“Vic… Come on.Be reasonable.The Pasadena house is worth much more than Tahoe.”
“I know.We can sell it, divide the proceeds and you can get yourself a new love nest in Tahoe for you and your child bride.”
“You don’t even like it there!Every time we went, you said it was a tourist trap.”
“That’s right.”
“So why do you want it?”
“It’ll be a very lucrative rental property.”
He sat back, seeming shocked.“So you aren’t even planning to use it?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to use it as an investment.”
“You’re getting half of everything else as well as spousal support.You won’t need it.”
“I want it.”
Larry looked to the mediator, who was known for allowing couples to talk it out at his table.He intervened whenever things took a turn toward the ugly.
“If you can’t agree on a disposition for the Tahoe property, we’ll have to sell it and divide the proceeds.”
“Which is also fine with me,” Victoria said.
Larry seemed to understand all at once that she didn’t care what happened to it as long as he didn’t get to enjoy it with the woman he’d left her for.
Julian had sat back and allowed her to enjoy this moment she’d been looking forward to for weeks as they’d prepared for the mediation.
“This would be a good time to break for lunch,” the mediator said.“Both sides should use the break to determine whether you’ve tendered final offers on these matters.We’ll see you back here in an hour.”
While Larry huddled with his attorney and directed dirty looks at Victoria, Julian escorted her from the conference room at the mediator’s Century City office.
“Damn, that felt good,” Victoria said with a big smile.“When he realized I don’t care about selling Tahoe… That was my favorite moment since this started.”
Normally, Julian encouraged his clients to avoid vindictive moves that only extended the process and cost them even more money than they were already spending on attorney fees.But in this case, he’d understood why Victoria had wanted to exact her pound of flesh.
While Larry had built a successful psychiatry practice, she’d raised their four children, kept a beautiful home, lavishly entertained his colleagues and friends and, as she’d said, played by all the rules.Finding out about his affair with a woman half her age had been shocking, demoralizing and, once she’d caught her breath, infuriating.
“You’re resolved to stick with selling it if he’s unwilling to let you have it?”
“Fine by me.I don’t care about any of it anymore.”
“I need to check in with the office.Do you want to grab something to eat?”
“I’d rather go out for a walk.I could use some air.”
“Then I’ll meet you back here in an hour?”
“See you then.”
After she headed for the elevators, Julian ducked into an empty conference room to check his messages and listened to the one from Isla.Concerned by her fearful tone as much as his own reaction to the sound of her voice, he called her right back.
“Hi, Julian.”She sounded better than she had in the message.“Thanks for getting back to me.”
When his stomach dropped at the sound of her voice, he realized he had a very big problem on his hands.“Sorry for the delay.I was in a meeting.”
“I can only imagine how busy you are.”
