is instantly disappointed in herself. ‘I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m after some advice, if you don’t mind.’
‘Of course.’
‘You may remember I was getting married to Nathan around the time we last spoke. I was looking for some advice about a pre-nup.’
Alice is sure she can hear the disapproval in Liz’s ‘Mmm.’
‘We’re going through a bit of a rocky patch,’ Alice goes on. ‘It’s just a tentative enquiry at the moment, but I’d like to get an idea on where I’d stand financially, should we separate and divorce.’
Alice can hear Liz rustling some papers on her desk and imagines her sitting on a maroon leather chair in a mahogany-adorned chamber. ‘I’m sorry to hear that,’ she says, sympathetically, and it takes all of Alice’s resolve not to cry. Maybe she’s not as tough as she’s pretending to be. ‘Well if I remember correctly, you decided not to go ahead with the pre-nup.’
‘No, that’s right,’ says Alice, and she can almost hear Liz silently saying, Silly girl. ‘It wasn’t something either of us wanted to do,’ she goes on, trying to justify every bad decision she made back then.
‘So, what assets do you have?’ asks Liz. ‘Just a rough idea.’
Alice tots everything up as quickly as she can. ‘Well, I don’t have specific figures, but the house is in my name and is worth about two million. AT Designs is profitable and has cash in the bank, but I’ve just recently taken a loan out for a million pounds to buy some land in Japan. We’re building twenty-eight apartments near to the Olympic site.’
‘Wow, that sounds interesting,’ says Liz, but Alice is sure she can hear disbelief in her voice. ‘And the business is solely in your name?’
‘Yes.’
‘So, can you remind me what Nathan brought to the marital table.’
Alice goes quiet, trying to find something worthwhile to say, but sensing the unfavourable answer, Liz puts her out of her misery.
‘Okay, so despite Nathan turning up with nothing but the shirt on his back, he can still make a claim on your wealth if you separate.’
Alice winces at the lawyer’s brutal choice of words. ‘So that’s not looking too good for me, then?’
‘It would have been wise to secure your future a little,’ says Liz, ‘whilst you still had the chance. But you were in love and sometimes love is blind.’
Alice can’t help but notice her use of the word ‘were’. Does that mean we aren’t any more? she wonders. I guess that’s why I’m calling her.
‘But I can draw something up to give you more detail if it should get to that stage,’ Liz goes on. Right now, Alice can’t see any chance that it won’t.
‘Thanks,’ she says. ‘But just before you go . . . About Japan – Nathan has largely been dealing with the business end of the transaction up until now. We’ve – I’ve – already paid a hundred thousand on exchange, and I’m about to complete this afternoon. I know I’m asking a lot, Liz, but is there any way you could take a quick look at the contract, just so, you know . . .’
‘I assume a conveyancing solicitor has read through it before now?’ asks Liz.
‘Well, yes,’ says Alice. ‘My lawyer is based in Japan and he seems happy enough, but as I say, Nathan’s been dealing with that side of things. I would just appreciate you checking it through, especially if I’m going to be on my own, going forward.’
‘You’re not leaving yourself an awful lot of time,’ comments Liz. ‘And I can’t claim to be an expert on international property law, but if you send it over now, I’ll take a quick look at it.’
‘Thanks Liz, just let me know how much I owe you.’
‘If it’s all straightforward it shouldn’t take me too long. You’re lucky you’ve caught me in the office. Any other day this week and I would have been in court.’
‘Thanks Liz, I really appreciate it.’
Alice puts the phone down just as Lottie is passing her office.
‘Lottie, would you mind asking Matt for a copy of the Japan contract?’ she says, as nonchalantly as she can manage.
‘Yep sure,’ she says breezily.
A few minutes later, Matt pops his head around Alice’s door. ‘I hear you’re after the Japan contract?’ he says. ‘I believe Nathan’s put it in the safe, under lock and key.’
‘Good job I’ve got a key then.’ Alice smiles as she reaches into her desk drawer and throws Matt a small bunch of keys. ‘Would you mind?’