CHAPTER 3 – HEATH

             “What do you want now, Monica?” Heath Allan closed the storage closet door as he asked this. Only for the door to open immediately to admit Parker Stephens right behind him, and Parker had the good sense to close the door promptly.

             Parker whispered to Heath. ‘Monica again?’ Heath nodded with the phone still to his ear.

Of all the worst timing, his soon-to-be ex-wife called him to complain about something not being to her liking.

             “They declined my credit card, again. Why is my credit card no good, Heath?” Monica’s voice held a hint of a whiny tone as she tried to guilt him into giving her more money by pretending to be helpless and clueless.

             “Have you paid the bill for it lately?” Heath didn’t want to have this conversation with her again. It was the same conversation they had every time she called. “No, don’t bother answering that question. Of course, you didn’t pay the bill. Listen well, because I’m not repeating myself again, Monica. Your money will start again once you sign the agreement to speed up the separation and divorce. I’m not paying you any more money until that happens. But hey, don’t forget we have a week more of separation to go before you won’t need to sign those documents and I can file to finalize the divorce.”

             “You wouldn’t Heath. Think of the scandal. Your parents would never survive the embarrassment when it becomes public knowledge.” Monica went straight for his mother’s favourite guilt trip right out of the gate. Threatening to hurt his parent’s social reputation played on his mother’s insecurities and obsession with what her friends thought of her and the family. Also, his mother wouldn’t listen to anything negative Heath had to say about Monica.

Monica was the horse his mother hitched her wagon to, and she wouldn’t let that horse die no matter how bad things got.

“Monica, I’m not twenty anymore. I’m no longer beholden to my parents. Nor do I work for my father anymore. So, if they suffer any embarrassment from this, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.” Heath was done with all of this, and Monica needed to understand that, but a mule was more pliable than Monica.

             “Come on, honey. Please, just send a payment for a few thousand to my credit card.” It was all Heath could do not to grind his teeth. His neck and jaw hurt already from just the few words Monica had already said.

             “No, is a full sentence, Monica. It’s a two-letter word you must know it, even if you’re not familiar with it. Or willing to accept it. But I said it and meant it. I won’t change my mind. Remember that settlement goes away in a week. It’s more than fair, then you are stuck with what’s in the prenuptial agreement.” There was no way to be nice to Monica at this point. Heath had tried everything already. She’d take advantage of his generosity and good manners if he gave her the chance to do that.

             Heath moved out of their townhouse almost seven months ago. But she’d moved out of the townhouse, claiming she was travelling over a year ago. He filed for separation almost a month after she left, when it became clear she’d abandoned him.

             When they reached a settlement, he stopped paying her bills, and now she was nearing the end of her finances. If she signed the no fault divorce papers, her alimony would start and run for the next five years. But she wouldn’t sign them, which meant she didn’t agree with the separation agreement. Or the divorce agreement, even though she’d verbally agreed to it with the mediator and lawyers present.

             “I don’t want a divorce.” Heath listened to her false childlike voice. How he hadn’t seen how she manipulated people into providing for her as if she were a helpless child and not a woman nearing thirty in a year.

             “You don’t want to be married either, Monica. Try another lie, sweetheart. You like being married to money and influence. But you clearly don’t want the man that goes with it. I’m sick and tired of it.” He was sick of a lot of other things as well. But if she didn’t sign the document, his lawyer would pursue not only a divorce but a slew of charges against her. She didn’t realize he’d noticed how her stories didn’t line up and his lawyer had many of those stories investigated.

             From her education to her name and her family, Monica lied about everything. Sadly, he’d not seen it coming until after they’d married. She’d tricked his parents into paying for their wedding. Her side of the aisle didn’t have many family members, and it hadn’t been a red flag for him at the time, but now he saw it for what it was. Her family had washed their hands of her long before they met.

             “Heath, don’t be like that. It’s not true. I’m just in Europe right now, seeing my family. Would you like to speak to Uncle Tito?”

             “Monica, I know you’re in town right now. Stop lying. Now I have other responsibilities here that don’t include you.” He sighed. “Just sign the papers, Monica. Goodbye.” He disconnected the call. “I can’t wait until the day I can block her from my life, Parker.”

             “I still say you block her on everything now and force her to talk to me. Because I can’t wait to handle her and annoy the hell out of her at the same time.” Parker enjoyed poking holes in Monica’s stories. He was the one that made Heath aware of the cracks that began in the stories as she repeated them and added new ones that contradicted other stories.

             “Soon, Parker. Is there anything more from the private investigator for this month’s update?”

             “Yes, he’s got evidence that she’s been selling the objects she’s been buying. Or should I say she has someone selling them for her? Her phone records have her calling your mother at least once a day as well, and she’s still seeing that ex-con.” Parker looked pleased with that one. “He’s got new photos, too.”

             “Great, what story is she telling my mother this time? I guess it shouldn’t surprise me when my mother calls me later.” Parker shrugged because Heath would have to speak to his mother to find that out.

Years ago, before Ivy left, his mother campaigned for him to not marry Ivy and instead marry Monica. She’d claimed Ivy was a gold digger and Monica would make the perfect daughter-in-law.

Heath tried to prove to his mother not long after he’d married Monica that she had lied to them about several things. Now Heath wondered if his mother made up the story about Ivy having an affair or if it was Monica. Because now Heath questioned these things like he wouldn’t have back then.

Monica’s stories didn’t add up with her reasons and conflicted with each other after every retelling. Where she’d go when she visited her family, but wouldn’t take him along. One story was about her father who lived in Spain. Another he died in England years before. Nothing made sense. He feared she’d caught on to him and left him to hide in the city. Now, he questioned everything because his investigator discovered she had never used her passport.

 “Parker, while we’re alone. I want you to get your hands on Dr. Ivy Smythe’s personnel records for me, and I want to see them as soon as possible.”

“I’ll try. Did she do something wrong? Should I contact HR and let them know that she’ll need to be reprimanded and written up?” Parker knew some of Heath’s past, but not everything.

“No, nothing like that.” Heath ran his fingers through his hair. He felt like he had nothing but bad luck with women. “I want to know more about her.”

“How deep do you want to go with it? Wait. Ivy, isn’t she the woman Monica is always cursing and complaining you’re comparing her to?” Heath nodded to Parker. Parker was Heath’s personal assistant in his private and work life. Heath had hired Parker when they planned the wedding. Now Parker was his friend and assistant.

Parker heard too many unfortunate arguments between them. Heath only nodded.

“Something’s different about Ivy, and I want to know what happened. Let’s start with her personnel file and then we’ll see how much further I want to take this.”

             “Okay, I’ll get things rolling on that. Anything else?”

“Yeah, I need to get out of here and think. Can you think of a viable excuse to get me out of this event?”

“Just go. I’ll give them a suitably vague reason for your leaving.”

“Thanks, and get that file to me as soon as possible.”

“Will do.”