“Sorry. That’s all I had available.” Well, except for this morning at ten, and yesterday at eleven, twelve, or one o’clock,
and the day before at, well, practically anytime. It was almost Christmas; it wasn’t like clients were beating down the door to meet with their divorce attorney. But, I guess I must’ve forgotten to mention those other available times when I’d called Rex and told him we had to get together before our court appearance next week. Ooops. My bad. Sue me.
“Please, have a seat.” I motioned to the guest chairs and then lifted a leg to sit on the corner of my desk casually. Position meant a lot during a negotiation. It wasn’t a coincidence that I was looking down my nose at Mr. Adams this afternoon. After straightening my tie, I picked up the file with my bank statements from my desk and held it in my hand.
“While we were running a search of possible undisclosed accounts in your wife’s name, our team came across another account. This information just recently came to me.” I held one side of the folder tight and fanned it so he couldn’t read the contents, but could see enough to know that bank statements were inside.
“My wife had another account? I knew that bitch was hiding something.”
My jaw flexed. “No, this was an account in your name.”
“What account?”
“Well, I suppose it’s the one you hadn’t told me about.” I crossed my arms and readied myself for what might be the biggest bluff of my career. One that could backfire right in my damn face. “It looks like it was funded from withdrawals transferred from a mutual fund of some sort.”
Rex didn’t seem the slightest bit surprised. “Oh. That. The Banco Popular account. That’s not in my name. It’s in Maribel’s name. I’m just the beneficiary.”
My brows drew together. “I’m sorry. Who’s Maribel?”
“My girl.”
“Oh. I see. So this is a new account opened after you moved out of the marital home, then?”
“No. We opened it about two years ago. But like I said, it’s not in my name.”
What a piece of shit.
I tucked the folder behind me on the desk and folded my hands—mostly to keep from punching this asshole. “We failed to list it on your asset disclosure list that we prepared to file next week,” I said matter of factly.
“I’m a beneficiary of a foreign bank account. We don’t have to list it.”
I had to stifle my laugh. “That’s not how it works. We’re required to list all contingent assets, as well as current assets.”
He shifted in his seat. “Just pretend you didn’t see it, then.”
That’s exactly the request I’d been banking on this douche making. “I’m sorry. I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” Rex’s face turned pink from anger.
“Because that would be subordinating fraudulent conduct. It’s a violation of ethics.”
He jumped up out of his seat and leaned toward me. “But you’re a goddamned lawyer!”
I stood. And my six foot two stood a hell of a lot taller than his five foot eight, or whatever the hell he was. “Are you implying that lawyers are unethical?”
He backed up his aggression a bit. “Look. You can’t mention that account.”
I walked around my desk and sat in my chair. My job was done. Now it was just a matter of whether I fired him or he fired me. It didn’t matter to me one way or the other.
I leaned back into my chair feeling a hell of a lot more relaxed. Though Rex was now sitting on the edge of his looking anxious.
“My hands are tied here. Since I know about the account, I can’t submit your asset list to the judge and suborn fraud on the court.”
“That’s bullshit! Your job is to protect my interests.”
I held up my hands. “I’m sorry. Either you add the account to your schedule of assets before submitting it to the court, or I won’t be able to submit it for you.”
“Then, you’re fired.”