and smash it over the creeps heads. She was nothing but a pretty face to them, nothing but a fantasy.

That was her sell, or "Gimick" as the guys in marketing told her, she was what they were looking for to cater to a certain demographic. The 15-35 year old computer nerd demographic who could never get a date, let alone talk to a girl in person. So they found a beautiful woman to draw these people to their products, no need to mention her prestigious degrees in computer science, information technology, and computerized robotics and engineering, no none of that mattered. All that mattered to them was that she looked nice for the shows, smiled, and talked about their products.

No one believed that she was actually apart of the IT team, hell, she lead the IT Department, but the general consensus was that it was just for show. They thought she just fed lines to read off to cameras at conventions, but she knew it all by heart. She could do it in her sleep, but all people saw was a prettz face.

Sometimes she believed it too.

They called her IT Barbie, and that pissed her off more than anything because she wasn't tall, blonde, or even white. She wasn't a ditz, and she sure as hell had more attitude than Barbie. It was a nickname one of her competitors had started using when her IT systems became more popular than theirs last season. The name stuck and now it was all over the industry. One of their marketing guys had suggested she roll with it and dye her hair.

She punched him in the face.

After that she was assigned a handler, a Miss Quinn Fabray. She handled her schedule, PR, and acted as a middle man between Corporate Marketing and Santana Lopez, Head of the IT Department of Technology.

"...We are hoping to get these models out on the market this season. Are there any questions?"

No. There were never anz questions, how could there be questions when they hadn't listened to a thing she said. She played absently with a pen behind her back, a nervous habit she had when she was talking in public.

"Miss Lopez," a short man spoke up. He reminded her of a hobbit, short and squad and needing a shower. "Is it true that you are going to be posing for Maxim this spring?"

The pen she was holding behind her back snapped in half, the only one to notice was Quinn who was at her side in an instant, a firm grip on the Latina's elbow.

"Santana we need you in the back," she offered the group a sweet smile, "technical difficulties."

They laughed, thinking it was a joke. A joke on her, as if she would ever be able to actually help with things like that. She conceded to Quinn's insistent tug on her elbow, and followed her into the back area reserved for members of the compenies showing products on the floor. They found their reserved cubical and Quinn had Santana sit in a chair, telling her she would be right back. Santana was glad for her absence, she let out a shaky breath she hadn't known she was holding.