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THE DIVORCE COACH
THE DIVORCE COACH
Author: Goldy

CLIENT FROM HELL

Author: Goldy
last update publish date: 2026-08-26 00:19:04

Maya Rhodes

Her phone buzzed as Jessica left. Unknown number. Austin area code.

_“Ms. Rhodes, this is Caleb Hart. I need your help. It’s urgent. I’ll pay anything.”_

Maya groaned. Tech guys. They all thought money fixed heartbreak.

She called back while walking her dog Alimony down South Congress.

“Divorce Coach. What do you need to end?”

A man’s voice. Tired. Rich. “I don’t need to end anything. I need to un-end it.”

“...Come again?”

“My fiancée left me. Wedding is in 47 days. Venue’s paid. My mom already picked flowers. I need you to get her back.”

Maya stopped walking. Alimony peed on a Tesla. “Sir, I teach people how to leave. Not how to beg.”

“I know,” Caleb said. “That’s why I’m hiring you. You’re the best at reading people. If anyone can figure out why she left and how to fix it, it’s you. $50,000. 60 days. Plus expenses.”

Fifty thousand dollars. That was 6 months of rent for her office. That was her student loans.

Maya hated him already. “Send me her name and why she left. If it’s cheating or abuse, I’m out.”

“No cheating. No abuse. She just said...” he paused. “She said I’m married to my company and I forgot how to be a person.”

Ouch. Maya had heard that one before. In the mirror.

“Fine,” Maya said. “One condition. I’m in charge. You do everything I say. No arguing. No CEO attitude.”

“Deal.”

“Send me $25k deposit by tonight and your ex’s number. We start tomorrow.”

She hung up and looked at Alimony. “We’re gonna hate this guy.”

---

The next morning, Caleb Hart showed up at her office 10 minutes early.

Of course he did. He was wearing a $300 t-shirt and looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. Tall, messy brown hair, and the kind of jawline that sold startups.

“Ms. Rhodes,” he said, holding out coffee. “Oat milk latte. You didn’t answer my email asking your order so I guessed.”

Maya took it. He guessed right. Damn him.

“Sit,” she said, gesturing to the leather couch. “Rule 1 of Clean Break: we’re honest. Why did Lena really leave?”

Caleb sat. He looked miserable. “Because 3 months ago I missed her birthday for a product launch. 2 months ago I missed our anniversary trip for a board meeting. 3 weeks ago she asked me to pick: the company or her. I said ‘can I have 24 hours?’ She left that night.”

Maya stared at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s why I need you.”

Maya leaned back. This wasn’t about getting a girl back. This was about a man who’d forgotten how to be human and was terrified he’d lost the only person who saw him.

And $25k was already in her account.

“Alright, Hart,” Maya said, pulling out a whiteboard. “60 days. We’re gonna make you dateable again. Step 1: You’re gonna learn how to cook. Step 2: You’re gonna take 2 days off. Step 3: You’re not allowed to talk about work on dates.”

Caleb blinked. “Dates? With who?”

“With me,” Maya said. “To practice. And if you flirt with me, you pay me an extra $10k.”

He smiled for the first time. It was dangerous. “Deal, Coach.”

Maya didn’t smile back. She was in trouble already.

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  • THE DIVORCE COACH    CHAPTER TEN:THE EX VISIT

    "So it's true then."Lena Chen didn't yell it.That was the worst part. If she had yelled, it would have been easier.She just stood there on Caleb Hart's deck overlooking Lake Travis, in that wrinkled linen dress she always wears to throw pottery on East 6th, holding a handmade mug that had a little chip on the handle. I knew that mug. Caleb told me in Week 1 that she made it for him on their second anniversary. He drank everything from it.Now she was looking at me wearing his AUSTIN TECH WEEK shirt. The one that goes down to my knees.And Caleb, standing behind me with no shirt, his hand still half holding mine.For three full seconds nobody moved. Just the lake hitting the pylons under the house and cicadas being loud.Caleb finally said, "Lena. You shouldn't be here."Lena laughed, but not in a mean way. More like she was tired. "Yeah. Your tweet said the same thing to all of Austin. Two hundred and eighty-four thousand people know you're here. I thought I'd be number two hundred

  • THE DIVORCE COACH     CHAPTER NINE:THE MORNING AFTER

    I woke up because my neck hurt.That was the first thing. Not because of the light — Caleb Hart's Lake Travis house has those automatic blinds that actually work — but because I had fallen asleep on his couch and his arm had gone completely dead under my head.7:13 AM. The house was quiet. The kind of quiet you only get when you're right on the lake. You can hear the water hit the deck.For three seconds I didn't remember.Then I remembered everything.Day 31.The tweet. #DivorceCoachGirlfriend trending on Austin Twitter.The drone that showed up outside my office on South Congress yesterday.Cold pizza on his kitchen floor.And the kiss.I had a yellow Post-it note on my fridge for two years. It says: RULE 1: NO FALLING FOR THE CLIENT.I broke it against his fridge.Caleb was still asleep. Messy brown hair, no shirt, jeans from yesterday. That small infinity tattoo on his collarbone that Lena made him get in Marfa on their anniversary trip — the trip he almost missed. He breathes thr

  • THE DIVORCE COACH    THE INTERNET EXPLODES

    By 2pm, #DivorceCoachGirlfriend was trending. *TechCrunch:* _Caleb Hart Defies Board, Debuts New Girlfriend at Emergency Meeting_ *Twitter:* _billionaire hires divorce coach to get ex back ends up dating coach instead we love a plot twist_ *LinkedIn:* _Thoughts on workplace boundaries and CEO transparency_ *Tasha’s group chat:* _BITCH YOU’RE FAMOUS AND I TOLD YOU TO TAKE THE MONEY_Maya’s phone was a nuclear reactor. 300 texts. 40 missed calls. Victor. Her mom. A reporter from Austin Chronicle. Alimony’s vet asking if she needed "emotional support for the dog too."Caleb’s phone wasn’t better. Board members. Investors. His mom. They were hiding in Caleb’s house with the blinds down, eating cold pizza and refreshing Twitter.“This is bad,” Maya said, scrolling. “Someone found my Yelp page.”“Someone gave you 5 stars and said ‘saved my marriage by helping me end it’,” Caleb read over her shoulder. “That’s amazing marketing.”“That’s not the point!” Maya threw her phone. “I’m sup

  • THE DIVORCE COACH    THE BOARD MEETING

    Friday. 9am. Bennet Global Tower, 40th floor.The boardroom was all glass and ego. 12 people in $4000 chairs. Victor Bennet at the head, smiling like he already won.And in the middle of it: Caleb. Jeans. Black tee. No tie. And Maya, in a blazer she borrowed from Tasha, sitting next to him.The whispers started the second they walked in. _"Is that his assistant?"_ _"No, that’s the divorce coach."_ _"She’s not on the agenda."_Victor stood. “Caleb. Didn’t expect you to bring... moral support.”“She’s not moral support,” Caleb said, pulling out a chair for Maya. “She’s my advisor.”Maya sat. Her hands were shaking under the table. $250k. Gone. For this.Victor’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s get started. Motion on the floor: removal of CEO Caleb Hart, effective immediately, due to erratic behavior and neglect of fiduciary duty.”Someone slid papers across the table. Proof. Missed meetings. The Barton Springs photos. The Venmo to Maya with “Worth it” in the note.Maya’s stoma

  • THE DIVORCE COACH    48 HOURS

    Tasha poured tequila. Two shots. No chaser. “You’re an idiot,” she said. “Take the $250k.”Maya was sitting on Tasha’s bar, still in her work dress from 9am. “He’s gonna lose his company.”“And?” Tasha slid her the second shot. “That’s not your problem. Your problem is rent and your divorce lawyer and Alimony’s vet bills.”Maya drank it. Burned. “He trusts me.”“Babe,” Tasha said softly. “That’s the job. People trust divorce coaches for 60 days and then they go back to their lives. You’re not special.”The words stung because they were true.Maya’s phone buzzed again. Victor. _“24 hours left. Don’t make me call his board directly.”_She turned the phone face-down. “I need to think.”“Think with your bank account,” Tasha said. “Not your uterus.”---The next 24 hours were hell.Caleb texted her 3 times. All normal. *Caleb:* Board prep is hell. Miss Barton Springs. *Caleb:* Sending you a meme. Don’t laugh at work. *Caleb:* Rule 4. No secrets. Dinner tomorrow? My place. I’ll cook

  • THE DIVORCE COACH    THE COMPETITOR CALLS

    Maya deleted the text. Then she undeleted it. Then she screenshot it and sent it to Tasha.*Maya:* Victor Bennet is calling me about Caleb *Tasha:* THE Victor Bennet?? CEO of that evil tech empire?? *Maya:* Yes. What do I do?? *Tasha:* You tell Caleb. Immediately. You’re his coach not his secret service. *Maya:* What if it ruins the 60 days?? *Tasha:* What if it ruins HIS COMPANY?? *Maya:* ...fair.But she didn’t tell him. Not at Barton Springs. Not when he was laughing and failing to do a cannonball and looked 12 years younger. She told herself it was “protecting the client’s mental space.” It was a lie. And Rule 2 was No Lying.That night Caleb texted her at 11:47pm. *Caleb:* Thank you for today. I haven’t laughed like that in 3 years. *Maya:* You’re welcome. Get some sleep, CEO. *Caleb:* Can’t. Board meeting tomorrow. *Maya:* You said no work after 8. $10k. *Caleb:* Charge me. She didn’t. The next morning, Maya called Victor Bennet back from her office.

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