Chapter 3 New York vista

Stephanie exhaled, placed one palm on her cheek, and held her phone in front of her face with the other hand. She listened. She had been pacing outside her compound on a video call with Tiffany.

"Well, it would seem that you and Kane are becoming attractively intimate these days!" Tiffany said, appearing on Stephanie's android phone screen.

Tiffany rode in the back seat of an Uber. She had long black and silky hair. She was creamy silk in complexion. She had a bony face with a sharp jaw. She had thin, strawberry lips and a perfect set of teeth.

"You believe so?" Stephanie said.

"Well, of course." Tiffany used her fingers to brush and tuck some of her front hair behind her ear. "It's not like you can't exactly say he is just your architect now, can you?"

"Well, that's all."

"That's not all! It's been over three years since his brother died. How long are you going to be in love with a ghost? Girl, it would be best if you started giving someone else a chance. Even strong independent women end up needing love."

Tiffany's ride had just pulled into the parking lot of a giant mall. She alighted from the car.

"Fine, let's see how it goes; I'll go on one date with him!" Stephanie said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, that's all it takes! Bye, grandma!" Tiffany said playfully.

Stephanie gasped, "Well, that's great. Get out of my screen, granny."

They laughed and hung up.

Stephanie surveyed her apartment; it was old. The sunset illuminated the cracks on the wall. She laughed at how independent her life had turned out to be. Her dad was a judge transferred to New York, and he handled many criminal cases. One night, a three-person group of assassins assaulted them in their house. They threatened that if her dad sent criminal number four to prison, he would never see his daughter again. The next day, Stephanie had followed her dad to court and, to her surprise, dropped all charges on criminal number four. He said the evidence incriminating the accused was baseless and insufficient to indict the man. He spent weeks searching and then bought this house for Stephanie, who was just eighteen at the time.

She later learned that the accused man and the three assassins had been apprehended. That was months after her dad hired a private investigator to look into criminal number four. The PI spent months tracking their movements, gathering evidence of their crimes, and her dad enjoyed the satisfaction of presiding once again over the case. He sentenced all four criminals to life imprisonment. She had barely seen her dad since that incident.

She was twenty-four the year Shane died. Three years later, at the age of twenty-seven, she lost her dad. He had willed all his life earnings as a judge to her. The house he had lived in, too, was willed to her.

Stephanie had decided to turn the old house she had been living in for the past six years into an art studio. That was when her need for an architect arose. The architect that was assigned to her by the architectural company she called went by the name Erik.

Kane sat in his architectural office, legs propped up on the table. The office room was spacious. Its four walls were painted brilliant white. The floor was made of high glossy ceramic tiles, and there was the beautiful creamy white exposed beam ceiling. The table was the most significant piece of furniture in the office. Towards the right edge from the center where his leg rested were different housing plans, he had drawn. To the left were additional items like a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, a cup of pencils and pen, a calendar, a car key, and a floral vase that contained a red chrysanthemum flower.

Life has changed since Kane Griffin moved with his family to New York. He now lived alone in a single pulch apartment he had acquired. He worked with the Kingdom Architectural Company. His parents are now retired from their jobs. They lived in an estate downtown. His aunt Jorja stayed in the same estate with her husband but in a different building. The effect of Shane's death had receded. Life, as they say, goes on, and yes, it was going on for the Griffins.

However, one morning, two weeks ago, his boss had placed him in charge of a new architectural deal. He was to meet with a woman by the name of Stephanie Holland for details of the job. He had remembered Stephanie from the beach house when he heard the name. However, since he had not known her last name or where she had returned to after her vacation, he could not have guessed.

On the day of the meeting, he had arrived at the apartment building on Pearl Street. He had parked outside and had phoned the client to inform her he was at the gate. A lady had come to open for him.

"Hello, Miss Steph," he said, waving and smiling.

"Well, hello there! But I am not Stephanie. I'm her friend Tiffany. Let's go inside and meet the real Miss Stephanie, shall we."

They went into the apartment.

"Welcome, please sit," Stephanie said cordially, standing to offer the architect a handshake.

Kane had immediately recognized the woman but had waited to see if she would have recognized him. No? He laughed inwardly. He sat down, taking in his surroundings. The apartment was old, probably built ten or so long years ago.

"So Erik," said Stephanie, gesturing with her hand. "I want all of this bulldozered down, and we are going to erect a new structure in its place. I've long dreamed of building an art studio-"

Kane had stopped listening and was smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Something funny, Erik? Don't you think an art studio will fit in here? Well, the compound is big enough-"

"So you actually don't recognize me?" Kane laughed.

"Sorry, recognize?" Stephanie looked bewildered.

"Maybe it's the hair or the added muscles or the fact that I used my middle name for the business. It's me, Kane!"

Stephanie immediately turned to Tiffany, sitting next to her in silence, and she said, "This is the red-haired dude I told you about. Shane's brother, who said he was coming to New York all those years ago. Guess what? I'd hoped he never made it."

"Oh yeah!" Tiffany beamed. "From your summertime vacation at the beach in California. What a pleasant surprise."

Tiffany had sensed a slight change in the atmosphere. She had felt off just from knowing these two had been somewhat acquainted!

"Thanks, Tiff. Really? Oh well, but I did make it and made it into your life!" Kane teased.

"You know what," Stephanie bellowed, "the deal is off if you joke like that with me!"

They laughed!

Kane shut the office door behind him, and it was time to go home. On his way out, he saw Nathan, the newest architect on board for the Kingdom Architectural Company.

"Hey, new guy. I forgot the name again." Kane said apologetically.

"It's Nathan, boss."

"Me boss, Nah. Mr. Austen is the boss 'round here. Call me Erik. Say, Nate, have you seen Mr. Austen 'round?"

"Think he left a while ago," Nathan said, just as Kane reached for the board in his hand.

"Let me see that." Kane took the board and studied the paper that was attached to it.

"Hmm, nice. I see they hired the best. You aren't working overnight, are you?"

Nathan took the board, " Thanks, Erik. Well, I'm not, just spending a few hours more to finish the drawing."

"Right, good luck. Glad I'm not you at the moment; see ya on Monday." Kane smiled sympathetically.

He whistled joyously to the parking lot. He put his hands in his pocket. Oh shit! He had forgotten his car key in the office, precisely on the left side of the table. Nathan, well, was gone. He would have to go retrieve it himself. He hated to spend one more minute after working hours. He had already spent ten today.

At eight PM, Kane was already in his apartment getting dressed for a birthday party one of his buddies at work invited him to. He did not know the celebrant, and frankly, who cared? Friday meant turning up with the boys. Sometimes the boys brought girls. Well, tonight, he was not calling any girl. Ever since he found Stephanie, he was fixated on only her.

Their hosts were residents of New York; they lived generously proportioned and were favorably moneyed. Kane, Michael, and Louise had arrived at the Solomon mansion.

"Wow, that's one huge structure, guys. I wondered who did the architectural plan-" Louise was saying.

"Shut up!" Kane bellowed.

"Yeah, shut up, Louise, no work stuff around here tonight," Michael added, killing the engine. The boys got out of the car.

"Erik, have you invited any girl tonight?" Michael said.

"No, how about you?" Kane retorted.

"No, and that's because I plan to get a new catch tonight at this party. Louise, how come you know about a party this big?" Michael said as they arrived at the door of the mansion.

Some beautiful ladies warmly welcomed them.

"Champagne?" asked one of the ladies. She positioned the tray with glasses of champagne in front of them. Michael took two drinks and gave them to his buddies before taking his own.

"Thanks. Nice tities!" said Michael, smirking.

"Oh my God! Mike! That's just too straightforward!" Louise said. "Sorry, he's such a pervert; please ignore him! Thanks for the champagne. Well, the hosts and I attended the same college."

They kept moving further inside the mansion.

"Wow," Michael said, laughing so hard.

"I'm pretty sure you were a brilliant guy in college, but the hosts sure did beat you in wealth."

"Prick!" said Louise.

Kane had slipped away from his two pals to get a better view of the lady speaking. Wow, this party is effervescence! he thought. The music decreased, and the lady became more audible.

"For those of you who don't know me, my name is Simone, and I'm just one of two people celebrating this party tonight. The other one is my twin brother, Simon. Thank you, thank you so much for being in attendance tonight, all of you. It can't be a party without every one of you. Thank you for all the warm wishes, the-"

Simone paused as she saw the man in a black suit and tie rush up to her onstage. What the hell? She thought. The man whispered something in her ear, inaudible to the crowd and Simone gasped. She fled the stage without uttering another word.

Kane was still trying to figure out what he had just witnessed when the music began blaring again.

Simone, in all her beauty tonight, was racing frantically through a major crowd at the entrance to her mansion. Two bodyguards were clearing up the path for her.

"Sorry, excuse me, excuse me," she kept saying till she passed through.

Her chauffeur opened up the door for her, and soon she was riding in the backseat of her limo. She immediately regretted her choice. She felt the car was too big and would not move fast at this emergency moment. The man who interrupted her birthday speech earlier had informed her that her twin brother Simon was involved in a ghastly car accident.

Kane wandered around the party in search of Louise and Michael. Luckily he had found them just in a slightly different corner from where he had left them.

"Guys, did y'all not see Simone the celebrant leave the stage in such a big hurry?" Kane asked with a feeling of mild concern.

"It's probably just work-related," Louise said.

Michael shrugged.

Kane sipped his champagne, feeling doubtful but said nothing at all.