Nina flexed her leather-gloved hands as she stared at her reflection in the hotel room's mirror.
She had awoken early with a fresh wave of conflicting emotions.
On one hand, she was nervous and excited to show her new look to Aaron, and wondered how he would react.
On the other hand, she felt shame and guilt for making such drastic and impulsive decisions.
She had gone and splurged a good chunk of her monthly income on a black leather skirt suit, a new haircut, a makeup kit, and had pierced her ears.
Her desire to explore these new preferences and aspects of herself warred with her beliefs that women didn't need to change their bodies and appearance to impress a man.
Her desires won out, with her rationalizing that she was exploring her own personal style and self-expression regardless of what Aaron thought about it, and she felt a sense of calm and completeness wash over her.
With a final look at her reflection, she picked up her purse and exited the hotel room.
----
Aaron raised his eyebrows at Nina's new appearance as she entered the hotel lobby.
The black leather single-breasted blazer emphasized her hourglass figure with its nipped waist, the black leather pencil skirt hit just above her knees, blending smoothly into the blazer, giving her a polished, sexy and commanding appearance.
The black pantyhose, black leather stiletto pumps, black leather gloves, black leather choker, crisp white blouse and silver hoop earrings, along with her black eyeliner and red lipstick complimented her brown skin tone and rounded out her look, making her appear alluring, confident, sexy and demure all at once.
"I see you went on a little journey of self-discovery. I approve of this new look." he said looking up and down at her in approval.
Nina blushed at his compliment and his scrutiny.
"I'm glad you like it, sir. I thought it would compliment your look" she said giving him a twirl.
"Indeed it does. I appreciate your willingness to learn and experiment." said Aaron, eliciting another blush from Nina.
She stepped closer to Aaron with her newfound confidence. Their height difference still made him appear intimidating to her, but the effect was more muted this time, and she could comfortably and confidently look into his piercing blue eyes.
"I now understand why you like black leather sir." she told him softly.
"I'm glad that you do. Are you ready to go?" he asked her, his voice carrying a hint of huskiness.
"Y-Yes sir" said Nina, stepping away from him, and fighting down her blush. Aaron's deep, husky voice had sent a shiver down her spine.
----
Aaron and Nina sat opposite Kazuya and Tomoe in a small conference room at SEGA's Tokyo headquarters.
"So the final aspects of this deal are that Sirius Software develops a game based on SEGA's specifications and IP, but with our own art style, engine and creative vision." said Aaron, his eyes boring into Kazuya's.
Kazuya swallowed nervously. Aaron had become an absolute force to be reckoned with.
This collaborative deal leaned heavily in Aaron's and Sirius Software's favor.
While SEGA provided the IP and marketing, they had almost no control over Sirius Software's development team.
The only consolation was that the asset files were all modularized, which meant that in a pinch, they could swap out Sirius Software's assets with their own, thus giving them an out in case the game didn't align with SEGA's specifications.
But that also meant that SEGA would need to create art, hire voice talent, write their own game plot and hope to fit it within Sirius Software's engine and combat mechanics.
While a profit split of 60-40 meant that SEGA would still make a boatload of money for reduced development costs, a clause that Sirius Software would require up-front development payment meant that SEGA could lose millions of yen if the game went south.
Even worse, Sirius Software's involvement in the game's development was not to be publicized, which meant SEGA's public relations could not throw Sirius Software under the bus if the game drew controversy.
"You drive a hard bargain Zakhrov-dono. But I think we have a deal." growled Kazuya signing the contract.
"It is a pleasure doing business with you Kazuya-dono." replied Aaron standing and bowing politely to Kazuya.
Kazuya dropped his stern demeanor and switched from business partner to friend.
"Come let us have lunch Aaron. I shall show you and your lovely assistant the delights of Akihabara" he said standing up and stretching.
Nina sighed in relief as they boarded the elevator to take them back to SEGA's lobby.
The negotiations between Aaron and Kazuya were tense as both men tried to get the best deal for their respective companies, and had given her a newfound respect and admiration for Aaron.
She now saw Aaron as a brilliant engineer, and skilled entrepreneur instead of just an authoritarian boss.
A major selling point for why Kazuya accepted Aaron's terms was because of the quality and polish Sirius Software brought to the table.
Their game engine was extremely powerful and well optimized, allowing for beautiful looking games to be built with relatively modest graphics and compute resources, allowing them to be run on a wide variety of systems, from cheap laptops to multi-GPU gaming rigs.
"I love your new look, Nina. It really suits you!" gushed Tomoe as the elevator descended.
"Thank you Tomoe. I wasn't sure about it at first, but I have come to like it." replied Nina blushing at Tomoe's compliment.
"So I suppose you have started to see Master Zakhrov's appeal?" whispered Tomoe conspiratorially.
"Some of it, but don't get any ideas. He's my boss, and I'm his PA." said Nina firmly.
Tomoe nodded sagely, her ponytail bouncing up and down. Nina surveyed Tomoe's schoolgirl-like outfit of blazer, blouse, pleated skirt and thigh high stockings showing just a hint of her leg skin.
"I do like your look as well. It makes you look very cute." said Nina.
"Thank you, Nina." giggled Tomoe, looking even more like a schoolgirl.
"Now don't put any cosplay ideas into Nina, Tomoe. The only reason I indulge you in wearing that uniform is because it still looks professional" chuckled Kazuya.
"You're such a meanie Kazuya-sensei! I had no such intentions!" pouted Tomoe, eliciting another chuckle from Kazuya.
Nina watched Tomoe and Kazuya banter in fascination.
They seemed to have a very close relationship that she wasn't sure was personal or professional.
Tomoe seemed to enjoy playing the innocent schoolgirl and Kazuya seemed to behave with her like a teacher would. However, Nina had seen that Tomoe was really an efficient and experienced personal assistant.
She had watched with envy as Tomoe had smoothly and efficiently anticipated Kazuya's needs during the negotiations, passing him the appropriate documents and forms without him asking, while also taking notes and pulling up figures and charts for him to cross-reference.
Nina felt that she still had a lot to learn about Aaron and gain more of his trust and confidence before she could perform her duties at Tomoe's level.