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.But Ithought I detected a hint of surprise."It's wonderful to meet you, Ms.Hadley.Please don't hesitate toask if you need anything."Anything elevator-related, I presumed.I just smiled and thanked him, although I found myselfspending the rest of the ride wondering whether he'd get in trouble if Mr.Chase's girlfriend sent himon a personal errand that took him away from his post.I hoped not.It was hard not to feel like a bullin a china shop.I was acutely aware that I was upsetting some kind of delicate ecosystem here, aworld about which I understood absolutely nothing.And since this wasn't a heartwarming NoraEphron comedy, I had a feeling it wasn't going to end with everybody deciding things were betterwhen you just cut loose.The elevator was so quick it made my heart drop into my stomach.Or maybe that was the wayBen's fingers curled against my lower back, just slightly, before he seemed to suddenly realize whathe was doing, and pulled his hand away. When the doors popped open, I took a deep breath and stepped out.The hallway was so long Icouldn't see the end on either side, so I waited for Ben to follow, guiding me to the left and downanother hallway I hadn't even noticed at first."How big is this place?" I muttered under my breath, mostly to myself.He just smiled,gesturing me towards the huge double doors that evidently led into his office.I bit the inside of my cheek to stifle a gasp.The whole back wall was nothing but picture windows, displaying a gorgeous cityscape.Icouldn't stop myself from walking over to them, pressing up against the glass and staring down until Istarted to feel a rush of vertigo.My knees wobbled slightly."Careful," said Ben, taking my elbow."Don't look down."I wanted to snap that I was fine, but instead, I just turned my gaze upwards.The city lookedlike an ant farm from up here, everything tiny and inconsequential compared to us.The rest of the office was skillfully decorated, but it paled in comparison to the view.Iwalked around the perimeter, while Ben sat down at his desk and started looking through his drawers.On the wall furthest from the door, there were several plaques and awards displayed, most ofthem emblazoned with the names of organizations or societies that meant nothing to me.My eyes weredrawn to some of the plainer, more official-looking certificates, and I slowly began to realize whatthey actually were.Diplomas.He had a bachelor's degree and a Master's of Science in Pharmacology, both fromNYU.My brow furrowed."Are these real?"He glanced up at me."Yes, I really did win 'Most Improved' in Little League.Also, thediplomas didn't come from Kinko's.What kind of question is that?"I sighed."Obviously I know they're real, I just meant.I thought maybe they were honorarydegrees, or something.I'm sorry."Shrugging, he gestured to the chairs opposite his desk."It's fine.Most people assume the samething.I just wanted to understand at least some of what our science department was talking about, so Iwent to school for it.So you see, I'm not just an empty-headed socialite after all."I sat down, feeling slightly cowed.At least he took it in good humor, more or less.His deskwas massive, solid wood, polished perfectly and organized in precisely the way his desk at homewasn't.Someone else must manage this for him.An assistant, most likely.Hell, a guy on his levelprobably had six or seven interns at his beck and call too.As if on cue, there was a quiet rapping at the door."Come in," Ben said, and the door swungopen slowly.A young, doe-eyed blonde was standing there, carrying a cup of coffee."Drew the short straw this morning, huh, Claire?" He smiled as she approached, and I couldpractically feel her stress level ratchet down a few notches."Thanks.It's perfect.""You're welcome, Mr.Chase," she said, or rather squeaked."This is my girlfriend, Ms.Jenna Hadley."I was going to have to get used to hearing that."It's so nice to meet you," Claire half-whispered, shaking my hand with her cold, clammy one.She swallowed audibly."I'm sorry.It's my first day.I'm still getting my bearings.""Please, don't apologize.It's nice to meet you too."She disappeared out the door a moment later.I ignored the knot in my chest, which wascertainly not jealousy.A girl like her couldn't possibly handle a man like Ben, with all hiscomplexities and dark desires. I couldn't stop staring at his desk, wondering if he'd ever spanked anyone on it.Did that extendbeyond the boundaries of domestic discipline?Maybe women in the workplace just weren't compatible with it at all.I suppressed a laugh,sitting down carefully in one of the chairs across from him."Penny for your thoughts," he said, glancing up at me as he began hunting through drawersagain."Damn it.I can never find anything once they've cleaned up in here.""Nothing," I said."Just admiring your desk.It's very, uh, imposing.""Intimidating the subordinates is always good," he said, with a grin."I play good cop, the deskplays bad cop.Everybody wins.""I don't think people like Claire are afraid of your desk," I pointed out."They're just afraid ofyou.It doesn't matter what your personality is.Anybody with as much power as you have is.well,scary.For lack of a better term."He just laughed."Do I scare you?""I mean, on a personal level? No.But in the sense that you could probably make me disappearwithout a trace, if you wanted to? Yeah, a little.Rich people are dangerous.They're basicallyunstoppable."I was echoing my parents' sentiments, without consciously meaning to.They'd spent so muchtime and effort drilling them into my head, it wasn't a surprise that a few of them actually stuck.Butreally, I didn't need them.I'd seen enough firsthand to know that money was power, and powercorrupts.And the closest thing to absolute power was having a net worth of almost fifty billion dollars.Benjamin Chase could practically run his own space program.He could charter a private jettwice a day just to take him across town.That kind of wealth made you crazy, utterly disconnectedyou from any kind of reality.But there was something else, too.It struck me, the more time I spent with him, that none ofthis was particularly interesting for Ben.Certainly not enjoyable.His money made his life easier incountless ways, there was no doubt about that, but it was just normal for him.It always had been.Someone like me could sit and imagine being able to thoughtlessly spend thousands of dollars on asingle bottle of champagne, and it seemed like it would be a thrill.And maybe the first time, it wouldbe.But for Ben? It was just like buying a cup of coffee.I was hardly wallowing in sympathy for the guy, but it was hard to imagine all this excessbeing so joyless.So empty and without any sense of excitement or thrill.No wonder guys like himhad to drive race cars around a track until they crashed and caught fire, just to feel something.Or spank women recreationally.I supposed that was another way to get one's kicks."Do you have an assistant?" I asked him, finally."Or.a secretary or something?""Administrative assistant," he said."Yes.She's fantastic, except when she cleans up my desk.I can't figure out her organizational scheme at all
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