“If Seth finds out I hired you before the meeting, he’ll make a scene at the practice,” I said.

“Seth doesn’t know I exist yet,” Arthur said, taking the check and pressing it flat on his desk blotter.

“And he won’t until I serve the bank with a formal document.”

The dashboard clock read seven forty-five when I pulled into the side lot at Oak Street Dental.

The sky was gray with low morning clouds, and the air smelled of wet asphalt.

I grabbed my leather briefcase from the passenger seat and walked toward the staff entrance by the loading bay.