"This isn't over, Megan. We'll see each other again."
"I hope that on that day, I'll be laughing while you're being arrested. Or that I'll pretend to be sad while your coffin is being lowered." He goes upstairs and I notice his wallet on the table. I call Sarki and take out two black cards. I show them to her and smile.
"He's going to be really pissed when he finds out you did this. I love it." I shrug and call one of the house staff. I apologize and ask them to clean up the mess and put Peter's things in moving boxes.
Finally, I make sure that the information that Peter is no longer allowed in the house is passed on to everyone who works with us and that new locks need to be provided.
"Let me know when he leaves, okay?" The employee nods and smiles toward the service area.
"Finally! Can we talk upstairs?" We climb the stairs until the large black double doors appear at the end of the hallway. I sigh as soon as I close them. Sarki stares at me as she throws herself on my bed. "I saw that you accepted NY. Besides being the best thing you can do, I believe you won't be coming back here, right?" I agree and see a smile appear on her lips. "We should celebrate this jerk leaving your house! Your father would be drinking whiskey on one of those shelves in the library."
I sit next to her and feel her delicate hand rest on my knee.
"He'd be laughing at me for throwing the vase. Then he'd complain that the vase had some sentimental value." We laugh together and she asks how I'm feeling. "Relieved, nervous, anxious... Will you guys be okay without me?"
"I wouldn't be without you, Meg. Of course I'll call you when Elisa freaks out in the middle of the night... in the middle of the day too." I look at my watch and hug her. "In fact, she already yelled on the phone that you need to try on the collection that's coming out. You and my wife have a thing with these dresses that I don't understand.
"At least now she makes suits for you. I think it was an act of love."
"It was a desperate act to manipulate my clothes. Elisa is awesome." Her cell phone rings with the image of her wife in the background. She excuses herself and answers it. “Tell her I love her!”
A few minutes later, one of the house staff informs us that Peter has left, taking a suitcase and his wallet from the kitchen.
"Lisa wants to know if you want to have dinner at our house tomorrow." I nod and she confirms. After hanging up, we quickly settle the things that would be sold as soon as I boarded the flight to NYC. For example, my car and the apartment downtown.
"My books need to be boxed up and sent to one of those rental garages. I'll need a real estate consultant in DC to get everything ready. As far as I'm concerned, I'll get there, visit two apartments, and decide between them.
"And I need to charge you for the consulting service." I roll my eyes in mockery. I say it's a favor from a friend.
"But I'll pay you because I love you. Not because I'm afraid you'll sue me." I point with one of the pencils I was writing with in the notebook in front of me.
"I'll check with some lawyer friends of mine there. Someone must have a real estate agent, it's not impossible. Then we'll take it easy. I'll ask Lisa to filter the apartments.
"It's great that you're fully aware that her taste is better than yours."
"I'm a lawyer. She has a degree in arts and fashion. Her job is to have good taste. I have to go, Ms. Megan Woods, single, divorced, available for blind dates that Elisa is promoting tomorrow.
“SARKI! No dates! Tell Lisa.”
"Forgive me, but I'm 100 percent on her side in this case. You've already confirmed your attendance, and you know she's meticulous with invitations."
I roll my eyes and warn her that after this, I need to drink wine alone and go to sleep.
As soon as Sarki leaves, after showering me with kisses on the cheeks, I spend hours reading and rereading the charges in the lawsuits while a bottle of wine keeps me company in my home office.
I go to the kitchen and notice that the clock on the wall says it's past midnight. I notice when one of the employees approachesand asks if I want anything, but I tell him there's no need for him to wake up in the middle of the night.
"Mr. Peter wakes us up to prepare snacks when he arrives in the early hours of the morning, ma'am. That's why I came to serve you."
"He doesn't live here anymore. Tomorrow, I'll talk to everyone who works in the house to let them know that your working hours are sacred and should not be exceeded."
He agrees and leaves, looking just as sleepy as when he came in.Peter is a son of a bitch.
The next day, I finish my work after clearing my head a little, sending off some documents, and passing on cases to other local judges. I have to rush home and get ready for the meeting arranged by Sarki and Elisa.
#6
“They say to play hard, you work hard, find balance in the sacrifice yet I don't know anybody who's truly satisfied" - Adele
