Now she stood in front of me pretending she had never pressured me at all.
Brent walked toward the Mercedes.
He slowly inspected the front.
Then he pointed at the hood.
“This doesn’t sit perfectly.”
“It does.”
“The paint looks slightly different.”
“It was matched professionally.”
He crouched beside the wheel.
“I don’t know.”
I already knew what they were doing.
They weren’t looking for a problem.
They were looking for an excuse.
Finally, Brent straightened.
“We’re not paying seven thousand dollars.”
I kept my voice calm.
“You can dispute an invoice. But the work was authorized, completed, documented, and inspected.”
Brent smiled.
“Good luck collecting.”
Then Laura stepped closer.
“Craig.”
I looked at her.
“You know the boys are supposed to come over tomorrow.”
I said nothing.
She lowered her voice.
“Don’t turn this into something ugly.”
Something inside me finally became very quiet.
I had spent years allowing Laura to make me feel as though I was constantly one mistake away from losing my children.
Not anymore.
I looked at Brent.
Then Laura.
“Okay.”
Brent smiled.
Laura relaxed.
They thought they had won.
But before they left, I reached into my desk drawer.
“There is one thing.”
Brent turned around.
