12
“A iva,” Finx whispered over the phone, and she furrowed her brow. “You will not guess who’s here to see you.”
Aiva picked up the receiver and placed it to her ear. “Who, and why are you whispering?”
“Harvey Flint.”
Aiva barely contained a groan as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling. There was no reason Harvey Flint should be on their property, let alone in their practice. She and Meila clarified they wanted nothing to do with him after he continually asked them out on dates, and it began to border on harassment. After his last run-in with her sister, Aiva was sure the man wouldn’t show his face again.
“What does he want?” Aiva questioned, because if Finx hadn’t gotten rid of him, he was there for a reason.
“He claims he needs to speak with you about a case.”
The last thing Aiva wanted to do was to speak with this man in any aspect, but she was always thorough, which meant if she didn’t talk to him and sent him away, she risked being caught unaware later if he wasn’t there just to annoy her.
“Fine. Show him in, please.”
Aiva placed the receiver back on the cradle and rubbed her temple momentarily. Every time she spoke with this man, she got a headache. She was sure this time would be no different. Harvey had this uncanny way of being a know-it-all while honestly knowing nothing. That he’d passed the bar was a mystery in itself.
A minute later, Finx showed Harvey into her office, and Aiva stood, holding her hand out to him. Just because he often rubbed her the wrong way didn’t mean she couldn’t be cordial.
“Aiva, it’s wonderful to see you again,” Harvey stated as he took a seat.
“It’s been a while,” she responded; in no way was she going to tell this man it was nice to see him because it never was. “To what do I owe this visit?”
“I’m here out of professional courtesy,” Harvey responded as he reached into his briefcase. “I’ve taken Mia Chandler on as a client, and I wanted to make you aware of the counterclaim we’ll be filing first thing in the morning.”
Great , Aiva thought. The last thing she wanted to do was spend an hour with Harvey. Let alone several trying to come to an agreement in mediation or inside a courtroom. It was bad enough that she would have to deal with Mia, and she was hoping the other woman would find a lawyer to talk some sense into her. The opposite happened. Harvey would hop on the coattails of whatever harebrained request Mia had.
Aiva tilted her head to the side as she questioned, “Counterclaim?” Moving the file, he’d just pushed across the desk to her, aside.
“Yes, my client is being shafted in the current proposed settlement. I’d even venture to say she’s being robbed. Mrs. Chandler put years of her love, blood, sweat, and tears into that marriage. Not to mention that with Mr. Chandler’s net worth, she should receive a significant amount more from him.”
There was so much that Aiva could say to that. So much information she had to the contrary, but she was a firm believer in not letting someone else see her hand, not drawing her weapon until she was ready to use it. Instead, she took a deep breath, leaning back in her seat as she exhaled. Her elbow propped on the arm, index finger resting on her cheek while her thumb sat under her chin.
“Let me tell you something, Harvey. There is nothing in this file,” Aiva told him, tapping the file with her other hand. “That I’d let my client agree to. There is also no judge in existence who would give your client any obscene amount or allow any unreasonable requests that I’m sure are in this file.”
Aiva leaned forward, lacing her fingers on her desk as she studied Harvey for a brief second, sure that he was trying to come up with something to say. She didn’t need to open the file she’d already peeped his game because he’d come to her office like a fool and showed it to her.
“I’m going to tell you something, Harvey. Think of it as a professional courtesy.” She paused for only a moment. “If we can’t settle this in mediation, and we end up in court in front of a judge, please know that the humiliation you felt when Meila handed you your ass in the case you had against her is nothing compared to how I will annihilate you. I would be surprised if you still want to practice law when I’m finished. I also suggest you speak with your client because the moment you file your counterclaim, I’ll be requesting immediate mediation.” Aiva smiled at him. “Now, have the day you deserve.”
She watched as Harvey’s eyes shifted, knowing he was scrambling for anything he could say as a comeback. Aiva wasn’t threatening him. She was telling him the truth, and there was always some friction between lawyers on opposing sides.
Harvey stood after several long seconds of being unable to fire back, and Aiva found it hilarious. She wondered how the man could call himself a lawyer when he couldn’t defend himself or his client, or come up with an argument on the fly. It was a large part of their profession.
Once he was out of her office, Aiva picked up the file he’d brought and opened it. Her eyes scanned over the paperwork, and she scoffed at what Mia was requesting because there was no way she’d be granted one hundred million dollars. That was the lump sum she wanted. It seems the original fifteen she wanted was out the window.
The greedy woman also asked for spousal support of eighty thousand dollars a month.
There was no custody agreement anywhere in the paperwork, but Aiva wasn’t all that surprised. Her response to Knox’s proposal was about the money she would be receiving. To Aiva’s knowledge, she hadn’t brought up Yasmine and the custody proposal.
She sighed, knowing that, true to his word, Harvey would file the counterclaim because there was no way Mia would allow him not to. Aiva was sure it was how he ended up being her lawyer. He couldn’t say no to ridiculous requests, and he was greedy as well. A larger payout for his client meant a more significant payday for him.
Glancing at the clock, Aiva saw that she only had a few minutes until her next meeting. She would call Knox once it was over. She needed to let him know Mia secured a lawyer and inform him of the ridiculous demands of her counterclaim.
K nox was silent for a moment as he allowed the information Aiva had just given him to sink in. He hadn’t expected Mia to settle easily, but he also hadn’t imagined she would go from demanding fifteen million to one hundred million.
Then again, he shouldn’t have been surprised. He knew the woman he was divorcing well and knew money meant everything to her. It allowed her to have the best of the best and feel as if she was above others. Her status and worth meant more to her than anything else, and Knox wasn’t shocked she was going over the top to protect it.
“Can she do that?” he questioned.
“She can file a counterclaim, yes. However, it won’t help her much. We’ve made a plan of what you’re willing to give her, and if we can’t settle in mediation, I don’t know any judge that would grant her all the things she’s requesting.”
Knox picked up on Aiva’s words and wiped his hand down his face before shifting the phone to his other ear. “But there’s a possibility they would grant her some.”
“Maybe,” Aiva responded. “They may grant spousal support, but that’s good for you.”
“It is?”
“Yes, because our plan would cost you five million dollars, which is far less than she wants, and you’re okay with paying it. However, if the judge only grants her spousal support, she’d get less than three million. In New Mexico, the ratio is one year to three. So, for every three years you were married, you’d pay her one year’s worth. Which means you’d only have to pay her for three years. The twenty years proposed in one of the counters we have was being generous to hopefully get her to agree.”
Knox thought about it for a moment. He could deal with that, but he also knew things could go differently. “That sounds nice, but there’s no guarantee that’s the only thing she’ll get.”
“Right,” Aiva responded. “Which is why I want us to settle this in mediation. If we go to court, I don’t see a judge giving into her obscene demands, but they may give her more than you want. So, I will do everything I can to close this before we get to that point.” She paused for a moment, and Knox heard her mumble, “I mean, I intimidated her lawyer today.”
He chuckled. “You did what?”
“He came in to let me know they were filing a counterclaim. Which honestly is only used as an I have the upper hand tactic. One he should not have employed because he does not. So, I let him know that if he and his client didn’t come to their senses, I would bury him in court, and by the time I finished, he’d no longer want to practice law.”
Knox laughed as he tried to envision her intimidating whoever this man was. That was a mistake on his part, because what his mind conjured was far sexier than it should have been.
“Isn’t that illegal?” he questioned, shaking the image from his head.
“Not at all. You’re thinking of witness intimidation.”
“So, they file their counterclaim, then what?”
“Once the official copy is served to you, they’ll also bring one to me, since I’m representing you. However, if you didn’t have a lawyer, you would only receive a copy. I will schedule a mediation for the following week as soon as I get it. Usually, that would take two to three weeks, but a few firms in town will fit us in quickly.”
“Sounds good to me. The faster, the better,” Knox responded.
“I’ll schedule them as early in the morning as I can. Each session could take several hours, and I want them to be done in time for you or Mia to pick up Yasmine from school.”
Knox smiled to himself. The fact that she was considering his daughter, and him being able to pick her up from school was thoughtful, and he appreciated her for it.
“Thank you,” he responded.
“Well, I’ll let you get on with your day. Feel free to call me if you have questions.”
Knox wanted to ask her if he could call her regardless of questions, but he stopped himself from doing so. He wouldn’t step over that boundary. So instead, he responded by telling her to have a good day, and the two of them hung up.
Knox tossed his phone to the side as he laid his head back on the couch. He’d expected to fight an upstream battle when he filed for divorce, but he knew that without Aiva, he’d be swimming against a current blind. He’d forever be grateful for the search that led him to her office and her practice’s outstanding reviews.
Whenever he spoke with her, no matter how terrible the news may have been, she always made him feel comfortable with it. When she spoke, Knox felt as if whatever she was saying was the end all, and it was the only outcome. He didn’t know if it was the confidence with which she spoke it or if he was biased because of his attraction to her. Either way, he was grateful.
Now, he just needed to deal with Mia for what he hoped would only be a few weeks, and then he could be done with her in all avenues that didn’t include their daughter.