“Okay, pumpkins, let’s go inside and you can tell me all the fun things you got up to with your dad.”
At least now I knew why Cockalorum was suddenly so interested in getting custody.Asshat.
My phone rang as I closed the front door behind us.Dropping the girls’ bags, I fished through my handbag.It stopped ringing before I found it, then immediately started up again.I froze when I saw the display.Vance was calling.On a Sunday.That couldn’t mean anything good.
“Hello?”
“You got arrested?Are you out of your mind?And I’m your lawyer.If you want me to represent you, I need to know everything.And you should know that getting arrested doesn’t look great to judges.”
God, why was the man so rude?“I didn’t get arrested on purpose.”
“I sure hope not.At least they didn’t charge you with anything.But public intoxication?Lay off the alcohol until your divorce is finalized.Then you can get as drunk as you want.I’m going to have to call in a lot of favors so your little tantrum never sees the light of day.”
I’d never been a big drinker, so his comment cut deep.And the only reason I was arrested was because I’d been doing something else.Something I’d never tell him about, of course.Because if he was this angry about me getting arrested without even getting charged, he’d completely blow his lid if he knew what else I’d done.
“I wasn’t planning on drinking that much.But they make an amazing lemon drop martini, and I was upset that the kids weren’t home, so I overindulged.I can assure you it won’t happen again.”
“Next time you get arrested, you call me.Do you understand?Your first call will be me.Nobody else.”
“I understand.But there won’t—”
I didn’t get to finish the sentence since he’d hung up on me.Rude.
Picking the bags back up, I dropped them in the kids’ rooms, vowing to deal with them later.The girls were in the backyard, playing with Orange.Since he refused to chase a ball or do anything that involved more than casually walking, he was currently sitting down, letting them decorate him with leaves.
After collapsing into one of the big chairs I’d put out there last year, I called Malena.Somebody told Vance, and there weren’t many options.She picked up right away.
“Hey, chiquita.”
“Did you tell Vance I was arrested last night?”
There was a loaded silence before she hesitantly answered.“I might have.Why?”
“Because he called and yelled at me.”
She groaned.“Shit.Sorry.It was an automatic thing.Your lawyer should know everything.That way they can represent you properly.But I should have let you do it.”
“You should have.He already doesn’t like me.Now he hates me.”
But still seemed willing to represent me.I guess you didn’t have to like your client to be able to represent them.
“He doesn’t hate you.He’s just a little rough around the edges.He’s a great guy.Otherwise, I wouldn’t be friends with him.”
Malena was way too nice.She might have been cutthroat in court, but outside of her work, she wore rose-colored glasses.
“He keeps yelling at me.”
Dear Lord, I sound like one of my daughters.
“I’ll talk to him.”
I sat up straight, clutching the phone to my ear.“No.Don’t do that.”
“Okay, okay.I won’t.Promise.”
“If you do that, he’ll think I complained about him to you.”
Which I kind of had, but he didn’t need to know that.
