“You’re the daughter and grandchildren I never had.I’m here for the long haul.”
“That makes me feel so much better.”
ChapterTwenty
Julian’s first meeting of the day was with Liam Rossi, a top Hollywood producer.Since this was an initial consultation, Julian met with him in his office rather than the conference room, sitting in upholstered chairs with coffee in hand.He preferred the more informal approach to these get-to-know-you sessions, during which he tried to determine if he and the potential client were a good fit.
Liam had graying dark hair, brown eyes and a tense demeanor.He wore a charcoal-colored suit with a burgundy tie that he fiddled with as they got settled.
“I’d ask what brings you in today, but the answer is almost always the same,” Julian said, using a line that usually got a chuckle from the client of the moment and served to break the ice in an often-emotional situation.
“I need a divorce,” Liam said without an ounce of humor to lighten the mood.“I’ve spent twenty-three years trying to fill the shoes of a dead man, and I just can’t do it any longer.”
He was on the verge of tears, which wasn’t unusual in these first meetings as people came to terms with the fact that their marriage was over and they needed a divorce lawyer.
“Is your wife aware of your intentions?”
“Not yet.I want to have my ducks in a row before I tell her.”
“Will it come as a surprise to her?”
“I’m sure it will, and I’m sorry about that.But our entire marriage has been stalked by the ghost of a man I’ve never met and will never know.I can’t live in that shadow anymore.I just can’t.”
“Who’s the man you’re referring to?”
“Her fiancé was killed in a rock-climbing accident three weeks before their wedding, which was four years before I met her.In my opinion, she’s mourned him and the wedding she had to cancel ever since.”
“That’s an incredibly traumatic event.I hope she had good support afterward.”
“She did—and does.Her family is amazing, and she’s had a great therapist helping her, and then us, to cope with the fallout.I love her.I truly do.But I’ve never felt that she loved me as much as she loved him.He lives on a pedestal in her heart in a way I could only dream of achieving.”
“Do you have children?”
“Two teenage sons.”
“I assume you intend to seek joint custody?”
“Yes, I do, although they’ll probably be so furious with me for leaving their mother that they won’t want anything to do with me.”
“You’re willing to risk that to proceed with a divorce?”
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, expression earnest.“You have to understand that I simply can’t bear to live this way any longer.We’ve been in therapy throughout our entire relationship.She’s spoken more of him than she ever has of me.”After a pause, he added, “Of course, I knew about her heartbreaking loss going in, but nothing can prepare you to live your whole life in the shadow of a man who died tragically.It’s become unbearable.”
“I can start the process as soon as you give me the green light.I urge you to notify your wife and sons of your intentions so they aren’t blindsided when she’s served with divorce papers, which would make a difficult situation a thousand times worse.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“I have to ask this because it may turn out to be relevant… Is there someone else?”
He hesitated, only for a second, but long enough to answer Julian’s question.“Nothing has happened.”
If he had a dollar for every time he’d heard those exact words…
“I swear.Nothing has happened.But I want to be with her.I want to experience what it might be like to be truly loved and not merely tolerated as an unsatisfactory replacement for a man who died.”
“I understand.”Julian went over the fee structure that included various costs for mediation versus a trial, which was much more expensive for everyone involved.“We charge on a fee-for-service basis, rather than hourly, but there’re additional costs based on your needs, such as accounting, investigation and other add-ons should the case go to trial.”
“I’m hoping it’ll be fairly straightforward,” Liam said.
