What Can You Not Buy With Money?

“Hey,” Lucy was shirtless and in a pair of men boxers while drinking a cup of coffee.

“Woah!” I covered my eyes and looked to the side.

“They’re breasts. We both have them.” Lucy walked up to me and slunk her arm around my neck. My face was burning up at feeling her bare skin against me.

“I’m just going to my room!” I managed to squeeze from her grip and I tried to have the image of her nude body disappear forever.

“I’ll get breakfast ready!” Lucy called out.

I entered the hall to see Vern come out in a bath robe, his face a scalding red. “Hi, Mary,” he waved.

I couldn’t look at the two of them but nodded at his direction. “Hey…”

I closed my door and let out a breath of relief. The idea that Lucy and Vern had actually… done it was unnerving and I knew it would take a while to get used to. I was thankful that Lucy didn’t know that Walker dumped me.

It was early morning and I was there to take a shower and go to work. I had spent two full days at Burgess’ mansion, unsure whether or not if it was the right thing to do. There was nothing romantic at all. We spent our time together discussing boring things, all related to the company. I think neither of us wanted to show our vulnerability any more than what was already done.

I knew I wouldn’t dare fall for him. Not Benjamin Burgess! Especially since he was my boss. And possibly my friend. I learned the hard way about keeping romance and friendship separate.

>

I was walking toward the corporate office when I recognized a certain haggard old man waving over at me. I tried to avoid him but he managed to step out in front of me. I threw a worried look over at the company’s security but they seemed to not find him a risk.

He walked up to me, a dazed grin on his face. “Spare change?” He loudly asked and then he put his hands in his pocket. He put his back to the guards and whispered, “This is your last chance. Will you help me?”

“Sorry,” I waved him off and quickly escaped into the building, letting out a breath of relief as I felt an ironic sense of comfort. I was beginning to love Burgess’ building—although at first it had been a place that had given me intense anxiety whenever I entered.

“Hi,” Vern waved at me and I gave him a little smile. “Where did you go the other day?”

“Just… around.” I let out a quick laugh and threw the interrogation back at him. “So how was your… weekend with Lucy?”

He blushed again and cleared his throat. “It was… pleasant. She’s nothing like any other girl I’ve been with.”

“Oh.” I was feeling awkward and I began to edge away from the front desk. “Well I better get going—“

“I owe you,” Vern continued as he was emmersed in reminiscing the past few days. “I was beginning to lose hope in women. She’s so different. She’s completely controlling. Sounds kind of twisted of me, doesn’t it?”

“A little,” I took a few steps back. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

When the elevator ascended, it lurched suddenly. My balance was almost lost but I managed to cling to the wall with a paranoid thought that I would be trapped in the small space yet the rest of the ride remained smooth and uneventful.

As the doors whooshed open, Burgess was walking down the hall and nodded at me.

“Good morning,” I greeted softly.

“Morning. Are you ready for your first project?” Burgess was talking about the video game software. We had spent the weekend preparing for it, and I was fascinated by it—despite being in my distracted haze.

“Yes sir,” I nodded.

“All right.” There was a softer sound in Burgess’ voice that seemed to tease me and have a hint of kindness in it. It felt strange but nice to hear it.

I was about to ask him something—I don’t remember what, probably about the weather—when everything gushed into a blood red strobe light. A persistent alarm violently screamed from the speakers and my body began to shake. “What’s going on?” I demanded over the loud noise. I remembered from reading one of the binders that Burgess gave me months ago that with each emergency a different color would flash depending on the code.

“It’s a code red lockdown.” Burgess gestured for me to follow him. “There’s a potentially violent intruder in the building.”

Burgess was walking fast and I rushed beside him as he took me to his office, carefully locking the door behind him.

“Call the police,” Burgess demanded.

As I called 911 and begged for police, firemen, ambulance and the entire emergency squad, Burgess’ cell phone and his office phone began ringing simultaneously. I could hardly hear them over the screaming alarm and the operator’s rushed voice to calm me.

“What is it?” Burgess shouted on his cell. “I want this place on lock down. Follow protocol and subdue him. Have you identified him? Then do what I pay you for!?” Burgess hung up and quickly went into his desk and took a gun out of his drawer.

I stared at the weapon and I prayed that this would be a false alarm or just a random crazy who’d leave and not hurt anyone.

“Get away from the door!” Burgess waved at me to go to the corner and he quickly pressed his body against me as though the antagonist was already in the room. He took the Smartphone from me. “Hello, this is Burgess. How soon are they coming?”

I heard gunshots close by and I let out a cry as I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to breathe normally. I was feeling lightheaded and as though I was about to die of an exploding heart.

“Calm down, Mary!” Burgess snapped as he wrapped his arm around me. “Take slow breaths and count to ten. You can’t lose it. Calm down!”

I could feel his pulse through his burning skin and it was as fast as mine. Despite the apparent fear his body revealed he remained in his solid stature.

Another gunshot, so loud that it was only a few feet away, erupted and it sounded as though a bullet struck metal.

“Shit.” Burgess held out his gun at the door while his other arm tightened around my shoulders. “Mary, I want you to hurry and hide under my desk.”

I shook my head but he quickly pushed me.

“DO IT!” He yelled.

Terrified I obeyed and quickly knelt down on my knees to get ready to hide.

The doors swung open. I couldn’t believe that they would be able to. I wrapped my arms around my knees and shut my eyes tight—praying to God, the world, anything to let it all be a dream.

“…Dad?!” Burgess’ incredulous proclamation had me open my eyes and realize what a mistake I had created. My eyes started to water as I covered my mouth and tried to not make a noise.

The alarm seemed to weaken into a dull hum as Richard Burgess’ voice filled the room with a tremor of desperate hell.

“Hello, Ben. Why don’t you put the gun down so your friend won’t be seeing the angels tonight.”

“That’s not going to happen. You won’t hurt him. Do you know who he is?” Burgess’ voice was steady until it cracked at the end of his sentence. “His name’s Vern Karlsson. He’s twenty seven years old. His birthday’s in two weeks. He has a mother, father, and two sisters. He’s done nothing to you. So why don’t we make a trade. Let Vern go and I’ll give you this gun.”

I started to cry as I tried to quiet my moans of horror.

“Like I give a damn about some front desk clerk! Give me my company back, son, and I’ll give this kid back to you!”

“They’re coming for you, Dad,” Burgess continued. “Even if I did surrender this company you’d be unable to run it, because you’ve gone too far this time. You’re going to jail.”

“Shut up!” I heard a gun shot and I let out a scream.

“Who’s there?!” Richard shot again, this time at the window behind the desk. Glass shattered down and I was trembling so violently I couldn’t breathe. “Get out here or I’ll shoot two people!”

I forced myself to my feet and looked to see the filthy homeless man, so pathetically desperate and insane, with Vern in a chokehold and a gun pointed at his temple.

“You.” Richard laughed in disbelief. “Of course it’s you. Miss Mary Hall.”

I looked at Burgess who wore a mask of confusion.

“Oh, I’d monologue but I think she should have the honor of explaining—that is, if any you live through this.” Richard jerked Vern back, who grunted in pain. “So you know what to do, Ben. Drop the gun.”

Burgess stared at his father. “What if I throw it down and it goes off?”

“I’ll take my chances,” Richard scoffed.

Burgess’ scowl made it clear that surrendering his only leverage was the last thing he’d want to do. But he threw it down, the weapon clattering onto the carpet.

“All right. Now will you be the moralist businessman who taught me everything I know and show some nobility. Let them go.”

“Fine.” Richard wore a smirk that was a taunting resemblance of his son. He was prepared to remove the gun and point it at his son. “Get out of here. Both of you.”

Vern quickly backed out of the room. I threw a pleading look at Richard and then a worried glance at my boss, who was calmly walking up to his father.

I stood paralyzed as everything suddenly entered slow motion. Burgess pounced onto the old man and shoved him against the wall.

A final gunshot cracked and I saw Burgess’ face grow pale in sheer shock.

“No,” I softly cried and I quickly ran up to Ben as he began to collapse. I put my arms carefully around him, looking for what caused the blood to cascade out of his abdomen. I pressed down on the wound with all my might, hoping he would stop bleeding. “Mr. Burgess! Ben, oh god, please don’t die!” I did not know what Richard Burgess would do and I didn’t care. I could feel so many tears dribbling onto Burgess’ shirt as it was swallowed up by the impending red that flowed out of his body.

His eyes were out of focus until his irises stopped at my face. His mouth was slightly agape.

“Just keep looking at me. You’re going to be fine, they’re almost here,” I touched his face faintly and brushed the hair strands out of his face.

Paramedics bustled in and took over, one of the men pulling me away from him. I tried to resist but I sat in a daze on the floor, looking at my blood stained hands. There was so much blood I didn’t believe Burgess would survive.

Two men brought a stretcher and secured him into it. Another was preparing a tourniquet while his comrade was holding a blood bag.

“Are you hurt?” One of them put their hands over my wrist and examined my eyes.

“No. What about him? Will he be okay?”

“He will. Can you stand?” He stood up and looked over as San Diego's finest began entering the office. “I’ll have to hand you over to the police to answer a few questions.

“Okay,” I went up on my feet and he escorted me away from the nightmare. “After that could I go to the hospital?”

“Of course. Officers, she’s yours.” The paramedic walked away.