Shit. Anna was calling me again. I had at least fifteen missed calls from her and hadn’t once had the opportunity to call her back. My boss had kept me here all night, going over New Hampshire laws and how we could work this best for Rebecca Morrison. It would be easy enough to get her a divorce in New Hampshire. She could basically cross the state line and be granted a divorce. There were no lengthy residency issues to deal with.
But the real problem was that we had to prove that Chadwick had been having an affair with the nanny, and in doing so, completely cut him off from receiving any of her money. He would request alimony, and it was my job to make sure that all our bases were covered. I spent the night pouring over New Hampshire laws to make sure that I knew what I was dealing with.
And then I was called into an emergency strategy session that my boss called when he found out that Chadwick had been receiving money from Rebecca for a business deal that hadn’t gone through at all. In fact, all the money had been spent on the nanny. Now, it was seven o’clock at night and I was finally leaving, but I had no idea if Anna would still be there waiting for me. I dialed her number, but she didn’t answer. I drove home quickly, parking in the garage and taking the elevator up. It seemed like we stopped on every floor on the way up. When the doors finally opened to my floor, I quickly unlocked the door and raced inside.
“Anna!”
It was silent. I checked each room, but she didn’t answer. Her stuff was still here, so maybe she just went out to grab some food. I called down to the front desk.
“How can I help you, Mr. Cortell?”
“I had a guest staying with me. Do you know if she went out for the evening?”
“She went out earlier today, but we didn’t allow her back inside.”
“What? Why would you do that?”
“She’s not on your approved list of visitors.”
“But she must have had a key to get back in.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Cortell, but the rules are clear. If you wish for us to allow someone entry, they must be on the approved list.”
“Well, do you know where she went?”
“No, I’m sorry. We don’t know anything more.”
I ended the call and dialed her number again, but she still didn’t answer. What if she was wandering around the city with no idea where to go? God, this was a disaster. I called Eric. Maybe he could come help me find her.
“It’s about time you answered your phone,” he snapped.
“What? I don’t have any missed calls from you.”
“No, but you do from Anna. Did you know they locked her out of your apartment? She had to call me to get her a fucking cab home because she didn’t even have her purse.”
I swore to myself and rubbed a hand over my eyes. “Alright, where is she now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t keep tabs on her, but I would assume she’s at home.”
“I’ve been calling her.”
“And she’s probably been ignoring you because you left her.”
“I was at work. I didn’t mean-“
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Robert. You asked her to stay with you and then you abandoned her. What the hell did you expect her to do?”
“If you talk to her, just let her know that I’m leaving now and I’ll be down there in about an hour.”
“Are you sure you want to do that?”
I grabbed my keys and walked out the door. “Yes, I need to explain what happened.”
He snorted. “Yeah, good luck with that.”
I pulled up to her house an hour later, relieved that I saw lights on. At least she was home. I ran up her steps and pounded on her door. It swung open fairly quickly, which surprised me, so I stood there like an idiot. My mouth hung open and she glared at me.
“What do you want?”
“I…uh…”
“You know, for a lawyer, you really suck at using your words.”
She went to slam the door in my face, but I blocked it with my hand, holding it open. “Just hear me out.”
“I just did. It wasn’t impressive.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“Look, I got stuck at work. There was a big case and my boss was demanding that I stay and lay out the groundwork for everything.”