29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Knocking brought Janie out of her thoughts as she was making a sandwich for Eleanor and her. It was lunch time and she was starving. Who knew editing could make her so hungry. Or maybe it was the fact that she had forgotten to eat breakfast that morning.
It was a recurring theme. She just wasn’t a breakfast person. It made her feel nauseous when she ate it. Unless it was buttered toast. She could eat that any time and not be sick. But it wasn’t nutritious or kept her full for long.
Mac would throw a fit or give her a lecture if he found out. He had wanted her to eat enough each meal and so did Michael. Did they know how hard that was? Sure, she had the food Mac had prepared for both of them. And it was delicious. Oh, so good. But it wasn’t breakfast food.
Knocking sounded on the door again and she furrowed her eyebrows. Mac had the rest of the week off of work and told her he would be home, but she wasn’t expecting him. He normally sent her a text before he came over.
Janie slowly made her way over to the window and peaked out. The black car was sitting at the end of her driveway again. Shit. Her heart started to beat faster as everything came crashing down on her. What was the car doing back? She jogged over to the kitchen counter and grabbed her phone. She needed to text Mac.
Janie
The car is back and the person is knocking on my door.
The knocking started again and she flinched. They were going to continue to knock on the door until she opened it. Janie walked over and looked through the peephole. There was a man in a suit holding papers. Who was he?
Janie opened the door slightly and looked directly at the guy. “Can I help you?” she softly asked, trying not to show any fear in her voice. She didnt think she was doing a good job of that.
“Are you Jane Williams?” he asked.
“Yes, I am.”
“I’m your ex-husband, Donald’s, new lawyer. I need to talk to you.”
Janie heard a door open and close. Her eyes found Mac’s as he was walking across his yard and to her.
“I don’t want anything to do with my husband. I don’t want to get back together with him,” she said. “I’ve told him several times that I have no desire. Please let him know that.”
“It’s important business relating to the house,” the lawyer said.
Mac walked right behind the lawyer. “Who’s this?”
The lawyer didn’t even flinch when Mac spoke. Did he have super powers or something? Or did he hear him come up behind him?
Janie didn’t know if she wanted to get him involved in this. She shouldn’t have said anything about the car until she knew who it was. But she had been scared when she saw the car outside. Random cars didn’t drive on their street. It wasn’t normal.
“Who is he?” Mac asked again. “Is he harassing you?”
The lawyer turned around and glared at Mac. “This does not concern you. I am here to talk to Jane.”
“I’ve got you on camera sitting outside of her house for thirty minutes. I can make one call to the police and it’s bye bye to you,” Mac said. “And don’t ever tell me that it doesn’t concern me. Janie is my woman which means it involves me.”
Her eyes went wide and she stared at Mac. She did not expect him to say that to him. It was almost like he was getting agitated at the lawyer.
“This is,” Janie started to say before turning to the lawyer. “I actually didn’t get your name.”
“John,” the lawyer said through a clenched jaw.
“This is John. My ex-husbands new lawyer.”
“What does he want with you?” Mac asked as he took several steps towards her. He was putting himself in between the lawyer. Did he think something was going to happen? Should she be worried?
“I would like to speak to Jane alone. This does not pertain to you.”
Mac growled and John’s eyes went wide. She had only ever heard Mac growl a few times since she had known him.
The lawyer looked at her. “Jane. Tell him to leave so I can talk to you.”
Mac growled again and she placed her hand on his arm. “I would like Mac here while we talk. I would be more comfortable that way.”
John clenched his jaw and stared at her. Well, more like glared. Was he trying to intimidate her into telling Mac to go away? If anything, he was making her want Mac to be here even more.
“Can we go inside to talk about this?” John asked.
Janie shook her head. “We can talk about this right here.”
There was no way she was going to allow him to come into her house. She didn’t know what he wanted to talk about the house, but there was no way. He didn’t have the right. Well, she didn’t actually know that but she wasn’t going to let him.
The lawyer opened his mouth, ready to object but Mac stopped him. “You heard Janie. She said we’re not going inside so we aren’t. What do you need?”
“Go away,” John said.
Mac crossed his arms against his chest. “I’m not going anywhere. Start talking.”
“I’ll just come back later.”
“We’ll be waiting for you. No matter what day you come, I’ll always be here.”
John glared at Mac again.
“I want him here. No matter what, Ill have Mac here with me,” Janie said. “So get used to it and just tell me what you’re here for.”
John sighed and nodded his head. “Okay. Donald wants his house back.”
She gave him a confused look. “It’s my house.”
“It’s in Donald’s name. He told your lawyer that he would allow you to live in the house for two years, but he wants it back now.”
Her mouth hung open. Her lawyer at the time never told her anything about that. He told her she didn’t have anything to be worried about and her husband’s lawyer at the time didn’t say anything either. How could she have been so foolish to trust that lawyer?
“No,” she whispered. “That’s not true.”
“It is and I have the original documents to show you,” John said.
Janie started to sway as everything came crashing down on her. She was going to lose the house because her lawyer didn’t tell her it was in his name. If she had known that, she would have never stayed in the house.
Mac wrapped his arms around her, holding her upright. “Everything is going to be okay,” he whispered in her ear.
“Can I see the documents?” she asked.
John handed her the papers, but nothing was making sense. She didn’t understand any of it.
“Let me take a look at it,” Mac said.
“I don’t think that’s wise,” John said.
“I’m going to take a look over it. Janie is obviously overwhelmed and I want to make sure you aren’t low balling her.”
Janie looked at Mac as he read the papers. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay and it wasn’t true. That it was just a scare tactic so she would get back with Donald.
“Is it true?” she whispered.
Mac nodded his head. “It is true.”
Tears pricked her eyes. There was nothing she could do. He owned the house. It was in his name and she had no doubt he paid it off. The only way she thought she could stay here was if she paid for it, but Donald was going to make it really expensive. Definitely not worth it.
“You have three days to pack everything you need and get out,” John said. “If there is stuff still in here when the three days are over, it will be put in a storage unit under your name and payment information. Here’s my card if you have any questions.”
Mac grabbed the business card and they watched John leave. What was she going to do?