New York is the reported setting for the beginning of Brad Clarke’s affair with Stephanie. Though the trip is recounted rather than staged as a scene, its place in Brad’s confession gives the city a precise role in the history of his marriage to Page Clarke: it marks the occasion when the affair began.

The Business Trip

Brad tells Page that the affair has lasted about eight months and began on a business trip to New York. He and Stephanie, who works in the creative department, traveled there together to present to a client. The account identifies the trip’s professional purpose and the colleagues involved, but gives no further detail about the presentation or the city itself.

Role in the Narrative

New York enters the story through Page’s conversation with Brad, as part of his explanation of how long the affair has been going on. The city therefore functions less as a developed setting than as a pinpoint in the timeline of the betrayal: a work trip becomes the stated beginning of a secret relationship, and a fact about that trip sharpens Page’s understanding of how long she has been unaware of it.