9
10
“ I t doesn’t look good for a lawyer to go to jail for assault, does it?” Meila asked, and Aiva looked up from her computer as her sister walked into her office.
“No, it does not,” Aiva responded. “Who is it you’re contemplating going to jail over?”
Meila took a seat on the other side of her desk. “Mia Chandler. I’m a gnat’s eyelash away from cursing her ass out the next time she calls me. She doesn’t seem to understand that no means just that.”
Aiva could believe that from the things she’d seen. The woman was clearly used to getting her way and thought things should go the way she wanted them. However, neither she nor her sister would be the ones to give in to Mia’s unreasonable demands.
She was meeting with Knox in about half an hour to see if there were any of the prenup stipulations he was willing to give a little on if it meant not having to go through a long back-and-forth mediation with Mia and whatever lawyer she ended up getting.
“She also made the mistake of telling me which client it was that gave her my personal number, and they better hope they never need my services again because they’re going to be shit out of luck.”
Aiva went back to the email she was sending as she listened to her sister’s rant. Mia wasn’t even Meila’s client, and she was frustrating her sister. Hell, Meila wasn’t even a part of the case and was being stressed by it.
Mostly, she knew Meila was ranting and killing time until she could leave. She’d had a mediation meeting that afternoon, and because they were never sure how long mediation could last, they seldom schedule other meetings and appointments after an afternoon one. Meila’s had gone over fairly smoothly, and she’d decided she’d leave at three for the day. Which was also when Aiva would meet with Knox.
It was five minutes till three when Meila rose from the seat she occupied and told Aiva she’d see her tomorrow morning before walking out of her office. Aiva brought up a list of things she wanted to go over with Knox, took out the copy of the prenup he’d given her, as well as brought up proposal documentation for them to have on hand during their mediation which would entail any new agreements Knox may have been willing to make.
Aiva liked to have a couple of them filled in with different alimony settlements, visitations, etc. That way, they never had to waste any time drawing up new ones if the other party agreed. Having to break for a day to do so could cause them to change their mind.
Each proposal only included things her client agreed to beforehand and was willing to allow the other side to agree to. She always explained to them why she did it this way. Aiva had always been a firm believer in keeping good momentum.
Finx showed Knox in right at three, and the two greeted each other before sitting down. Aiva could feel his eyes on her when she looked at her screen for the first topic they would be discussing.
“How’s Yasmine?” Aiva asked. She was well aware of how divorce affected children. Though the little girl was already used to her parents being separated and spending her time between the two of them.
“She’s good. I haven’t explained any of this to her since the only thing that would change is her living with me full-time. I think she’s used to Mia and I living separately.”
“So, it won’t be too much of a drastic change for her. That’s good,” Aiva paused for a moment. “The first thing I wanted to discuss with you is visitation. I know you want sole custody, and I don’t think you should lean on that. I was thinking more about Mia’s visitation. Right now, you’re proposing two weekends a month. Would you be willing to give her three?”
Aiva watched as Knox seemed to think about her proposal. She knew Knox wanted what was best for Yasmine, and while allowing her mother to have visitation would keep that relationship going and growing, she didn’t know if he’d give her another weekend. In the same way that seeing Mia would continue growing her and Yasmine’s relationship, it would also give Mia an opportunity to speak ill of Knox to their daughter.
“If it’s supervised as well, then yes,” Knox responded.
“Of course,” Aiva stated, putting a check mark beside the suggestion. “I know that holiday visitations weren’t covered in the original document, but would you agree to allow Mia to come to celebrate some with you and Yasmine or rotate them?”
“Yes. I don’t want to keep Mia from Yas, but I want to make sure every visit is supervised. I wouldn’t put it past her to kidnap her just to get back at me after it’s all said and done.”
Aiva nodded, placing a check beside it before moving to the next item on her agenda. This one, she wasn’t sure how he would take. It was regarding the settlement amount he was required to pay her through the prenuptial agreement. It wasn’t that Aiva thought Knox should give Mia more, but sometimes a little extra went a long way to dealing with difficult people.
“What about paying her more in the settlement? I’m not saying that I think you should, but if it’s an amount, you’re okay with. If it would make it easier to get mediation done, it may be worth it.”
“Mia feels as if she deserves more. She asked me for fifteen million when she dropped by,” Knox informed her.
Aiva blinked at him slowly. Letting what he’d just said to her sink in. She shouldn’t have been surprised that Mia wanted more money in the settlement. Aiva expected her to request it. What she hadn’t expected was for her to reach past the stars into the void for more. Double, yes. Aiva thought she’d request that. But seven times more? She hadn’t expected that.
“That is definitely not what I was thinking,” Aiva responded after a moment. “What amount, if any, would you be comfortable increasing the settlement to?”
Knox thought for a moment before he answered. “Three, if it’ll make the process faster. Five, if she doesn’t fight me on custody and visitation stipulations.”
Aiva nodded. “Okay, I’m going to push to keep it as close to the settlement amount as possible.” She placed a check mark beside it, typing a few notes. Aware of Knox’s eyes on her.
K nox watched her as she typed. His eyes raked over her high cheekbones before slipping down her neck. Taking in the smooth penny-colored skin. His eyes dipped to her breast momentarily before Knox caught himself and brought them back up to her face.
Typically, Knox was a patient man, and while he’d decided to wait until his divorce was finalized to ask Aiva out, he knew the process would take longer than he wanted it to. Mia would drag it out to get what she wanted. For that reason, he’d considered his parents’ idea of giving her more in the settlement if it meant being finished with the entire ordeal. It was why he hadn’t needed to think too long about it when Aiva asked.
Aiva turned her attention back to him when she finished typing, and Knox’s eyes fell to her lips briefly, coming back to her eyes a second later.
“I have a suggestion since you’re willing to go up on the settlement amount,” Aiva started. “As a counterargument to the request, I’m sure Mia is going to make in mediation for more money, I’d like to propose she take the initial settlement amount plus spousal support in the amount of five thousand dollars a month for the next twenty years, or until she gets remarried. To her, it’ll sound like more when, in actuality, she’ll only be getting a little over three million dollars in total.”
“Do you think that will work?”
“Depending on the lawyer she gets to represent her, yes. With people who focus solely on money, they don’t always think about the actual figures if what they’re getting sounds as if it works better in their favor.”
Knox nodded at her. Mia had clarified that the only thing she thought about since being served was the amount of money that she wanted from him. He knew that Aiva’s idea could work with how focused on money his soon-to-be ex-wife was.
“I’ll choose the time to bring out the counter and suggest monthly payments starting at two thousand five hundred a month. They’ll counter and want to double it. I’ll act as if we need to discuss it. They then will more than likely try to pressure a decision. You’ll pretend to think about it and then agree.”
Damn , Knox thought. He was glad that Aiva was his lawyer and not the opposing council because she’d thought of how the entire situation could play out. He could definitely see it happening that way but he still had a couple of questions.
“What happens if she asks for more than five thousand dollars in spousal support each month?”
Aiva sat back in her chair. “To keep you from going over the amount you’ve stated, ten thousand dollars a month for twenty years or until she gets remarried will still keep you under that five million threshold at four point nine. Believe me, I have several variations of this counteroffer, and all of them keep you at five or under. Which one I counter with depends on how deep into mediation we are, and how stubborn I’ve judged the other side to be.”
“Mia is the most stubborn person I’ve ever met,” Knox informed her. “I know you’ve probably already figured it out, but we’re going to be in for several headaches.”
Aiva shook her head. “I’m going to make sure that doesn’t happen. If anyone ends up with headaches, it’ll be them. My goal is to make this as painless for you as possible. I just need you to trust me to do so, and not to let them stress you.”
“I have nothing but confidence in your ability.”
Aiva smiled at him. “Do you have any other questions?”
Knox had one, but he couldn’t ask it yet. Well, he could, but he wouldn’t. He didn’t want to compromise her professionalism, and he had no intention of bringing her into his divorce drama in any capacity other than his lawyer. Once things were completed, he’d ask her what he wanted to. So, he shook his head, telling her no.
“Alright. One last thing. When mediation starts, be sure that you don’t speak to Mia about anything unless it’s regarding Yasmine, and even then, do not speak to her about custody. Continue to record the conversations like you’ve been doing, but if it shifts to things that should be discussed in the presence of your lawyers, end the call.”
“Noted,” Knox responded. He had no plans to speak to Mia outside of Yasmine’s well-being as he’d been doing. Even now, when she called or sent him a text, he didn’t engage with her. Just listened to her rant and rave.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll see you at our first mediation meeting, whenever that is. If you have questions before then, call me.”
Knox stood, Aiva doing the same, and he took her soft hand into his, shaking it before thanking her for her time and leaving her office. He didn’t have plans for the day. Mia would have Yasmine, which left him free. Knox mildly thought about checking in on his dealerships, but it never failed that when he did, he ended up working or being there talking to customers for hours.
Knox didn’t mind the latter, but the entire reason he had someone else run the dealerships and his other business ventures was that he enjoyed being able to sit back and earn a passive income. It was why he’d bought car dealerships, real estate, and a couple of gyms before retiring from the league. He wanted to make sure he was still bringing in income with little work on his part.
Getting into his car, Knox decided he would stop and get some lunch, and maybe spend some time looking for new real estate properties to buy.