“Dad… she doesn’t know the other part yet.”
Grant’s voice was barely above a whisper, but it cut through the reception area more cleanly than anything my father had shouted.
Richard turned toward him.
“What did you say?”
Grant swallowed.
My phone was still in my hand.
The compliance alert remained open, the words owner of record glowing on the screen.
Across the counter, the leather folder sat where Richard had slammed it, its polished edges suddenly looking less like a weapon and more like evidence.
Calvin was still on speaker.
“Grant?” he said.
That was when my father understood.
He looked at the phone.
Then at Grant.
Then at me.
“How does he know your name?” Richard demanded.
Grant closed his eyes for half a second.
“Because I called him.”
Maryanne’s hand flew to her chest.
Richard stared at his son as if he had just been struck.
“You what?”
“I called him three days ago.”
Grant’s voice shook, but he kept going.
“I heard you talking about Avery’s lease.
I saw the papers on your desk.
You said once you got inside the firm, you could pressure her into signing before she had time to think.”
Richard stepped toward him.
“You have no idea what you heard.”
“I heard enough.”
Grant looked at me then, and the guilt I had seen when he walked through my door finally made sense.
“I took pictures of the draft paperwork,” he said.
“I sent them to Mr.
Price and asked whether Dad actually had any authority over the building.”
Calvin answered before Richard could.
“He does not.”
My father’s mouth tightened.
Calvin continued, his tone precise.
“Your lease is with Avery Knox Law Group PLLC.
Avery is the authorized signatory.
Richard has no ownership interest in the building, no authority over your tenancy, and no right to negotiate changes to your firm through me.”
Richard reached for his phone.
“This conversation is over.”
“No,” I said.
He looked at me.
I pointed to the screen in front of him.
“You put it on speaker.
You came into my office.
You threatened my lease in front of witnesses.
And while you were standing here, someone using this lobby’s guest network attempted to alter my company records under your name.”
“That proves nothing.”
“It proves the filing came from inside this building.”
“I’m allowed to use Wi-Fi.”
“You’re not allowed to represent yourself as someone authorized to change my company’s control information.”
Richard laughed, but the sound was thin now.
“It was an application.
Applications can be corrected.”
My phone vibrated again.
