Free Foreclosure: A Novel by S.D. Thames

at Justin before Kirk was in David’s face. “You must be David,” Kirk said as he took David’s hand. David found himself staring at the thickest head of hair he’d ever seen. He resisted the urge to touch it. “Justin spoke very highly of you.”
    David hid his surprise. “I’m glad to hear Justin’s still an honest man.”
    Kirk belted out a hearty laugh while David greeted Alice, whose grip was twice as strong as Kirk’s. Ahead, Mackenzie was pecking Justin’s cheek and whispering something in his ear—perhaps telling him she hoped he’d enjoyed the severance package they paid to better everyone’s interests during these most difficult of times.
    David finally got a good look at Justin when his old buddy shed Mackenzie and locked right hands with Alton. Surprisingly, Justin was a caricature of the man David expected to see today. He didn’t look relaxed, underworked, or oversexed. Instead, he slouched with the composure of an indentured servant who had just finished a tour of duty for a mercenary army. And not only had he sprouted a nascent double chin, but his lips were bloated and gray crescents hung below his eyes.
    Alton rubbed Justin’s right trap while he spun him in David’s direction, as though he were getting ready to introduce him to his future bride. Instead, it was only the man whose bride Justin had stolen.
    Justin and David flirted with eye contact. “How are you, old sport?” Justin asked.
    “I’m great. And you look great too. You really do.”
    “Well,” Kirk said, “you two kids can catch up later. What do you say we get some lunch?”
    “That’s a fine idea,” Alton said. He stood back and let the others exit the conference room. As David approached, Alton patted him on the back and rubbed his shoulder with longer strokes than he’d given Justin. Alton clearly lived for these moments. David felt as though his flesh were eating itself.

    Lunch began with talk of the mundane. Alton spun tales about his latest outings on the golf course, while Mackenzie provided perfectly timed color commentary. The two operated like a well-calibrated duo broadcasting on ESPN, and Kirk and Alice were eating up every minute of the variety hour. For all David could tell, Justin was too. David wondered whether Alton and Mackenzie worked so well together because they were sleeping together, or whether they were sleeping together because they worked so well together.
    David had nothing to contribute to the entertainment. He knew he was really the one under the spotlight. But any time he found an opportunity to speak—like the mention of how the Marlins fared on opening day, what a Democrat in the White House would mean for big-bank litigation, or whether Bush should face charges for war crimes—the conversation had already changed topic before David could articulate something to say. And now, so much time had passed with him saying nothing that the only thing more awkward than his silence would be for him to finally start talking.
    It soon became clear that Mackenzie was going to force David to participate. She looked him dead in the eyes and then changed the topic of conversation to Justin and how much they missed him at the firm.
    Kirk ate that up, too. “We are very happy to have Justin onboard,” he proclaimed. David would have to know Kirk much better to opine whether his statement was sincere.
    “We’re so pleased to hear that,” Mackenzie said.
    “I guess we trained him well,” Alton added.
    “Indeed you did. He’s a big asset to the bank.” Kirk smiled proudly.
    David looked to his old buddy. “And I bet you don’t miss the billable hours either, do you?” A few seconds passed before David realized his question had deflated the room.
    Justin feigned a smile. “Though I’m working just as hard as I did at the firm, I can’t say that I do.”
    “The good news,” Kirk said, “is that Justin will be overseeing our portfolios in southwest Florida. We have dozens of loans in