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But then Pops decided to interject. “Also, I moved the mugs around. The one you had at the back of the cabinet is the best one, and it shouldn't be in the back."
Grizzly looked at me like I could explain the complete shift in conversation.
I held my hands up. "He's always been like this. You just have to try to keep up."
"I find it helpful to make myself at home quickly. It reduces everyone's stress." He gestured around the room. "See? Nobody's stressed. And when you decide to get a mug out, you’ll see what I mean."
Grizzly shook his head, though he was smiling. I motioned for Pops to move so I could take the spot by my boy. He rolled his eyes as he got up. The effect of the move was ruined by his massive grin.
This was family.
This was love.
CHAPTER 37
Grizzly
The call came in on a random Wednesday.
I had back-to-back client calls scheduled through the day, a contract revision sitting in my inbox that Auden had flagged as needing attention before the end of week, and a new pair of glasses on my face that I was still negotiating with since my old ones got broken in a freak accident.
My phone lit up with a name I hadn't expected to see.
Gillies.
I picked up, worried something had happened with Daddy. Gillies played with him, so it made sense he would call if something happened.
"Grizzly." His voice told me he'd made this call fast, probably between things. "You know a guy named Holb Nekman?"
"I know of him," I said carefully. "He was Paxton's former agent."
"Yeah, well, he's currently in the parking lot of a sports bar two blocks from your office having what I would describe as a loud and personal conversation with himself about what he's going to do when he gets to you." A pause. "I happened to be at said bar for lunch. Figured you'd want a heads up."
I set my pen down on the desk. "How long ago?"
"Ten minutes, give or take. He was still working himself up when I left. Man likes to hear himself talk, so you've probably got a window. Thought about calling Paxton, but he's in the middle of a conditioning session, and I didn't want to blow the whole thing up if you could handle it. And I'd have come by your office, but I’m late for a meeting."
"I can handle it," I told him. “Thanks for the call.”
"Yeah, I figured. Alright. Call me if it goes sideways. I can get out of my thing if I have to."
He hung up.
I sat for a moment with the phone in my hand and the name Holb Nekman doing what it did in my head. I knew the broad strokes of what had happened between him and Paxton. I also knew the type of agent Holb Nekman was because I had been in this industry long enough to have encountered his kind many times. They were the type who believed that leverage was the same as loyalty and that what a client owed them was infinite regardless of what they delivered in return.
I stood up from my desk and went to the doorway of my office.
"Cheyenne," I called.
She appeared from around the corner. "What's wrong?"
"A man named Holb Nekman may be coming here shortly. He's Paxton's former agent, and he’s apparently not having a great morning. If he shows up, donotlet him past the front."
She straightened. Her expression went from calm to alert in a millisecond. "Understood."
"Where's Moseley?"
"Filing room."
