She studied me. “What’s going on, Mo?”
I shrugged. I’d play dumb and let her tell me what she knew.
“I can’t go into detail of how I know, but I’ve been given the impression that your wife has left you.”
My bite of sandwich felt like a lead weight as I swallowed. “I’m still married.”
“That’s not the terms.” She sighed. “And there’s this.” She pulled out a paper from her folder. I remembered seeing something similar with Shelley, but this time, I felt like the floor fell out from under me.
“Divorce papers.” I studied them and noted there wasn’t a signature on them. I looked at Jeannette. “She hasn’t signed them. Did Frank do this?”
She sat back. “I’m in a tough position here, which I told him. I’ve got a conflict of interest representing both of you. But he did ask me to draw this up and bring it to you. I told him it wouldn’t matter if Brooke wasn’t part of it.”
“Did you talk to her?” I asked.
“No. Not yet. Frank is under the opinion that if you sign it, she will follow suit. He seemed to think you owed him this.”
I pushed the paper back to her as rage began to build. “I owe him? Me? Owe him?” My voice started to rise.
“I know it’s ridiculous.”
“I gave him a fucking fortune.”
She nodded. “I know.”
“I’m not signing it. If Brooke wants out and signs it, then I will. I won’t force her to stay—”
“You’ll need to repay—”
“I know,” I said, downing my beer.
“Even if she doesn’t sign, but she moves out—”
“I know,” I snapped. Then I took a breath. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”
“I get it,” she said gently. “I tried to explain to him, but he’s angry.” She studied me. “I told him you were married. What did he think would happen?”
My jaw tightened as I looked out the window for a moment, trying to decide how much to tell her. Finally, I turned to her. “I know how it looks—”
“How does it look?” she asked with a frown.
“I’m nearly twice her age. I’m her boss.”
“I suppose the boss thing could be an issue, especially as the mayor, but the age thing, today that’s not such a big deal, is it?”
“I knew her as a kid. It could seem creepy. I’m sure it does to Frank.”
She nodded for a moment. “Do you think Hoyt Turner is creepy?”
I only stared at her. I knew of Hoyt but didn’t know him well.
“He married his nanny, who happened to be his daughter’s friend in high school.”
“She was a nanny—”
“They’ve been married over ten years and have three more kids,” she finished.
I rubbed my hands over my face.