Free Foreclosure: A Novel by S.D. Thames Page A

workout right now, and we anticipate at least half of them will be in litigation by the end of the year.”
    “Well, that’s why we brought David.” Alton glanced at Mr. Of Counsel.
    Kirk locked eyes with David. “I know I said it once, David, but Justin has the highest praise for your work. We are close to concluding that you are the right guy, the guy, to handle this litigation.”
    David felt warmth on his brow, like the hot flashes he suffered when he’d drink red wine and stout on an empty stomach. The man whom two months ago David considered his best friend, and who subsequently stole the woman David thought he wanted to marry, now wanted to throw David enough work to make him the youngest equity partner at Hollis & Alderman.
    “We have a lot to talk about,” Justin said to David.
    “Look at you. Your own portfolio. How is she?” David asked.
    Mackenzie grimaced. “I’m sure Justin’s portfolio is very diverse.” She offered Alice a kids-will-be-kids smile.
    “She’s fine,” Justin said.
    “When’d you see her last?” David asked.
    “This morning.”
    Mackenzie cleared her throat. She glanced around the table and leaned over to whisper. “If you’re going to talk about anything confidential, maybe you should go to Justin’s office.”
    “I think that’s a good idea,” Justin said. “I’m not hungry. Are you, David?”

    As the door to Justin’s office closed, David realized that Justin’s new gig really was quite the demotion. Half the size of a junior associate’s at Hollis & Alderman, Justin’s office was a notch above a cubicle: one window that a malnourished prisoner couldn’t escape out of, and office furniture that could have been bought used at a dorm sale. And the look of dejection on Justin’s face screamed that he was working longer hours and feeling more stressed than he ever had in private practice. And he was probably making a fraction of the salary, on top of the higher cost of living in Miami.
    “Nice office,” David said. He scanned the walls for photos of Lana.
    “Let’s cut to the chase, David. There’s an elephant in the room bigger than either of our egos. And we both know her name.”
    “You saw her this morning?”
    “That’s right. At breakfast.”
    “You met for breakfast?”
    “In our dining room.”
    “Like your collective dining room?”
    Justin nodded. “We live together.” He gave David a moment to digest the news.
    But David had known this was coming. He’d already searched the Miami-Dade County property records and learned what a great deal Justin had gotten on a condo short-sale a few months ago. The deed and mortgage were solely in his name, and Lana shared the address. “You picked a good time to buy.”
    “Next year would have been perfect. But I had to play the cards I was dealt.”
    “Don’t we all? She knows you’re seeing me today?”
    Justin nodded.
    “And she’s fine with that?”
    “I don’t know about ‘fine,’ but she wants us to handle this like adults.”
    “It okay then if I ask a few things?”
    “Shoot.”
    Two months ago, David would have barraged Justin with a frenzy of questions. When was the first time you slept together? When was the first time you kissed? Does she call you tiger? While his interest in the answers to these questions had significantly waned in recent months, his resentment toward Justin had not. “Are you treating her right?”
    “You’d have to ask her.” Justin bit his upper lip, the way he always did when he needed to get something off his chest. “Is that all you want to know?”
    “Unless you need to tell me more.”
    “You remember when you and Terry were in that trial in West Palm?”
    “A year ago?”
    “That sounds about right. She called me one night crying. She asked if I could come over. I tried assuring her that you really cared for her.”
    David glanced at Justin’s sturdy desktop and imagined how easy it would be to bash his head against it right now. “You know I