Three official-looking forms were slid in front of us, and we each signed where Mr. Gatti indicated. I didn’t bother reading the one he slid in front of me.
Once that was done, Ben and his lawyer left the room without a word.
Ben didn't even look at me.
It was suddenly very clear that I had been thrown completely under the bus.
8-Ben
“With the NDA signed she won’t be allowed to refute your version of the story, won’t be allowed to discuss the affair, or the details of her termination.” Frank boasted with a satisfied sneer on his face.
Frank Gatti had been my go-to lawyer for almost three years, and this was not the first NDA I’d had him make for me.
“How close are we to getting the no-contact order?” I asked. When I had called him last night, I had given him clear instructions:
1. Get Angela to sign an NDA
2. Get a no-contact order for Melanie and me.
3. Check for prenup loopholes in case Melanie couldn't be reasoned with.
4. Hire someone to find and destroy any proof of the affair. 5. Discreetly offer and fund Angela’s relocation if she is cooperative.
“I called in a favor and Angela should be served this afternoon." He checked his phone and then continued. "After they serve her, I’ll swoop in and present her with yourrelocation offer and a glowing recommendation letter from my office, stating she was an excellent personal assistant and will be missed.”
I snorted at the last part.
“And did we find someone to destroy the phone records?”
“I found a guy, but he said it’ll take time. He also wanted to know if there are any traceable charges, gps devices, or places with camera’s that he needs to look into.”
This was why I kept Frank on retainer; the man was as efficient as he was vicious.
Frank and I reviewed the prenup once again while we waited for Angela’s HR meeting to conclude. Once she had walked out of the building, Frank would excuse himself and keep tabs on her until his moment to strike arrived.
“I wish I had known you when we had this damn prenup written.” I grumbled as we hit a dead end, again, in our search for a loophole to the infidelity clause. Although the prenup had been my idea, Melanie's grandmother had paid for the actual lawyers involved with drafting it, and the clever woman had made sure to protect her granddaughter.
If the marriage lasted less than a year, then both parties would separate with only what they brought into the marriage and divide the marital assets equally, regardless of the reason for the divorce.
After a year, the division of assets got much trickier. It stated that after one year, marital assets of property, joint bankaccounts, and joint investments would be split 50/50 and 25% of the difference between their yearly incomes, for every year married, would be totaled and given to the spouse who earned less. But only up to 2 million dollars. Anything brought into the marriage was excluded, anything inherited or in a trust was excluded, and anything in accounts created prior to the marriage was excluded from the 50/50 but not necessarily from the yearly income. Children had their own section, and after 10 years, alimony and retirement were included as well.
Then came the infidelity clause.
The clause did not apply if the couple legally separated before engaging in extramarital affairs, or if either spouse was unable to be located to be served with divorce papers, was incarcerated for an extended period of time, or was medically incapacitated without an expected recovery. It defined infidelity as any romantic or sexual acts that occurred outside the marriage without express consent from the spouse; the settlement terms were different for each spouse based on income, and the 2 million dollar cap was removed.
If the primary earner of the home had an affair, after the first year, they would relinquish all rights to the primary residence, would be required to split all other properties and marital assets 50/50 (including any savings that had been deposited into personal accounts during the marriage). Another change was that, instead of 25%, 50% of the difference between their yearly incomes, for every year married, would be totaled and given to the spouse who earned less. Income, as defined in the infidelity clause, included interest on personal accounts,returns on investments, and dividends on stocks/shares. The return on investments was especially scary because there wasn’t enough cash to pay the value of his investments. Which meant he’d have to sell and forfeit future returns. Any money spent on the affair partner would be considered part of the marital assets, and 50% of it would be owed to the spouse. If the infidelity occurred prior to 10 years, alimony would be paid until the ten-year mark. Assets brought into the marriage were excluded, anything inherited or in a trust was excluded, and retirement funds were excluded unless it was after the 10-year mark, at which point the amount awarded would be determined by the judge.
If the “dependent” spouse had an affair, they relinquished rights to the primary marital property but subsequent marital properties and other marital assets would be split 50/50, they would be entitled to 25% of the difference between their yearly incomes but for only the past year of marriage, and if they spent money that the spouse earned on their affair partner they would be required to pay it back in full, any money spent from their own income would be considered part of the marital assets and 50% would be owed to the spouse. They would relinquish all rights to alimony regardless of how long the marriage lasted, and the percentage of the retirement awarded would be determined by the judge.
In theory, if the couple had always been open and honest about finances and investments, the infidelity clause wasn’t THAT much worse than the original prenup. The problem was, Ben had always put 50% of his income into the bank accounthe had prior to his marriage, had made several very lucrative investments, and purchased a couple of properties in just his name that Melanie knew nothing about. She was under the impression that their net worth was around 5 million.
His assets were only protected under the original prenup because everything came and went from a personal account he had held since he graduated high school. He even had a couple of offshore accounts tied to some of his more… questionable investments but the majority of his wealth was hidden away only if the prenup infidelity clause wasn’t enacted. With the infidelity clause, between savings, investments/dividends, interest, and properties, Melanie would be entitled to over 15 million dollars.
“Is there any chance we could prove your wife is having an affair? It would solve your problems.” Frank leaned back in his chair and dropped his glasses on the stack of papers he’d been reading.
“No.” I growled. Just the idea of Melanie letting another man touch what was mine filled me with rage. “She’s not that kind of woman. I’m the only man she’s ever been with.” I smirked.
Frank rolled his eyes. “Lucky her,” he deadpanned.
