“Shit,” I hear him shout.
I knock on the open door as he rounds his desk.
Joseph jumps. “Cody. Good to see you. You are a little late, I’m afraid.” He motions to his face. His nose is bleeding, and the bruising around his left eye is already coming in.
“Maybe you shouldn’t send me away from your meetings?”
Joseph glares at me. I cross my arms and stare back.
“Touché.” He grabs a tissue and dabs the blood from his nose.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask.
“I just received a friendly reminder. I owe someone some money.”
“Who?”
Joseph waves his hand. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. You hired me to protect you, so I need to know who is after you. And why do you owe him money?”
He flops in his chair. “My boss, Mr. Ziff, hired you. I can take care of myself. But it wouldn’t hurt to have you by my side more often.”
“Is this related to the funding cut?” I ask.
Joseph laughs. “No. I’m afraid not. I borrowed money from someone that doesn’t accept late payments, if you know what I mean.”
I sit in the chair across from him and lean back. This man gets a hefty monthly trust fund payment, likely a generous salary, and he still has to borrow from someone like Vince? I’m wondering if he’s into something more than gambling.
“How much?” I press.
He frowns. “Don’t worry about it. The best thing I can do now is get him his money.”
“What if you can’t pay him? Will he go after Lucy?”
Joseph frowns. “Why would you bring her up?”
“I heard the guy mention her name.”
Joseph stares at me. “Then you heard him hit me too?”
“I did.”
“And you didn’t think coming in here to stop him was a good idea?”
“No.”
Vince doesn’t need to know about me until I figure out what is going on.
Joseph shuts his eyes. “He won’t hurt Lucy. He wants me to play the sympathy card to get her to pay. But that won’t work.” No twitch.
As much as I need to focus on Joseph and his safety right now, the thought that Lucy won’t be sympathetic to him makes me smile.
“You don’t think she’ll give you money?”
He shakes his head. “Nope. But don’t worry. Lucy will be fine. I have a plan. I’ll get the money later today, and this will all be over.” His eyebrow twitches.
Motherfucker.
