Page 62 of Smokescreen (Knight & Daywalker)
“Sure,” Grady agreed, barely even looking at the leg. “No problem at all. I’ve got a friend who competes with a prosthetic.”
The pleased look on Arthur’s face was one of the most adorable fucking things I’d ever seen in my life. Clearly, sporty things were important to him, what with the running the night before.
“I hate to interrupt, because this is awesome,” I interjected, grabbing a chair from the waiting area and dragging it over next to my desk for Grady. “I suck at surfing, but I’ll bet you’ll be great Arthur. We saw you running last night, and you’ve got way better balance than me. But I was bugging you, Grady, because Arthur and his sister are going to rent the shop next door, but it’s not like I have a contract, or like the two of them do a ton ofthis either. I know it’s not your thing anymore, but is there any way...”
Grady looked back up at me, lazy smile spreading over his face. “Want me to draw you up a lease agreement? Sure, no prob. Computer?”
I spun my laptop to face him, and he dropped into the waiting area chair and started typing away. “Office is looking great, by the way, Flynn. For real, though, if this were the kind of work they did, I’d still be working for my dad. Heck, maybe I’d be a partner at the firm by now. But it’s all divorces and pointless torts and giant companies fucking people over, sucking the blood out of society. Who wants to live like that?”
Arthur blinked, staring at Grady a moment. “Wait, you’re a...a lawyer? Is that the right term?”
“Yeah, man. Right word in the States and yes I am. Or used to be. Managed a whole year at my dad’s firm after passing the bar before I realized the existential pain I felt every morning heading for work was my soul being sucked out of my body in slow motion.” He waved around us with a hand, then went back to typing, even as he continued to speak. “So I quit, sold my stuff, broke my lease, and now I live out of my truck here on the beach, renting out boards by the hour, teaching lessons.”
“Now and then the locals get snippy about it, so I said he works for me,” I added. “And since technically I have the right to sell outside the shop as well as in, they can’t say anything, even though technically I don’t have a surf shop.”
Grady grinned. “One lady tried to put up a real fuss, but we made sure Flynn was licensed up and all. That’s what lawyering should be for.”
“We’re neighbors,” I said, dropping into my chair next to him. Grady sleeping in a bag in his truck was a far sight from me sleeping in the back office of my ridiculously expensive building,but it was how I’d always seen us anyway. “A community. We stick together.”
“Damn right,” Grady agreed, sticking out his fist for me to bump, but barely breaking stride in his typing. The man had probably typed more since taking over my computer than I had in multiple years. “Okay, so some standard clauses to protect everybody. You do damage, you pay for it, that kind of thing, yeah? How long a term are you looking for? What’s the rent?”
“That’s the thing,” I said, pursing my lips. “We were talking about a percentage of their income. Can we do that? Like, ten percent?”
“Fifteen,” Arthur corrected. “Fifteen percent of our income.”
Grady whistled, then nodded. “I like. That’s a good idea, and we can totally do that. Fifteen percent of gross profits, calculated monthly. So how about a year, and you can revisit at the end, see if you liked this or want to move some things around?”
Arthur and I both agreed, and Grady kept typing away.
Less than an hour later, we’d managed to make my new printer work and we had a signed lease, with Arthur and Amelia set to take possession of the property on the first of May, about a week away.
“That’ll give me time to have an extra set of keys made,” I said as I handed him one of the signed copies of the lease. “Oh, and we can put in a security system for you, since that’s half of what we do here. No charge, since like Grady said, we’re neighbors. It’s the least I can do if you’re going to be feeding me regularly.”
Arthur, I could tell, wanted to hug me, and maybe Grady too, but he was too British for it. Or something like that. Instead, he just drifted off on cloud nine to tell his sister what had happened. I almost wanted to go with him, so I could see her reaction too.
Instead, I followed Grady out as he headed for the beach again, leaning against the back of the bench where I’d first seen Arthur and Amelia sitting.
“It’ll be good to have someone else cool in here,” he said as he turned and dropped into the sand, facing me rather than the ocean.
“Just wait until—no, wait.” I rushed back in, grabbing the tiny white box of chocolates. I offered him one piece when I got back out, and ate another myself, like I needed to be reminded just how perfect they were.
Grady took it, then leaned back onto his hands as he chewed. “That’s magical, my dude. That’s what they’re going to sell?”
“One of the things. They want to start a tea shop. His sister’s tea and scones are also amazing. I thought scones were gross, but it turns out that’s just the ones you can get here in the US. Real ones are delicious.” I motioned back to the office. “I’ve got a few of them left too, if you want one.”
He grinned at me. “Always trying to feed me up, huh?”
“I mean, I have a suspicion that I’m not gonna be alone in that soon.” I motioned toward the empty half of the shop. “She bakes, he makes chocolates.”
“ ‘Chocolates’ seems like it’s not a good enough word for that.” He ran his tongue over his teeth, like he was trying to get the last taste of the one I’d given him. “Gonna be rough to stay in surfing shape once they get in there, if that was any indication.”
A big truck pulled up at the curb right next to us, and a guy jumped out with a huge bag that smelled like meat. That would have to be Twist’s lunch, probably.
I sighed and shook my head, pushing off the bench and pointing a thumb back at the shop. “I gotta get back in there to accept delivery of like twenty pounds of meat. Always come grab me if you need anything, though.”
He waved, nodding and starting to turn back to the water. “Just like you know where to find me if you ever need me, my man. Been good to see you with some new friends. We’re alone too much.”
He wasn’t wrong about that. Grady and I had spent way too much time alone, because making friends as an adult was hard, and I’d rarely been willing to put effort into it. Now that they seemed to be dropping into my lap by accident, though? I wasn’t gonna let that go.
