"Beautiful…" I commented, looking through my office window, the view truly amazing. I observed large numbers of people busy shopping amongst the wide variety of stores below at street level. In the park, two teenagers were relaxing in the sun, enjoying a picnic. In the background, I could see a marina, and a flotilla of boats drifting upon the azure-blue waters beyond. If I looked hard enough, I could see small children playing on the beach. Lifeguards sat in their white chairs upon elevated platforms keeping an eye on things. However, the most breath-taking site had to be the amazing sunset on the horizon. The sun appeared to be sinking into the sea.
"What is it?" asked my partner, as he read the newspaper.
"Oh, nothing really, I was just thinking out loud," I replied, my eyes still fixed on the magnificent view from our lofty position.
"You tend to do that a lot, you know," he said jokingly, leaning back in his chair, placing his feet on the end of my desk. "You know, you're lucky you got the job, more importantly…this office."
"Luck had nothing to do with this," I retorted as I pushed his feet off my expensive desk. He glowered at me.
He opened his mouth once again to say something provocative, but before he had a chance, I cut him off, "don't even think about it," I warned.
"I wasn't," he said, grinning back.
Confused? Maybe I should start from the beginning. It had all begun one Friday night when I was helping at a friend's bar, the night I first met the two men determined to bring down my fathers business. They thought I was unaware of them, but when these two ‘gentlemen' turn up in their plane black business suits in a club-bar on the same day and time, and sit at the same table, you really notice. If that's not enough to draw one's attention, one of these – gentlemen -- was always at work on his laptop. Therefore, if you think about it, they're not that hard to miss. Besides, my father told me about them -- the tall, dark, good-looking detective, Darien Shields, and his younger, computer obsessed partner, Melvin McLau.
It was a cold wet night during karaoke hour, and I unhappily found myself forced to stand up on stage before a large audience of unruly patrons to sing.
