Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 70185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 351(@200wpm)___ 281(@250wpm)___ 234(@300wpm)
My hair hadn’t been combed either, and I knew I must look a mess. I wish I had a mirror to see myself, but then again, I don’t. But I can’t be looking like this when my husband comes to bail me out. “Hello, is anyone there?”
MELANIE
“Where’s your mother?”
“I don’t know, isn’t she away at that spa she goes to?”
“It’s been more than two weeks, and she’s not answering her phone. There hasn’t been any action on her credit or bank cards either.”
“Yeah, I think that’s how that place is. They try to cut them off from the outside world or something like that so they can focus on their wellness.”
“Oh, I see; it just seems odd that she’d go to a place like that. Your mother can’t function without her phone for too long.”
“You’re not…”
“Thinking that she’s sleeping around on me?”
“Yeah, you know Mom would never do something like that, right? She loves you.”
“Yeah, I suppose so. It’s just this is the longest we’ve gone without speaking to each other.”
“I know, she’ll be back soon. So, does this mean you haven’t told her about…”
“About getting fired, you mean?”
“Yeah, that.”
“That won’t be for long. Marcus is just blowing off steam, but my mother would never let that stand.”
“I thought Grandma never had anything to do with the business.”
“Yeah, but she can get in my father’s ear.” He smiled self-assuredly, and that helped to ease the trouble in my chest and tummy. For days now, I’ve had this feeling that things weren’t right. It’s not any one thing I can put my finger on, but it has a lot to do with the relationship between Marcus and Justine.
Things are not turning out the way I’d hoped. For one, Justine was the one to file for the divorce, not Paul, so now things were going to be on her terms. Add to that the fact that she’d found his offshore accounts and all the vacation and rental properties, which had brought in a lot of play money for us.
Paul knows that I need to be kept in the style and manner I’m accustomed to, so he’s been working hard the last year or so to make sure that that happens. But now that she knows about all of it, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.
I know that Paul is pissed, especially over the claim that he’d abandoned the home and now wasn’t allowed back there until after the court hearing. I know nothing about divorce other than the fact that it differs from state to state, but from the sound of it, he stands to lose a lot.
She wants half of everything: the house, ten thousand in child support, plus alimony. He also has to start paying her temporary alimony starting now, which the judge approved since he’d abandoned the home.
So where does that leave us? They were going after everything: Justine and her lawyer, who we were still trying to figure out how she could afford to pay. If things go her way, we’ll be taking a heavy hit; at least Paul will be making more since he'd been promoted.
PAUL
How had things come to this? How had she gained the upper hand? None of this makes any sense. Even after she’d embarrassed me at that party, I didn’t see this coming. I figured, okay, well, she found out about the affair before I was ready to serve her, but that was no big deal.
I didn’t take into account that adultery plays a big part in divorce in our state. We’d been married in a no-fault state, but I didn’t realize that didn’t matter since our residence had been in this state for well over the year it takes to claim residency.
I can’t seem to catch a break since that night, and the only thing I have going for me now, that was the only light I see at the end of the tunnel, is my promotion. I can’t do anything to screw that up, but my concentration has been shot since I was served with divorce papers.
People have been gossiping about what she said and did at the party, but thankfully, I’m too high up in the company to hear it myself, but I have been receiving second-hand reports. I never realized how much people hated Melanie or that they’d claim I was only with her because she was related to the owner of the company.
That stuff wouldn’t have bothered me before, not as long as Melanie and I became the power couple I dreamed we could be. But now I feel like things are slipping away from me.
Where did Justine get the money for such a top-level attorney, and who did she pay to find all the money and assets I had hidden? I never gave her any reason to suspect me of anything, so who was behind her? I had a sinking feeling that it was my new boss. But why would he do that?