I stood in front of his desk for three seconds without answering, then turned and walked out his front door into the afternoon wind.

Traffic on the interstate was heavy, and it was dark by the time I pulled into my driveway at half past six in the evening.

A bright white legal notice was taped right over the brass deadbolt on my front door.

I peeled the paper off the wood and held it under the yellow light fixture over the porch steps.

It was a formal legal notice from the law firm representing Callahan Construction, signed by its senior corporate counsel.