Free Turning the Page by Andrew Grey

his date is much more interested in someone else.”
    Hans tilted his head to the other side. Gary’s date—Malcolm couldn’t remember her name—was sitting at another table, making eyes at and laughing with another man. They seemed deep in conversation, and she looked happy, or at least engaged.
    “What’s Gary doing?” Hans asked, and Malcolm turned to follow Hans’s gaze.
    Gary was talking animatedly to a man in his early twenties. They seemed to be discussing something intently, and the young man looked about ready to punch Gary. Malcolm got up and hurried over just as Gary punched the younger man, catching him on the shoulder, and the young man used the momentum and let loose with his other fist, inadvertently catching Malcolm on the arm. Malcolm went down, sprawling on the gleaming marble museum floor, and instantly Hans was there beside him. Gary beat a hasty retreat, and the slugger apologized profusely and backed away. It was all a little surreal and a lot painful. Malcolm was sure his arm wasn’t broken, but pain shot up and down it for a few moments before it began to ease.
    “Did you hurt anything besides your arm?” Hans asked, and Malcolm shook his head. “Can you get up?”
    “Yes. I’ll be fine.” Malcolm got to his feet and slowly made his way back to the table and sat down. He cradled his arm, and Hans sat next to him. “I don’t have a clue what that was all about.”
    “I can try to find out,” Hans said, but Malcolm shook his head. It would all come out when he went back to the office, he was sure. Thankfully the music had started again, and everyone seemed to be letting what happened fall away in deference to the occasion.
    “I’m sorry, sir,” the man who’d hit him said just above the music. “You weren’t supposed to get in the way.”
    He sat down nervously, and Hans rose and stepped in front of him.
    “It’s all right, Hans,” Malcolm said, warmed by Hans’s protective nature. “What was going on?”
    “Gary…. He….” The man looked around. “He was here with my girlfriend. Now former girlfriend, I guess. What she sees in him, I have no idea, but….” He grabbed a napkin off the table and twisted it in his hands. “He’s such a weasel.”
    At least that answered the earlier question. “Why wasn’t your girlfriend here with you tonight? Didn’t you ask her?”
    “I’m here for a work thing, and they didn’t have extra tickets….”
    “Did it ever occur to you that the reason she came with Gary was to make you jealous? She obviously wanted to come, so….”
    He shrugged. “Well, I came over to apologize again.” He stood and walked away.
    “You know, Mal,” a friend said from behind him, “I know a good personal injury lawyer if you need one.”
    “Gee, thanks,” Malcolm quipped back with a smile, glad he could laugh about it. His arm still hurt, but he knew it was best to try to put it behind them so the incident didn’t cloud the evening.
    It seemed Gary was nowhere to be found, and when Hans got Malcolm a glass of water and a double Scotch, Malcolm drank both and sat back.
    “What are you thinking about?”
    Malcolm groaned. “That like it or not, I just became the senior partner at Warren, Hanlan, and Webber. The partners are all going to want Gary’s head on Monday, and I won’t be able to stop it. We need a senior partner, and they all want me for the job.” He stood up. “Is it okay if we leave?”
    “Whatever you want to do,” Hans said.
    Malcolm handed Hans the coat check, and he went to get them.
    “You all right?” a man asked.
    Malcolm nodded.
    “I’ve been meaning to come talk to you, but you always seemed occupied, and I didn’t want to interrupt. I’m Taylor Donovan. My company is having a problem, and I believe I need your help.”
    Malcolm extended his good hand and then reached into his coat pocket. He pulled out a card. “Please call my office first thing on Monday, and I’ll be happy to talk to you. I know I