Her kitchen had a certain Feng Shui vibe to it, or at least that was what the woman in red was clearly aiming for. The room was dim with ambient light cast from what Cyan assumed was Walmart brand scented candles. The fragrance of clove and cinnamon was almost overpowering. The portal into the room was draped with little crystal gems hanging from gaudy wire string. Vaious pictures of babling streams, or bamboo shoot forests lined the peach and creme colored walls. A Chinese kettle simmered gently on the stove nearby. Honestly, the room reminded him of a soccer mother who found yoga and suddenly realized that she needed some chi or karma, or other mystical bullshit in her life.

However, that did not stop Cyan from stealing glances at the woman’s long, limber legs. Cyan himself was of fairly average height and build, finding little time in his hectic life to make it to the gym. Much to his father’s chagrin, he preferred those few extra hours in bed to make up for the long and fast nights. This woman though, was something else entirely. She was easily six foot, maybe a hair or so higher, even barefoot. Her body was a physical specimen. She wasn’t like Stella, who was all curves layered with thick muscles earned through years of hard labor. She was more statuesque, like the vision of a Venetian sculptor who had somehow got lost in the far East. Cyan simply found her exquisite. Something about her was enthralling. She didn’t fit the usual brand of sexy that might be advertised to you by a Hollywood studio, but she was simply so exotic. Her eyes smoldered, the slight pout of her lips was sultry, and the way she carried herself just demanded attention.

The woman rummaged through a cupboard. She emerged holding a set of fine china with a hue somewhere between sea foam off the Caribbean shore, and a fresh winter hoarfrost. Then she gingerly placed three circular dishes at the table, and set a cup on each plate. The cups and plates clattered a gentle tune as she them down with grace.

“You know, my grandmother taught me that the key to perfect tea is to never let the water boil. If you boil the water, you only serve to staunch the flavor of the herbs,” she said. The gentle simmering came to a halt as she removed the cast iron kettle from the stove. “My grandmother taught me quite a bit, to be fair. Tea was amongst the least of those things.”  Her oddly green eyes seemed to pierce Cyan to his core. She poured the steaming liquid into the cups. “She was the one from who I inherited this building from.”

“Ms… uhm,” Bennett began as he started to fumble through the paperwork in his Valentino briefcase. “Uhm, Faye?” Beads of perspiration trickled down his triple chin.

“Call me Sunya,” she interrupted. “I know why you are here. You have been serving legal documents to every resident on the block for the better part of the evening, and I am the last stop before your day is done. I’m sure you are tired, but it is customary in my culture for deals to be done over a drink. I realize this may not be alcoholic, but this tea will certainly warm your weary legs,” she smiled at them graciously. She turned her head to Cyan. “This is the closest color I had to your name, Mr. Steel.” Cyan studied her and the light blue cups. How did she know his name?

“Yes, Ms. Fay… er Sunya, I don’t mean to be rude, but we really must be going. My client will surely want to finish this business as soon as possible.”

“Lawyers are always so impatient,” she winked at the Cyan. She pulled three pyramid shaped bags from a small cylindrical ceramic container at the middle of the table and submerged each one into the warm water. “I normally steep my tea, but you do seem to be in quite the rush. At the very least, you can explain to me my compensation for having to leave this building. You know this is a rent stabilized apartment complex, and leaving it would put me in quite the bind. Oh but first, let me find us something to eat.”

Bennett’s eyes lit up like flickering candle wicks when she mentioned food. She clearly knew the right buttons to hit for the gluttonous man. There mere thought of cakes and cookies or other treats sent the man in a blind berserk of confectionary desire. He would sooner stuff his ogre like gut until it was even more bulbous and corpulent than consider the possible health implications of such reckless abandon. Cyan couldn’t help but feel some disdain for the man.

“Of course Sunya, that would be lovely. It is only fair that I explain everything to you,” his neck folds jiggled like waves in a tumultuous ocean as he gave her a toothy grin. She returned his smile and pulled a small plater from a drawer which she set on the table. Sunya placed a number of small green pastries that fell somewhere between macaroons and crème puffs on the platter. Bennett didn’t even wait for her to finish placing the sweets before grabbing a handful and swiftly depositing them into his cavernous maw. “Oh, these are simply heavenly,” he said as crumbs rained from his mouth like little bombs on to the white table cloth landscape below. Once more he delved back into his briefcase until he found the last large yellowing envelope.

“Please, Cyan, have a pastry before we begin our talks. It is an old family recipe. I would be offended if such a cute boy like you didn’t treat himself to my delights,” she said. Again, her eyes felt chilling. Despite the warm nature of her voice, and her body language, her eyes felt horrifically off. A philosophy teacher of his back at NYU had mentioned that the eyes were a window to the soul. At the time Cyan had considered it mostly nonsense. After all, he had taken the course for an easy grade. He cringed remembering that he had managed to fail the course regardless. Now though, he wasn’t so sure. Before he had noted her eyes were smoldering, almost primal and full of desire, but there was something else. He couldn’t place it, but the jade of her iris simply startled him.

“Kid, have a damn puff before you offend the woman. Besides, they are great!” His lawyer said through a fresh mouthful. He grabbed a four more pastries and dropped them into a plastic bag he had evidently stored in his case. He tied a knot and put it back within the luggage. “Some for later, perhaps!”

“I… yeah, sure,” Cyan finally said. He took one of the odd looking treats and delicately nibbled at the end of it. His taste buds erupted in a cacophony of sugary euphoria. Synapses fired and his tongue simply applauded the unique and exotic flavors that danced on his tongue. He simply couldn’t help but finish the rest of the cake.

“Now, back to business,” Bennett said as he took a swig from the sky colored cup. “Unfortunately, my client has purchased every building on this block. While you retained the rent stabilization rate provided to your aunt or grandmother via being grandfathered in, that doesn’t mean that the buildings themselves could not be purchased from the landlords or contractors that currently hold the deeds,” he seemed to be sweating more than he had even before. “Mr. Steel has been kind enough to allow families within the buildings some time before moving out. Of course, because the apartment is being rented, there is no compensation, but we could look into finding and paying for a movement company once you’ve found a location to relocate.” He dabbed his head with a handkerchief he that had previously been tucked into his suit pocket.

Cyan found the entire law side of the family business to be one of the dullest things ever. The jargon was simply baffling and the nearly countless and innumerable details and laws to follow were simply overwhelming. Not only did it confuse him, but it left him with a migraine. Bennett continued to talk for some time about the legal process, but Cyan had stopped following five words into his speech. He wanted more than anything to return home and prepare for the night ahead. Cyan was sure that Chad had some great stories to share, and perhaps they could plan their next big adventure.

“I find this quite disturbing, Mr. Kraus,” Sunya said, causing Cyan to snap back to reality. “I manage to continue living within the city, and quite comfortably due to the luxury of this complexes rent. Upon that, it affords me the upmost privacy, something that is quite difficult to come by in an urban center. Not only am I being forcibly removed from a home my family has lived in for generations, but I am not being compensated in the slightest,” she still smiled despite the gravity of her words.

“I understand that this is going to take some adjustment, but Mr. Steel is quite set on this location. The words of even someone as stunning as you could not change the mind of that man,” he returned.

“I think you might find yourself quite wrong,” her ruby lips seemed even brighter. “I can be quite persuasive,” she said. “I’d ask to meet Mr. Steel, but I think his son will do for now. I’ve seen pictures of your father, Cyan,” she turned towards the youth. “He looks intimidating, but you…” she paused and placed a long finger to her pursed lips. “You, are quite different. You’re quite cute,” she smiled again. Normally Cyan would have been thrilled to have a woman so openly approach him. It wouldn’t have been the first time, but something about Sunya sincerely scared him.

“I, uh…” he hesitated. He could feel the heat around his collar and hoped he wasn’t blushing. “Thank you? I’m just here for my father though,” he responded.

“Ah, yes, taking over the family business of extortion,” said Sunya. “You know, I saw you at your last performance,” she said casually. “You have quite an impressive talent. You handle your horn quite well.”

“You saw my performance?” he asked almost rhetorically. He found that hard to believe. A few weeks prior he had played with a local jazz band in the meat packing district. She simply didn’t seem the type to listen to smooth jazz in a hipster bar, packed with college students and artists with too much ego and access to family bank accounts that were far too large.

“You look skeptical. I certainly did watch you perform. I quite enjoyed your rendition of Poses. It was quite technical, despite the lackluster effort of your bandmates,” she said. “I only wish we had been meeting over kinder affairs. Regardless, I am sure we will get to know each other quite intimately!”

Before Cyan could respond to such an odd declaration, his phone began to play Miles Davis. The melodic sounds of a trumpet filled the air, breaking the strange tension that had been building like a powder keg. He stared blankly at the text, almost not registering his father was calling him. He stood from his seat and glanced up at the two others in the room. Bennett looked almost sickly now, his skin having faded to a pallid corpse like white.

“I should answer this,” Cyan didn’t wait for a respond. He simply turned around and walked into the foyer. He could still hear the hushed voices of Sunya and Bennett as he opened his cell phone.

“Are you done yet?” Sage nearly barked through the phone. “I’m getting ready to leave and I want to make sure that everything is in order.”

“Yes, dad, we are almost done,” Cyan said.

“What did I say about that dad bullshit? What are you supposed to call me while you are on my goddamn clock?”

“Mr. Steel,” Cyan replied. He felt stupid calling his own father by his surname.

“Good. Now hurry up so we can get home and meet your sister for dinner,” he said. His father didn’t wait for a reply before hanging up. Cyan sneered at the phone in mock sarcasm. His father had always been something of a prick, but at least he could ignore him before. Now his father permeated every part of his life when all he wanted to do was continue his sedentary ways and playing his bugle. He shuffled back through the gaudy crystal veil into the kitchen.

“Ah good, Cyan!” Bennett spoke up. “We were just about to finish,” he said.

“Listen Bennett, can you handle this on your own? My pops just called, and he needs me out of here now.”

“Uh, yeah sure. I suppose.” The piggish lawyer said. He folded his briefcase closed and latched the lock in place. “Do you mind dropping this off on my office? It’ll save me a stop, and your father can find any of the documents he might need for tomorrow’s meeting with the board in there.”

Cyan grabbed the suitcase from his pudgy hands. “Yeah, sure,” he said with a sigh. He didn’t want to look at Sunya, but he couldn’t help stealing a glance at her. Her jade eyes still trained on him, her scarlet lips still peeled in a faint smile, he still felt frightened.

“I’m sure we will see each other again soon, my sweet Cyan,” she said. Cyan didn’t wait any longer. He hauled the suitcase with him and had to use every ounce of restraint to not sprint out the door and down the street to the subway. Even in the sweltering heat of the train, surrounded by the unique fragrances only found in the New York City subway system, he couldn’t shake the smells of clove and cinnamon, still clinging to him in a deathly embrace.

“Now, Sunya, we only have a few more things to cover… but…” Bennet began, but the lawyer suddenly felt faint. He felt the world around him spinning as if lost in a swirling gust. A jackhammer pounded at the inside of his ribcage, and he was drowning. He couldn’t breath as his own sweat felt like it was becoming a lake of perspiration. Was he having a heart attack? Bennett only recalled those piercing eyes as the world seemed to grow overhead and darkness clouded his vision.