“She’s going to be kicked off her land. You have money, she doesn’t. Work your magic, Houdini.”
My boss waved at me through the glass to get my ass into the conference room. I held up my finger and nodded. “Look, as much as that sucks, you know she’s not going to take any money from me. And even if she did, that doesn’t mean she’s going to suddenly want to be with me.”
“This is your chance. Don’t blow it.”
“I have to go-“
“I just gave you the key to getting her back and you’re leaving?”
“I have a meeting.”
“You always have a meeting-“
I hung up and placed my phone on vibrate as I grabbed my paperwork, computer, and headed into the conference room.
“Sorry about that,” I said, taking my seat.
“I’m a very busy woman, Mr. Cortell. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“I’m sorry. It was a family matter. It won’t happen again.”
She rolled her eyes and brushed me off. I had been busting my ass on her case for days and she couldn’t even give me the slightest respect. It irritated the fuck out of me. My boss glowered at me, but I ignored him. It was time to get down to business.
“I’ve gotten pretty much everything taken care of for a divorce in New Hampshire, but you’re going to have to get your husband to move to New Hampshire with you in order to establish residency.”
“You want me to do what?”
I glanced at my boss and then back to her. “Mrs. Morrison, as long as you and your husband both live in New Hampshire, you can file for a divorce quickly. Otherwise, one of you would have to live there for a year. This would be the fastest way to achieve your desired results.”
“But I work in Chicago.”
“I realize that. You could move to the southern tip of the state under the guise of setting up new locations in Boston. It wouldn’t be the first time that someone has lived outside the city for privacy reasons.”
“And how would I even convince him to move there?”
“Well, if he’s still sleeping with the nanny, I’m guessing he’s not going to care where you’re located as long as she’s there.”
She sucked in a breath and my boss stood suddenly. “Robert, perhaps you could give us a minute.”
I nodded and stood. “My apologies, Mrs. Morrison, I wasn’t trying to offend you, only point out how easy this could be.”
I stepped out of the room and returned to my office. A half hour later, my boss came storming in looking more pissed off than I’d ever seen him before. “What the hell were you thinking? We’re trying to retain her as a client, not push her toward another firm!”
“Sir, we can’t do anything to help her if she won’t listen to us.”
“Well, she’s not going to listen to you now. You were an asshole to her.”
“Then put Chelsea or Delaney on it.”
He rolled his eyes. “They pissed her off too. Rebecca needs someone to talk to her like a woman, someone that isn’t a high powered attorney out for all her money.”
“Yeah, but we’re all lawyers.”
“Maybe one of the interns,” he said thoughtfully.
“No, they’re all looking to move up in the firm. They’ll fuck it up.”
He slammed his hand down on my desk, his nostrils flaring. “Find me someone. We can’t lose her as a client. She’s worth millions to this firm, and if we lose her, we’ll lose other clients. All it takes is one bad word from her and we’re done. We’re the top divorce firm right now. We can’t afford to slip even one spot.”
He stormed out of my office and I tossed my phone on the desk, slumping down in my chair. I was exhausted and I was starting to see double from staring at screens all day. Where the hell was I going to find someone that could convince this woman that we knew what we were doing?
Mr. Mosley was wrong. We didn’t need someone that could lay this out for her. We needed someone that didn’t look or act like a fucking lawyer. But I didn’t know any lawyers that were that good with clients. Everyone I knew was headstrong and went after what they wanted. That wouldn’t work with this woman. I needed something else.
My phone lit up with a message from my brother.
Eric: Don’t wait too long to help Anna out. Strike while she’s vulnerable.