Lionel started to squint in the bright sun. He’d removed his dark sunglasses, knowing Lomax would have some snide comment about not looking him in the eye. There were days, and this was one of them, when he wanted to beat the stuffing out of the pompous, know-it-all manager. Wanting to do something and doing it, however, were two different things. Lionel knew he’d never act on his feelings, because he didn’t want Cosmo Cricket to ever think he’d made a mistake in hiring him and his friends. Instead, he conjured up as much respect as he could for the retired military man bearing down on him. He might defer to the man’s position, but he never kowtowed to the man. Showing respect was one thing; letting the man ride roughshod over him and his friends was a horse of a different color.

The moment the two men were eyeball to eyeball, Lomax demanded to know what Lionel was doing at the clubhouse.

They were equally tall, equally muscled, both nicely dressed, both groomed, but Lionel was twenty-two and Gentry Lomax was sixty-two, which put Lionel at an advantage should things ever come to a showdown. The other obvious difference was that Gentry Lomax was white and Lionel Lewis was black. Lionel knew that Lomax was a racist. Bessie Love had confided to him that little factoid. And Bessie should know because she was also black and in constant contact with Lomax as his assistant.

“Mrs. Cricket’s people asked to meet with me and my boys. I agreed. It’s 110 degrees out right now, so I had Dom go in and turn on the air-conditioning. Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Lomax?” he asked coolly. “Mr. Cricket gave me a key to the clubhouse and said I could come and go as I please, as you well know. Just the way he gave me the master key to all the units at Happy Village. I have never abused the trust he placed in me, and you know that as well.”

The boy’s having a set of keys did bother Gentry Lomax. So much so that he’d asked Cosmo Cricket why and was told quite bluntly that it was none of his business. So, yes, it did bother him. “About what?” he snarled.

“Well now, Mr. Lomax, I won’t know the answer to that question until I talk to them, will I?” Lionel replied, mustering the cool not to add “you fool” as he wiped at his brow with the sleeve of his shirt.

“You know you’re supposed to check in with my office when you come on the property. You didn’t do that, did you?” Lomax snarled a second time.