Chapter 14
As I got ready, I thought about Elizabeth. I had some anxiety about confronting her, but mostly I was curious why she had such a strong reaction to me. I took care to make myself as presentable as possible. The woman intimidated me with her perfect poise and stylish, expensive clothes.
I took the stairs, knowing the elevator would get me too excited, and knocked on her door, 2B, right on time.
It took a long minute for her to open the door. When she finally did, she stood there for an even longer moment, just staring at me with a tightlipped frown and a glass of red wine held in one hand.
“You have a problem with your shower?” I asked, feeling the small seed of anxiety in me blossoming.
She didn’t move or speak for a couple of seconds, her eyes narrowing slightly, then she nodded once and stepped back.
“This way,” she said, her voice was rich and smooth, with just a hint of a midwestern accent.
I stepped in and closed the door behind me, looking around. Elizabeth’s place looked nothing like Gia’s. The floor plan was slightly different, but it was mostly the furnishings and decorations that gave it a completely different vibe. All her furniture was black and either rich leather or finely wrought steel. All with minimalist designs and looking very expensive.
She led me through the bedroom and to her back bathroom. She quickly shut her closet door, glancing at me suspiciously to see if I’d been peeking in. I pretended not to have noticed the black leather mask and odd straps hanging on the other side of the door. Her frown relaxed, and she stepped into the bathroom.
“The showerhead stopped working about a week ago, only a dribble of water will come out,” she motioned with her glass of wine and crossed her arms after taking a sip.
In the bright light of the bathroom, I could see the haziness to her eyes, and the slight blush to her cheeks. The woman must have already had a glass or two, because she looked a bit tipsy.
“How long is this going to take?” She asked, a touch of anger and annoyance lacing her words. As I stepped up to take a look at the showerhead, I paused and glanced at her shrugging.
“I’ll be done as fast as I can. If I can fix it, it shouldn’t take too long.”
“Hmph!” She snorted in derision and stomped out of the room, tossing back the rest of her wine as she went.
I had no idea why the woman was upset, but I couldn’t help but stare at the way her skirt hugged the perfect swell of her hips. Putting the woman out of my mind, I got to work. It was hard to discover the problem at first, and I was forced to dig through my tool bag for a wrench. It only took a few turns, and I had the shower head off. Inside I saw the plastic housing was cracked and blocked up.
I stepped out of the bathroom and saw Elizabeth sitting in the living room. She had put on classical music, and the sweet sounds of the violin filled the air. She glanced over when I stepped through, headed for the door.
“The showerhead is broken,” I said, holding it up for her, “There are replacements down in the basement, I’ll be right back.”
“You’re really fixing it?” She asked, sounding a little bemused.
“Of course,” I said, pausing at the door, “That’s my job.”
“Hmph,” she grimaced and stared into her wine glass, “I don’t know what your father has planned for me, but just do what you came for and leave.”
“What are you talking about?” Something in my voice must have cut through to her because she looked up at me curiously, “My father passed away two weeks ago. It was in all the papers.”
“I haven’t been paying attention to the news…” she said softly, shaking her head as if she didn’t believe me, “This case is consuming me… You’re serious… Archibald is dead?”
As I told her of his passing, standing there in the living room with the showerhead in hand, her face crumped onto soft sadness. Then she glanced up at me curiously and with a touch of suspicion.
“What are you doing here then? The super? You should have inherited an empire worth nearly a trillion dollars.”
“My father assigned me one final test,” I said, unable to keep the touch of bitterness I still felt towards the man out of my voice. “I’m to live in this building, anonymous as possible, and fix it as the superintendent while attending a year of college. If I fail, then I lose the entire fortune and my shares in Whitaker Industries.”
“This was all in the contract?” She asked, the drunkenness fading quickly as she spoke of legal matters, her gaze sharpening.
“Yea, a law firm named Bain and Associates, drew it up,” I said.
“Fuck,” Elizabeth said with a frown and a deep pull of her wine, “They’re the best at estate law in the city, maybe the world. You have a copy of the contract?”
“No,” I said, feeling like a fool for not asking for one.
“Get one,” she said, “I’d like to look it over.”
“Thanks,” I said in genuine relief, “That would be a big help.”
“I’m not your counsel, though, you understand?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at me, then she swallowed hard, her eyes running down my body slowly, and she took another deep sip of wine, “Got get that shower head, I need another drink.”
She stood and marched into the kitchen, her walk sure and steady. I suddenly had a suspicion that the woman could hold her alcohol far better than she was letting on. I went down to the basement and got a new showerhead out of a box that had been sitting on a shelf so long it had a thick layer of dust on it. I grabbed some white gasket tape out of the toolbox and went back upstairs.
Elizabeth was sitting against the sink in the bathroom when I got back in. Her arm propped up as she sipped her wine. She watched me work, making me uncomfortable under her frank stare.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” she said finally, blurting the words out into the deafening silence. “I had my problems with him, but that’s no reason to take it out on you.”
“Thanks,” I said, “to be honest I didn’t know the man that well. He stuck me in a boarding school and then mostly forgot about me.”
“He never forgot about you,” Elizabeth said, with grudging respect, “One thing I’ll say for Archibald Whitaker, he never forgot a thing, and never stopped scheming with that knowledge.”
“You really hate him?” I asked, confused by her shifting emotions. I was just wrapping the last of the tape on the threads, having cleaned them off, and then started twisting the new shower head in place.
“Hate him?” she mused, swirling her glass, “No, I don’t hate him. I’m angry at him still, and probably always will be, but in truth, things were as much my fault as his.”
“What happened between you two, if I may ask?” I was just tightening the shower head down with the wrench when I realized that might not have been the best thing to ask.
She stared at the wall for long moments as I cranked it the last quarter turn, careful not to go too tight. I reached down and turned the water on, startling her, and then popped the lever, and the spigot cut off, and the showerhead gave an ominous rattling sound before a steady stream of water sprayed out against the wall.
“You did it.” Elizabeth said with a surprised smile, “Good work, Connor.”
“Thanks,” I said, with a smile of pride as I watched the steady stream. The sound disappeared after a second and didn’t return, so I turned the water off.
“Come on, let’s get you a glass of wine. Then I’ll tell you my sad story. Or maybe, it’s our sad story.” She sounded like a person about to walk to the headsman’s block as she went and got me a glass of wine. “Have a seat,” she said, pointing to the couch, “I’ll be right back.”