“I wasn’t aware it was alegalmeeting,” Clem groused, side-eyeing Eliana, who flashed the most innocent smile at her disposal.
“Can I see what you’ve found now?” Eliana asked.
Clem sighed, pulling out a folder and handing it over. Eliana’s eyes widened at the first document—the bank account summary. The expenses were normal household payments. Nothing appeared to be out of order, and yet, there was less than three hundred dollars between checking and savings. Even despite the hefty weekly deposits from Jesse’s employer.
And just below the main home loan, there was a secondary loan taken out against the equity they’d built over the last ten years. The only thing that remained seemingly untouched was the secondary savings, intended for the girls’ college years, but Eliana would never target such a fund, other than for the purpose of getting it away from Jesse.
She shook her head and passed the stack of bank documents to Milo, who then passed them to Richard, as Eliana moved to the next stack. A statement from one of Jesse’s credit cards was on top. She flipped to the second one, then the third. She froze, staring down at the outrageous numbers before her. Long after papers had stopped being shuffled around, and she felt the eyes of the room settle on her.
“Bugs—” Milo began.
Eliana shook her head. “He’s accrued sixty-two thousand dollars in affair debt,” she choked, flipping between thepages, the bolded sums stark against the white background. “That’s triple what I’d expected.” Eliana laughed caustically. “And look at how fast he ran it up. Just a couple of months is all it took. There’s no fucking money to split. No equity. No savings. Just a shit-ton of debt. What was hethinking?”
“I’m sorry, I understand this is very unsettling news . . .” Richard’s voice broke through the quiet following Eliana’s words. “But how did you get this information?” He flipped the page on the bank statement in his hand, scanning the back before raising suspicious eyes. “You’re not listed as an authorized user.”
“It doesn’t matter how we got it,” Clem answered, drawing his attention. “And you were correct, there are bigger issues to consider at the moment.”
“I have a responsibility to make sure?—”
“You have a responsibility todefend your client,” Clem cut the lawyer off. “So how about you focus on that?”
Richard sat back, his brows high on his forehead as he crossed his arms, glaring at Clem. For a tense moment, Eliana thought he was going to snap and kick them all out. But then he simply cocked his head and asked, “What is it that you do again?”
“You’re getting off topic,” Clem answered. “Now, Eliana, how do you want to handle this? My offer still stands.”
“What offer?” Richard asked.
“This fucking guy.” Clem rolled her eyes. “Why did we have to meet here again?”
“I already had the appointment scheduled, Clem. And Richard’s great.”
“My way would be a lot easier.”
“Your way is illegal.”
Clem waved a hand flippantly, “It’s only illegal if you get caught and like I was saying . . .”
“That’s not even remotely true,” Richard interrupted.
“Alright,” Clem snapped, sitting back and gesturing for him to proceed. “I guess it’s your turn to talk now.”
Richard huffed a reluctant laugh despite himself. “Look, I’m just saying that being convicted doesn’t make something illegal. Theact itselfis what makes something illegal.”
“Uhm . . . innocent until proven guilty?”
“That applies to the process ofconviction. Again, that doesn’t determine legality.”
“Sure,theoretically.” Clem sniffed. “Doing something in opposition to the law is illegal. But in practice?” she asked, raising one brow. “Legality onlymattersin determining the punishment, and punishment only occurs if one is convicted of a crime. Ergo,in reality, it’s not illegal if you don’t get caught.”
Richard sucked on a tooth, a glint of challenge in his eye when he sat forward and opened his mouth, but the sound of bickering faded away when Milo tilted sideways into Eliana’s space and whispered, “Was she suggesting?—”
Eliana nodded quickly, her eyes on Richard to make sure he didn’t overhear. Seeing that his sharp gaze was still locked on Clem, however, soothed Eliana’s worries. “It’s best not to ask too many questions.”
Then she leaned forward, focusing on the two squabblers. “Hey,” she said, her words landing with the effectiveness of an alarm clock in a hurricane.
When the bickering continued unchecked, she cleared her throat and tried again. “Hey!As much as I’m enjoying this debate, Icoulduse some legal expertise here.”
Richard and Clem quieted, their heads swiveling to look at Eliana as if they’d forgotten she existed. Richard shook his head, appearing chastised by the realization that he’d neglected his client.
