Reluctantly so

As much as Ann didn’t want to, seeing her manager beg and plead like that made her feel bad. He went through the effort to make this photo shoot happen in the first place, and despite his reasons being wholly selfish on the surface, Ann couldn’t help but feel like she’d regret this decision down the road.

“Fine… I’ll do it…” Ann reluctantly answered.

Her manager turned around and began bowing deeply in front of Ann, practically kissing her shoes in praise.

“Thank you thank you thank you Ann!” The manager continued before shortly getting up off the ground, awkwardly wiping away the dirt on his dress pants.

“I’m glad you’ve finally came to your senses, Takamaki-san, now please…” Before Kashiwagi finished his sentence, he snapped his fingers, and not too long after one of his assistants walked up behind him and presented to Ann an outfit.

“Change into this for me. It’s the first of three designs by the head designer of our magazine. I’m sure it’ll suit your body perfectly.”

The assistant held the outfit out in front of Ann, giving her a clear picture of what she’ll be wearing for the first part of the shoot. It appeared to be a maroon business suit and pencil skirt combo. But what caught Ann’s eye was the size of the outfit. It looked so small, like a grade schooler was supposed to wear it.

“Seems a little… revealing….” Ann said with a crooked smile.

“Why yes, it’s what we call Casual Business, a breathable, less ridged suit for women less occupied with formality. It also serves as commentary on the male gaze! Our designer is sure something akin to this will go mainstream in a couple years!” Kashiwagi explained, much to Ann’s disbelief and skepticism.

“I, guess that makes sense…”

The assistant walked up to Ann, placing the outfit into Ann’s arms before walking away. She looked down at the suit, questioning her decision to stay.

“Please don’t hesitate, Takamaki-san, we have two more outfits after this one to shoot you with.”