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tension. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the associates seemed to be constantly jockeying for position. They told him little secrets about each other's work when he called them in one by one, and one thing was obvious, there was no sense of a team here. They were a group of talented individuals, doing everything they could to get ahead and crawl over each other. But what surprised him most was the kind of work they did. They were supposedly talented, and he got the impression they worked hard, but the designs they were all working on seemed far less advanced than the ones produced by the same firm in Europe. He realized that it was something he had never noticed on his quick trips through town in the past, but he had always been concentrating on the work that he was responsible for in London. This seemed very different, and far less exciting.
    Both senior partners, Bill Jones and Arthur Whitta-ker, were on hand and introduced him to everyone. The staff seemed cautious but pleased, they had all been told about him, and he had been expected. He had even worked with two of the more senior architects ten years before, when he'd been in New York, but what surprised him about them was that they didn't seem to have moved ahead much. They were happy covering the same ground, and doing the same kind of work he remembered. It was a real shock to him now, as he went from desk to desk, from one architect to another, and the young interns and apprentices seemed even more restrained than the people they worked for.
    What goes on here? Charlie asked casually, as he shared lunch with two of the associates. They had ordered out, and he had invited them into his office, which was a large corner room with wood-paneled walls and a spectacular view all the way to the East River. I get the feeling that everyone's a little bit afraid here. The designs look surprisingly conservative. How do you explain that? The two associates shared a long, slow glance, and then failed to answer. Come on, guys, let's be straight here. I saw more exciting design work here fifteen years ago. This office looks like it's been going backward. One of them laughed in answer, while the other looked seriously worried. But at least one of them, Ben Chow, was brave enough to answer honestly. It was what Charlie wanted. If he was going to run the place effectively, he needed information.
    They pretty much keep a lid on us here, Chow explained. This isn't Europe. The big guys are here, and they're breathing down our necks all the time. They're ultraconservative, as you know, and they hate taking chances. They think the old ways are the best ways. And I don't think they really care what anyone does in Europe. They want the same kind of work they always did. They claim that's what we're known for. They think of Europe as a kind of eccentric outpost, a necessary evil in the business. But it was that belief that had allowed Charlie all the freedom he'd enjoyed during his ten years in London. This was going to be very different.
    Are you serious? Charlie looked startled while Chow nodded at him and his colleague looked extremely nervous. If anyone had heard what had just been said, there were going to be serious repercussions.
    That's why none of the interns stick around for long, Ben went on. They play the game for a while, and then they go off to I. M. Pei, or KPF or Richard Meyer, or one of the other offices that let them show their stuff. You just can't break through in design here, Ben Chow complained, and Charlie listened with interest. You'll see, unless they let you change things radically. They'll probably sit on you too, if they think they can do it. But at that, Charlie grinned at them. He hadn't come this far, and worked this long and hard, in order to start making cookie-cutter buildings or endorse them. No one was going to make him do that.
    But Charlie learned in short order that that was indeed what they expected of him. They made it clear to him right from the