His jaw crunched as he tried to talk, his cheek throbbed with a contusion that ached deep to the bone.
Rubbing his hand over the injury, Grady checked that nothing was broken.
Fists up, Mr. Langford was ready to swing again.
“Mr. Langford. You had every opportunity to counter. Again, please raise your concerns with your own attorney.”
“I know she was sleeping with you, too. Like everybody else.”
As if. Mrs. Langford was a walking STD.
When the block of a fist aimed for Grady’s other cheek, he ducked and cracked an uppercut into Mr. Langford’s belly.
Doubled over from the force of the blow, Mr. Langford backed into the doorway and groaned.
“We can call it even, or I can call the police and let them handle it.”
“Screw you.” Mr. Langford grimaced, still holding his abdomen.
“I am truly sorry that your marriage ended on such unfriendly terms.”
Scowl etched deeply between his eyebrows, Mr. Langford limped out of the office.
Behind him, Lincoln waited, waited, and finally let out a long sigh. “That was... tense.”
“No shit.” Grady flexed and relaxed his fist. “I’m done for the day.”
He didn’t look back to see Lincoln’s reaction. Fury burning his gut, and his cheek, he floored it down Main and parked behind Black Op. Without pause, he unlocked the side door, locking it again behind him. He mustered a smile and waved to the crew already there, then dashed up the stairs.
Done with the monkey suit, he changed out of the lawyer uniform as quickly as possible and tugged on the jeans and Black Op tee he kept in his office. Kicking off his oxford’s, he slid his feet into his brown leather Merrells and fired up the computer.
After completing the monthly budget, he pulled up his emails, then ensured their inventory was adequate to fulfill the orders from the local restaurants and grocers as well as anticipating growth. In three more months, if things continued at this trajectory, he would see about contracting with a distributor.
Zane popped his head in the door. “Hey, you’re here early.”
Grady clicked on his desk lamp, knowing the shiner was probably glowing purple by now.
“Shit. That’s a good one. How’s the other guy look?”
“Worse. Can’t blame him; he got screwed in the divorce.”
“You call the cops? Press charges?”
“Nope.”
Zane bit his cheek and gave a subtle nod, but didn’t push. Guy had a temper, but didn’t let it show. Grady could use a dose of that subtlety.
Dropping into the chair across the desk, Zane leaned back and rested his hands over his abdomen. “Black Op is pulling in decent income. Why don’t you cut back and just take cases you want?”
“I try to filter, but the ex-wife had seemed like a decent person. It wasn’t until we got to the nitty gritty that I realized what a bitch she was.”
“What does Lincoln think?”
“About what?”
“Did he witness... this?” Zane pointed to Grady’s cheek that grew more swollen by the minute.
“Yes.”
