Chapter 3

As I sat at my desk, I immediately knew who to call. All I could do was hope she remembered me. I dialed her number and she picked it up on the first ring, “Angela King speaking. How can I help you?” I answered, “Hi Angela, this is Harlequin Frost.” Angela gasped, “Harley! Oh my gosh! How are you?” I chuckled, “I’m okay. I could be better. Do you have time to meet for lunch today? I desperately need your services today.”

Angela answered, “Of course! I would love to meet you for lunch. How about our old hangout at around one o’clock?” I smiled lightly, “Sounds great. I can’t wait to hang out with you again.” She chuckled, “Same here. I can’t wait to talk. See you at one.” After saying goodbye, I ended the call.

I then decided that I needed my best friend’s expertise. I needed her to look at his version of the divorce agreement and advise me on whether I should sign them. I found her contact info easily and hit the call button. She answered on the first ring, “Hey, lady! Did the asshat finally decide to celebrate your anniversary?” That hit me in the heart and I immediately started sobbing. Lacey immediately gasped, “Say no more. I’m on my way.” She ended the call and I grabbed a tissue from the box on my desk.

After I stopped crying, I went to the bathroom and washed my face. As I was drying my face, I heard the doorbell and rushed to the foyer yelling, “I got it!” I opened the door to see Lacey with her overnight bag over her shoulder, a plastic bag over her wrist, two caramel frappes in a carrier in one hand and a box of jelly-filled donuts in her other hand.

I chuckled at the sight and shook my head and emptied her hands, then asked Annie to help with the rest. Lacey sighed in relief, “Thank you. I’ll go get my laptop and bag.” She went back to her car and I just left the door open for her. I sat the stuff that I took from her on the table and returned to the door.

I walked out to her car and sighed, “He handed divorce papers to me over dinner. He says the agreement is more than fair. I told him I wanted my attorney to look at them.” She agreed, “Of course you do. Well, I can’t wait to see what he thinks is fair.”

She stepped into the foyer and I asked, “Would you rather go to the dining room table or my office?” She smiled, “Let’s go to the table. I can set up my laptop and we can start eating donuts until we have belly or tooth aches.” I laughed as we walked to the table where she started setting up while I went to get the divorce papers and sat back down.

I handed the documents to her as I sighed, “Here you go. I trust you, as my attorney and best friend, more than anyone.” She hugged me, “I just wish you didn’t need me for this.” I nodded, “Me too.”

As she read, I could tell she was getting angrier with every word. When she finally reached the end, she slammed them down on the table and yelled, “That man is a fool if he thinks he can get away with this. You wasted nearly three years on a man who was not only an asshole to you, but didn’t have a problem openly cheating on you in public. You suffered with him and we are going to make him pay.

“First, I know you work for his company right now. What do you plan on doing after you leave?” I smiled, “I am starting my own jewelry design and creation studio. I’m actually meeting Angela King for lunch today. I’m going to have her look for business locations and possibly sell one of the houses I get in the divorce. I don’t need two or more. I just want the beach house, because I love it. If I could get a condo near my business or possibly a building with an apartment over it, that would be better.”

She smiled, “Angela! Do you mind if I come with?” I laughed, “I would love it. I know Angela would like to reconnect with you too. I’ve missed being able to hang out with you two.” She agreed, “It’s been too long. Now, the reason I asked what you planned to do is because this could get nasty.

“You may want to email your resignation letter to Human Resources today, even though it’s Saturday. Once he sees the papers we are filing, he won’t want to even look at you.” I huffed, “He hasn’t wanted to look at me the entire time we were married. The only time he ever even touched me was when he came home drunk one night a couple months ago. That was when I lost my virginity.”

Lacey’s eyes went huge, “You didn’t even have sex on your wedding night?” I shook my head, “Nope. He went out with the guys after telling me I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without my driver and I was forbidden to let anyone know we are married and even then, he thought he was sleeping with Daya.”

 I honestly thought I could see smoke coming out of her ears as she fumed, “Oh, we are going to make him pay. If he wants to drag this out to try to get us to bend to his will, we will go public with everything you have had to endure as his wife. No one should have to live like that.”

I shrugged as tears formed in my eyes again, “I really loved him. I hoped that if I tried hard enough, he would love me. Then I overheard him talking with his best friend, Liam. All my love for him died yesterday. Even Liam told him he’s an idiot for leaving me. Then he told Victor to let him know when he does it so he can help me heal.”

Lacey laughed, “Maybe you should let him know you’re getting a divorce. I mean the best way to get over a man is to get under another one.” My jaw dropped, “You are so bad.” She shrugged, “Hey, I’m just stating facts. He is hot and single. Since he’s so close to Victor, you might want to wait until the divorce is final though.” I nodded, “I plan on staying away from men for a while. I want to focus on my business first.”

Lacey smiled, “You know you can do both; right?” I nodded, “I do know this, I just want to stay focused. I don’t need a distraction like that.” She laughed, “You definitely need that kind of distraction. You need to have some fun. You can’t be so serious all the time.” I nodded, “I guess you’re right. But I want to get the divorce done first.”

I asked, “So how much money is he planning to give me?” She huffed, “Not enough. He is only giving you three million. The man is a multi-billionaire, so we are going to ask for one billion. By law, you are entitled to half of all his assets, so he should feel lucky that’s all we are asking for. He’s worth twenty billion!

“We need to find out where your studio will be before we can complete this decree. If he has a house near your studio, you could request that house and the beach house… and maybe a third one to sell for some extra money.”

I nodded, “I’m sure he can do that. I could use that money as starting capital for my business.” She asked, “How are you going to buy your studio?” I answered, “I have not had to use any of my money since I started working. I lived with my mother until I married Victor. He actually tried to demand me to quit working and just stay here to cook, clean and take care of the house. I obviously refused.”

Lacey asked, “So how much have you saved up?” I answered, “Half a billion. I have been earning three hundred thousand a year for the last five years. Plus, I have my trust fund that my dad left for me. That alone was five hundred million. He wasn’t a rich man when he was alive, but he started my trust fund and invested it well. It grew exponentially.

“So, I can buy a building and furnish it well using my own money. I was thinking of buying all the equipment I would need using our joint account. Just to be petty. I have never bought anything expensive before with his money, so I would say I’ve earned it for being his doormat for two years.” She grinned, “Go for it. It’s not final until it gets to court, so your shared accounts have equal access between you.”

I smiled, “I have to have an address to ship the machinery to, so I can’t order it yet.” Lacey agreed, “Well, let’s get this divorce settlement written. I think, as far as properties go, I think we could just say you want the beach house and two other properties of your choice.” I nodded, “That would work because I need a location close to my studio.”

When the papers were done, we had them couriered to his attorney’s office. As soon as the courier was gone, we left to meet Angela at the café. I had no idea she and Lacey would turn my world around for the better.