Chapter 21
“Full custody?” I cry. My head is spinning, and for a split second, I get tunnel vision. “What are you talking about? That’s absolutely ridiculous!”
“Mr. Roth is speaking out of turn,” Hardwick says quickly.
“What he means is that he would like more than fifty percent custody. He certainly does not wish to take away Mrs. Roth’s access to their son.
But he would like Teddy to stay with him during the week, and Mrs. Roth could have him every other weekend. ”
I start to protest again, but Ezra touches my arm, and I close my mouth. He’s been handling things better than I could have, so I’m going to trust him.
“This comes as a surprise to us,” Ezra says. “Mrs. Roth is an very involved parent, and of course, Mr. Roth’s work is extremely demanding. She has been picking him up from school every day, and it makes sense that she would retain custody during the week.”
“She’s irresponsible.” Jeremy’s brown eyes meet mine across the conference table.
“I’m sorry, Naomi, but it’s a fact. It’s been a problem for Teddy’s entire life.
She never shows up when she’s supposed to.
Half the time when she’s supposed to get Teddy at school, she isn’t there.
I have to keep our nanny, Rosita, on call to make sure he gets picked up. ”
“That’s not true!” I say too loudly. “I am always there to pick Teddy up.”
Jeremy turns to the mediator. “Rosita would be happy to come in here to state the facts for you. Or Teddy’s teacher could testify how many times he was tardy before we got her.”
“You’re lying!” Tears leap to my eyes. “You said you wanted Rosita to give me a break and let me sleep in. You insisted!”
He was so sweet about it too. You need your beauty sleep, Naomi, and we can afford the extra help. Please let me spoil you.
“I was trying to spare your feelings.” He glances briefly in my direction, then looks away. “And nothing has changed. Just this past Saturday, Teddy was waiting for you, dressed and ready to go with his backpack on, and you were an hour late. He was devastated.”
I swipe at my eyes with the back of my hand. “You told me ten!”
“I said nine!”
“Okay, okay.” Ezra touches my shoulder, and I clamp my mouth shut. “Look, obviously the proposed custody arrangement is a little different than we expected. Mrs. Roth is a good mother, and if you’re proposing less than fifty-fifty shared custody, we are going to need a damn good reason.”
This time, Hardwick is the one to respond.
“Mr. Roth’s proposal is more than fair. He has an especially close bond with Theodore, and I believe if given the choice, Theodore would choose to live with his father.
Not only that, but the primary residence, where Mr. Roth is living currently, is the only home that Theodore has ever known.
I think we can all agree that it would be extremely disruptive to take a five-year-old boy away from his home.
” He glances at me with disdain. “Especially when the alternative is such questionable living conditions. We have photos of the so-called bedroom that Mrs. Roth has provided at her apartment, and I think we will all agree that it’s quite inadequate. ”
“You told me to live there!” I burst out, my fingernails digging into my palm. “You tricked me!”
“Naomi,” Ezra says in a low voice.
“And at least I’m not banging a girl half my age while my son is under the same roof!”
“Naomi!” Ezra’s voice is sharper this time. He turns to Jeremy and his lawyer. “Obviously, we’ve been somewhat blindsided by this request. I want to have some time with my client to discuss the situation.”
“I’ll give you a quarter of a million dollars if you agree to this custody arrangement,” Jeremy says hotly.
Both of the two attorneys wear equally shocked expressions on their faces. Hardwick clears his throat loudly. “Jeremy—”
“Half a million,” he corrects himself. “Half a million dollars, Naomi. I know you need it.”
“Mr. Roth.” Ocasio is the one to speak up first. “This is extremely inappropriate.”
Hardwick shoots Jeremy a look of death, and he finally shuts up.
But the damage is already done. My husband just offered me half a million dollars to give up my son.
Is he out of his mind? What has Veronica done to him?
Or is it really a brain tumor? I can’t even imagine what possessed him to act this way.
Although the worst part is all the lies he is telling about me. As proud as I was of my medical career, I am even prouder of being a mother. Teddy is the center of my universe, and I do everything for him. Without Teddy, my life would have no meaning.
I am practically shaking with anger by the time we wrap up the meeting. Ezra drags me out of the room, we find a quiet corner with a bench, and he sits me down. He joins me, dropping his enormous briefcase between his legs.
“Okay, first of all,” he says, “let’s just take a deep breath.”
“Take a deep breath!” I burst out. “I’m not going to sit here breathing when Jeremy wants to take my son away from me!”
“What he wants and what is going to happen are two completely different things.”
Tears prick at my eyes. I managed to hold it together in the meeting, but I’m not sure if I can anymore. “I don’t even understand why he wants custody! He’s always working!”
Ezra smirks. “I know why.”
“Why?”
“Because if the two of you have fifty-fifty custody, he’s going to have to pay you child support,” he says.
“And that’s on top of paying pretty much all the childcare and private school tuition given your income differential.
He’s going to be paying through the nose.
But if he has more than fifty percent custody, he won’t have to pay you a dime of child support. ”
I blink at him. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“What a…” I think back to what Stefanie Gorman said in her office. “What a shithead!”
Ezra laughs. “Right on.”
The tears are gone, and all that is left is the anger. How could Jeremy do this to me? I always knew he had a spiteful side, but I never imagined he could behave like this.
I would say it was Veronica’s influence, but when I was in that room, it didn’t feel that way. It felt like the lies were coming directly from my husband.
“Everything he said about me is a lie,” I say to Ezra.
“I have no doubt. And don’t worry. He’s not going to win this battle. We’ll go to court if we have to.”
“I, uh, I don’t know if I can afford a court battle.”
He doesn’t seem the slightest bit concerned about my complete inability to pay him. Although I can certainly write him a retainer check now that the money has magically reappeared in the joint bank account.
“Don’t worry.” He grins at me. “You have plenty of money coming to you. I’m sure I’ll get paid eventually.”
He seems so confident that it makes me feel better. Not completely better, of course. But maybe, like, a millimeter better.
“Hey,” I say, “why was Hardwick shooting you those dirty looks when we came into the conference room?”
“Oh!” His grin widens. “We had a big divorce case that wrapped up about a year ago—went to trial and everything. My client got everything she wanted. But I thought Lenny over there was going to jump me in the parking lot after it was over. He probably would have done it if he wasn’t so worried about losing his toupee in a fistfight. ”
Despite everything that happened today, that makes me laugh. And I try to enjoy it, because I’m worried it might be the last time I laugh for a long time.
Ezra has some other business to take care of, so I leave town hall by myself. As I’m exiting the building, I noticed that the familiar beige Jetta is still in the parking lot. Veronica’s car.
I am seized by the sudden urge to slash her tires, but I figure there are probably cameras in the lot. It wouldn’t look good for me if I got caught. I need to be on my best behavior if I don’t want Jeremy to take my son away from me.
I wish I knew more about Veronica. I wish I knew who she was and what she wanted with my husband, because I would bet any amount of money that she isn’t in love with him. But I know nothing about this woman. Not even her last name.
I look around to make sure nobody is watching, then I creep around the side of Veronica’s car. I peek through the window, searching for any clues about her. She did leave her purse inside the car, but when I try the door, it doesn’t unlock. Well, at least she’s smart enough to lock her doors.
I go around the side of the car, looking down at her rear fender. The last time I saw her car, it was cracked, but it’s since been fixed. I’m sure her older married boyfriend footed the hefty bill for that repair.
I check one more time to make sure nobody is watching me, then I reach into my purse and pull out my phone. I quickly snap a photo of Veronica’s license plate.
There. Now I have some information to go on.