Come Together (The Cityscape 3)

I propped myself up against the headboard and unwrapped it carefully, unable to hide my smile. In my palm was a small black velvet box that creaked when I opened it. “David,” I gasped. “I can’t accept these.”

He took the box from me and scooted closer. He removed a diamond stud, tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and slid it in. ?

?Perfect,” he commented.

“David, I – ”

“I have an ulterior motive,” he interrupted, moving to the other ear. “I thought maybe if I put something pretty in your earlobes, you’d stop nervously pulling on them all the time.”

I smiled widely and launched forward, crushing his lips to mine. “Thank you.”

“I must say, diamonds suit you. There will be more where that came from.” I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. “Don’t argue, just tell me you love them,” he whispered.

“Oh,” I sighed. “I love them, and I love you.”

He rolled me onto the bed and settled on top of me. We remained that way, kissing and whispering softly to each other, until we could no longer keep our eyes open.

CHAPTER 22

ONLY ELEVEN IN THE MORNING, and I was already wishing the day were over. Toxic co-worker Lisa had expressed that the layout I’d just finalized was ‘a good start,’ and it took everything in me not to snap at her.

Instead, I spent the next twenty minutes fantasizing about how my day would’ve gone if I’d skipped work to stay in bed with David all day. I cursed at my desk phone when it seared through my daydream just as it was getting good. “Yes?”

“There’s someone in the lobby here to see you,” Jenny said.

“Who is it? Can you send them back?”

“He won’t tell me his name,” she said tersely.

I hung up and fixed my hair quickly in the mirror before weaving through the cubicles and out to the front. There I found a middle-aged man in an ill-fitting suit that reeked of stale cigarettes.

“You Olivia Germaine?” he asked.

“Yes.”

He jotted something on the clipboard in his hand. “You’re being served with a Petition for the Dissolution of Marriage,” he said, holding out an oversized envelope.

I felt my face redden. “That was awfully quick.”

The man looked at me with hard eyes. “Doin’ a favor. Bill’s a friend.”

“Was it really necessary to come to my work?” I asked, snatching the packet.

He shrugged and handed me the clipboard to sign. After he left, I took a deep breath and turned to face Jenny, who was now joined by a concerned-looking Serena.

“Liv? Is everything all right?” Serena asked.

“It’s fine.”

“Was that from Bill? Were you expecting it?”

“Yes, just not at work,” I said, storming back to my office. I sat down and removed the papers to look them over before texting David.

Nov 20, 2012 11:34 AM

I just got served.

My cell phone rang almost immediately with David’s call. “What happened?”

“Some guy just served me with divorce papers.”

“At work?”

“Yes. Talk about embarrassing.”

“At least we can get this process started. I’m meeting my lawyer for lunch on Adams. We’ll come by afterward to take a look.”

I wavered a moment and fingered my new earring. Did I want David in my office for everyone to see? Did I care anymore?

He sighed. “You can come to lunch if you want, but we’ll be talking about Clare and boring stuff like that. You’re going to have to tell them sometime, though.”

“It’s fine,” I decided. “You can come by.”

“Good call, baby. See you soon.”

I hung up a little giddy that I was getting an unexpected visit from my boyfriend. It wasn’t the same as ditching work to stay in bed with him, but it would brighten my day considerably.

He texted me on his way over so I went to meet him in the lobby. Jenny looked about to burst from curiosity, but I ignored her from a club chair by playing with my phone.

When the elevator pinged, I looked up to see David and another smartly-dressed man through the glass wall.

“David Dylan?” Jenny hissed right before they entered.

I stood to greet them. David leaned down, kissed me on the cheek and introduced me to his lawyer, Jerry.

“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand.

“David’s told me a lot about you.”

I smiled and kept my head down as I led them through the cubicles. In my office, I shut the door carefully and handed the document over to Jerry.

As he looked over it, David put his arm around me and planted an innocent kiss on my lips. “How are you?”

“Better,” I said, touching his jaw. “I miss you.”

He smiled. “Me too. I booked our weekend. Pack your bags, baby, and your teeniest bikini. We’re going to Miami.” I laughed, and he squeezed me before looking up. “How’s it look, Jerry?”

“As you figured out, Bill has filed for divorce.”

“Do you know Bill?” I asked.

“Yep. Nice guy, good at what he does.”

“Will that be an issue?”

“Not at all. It looks like he’s filing on the grounds of adultery.”

“He warned me that he would,” I said with a sigh. “He’s doing this whole ‘no more Mr. Nice Guy thing.’”

“Actually,” Jerry started, “it’s unusual to file this way because it involves going to trial. That means time and money, evidence and witnesses. And since it doesn’t affect the division of assets because of Illinois’ laws, he’s likely only doing it to embarrass you. The thing is . . .”

“Yes?” David asked.

“It could work in your favor. If he’s able to prove adultery, which he will be, they may grant the divorce faster. Olivia would deny the charge, but essentially, we’d be throwing the case.”

“Isn’t that like collusion or something?” I asked.

“No, because Bill isn’t in on it. Assuming you are willing to spend the money, David, that would be fastest. Otherwise, we can try to convince Bill to agree to a no-fault divorce, which would cost everyone less but could take either six months or two years.”

“Two years?” I exclaimed.

“The court wants to know that you’ve had a reasonable separation period. That’s customarily two years, but can be reduced to six months.”

“I think you know how I feel, Jerry,” David said. “Money is no object if it means moving this along.”

Jerry nodded. “Then I’ll file the response today. Next thing would be – ”

“Wait,” I said. “You said evidence and witnesses?”

He sucked in a breath. “Yes. That’s where the shaming comes in. You should be prepared for it to get personal.”

“Let’s proceed,” David said.

“Hang on,” I said. “What do you mean by personal?”

“Well, Bill will need evidence. This might involve photographs, witness accounts, private detectives – whatever he can scrape up to prove that you cheated on him.”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “I’m not putting David through that.”

“Baby,” he said, “it might get you out faster. It would mean – ”

“No,” I said resolutely. “I won’t have your name dragged through the mud like that. What about your career, David? The firm? You’ve worked too hard to get where you are. We can do six months, two years if we have to. Jerry, how would that work?”

He hesitated until David nodded. “Like I said, the two year separation can be reduced to six months if both parties agree to it.”

“If he’s out for payback, he’ll never go for that,” David said.

“Unless I tell him he can keep everything,” I suggested.

“I doubt any amount of money will deter him from seeing us suffer.”

I smiled. “Then you don’t know Bill.” They were quiet, so I continued. “He’s cheap,” I said, still reeling because Bill had already embarrassed me, and now he meant to embarrass David. “He doesn’t know we were already planning to let him have it. He’ll go for it. I just have to convince him.”

Jerry pulled at his chin and looked between us. “I’m David’s lawyer, Olivia, but in this matter, you’re my client, too. A

s your lawyer, I can’t advise you to do that. In all my years of practice, I’ve never had a client hand everything over. If you waive the right to alimony, that’s it. No turning back.”

David’s arm tightened around me. “Jerry.”

“I’m sorry, David. We go back a long time, but I can’t advise a client to enter into that type of agreement.”

I wondered if that was true or if Jerry had reservations because of David’s history. But it was clear to me, by the way David tensed beside me, and from the time we’d spent together, that my trust meant something to him. That my trust meant more than something to him. So I said, “Let the bastard have it all.” Both pairs of eyes cut to me, but I forged ahead. “What’s the next step then?” I asked. “Getting Bill to agree to six months?”

Jerry nodded fractionally.

“It’s decided then,” David said.

Jerry nodded again with a sigh and took a seat at my desk to fill out the paperwork.

David turned to block me from Jerry with this body. He placed his hands on my cheeks. “Thank you,” he said.

I nodded and held his gaze. “I trust you. Completely.”

His thumb moved over my cheek. “Like I said, we’re in this together.”

I beamed at him.

“What?” he asked.

“It feels good to be . . . out in the open.”

“It feels amazing. I’m sorry I left you in bed this morning, but I wanted to finish in time to drive you home tonight.”

I hesitated. “Actually, Davena’s husband – ”

“Mack.”

“Yes . . . Mack called me earlier and wants to go for dinner. I haven’t seen him since before everything happened.”

He smiled warmly. “That sounds nice.”

I nodded. “I told him yes, and . . . well, I understand if you don’t want to, but I’d like you to meet him.”

He studied my face before responding. “I’d like that too, but won’t it be uncomfortable?”