Chapter 2

• My mom was only 20 when she'd gotten pregnant with me. She'd come to America from Hong Kong for college, a scholarship student with a bright future. Jonathan Kendall was a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks with a hard determination to succeed. They'd met during their sophomore year and soon began dating. It was the first real love for both of them.
• They were careful to use protection, but even the best protection isn't 100% guaranteed. They'd disagreed on what to do when my mom got pregnant, and in the end it drove them apart. My mom dropped out of school to give birth to me and got a job. Jonathan wanted no part of a baby that would slow him down in his quest to make it big in business.
• My birth certificate listed "Father unknown", even though she'd named me after him. Oddly enough, having a U.S. born child had been the catalyst in getting my mom citizenship as well. And so my mom and I had made our life together.
• Eventually, she went back and got her degree. She used her intelligence and personal drive to forge a successful career, despite the demands of a baby. And she taught me her hard work ethic as well.
• But while she took her child and moved on with her life, Jonathan Kendall never forgot the son he had fathered. When he made it big, he contacted my mom to ask about me.
• The two of them agreed that I didn't need to know who he was right away. Too many children of the wealthy became spoiled brats, wasting money on parties and drugs. I was only ten years old, and both my mom and real father wanted to see me succeed on my own. So there were no trust funds. No checks mysteriously sent to my mother. No record to tie us to Mr. Kendall.
• Realistically, I was still given a lot of advantages. My mom was successful in her own right and we were never poor. I didn't have to struggle to pay for college. And so without knowing how much money I would have to fall back on, I graduated, got my MBA, and found my own high salary job working in finance on Wall Street.
• I was 27 and could afford my own Manhattan apartment. I was debt-free and financially stable. I'd enjoyed my social life, but I'd never shown an inclination for drugs or other excess. I was a responsible young man, and I didn't need my father's money. Those were exactly the reasons why my mom and father had been ready to tell me the truth.
• But then his jet had equipment trouble and went down. And my father was dead before I ever knew him.
• The conversation took over an hour. And when I was done I realized I was very late for work. I promised my mom I would call her later. She seemed sad, but strong. She'd lost the father of her child, but she had stopped being in love with the man a long time ago.
• I called my boss at work. He'd seen the news and told me to stay home for a few days. Let the media circus blow itself out once they got bored.
• "Congratulations, Jonathan."
• "For what?" I asked him.
• "Did you forget? You're worth a few BILLION dollars right now."
• ***
• ***SATURDAY***
• I'd spent the rest of Friday holed up inside my own apartment. Various neighbors came by and tried to be sociable, mostly just looking to meet someone newly- famous. Some of them I'd barely spoken to in the past, but now everyone was my friend.
• It was a pretty Saturday morning, a great day to go out and enjoy the city, but I was still hiding out in my apartment. And of all the curious neighbors who came to check me out, one of them caught my notice more than the rest. She was very pretty young lady, and she had my attention from the moment she stepped into the hallway.
• I had been standing in my doorway, chatting up the neighbor who literally shared a wall with me. He was an older gentleman who had ordered some Chinese delivery for me and steadfastly refused to let me repay him for it. I couldn't order myself without giving away my name and address, so he placed the call with his own credit card and building security had delivered it up to him.
• He noticed my gaze had been averted and took the opportunity to escape before I could force some cash onto him. And then the pretty girl arrived. Her light brown hair was tied back into a simple ponytail and she shyly kept her gaze downcast as she approached me. She gave me a nervous smile while her hazel eyes perked up as she realized I was looking right at her.
• "Hi..." I ventured, putting on my most charming grin.
• "Hey..." she looked up at me and folded her arms over her chest. This motion pressed her full cleavage together beneath a demure sweater, and I had to fight to keep my gaze on her face. "You're Jonathan Kwong?"
• "Yes, but my mom's the only one who calls me Jonathan. I'm just John."
• "Pleased to meet you John." She held out her hand politely, which I grasped and shook gently. "I'm Nicole."
• Her hand felt so small and so soft. "I assume you live in the building?" I asked.
• "Yes. I'm on the fifth floor."
• "Oh, ok. So you just came up to see what all the fuss was about?"
• Nicole blushed prettily. "I was just curious. So is it true? Mr. Kendall was your father?"
• "It would appear so. At least my mom reassures me that he was."
• "I'm very sorry for your loss." Somehow, the way Nicole said it made me believe she truly sympathized for me. In fact, everything about this girl screamed shy, genuine honesty, a rare thing to find in this town.
• "That's okay. I mean, I'm sad that I never got the chance to meet him. But at the same time it can't hurt me that much."
• "I suppose. The thing is that I never knew my dad either. Single mom, dad left before I was born. I'm sure you know the story." She uncrossed her arms and waved them off to the sides in a helpless shrug.
• I was taken aback by the sudden seriousness of our conversation. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."
• She continued. "I guess my own situation is what made me want to come up here and meet you. I'm sure there are a hundred more people just like us in this building alone." And then Nicole laughed.
• I was startled by the sound. Her laugh was rich and melodious. I could listen to her laughing all day. Now I definitely wasn't a person who believed in love at first sight. The romantic in me wanted to believe it but the New York realist in me denounced it as fantasy. But there was... something... about this girl that struck me.
• Taylor was gorgeous and stirred my loins from the moment I saw her. She was all slender curves and angular cheekbones and brilliant eyes. But Nicole, while not surrendering much to Taylor in the way of curves or physical attractiveness, just seemed so much more wholesome somehow.
• "What's so funny?" I ventured as Nicole was still giggling to herself while looking out at nowhere.
• She giggled one more time before looking right at me. "Well, I don't suppose there's many more single-parent kids who find out their dad just left them a fortune!" She leaned against my doorpost with a healthy smile on her face, all traces of her early nervousness gone now.
• "No, I suppose not." I caught myself leaning in close to her, just casually slouched while standing up and yet so much closer to violating Nicole's personal space.
• Nicole looked at me, the two of us incredibly comfortable despite knowing each other for bare minutes. And just when I felt the urge to lean in and kiss her tender lips, Nicole blinked several times and then looked at her feet. "Well, I'll let you get back to your life. Sorry for bothering you."
• And then a second later we were both standing straight up and a couple of feet further apart. The moment, whatever it was, was now gone. "Not at all," I told her. "The silver lining is that I finally get to meet the people I've been living next to for years. You're welcome to come back anytime."
• Her eyes lit up at the idea. "Maybe. I'll see you around. Goodbye."
• "Bye."
• She turned around and headed back towards the elevator. I could have stayed there forever watching her hips swaying as she walked away. There was a connection there and I wanted to find out more. Part of me wanted to find out what was underneath that baggy sweater and stylish jeans. But more of me wanted to know what was behind the fresh face and kind eyes. And yet thirty seconds later, Nicole turned the corner and was gone.
• So I retreated back into my doorway. My Chinese food was getting cold.
• ***
• ***SUNDAY***
• After days of camping outside my apartment, the media eventually figured out I wasn't going to make an immediate statement. And with nothing to report for hour after hour, the buzz quickly died down and everyone sort of moved on.
• So today I turned my cell phone back on and decided to venture out. The first thing I wanted to do was get a serious meal without having to eat it at home. But just as I was leaving the building, my cell rang.
• Taylor was livid. "You promised you'd call me!"
• "Sorry! I had to turn my phone off. Somehow every news network got my cell phone number."
• "Still..." Taylor was not the kind of girl who was used to waiting. She'd been a gorgeous woman when I met her in college, with all the boys flitting over her like moths to a flame. My exotic looks had gotten her attention. Well, at least had held her attention for about a week. It wasn't until we ran into each other again, years later in Manhattan, that we started fucking again. She was a beautiful fashion model/actress who'd guest starred on a couple of primetime dramas. I was an old reliable friend from college with no strings attached.
• "I'm sorry. It's been a crazy couple of days."
• "One would think you'd find a way to get in touch with your girlfriend," she whined.
• "Girlfriend?" I snorted. "You've never been my girlfriend."
• "Hey, that's no way to think of the last woman you slept with."
• "And how do YOU know you were the last woman I slept with?" I replied indignantly. "I've been a popular guy ever since the story broke."