Marlene folded her arms.
“You can’t prove the truck was on your property.”
The surveyor called from near the fence.
“Actually…”
He placed a marker in the ground.
“The legal property line is here.”
He pointed toward the tire tracks.
“The truck was well inside Ms. Claire’s lot.”
Marlene stopped moving.
The insurance adjuster wrote something down.
Then said:
“Use of commercial assets for unauthorized private activity resulting in deliberate property damage creates substantial exposure for the company.”
Marlene’s face lost color.
Her husband came outside.
“What does that mean?”
The adjuster looked toward the truck.
“It means your company may be liable.”
That was when Marlene finally understood that this wasn’t a neighborhood argument anymore.
“YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME!”
She turned toward me.
“You can’t do this!”
For two years, I had heard that tone used against me.
Demanding.
Certain.
As though her feelings were law.
