I force myself not to smile at her anguish. The rest of the drive to her building is quiet. When I finally pull to the curb in front of her apartment, which is above a sushi place, I turn to her. “Have you eaten at that place? I think I might grab some. I’m starving.”
She remains silent, still scowling as she undoes her seat belt. She reaches for the door, and I can’t help but remark, “You invented resting bitch face, didn’t you?”
“Well, you invented restless dick syndrome,” she snaps back. “And it’s going to ruin your life.”
“That’s not even…is that an actual thing?” I ask, suddenly worried that it might be. I mean, hell, there are so many of those medication commercials curing things I never knew existed; this could be one of them.
Dixie lets out an exasperated breath andgets out of the car, but then leans back in. “It might be an actual thing. I guess we’ll find out.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
She slams the car door, and I watch her stomp across the sidewalk and into her building. When did she turn into a dramatic diva? Jesus. I hope that’s just a phase. My stomach growls, and I pull the car over at an empty meter. Time to grab some sustenance, because I’m hoping to burn a lot of calories tonight.
15
Zoey
I brace myself as I walk into the conference room behind my lawyer. Ispent the last half hour telling my lawyer everything—including what happened last night. She looks like she’s heard and seen it all; when I told her about Minerva and her baby bump, she didn’t even blink. In fact, she smiled. “Honey,” she said, patting my hand where it rested on the edge of her desk, “I know that must hurt, but it’s essentially a winning lottery ticket. Is there anything you didn’t get in the pre-nup that you want to add? Because the ball is in your court.”
I shook my head. “I’m not even sure I want the house anymore. I just want this to be over so I can move on.”
“And I just want you to have something to show for the pain he’s put you through,” Cordelia told me with a sympathetic tone to her voice. “Ned is family, which makes your brother family, which makes you family. And my family isn’t going to get screwed by some rich asshole who thinks his shit doesn’t stink. You’re getting that house. You can sell it if you want, but it’s going to be yours.”
I didn’t want to argue with her. I was hoping no one else would want to either. So now here we are walking into the conference room of her law firm, where Adam and his lawyer are already waiting. Adam doesn’t look up from the table as we enter, and he never makes eye contact with me through the entire meeting. I don’t know if it’s out of guilt or embarrassment or just because he’s an asshole. Probably the latter. His lawyer is a bulldog and tries to argue that because Adam has a pregnant girlfriend he deserves the house. Cordelia laughs in his face—she actually does! She reminds him that by having sex while still married, Adam violates any terms of the pre-nup, and I can now request spousal support and half of everything.
It’s almost an hour of back-and-forth, and we’re no closer to signing. So finally I say, “I’ll sell it to you.”
“Excuse me?” his lawyer says, and he looks absolutely horrified that I spoke at all. I guess it’s not my place, but I don’t care anymore.
I have so much to look forward to in my life—a new career, rekindled friendships with the Braddock girls and a rekindled…something with Jude. I just want to be done with this. It feels like a wound that keeps reopening every time I think about it or have to deal with it.
“I will sell you the house,” I repeat. “Let’s face it, no matter how you rationalize it, Adam, you fucked someone else while we were technically married.”
“And you’re coming home late at night with a professional hockey player who’s had his stick in half of San Francisco,” Adam counters.His tone, dripping with condescension, is like putting gasoline on the sparks of frustration that are already inside me.
“Slut-shaming? This is your thing now?” I laugh with no trace of gaiety. “He’s a childhood friend and a client. I’m helping him find a place.”
“Why, so he can bed the other half of San Francisco?” Both he and his lawyer snicker at that one.
“No, so he can fuck me,” I blurt out, and my lawyer drops her pen with a startled clatter on the polished wood table. Adam’s haughty smirk evaporates, and his jackass lawyer stops laughing. “But here’s the thing, Adam. He hasn’t had me yet. And he won’t until the paperwork is signed, because I’m a much better person than you. You can hold out as long as you want. I can wait. But a judge is going to be far less charitable than I am. And Minerva only has five more months left. So actually, I changed my mind.”
I pause and take a deep breath and then level him with a cold, hard stare. “I’m not offering you a chance to buy the house. I’m keeping it, and now you’re going to pay me the value of the car you stole from me. And all the credit card debt I racked up when you made me live in a hotel is yours to pay and yours alone. Got it? Because if you disagree, we’re going to court, and I will ask for alimony and half of that precious business you own on top of this.”
Adam is turning the most awesome shade of red. I don’t even try to stop the smile that starts to spread across my face. His lawyer starts threatening to keep this tied up for years, but Adam interrupts him, turning to me. “Zoey, please. Show me a little kindness. I know that’s who you are deep down inside…”
He gives me a pleading look. It resembles the one he gave me when he begged me to start trying for a family. He’s eight years older than me, and he felt like it was time. Men his age should have families. We were the only ones in our affluent social circle—which was really his circle—who didn’t have kids. He thinks that look will work now? It only worked the first time because I thought I loved him. I thought having a baby might fill the holes in our marriage. I wanted to make it work. I want nothing more than for it to end now. “I’m being kind to the only person that matters now. Me.”
His softened expression hardens up instantly. He would wrap his hands around my neck right now if he could. He turns to my lawyer. “Amend the paperwork, so I can sign it and be done with her.”
Cordelia stands and quickly leaves. I sit back down and wait. The room is definitely a toxic environment now and it’s a long twenty minutes until Cordelia is back with the updated documents. Adam angrily grabs the papers from her and signs them in an aggressive scrawl.
“Adam—” his lawyer starts.
“You were the biggest mistake of my life,” he seethes, and the words don’t even sting. Not even a little bit. I share the sentiment. I realized that when I didn’t even care that he had gotten Minerva pregnant. What hurt that night, seeing her and finding out it was his baby, was the fact that Adam might be right. I may never have a baby of my own. As happy as I am that I never had his children, I do want children one day. With someone else. And the fact is it might not happen.
When he finishes signing, he shoves the papers back toward my lawyer and starts out of the conference room. “I’ll be out of the house in an hour and have movers come to get my larger stuff by tomorrow.” He pauses and looks at me with hard, cold eyes. “Have fun with your little rink rat.”
“Congrats on knocking up your secretary!” I call as I start to sign the paperwork myself.
