Tough Customer Read Free

the fringe on the napkin's hem and looked at his employer with raised brows.
    "Julie insists on cloth."
    Dodge snuffled as he scooped sugar into his mug. "She actually use all those gizmos?"
    Derek followed Dodge's gaze to the ceramic jug that held some of Julie's cooking utensils. "Yep. They've got a gadget for everything. You wouldn't believe."
    "Where is she?"
    "Upstairs throwing up."
    Dodge blew on his coffee and took a sip. "That sucks."
    "No, she's actually glad about it."
    "She enjoys puking?"
    "Morning sickness is a good sign. It means the embryo has latched on to the lining of her uterus, which creates all kinds of hormonal chaos, which causes the nausea, which--"
    "Thank you," Dodge grumbled into his coffee mug. "I don't want to know anything about Julie's uterus. In fact, I'd just as soon keep the mysteries of human reproduction mysterious."
    "I thought I heard your voice." Julie entered the kitchen and smiled at Dodge. She looked the picture of health despite her bout of nausea. "It's awfully early for you to be up and about, isn't it? Especially on a Saturday."
    "Sounds like you've had a rough morning."
    "I don't mind so much. It'll pass soon, and the sickness is a good sign, the result of the embryo latching on."
    Derek laughed. "We've been over that. Dodge doesn't want to hear any more."
    "Fair enough." She asked if Derek had offered their guest something to eat to go with his coffee, and when he said no, she sliced him a piece of pound cake, which he accepted, knowing what a great cook she was.
    Through his second bite, he mumbled, "If I'd married you, I'd have gained twenty pounds by now."
    "Have you seen Derek naked lately?"
    "Hey!" Her husband of six months smacked her on the fanny, then pulled her into his lap, bounced her on his knees, and nuzzled her neck, saying, "You're the one getting chubby." He splayed his hand on her abdomen, which as yet showed no signs of the pregnancy. She placed her hand over his, and they exchanged a warm, meaningful look.
    Dodge cleared his throat. "Y'all need me to leave the room, or what?"
    Julie slipped off her husband's lap and took a chair across the table from Dodge. "No, I'm glad you're here. Derek sees you nearly every day, but I don't get to."
    Dodge ribbed his boss about his honeymoon giddiness, but he was glad about the marital happiness these two had found with each other. Derek and Julie Mitchell were among the very few people on the planet that Dodge had even a limited tolerance for. He'd go so far as to say he respected and liked them, although, as with everyone he knew, he kept them at arm's length, more for their sake than for his own. He wasn't good for people. Something in his makeup was destructive.
    "What brings you by?"
    Derek's question seemed innocuous enough, but Dodge knew better. Derek had razor-sharp instincts and uncanny intuition, which served him well in his chosen profession of defense attorney. Despite their easy chitchat, his boss had sensed that something was out of joint. When was the last time Dodge had come calling early on a Saturday morning? Never.
    Dodge shrugged with feigned indifference and sipped his coffee, nursing a twinge of uneasiness about having to lie to this man who was the closest thing he had to a friend.
    "How pissed would you be if I asked for some time off?" He kept his eyes fixed on the contents of his coffee mug but sensed the puzzled glance Derek exchanged with his wife.
    "I wouldn't be pissed," Derek said. "You've earned the vacation time."
    "Think before you speak, Counselor. Because I don't want to get somewhere and have you phoning me in the middle of the night, asking me to run down some lowlife that--"
    "Dodge. You won't get an argument from me. You're past due a vacation. If something comes up while you're away, it can wait till you get back."
    "Like hell it can. Even if you say it's okay for me to go, those hotshots you've got working for you would have a fit. They don't address me unless it's with 'Dodge,