Selene got off the phone with Peter, who was in good spirits as he would be discharged later that day. She and Ben were on their way to the Drakos Group's launch event and, miraculously, there was very little traffic. This was a relief to both given their activities of that morning had delayed them a bit and neither of them wanted to miss a minute of the show.
She turned to Ben and said, "I'm so grateful to the universe for making Peter be okay. I don't know what I would do without him."
"Should I be jealous?," Ben asked, half-joking but also half-serious. He appreciated their friendship and was glad she had someone with her during their years apart who could be there for her, but sometimes he would feel jealous about the time they spent together. Knowing it was irrational to want to keep her to himself 100% of the time, he never let those thoughts go too far, but still, sometimes he just didn't like sharing her.
"Of my gay best friend who has found the partner of his dreams? Yah, sure. Definitely," Selene rolled her eyes with a big smile on her face.
Ben smiled back but added, "I thought I was your best friend?" He pouted for dramatic effect, but, again, was half-serious. His possessiveness was rearing its ugly head.
Selene laughed, "Of course you are. But so is he. And Lucy too."
"How can you have three best friends? Best means best—as in only one by definition, right? I thought you were a professor. You should know this," Ben said, cocking one eyebrow and giving an exaggerated "you should know better" look.
Selene edged in closer to him on the seat and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You'll always be number one for me, Hot Buns." Then she reached down to squeeze one of his butt cheeks.
Ben laughed, "That's good to hear but what's up with Hot Buns?"
"That's my new nickname for you," she answered with a big grin. Seeing the confused look on his face, she asked, "What? You don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it, I guess. But you just can't say it in front of others," he said, both demanding and pleading at the same time. She smiled. "You really think my ass is hot?"
"Oh yah," Selene confirmed with another squeeze. "I mean, all of you is hot, but Hot Chest, or Hot Biceps, or Hot Eyes, or anything else along those lines just didn't have the same ring to it, you know?," she asked in a mock-serious tone.
Ben chuckled, then put on a similar serious face, and agreed, "Absolutely." His smile turned playful as he leaned over so that his mouth was near her ear, "But what should I call you now? What I'm thinking of is definitely not rated PG."
Selene's shoulders raised up at the tickle of his breath. She turned to him and with a naughty look in her eyes replied, "Well, if it's just for my ears only, then it should be okay, right?"
He whispered the nickname and she blushed. "Ben!," she exclaimed in surprise.
"What?," he shrugged innocently.
"That was rated triple X or something," she said. "Oh my poor virgin ears!"
Ben laughed, "Virgin my ass! Those ears have seen some serious action."
"Can't deny that," Selene laughed. "Okay, let's change the subject before something happens that will delay us any further," she continued, not wanting to take the banter any further. For now, at least. "How much further, anyway?"
Ben looked out the window to see where they were and replied, "We're almost there. Another five to ten minutes or so."
He was accurate as they arrived about eight minutes later. It took another five minutes to get inside the Playa de las Gaviotas Hotel, one of Los Angele's premier hotels overlooking the ocean, and find their seats. The ballroom had been transformed into a Greek-style oasis. There was a stage at one end and all the seats were arranged to face it. Right in the middle was a curtain that was surrounding what was presumably the Drakos Group's version of Selene's machine.
Even though they had arrived on time, it took another 15 minutes for others to settle in and for the show to start. But once it did, it was definitely a show. The lights were dimmed to almost darkness for the audience and a spotlight was shown on the podium. There were whispers amongst those in attendance as they eagerly awaited for their host. Suddenly, Victor Drakos was at the podium and said, "Welcome everyone!" The audience clapped. Ben and Selene did not.
Once the clapping subsided, Victor continued, "Thank you all for coming to our demonstration of what I'm sure you will find to be the most innovative gaming system of not just this century, but the last one as well."
Selene leaned into whisper in Ben's ear, "Should I say thank you to him for the compliment?"
Ben held back a laugh and just shook his head at the truth of just how ironic his statement was.
As a result of her joke, they missed a few of his words. They went back to listening as he declared that "their" invention would revolutionize the tech world. "No modesty for that one," Selene grumbled in her thoughts.
"I promise you all that once you see this machine at work, and our version does work," Victor claimed and then paused for laughter but there was none. He cleared his throat and continued, "Once you see it work, you will be astounded."
The lights illuminating the stage came on to reveal Selene's Phantom Machine and everyone ooo'ed and aww'ed.
Selene whispered to Ben, "Funny how that looks so much like our design."
"What do you mean?," Ben whispered back sarcastically. "Theirs has more gray along the trim than yours. It's clearly different."
Selene tried not to laugh. Ben squeezed her hand in support.
Victor detailed the specs of the design and how it worked then asked an audience member to come up for a demonstration. The lights came up in the entire ballroom and a prominent New York-based investor in the front row volunteered. When the woman was on stage, she took the microphone and said, "My children love gaming, so I have to, of course, try it out for them. This is clearly just for them." Everyone laughed politely at the joke.
After she was in the machine, Victor drew the audience's attention to the giant screen behind the stage that turned on as he said, "As you can see on the screen, we will be seeing what Ms. Finciere is seeing. Although, sadly, we won't be able to feel what she feels. For that, I will have to ask Ms. Finciere to describe for us her experience as she goes through the game."
The demonstration went as well as Selene had expected it to go, and even though she was still angry at Victor, she felt good whenever the audience with simultaneously gasped or ooo'ed at something interesting happened on the screen or they heard Ms. Finciere explaining what she was feeling. "I feel like I'm actually climbing this mountain!," she squealed at one point and Victor used that opportunity to point out the health benefits of the machine given its rotating abilities.
The demonstration ended and Victor asked Ms. Finciere about her thoughts. She gushed about the experience and announced that she would be investing over a billion dollars in the Drakos Group. The audience gasped and then everyone started talking about themselves. Victor quieted the crowd and thanked Ms. Finciere for her belief in "their" product.
Suddenly, the lights went out and everyone was confused. A spotlight shown on a now-standing Ben who had a microphone of his own. Another spotlight was on Victor.
Ben looked at a confused Victor with a smirk and said, "I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, for the confusion, but I think you will all be interested in hearing what I have to say." There were murmurs among everyone being addressed.
The lights all came back up as Victor demanded for security to get Ben out of the room. Security personnel did not move. Instead, Ben's bodyguards stepped closer to him and Selene, who had stood up and was holding Ben's hand.
"If I could direct your attention to the door to the left of the stage," Ben told the crowd, who all obediently turned their eyes and heads to the door. It opened and in walked Yakov, surrounded by security and wearing a bullet-proof vest.