Ben didn't have far to run as it turned out. He found Selene standing in the hallway just a few yards away from the outside of his office. She had her back to him, with one hand on her forehead as if she was deep in thought, and another hand on her hip.
When he caught up to her, he placed his hand on the small of her back and was about to say something when she jumped at his touch. Instead, he said, "Sorry to scare you, but you have to listen to me. That wasn't what it looked like."
Selene had placed a hand over her heart to calm herself from being surprised. She replied, "I know. That's why I stopped."
He guided her to a small conference room that was available nearby and locked the door behind them. After he clicked on the remote to turn the glass walls into a solid color so that no one could see them, Ben took her hands in his and sighed, "Thank you for believing in me."
Selene's eyebrows were pinched together in a manner that belayed her worry even though she truly believed Ben must have had a perfectly good explanation for what she saw. She removed her hands from his and hugged herself, rubbing one hand along her arm in an unconscious self-soothing motion. "I'm listening," was all she responded with before looking down.
Ben ran one hand through his hair then rubbed the back of his neck. Then he placed his hands over hers and said, "First of all, I am so sorry you had to see that image."
Selene nodded and Ben gestured for them to sit down. He moved the rolling chairs over so that they were facing each other. He took her hands in his again before starting, "Please believe me when I say that the only reason, I even let her in my office was because I thought she wanted to talk about what her family was doing with UniTech's shares. But she kept saying inappropriate things and then she started undressing, so I asked her to leave. I figured we were done but the minute I turned my back to go back to my desk, she suddenly threw herself at me. All she was wearing was her underwear, so I tried pushing her off but somehow she was able to take off her bra and then that's when you saw us."
The whole time Ben was talking, Selene just nodded along slowly. When he stopped, she took a breath and asked, "What's the 'second of all'?"
"Wh-what?," Ben stuttered, confused about what she meant.
"You said, 'First of all' before you started so what's the 'Second of all'?," Selene explained her question.
Ben said, "Oh," and then gave a low laugh. He leaned over to embrace her. "There is no 'second of all.'"
"Oh good," Selene whispered. She hugged Ben tightly and continued, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. It was just so shocking when I walked in and saw her there practically naked, so I didn't really know what to do. In that moment I just kept thinking about that one time when your mom told me she would be a better partner for you than I would. I guess I'm still feeling a little insecure when it comes to her. But, still, I shouldn't have run away from you." She pulled away and gave a self-deprecating smile, "I should have known better considering how many dramas I watch."
Ben smiled gently, "I'm sure it must have felt like you were in one of your shows. But you don't have anything to feel insecure about because I have no attraction for her whatsoever. I can't even believe she did that. What did she think was going to happen?" He shook his head in bewilderment.
"She must have thought she had a shot if she tried something like that," Selene remarked, first looking down and then stealing a glance to see what Ben's reaction was.
His eyes were hard as he reassured her, "Well, she didn't and she doesn't." He put on hand on her cheek and moved closer as his eyes softened. Before kissing her, Ben whispered, "There is only one woman I have loved in my life and only one woman who I will ever love in this lifetime."
The kiss was soft and gentle, his lips conveying the love he wanted her to feel in that moment. After a few moments, Selene smiled, "Just one lifetime?"
Ben chuckled, "If there are other lifetimes, then I want them all to be with you."
"Me too," Selene said, wiping off some of the lipstick that had smeared onto his lips with her thumb. Her hand rested on his cheek, and she sighed, "I just wanted to have a nice lunch, just the two of us and she had to go ruin my appetite."
"Well, we can't have that," Ben stated emphatically. He stood up and put his hand out for her to hold. "Come one, I'll take you somewhere that will bring your appetite back."
They left the conference room holding hands and headed for Ben's private elevator. In doing so they crossed paths with Natalia, who was now dressed and looking angrier than a pigeon with no cars to poop on.
The couple paused briefly before Ben tugged at Selene's hand indicating they should keep going. Unfortunately for them, Natalia stepped in front of Ben and tried to put one hand on his chest. He stopped her before she could and through gritted teeth ordered her to stay away from him. "This is the last warning I'm giving you Natalia. I don't want to see you again."
Natalia crossed her arms over her chest and then looked Selene up and down. She looked back and Ben and huffed, "What the hell do you see in this thing? I'm a hundred times more attractive. Is little miss know it all here blackmailing you or something?"
Selene took a step forward and replied before Ben could, "If what you said was true then your little, sad attempt at seduction would have worked. I don't need to blackmail Ben to be with me. Sounds like you're projecting since that's something you are more likely to do." Then she turned to Ben and winked, "Come on honey, let's go to lunch. Suddenly, I'm hungry for something hearty since I had to waste my precious energy just now."
With that, the couple left. She stamped her foot on the ground like a toddler before walking angrily toward the main elevator bay. Seeing the strange looks the employees were giving her, she barked, "What are you all looking at? Someday I'm going to be married to the CEO, so you all better behave appropriately toward me."
When the elevator arrived, she entered but no one else dared do so. Alone in the elevator, she took out her cell phone and called her father. "You better talk to his mother and convince her that Ben needs to marry me or else," she snapped at him after he picked up the call.