Selene had looked at the members of the grants committee and said, "Let's start with the thin folders. Please do not open the thick folders until we get to that part of the presentation. It's important that we go in order."
Ben said, "Why can't we look at the thicker folders first? Sometimes you want to get to the good stuff first, right?" The other members of the committee chuckled.
Before she could stop herself, Selene retorted, "I don't remember you having a problem enjoying the process before getting to the 'good stuff' as you call it?"
There was an awkward silence as Selene looked down and started biting her thumbnail. She thought, "Shit, why did I say that?" To his credit, Ben just slightly cocked his head to the right, still maintaining his calm exterior.
Elise asked, "Do you two know each other?," but Selene did not respond.
Ben replied instead: "We did. Some time ago." He paused, and then said. "Please continue Dr. Serian. We will follow your instructions."
"Some time ago?," thought Selene. "Some time ago?? Ugh. How is he so calm? I'm freaking out over here. Ok I have to calm down and show him what I can do. He's going to regret breaking up with me so help me God. Not that I want him back. Of course not."
"Dr. Serian?," repeated Ben.
"Hmm?," said Selene, as she was snapped out of her thoughts. "Excuse me, yes, let me show you what this prototype is capable of."
Her team spent the next two hours demonstrating the virtual gaming machine with a revolutionary haptic system that could make players feel as if they were actually picking up items in the game or being hugged by characters. They took turns during different parts of the presentation until the end when Selene wrapped things up. She emphasized that it was still a prototype that needed another year or so of development, but what it really needed was funding from a big company like UniTech.
When the presentation ended, four members of the committee clapped. Ben was the only one who did not. Selene then offered for one of the committee members to try out the system. Of course, Ben stood up to be the volunteer. It was a little awkward as she had to touch him to show him how to attach the various parts of the machine to his body. Once he was done with the game, Selene could tell he was impressed just by the look in his eyes, even though he maintained a calm exterior.
"Why can't he just admit this thing is unlike anything out there and that he wants to invest in it? Whatever," thought Selene. She had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
Ben went back to his seat, adjusted his tie, and cleared his throat. When everyone else was back in their seats, he clapped a few times and said, "Well done everyone. Now let's open this up to some questions."
An hour later, Ben looked around the room and said, "Thank you everyone." Then he looked directly at Selene's team and said, "Dr. Serian, Dr. Archer, Dr. Agapov, Dr. de Arev, thank you for coming today. We will consider your application carefully and let you know by the end of next week. Elise, can you please escort Dr. Serian and her colleagues to the first floor once they've gathered all their materials?"
With that, everyone stood up and started to gather their belongings. Ben began walking toward Selene's direction, covered his mouth to stifle a little cough, and said, "Um, Dr. Serian, may I please speak with you in my office for a few minutes?"
Selene froze for a second, then turned to face him. She said, "Well, uh, I'm not sure what this is about, um, but if it's about the prototype, maybe we can set up an appointment…as, um, it's getting kind-of late."
Ben replied, "It will only take a few moments. Please--it's just one floor up."
Selene hesitated and looked at Dr. Agapov who smiled and gave a thumbs up. She said, "Okay. I guess that would be fine." She turned to her colleagues and said "You all can go ahead. I'll call a car service to take me back to campus. I'm just going to talk to the CEO for a few minutes about the prototype." Her team looked at her with smiles, thinking this was a good sign, nodded, and said good night.
Once Selene had all her belongings, Ben gestured for her to follow him. She was surprised when she was taken to a different elevator than the ones that they had used earlier. They both got in and he used his thumb to give him access the button array. Then, he pressed on the button that took them up to the top floor.
When they exited the elevators, Selene had to contain her awe at the design of the office space. The sapphire blue, light grey, and off-white color scheme went well with the overall sleek and modern design of the place, befitting a company at the edge of new technologies. Ben led her to his office, which was practically the size of her whole house. The sapphire blue paint covered a couple of the walls as accents and went well with the modern style of the furniture. Everything looked brand new.
Ben gestured for Selene to sit on one of the couches, but Selene said, "It's ok, I'll stand. You said this would only take a few minutes."
Ben took a couple steps closer to her, looking at her with his sultry eyes he could no longer hide, but Selene took a step back. He sighed, and said, "I just want to talk to you. Can we do that? It's been so long, Selene. Can we talk for a little while?"
Selene looked at him like he was an alien, shook her head, and said, "Why? What could you possibly have to say to me? What—do you want to show me around your fancy offices?" She spun around, with her hands outstretched, then continued, "I get it. You're rich. I'm not. So what? You've always been rich." She crossed her arms below her chest.
"That's not it," said Ben, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair, which was difficult to do with the bun. He got frustrated and thought, "Ugh, this isn't going at all how I wanted." He took the hair tie out, letting his hair fall around his face.
Selene's heart skipped a beat, and she cursed at it for doing so. "Well, hotness was never his problem," she thought. "But, damn."
Ben ran both hands through his hair a few times and said a little angrily, "I'm not trying to show off alright? When did I ever do that? Huh? When?"
When Selena didn't have a response (because truly Ben was never a show-off about his background), he continued a little more calmly, "It's just that when I saw your name on the list of applicants for our grants program, I don't know, I just, I just…" His voice trailed off and he licked is lips as he looked down.
Selene's heart skipped another beat as her eyes were drawn to his mouth. She remembered those lips. "Damn. I need to get out of here."
As she turned to walk toward the door, Ben caught her wrist, and brought her toward him so that they were only a few inches apart. Then he said, "I just need to talk to you."
Now instead of skipping beats, Selene's heart just started beating at double time. She silently prayed that he could not hear those beats. She tried her best to look calm and said, "It's been five years. I don't understand what there could be left to talk about."
Ben looked down at her. His eyes briefly hinted at longing, but as fast as the look came it was gone, replaced by mischievousness.
Selene thought, "Why did I agree to come to his office??" Then she remembered the presentation. "Was that just a few hours ago?," she thought. "It feels like it was a week ago."
It looked like he was about to say something and then changed his mind. He pulled away, still holding her, and said, "Believe me when I say that there is a lot to talk about. However, as I said earlier, let's discuss prototype. I think that might help." Then he sighed and continued, "But, look, it's late. Why don't you let me take you to dinner and we can continue to talk there?"
"I'm not hungry," she replied as she pulled her arm away from his grip and took a couple steps back. And then, as if on cue, her stomach started making gurgling noises. "Why is my body against me today?," thought Selene, annoyed. Then she remembered that she had skipped lunch.
Ben laughed and said, "One hour, tops. Come on. You have to eat anyway."
Selene looked at him up and down, squinting her eyes as if she knew that he was up to no good. But then she said, "I'll go against my better judgment and go with you. But I'm warning you. We talk about work and that's it. This is a business dinner only."
"Yes, Professor," replied the CEO with a smile.