Page 64 of More Than Anything

“He’s in a conference…”

“I don’t give a shit if QueenElizabeth’s there, I need to speak to him. Now. Get him on the phone!” he snapped at her.

“Just a second.” The phone went silent as she put him on hold and Avery waited. He was about to hang up and call back when he heard a click.

“Avery.”

“Ben, what the fuck’s going on?”

“Hey! You can’t talk to me like…”

“Look, you little shit, JasonDavidson’s here staying with me, and your fucking wife showed up today,” Avery hissed into the phone.

“You meanyourwife,” Ben snarled back.

“What the hell is that shit all about? She came in talking all crazy, something about the divorce decree…”

“Yeah. She never filed the fucking papers, Avery. She’s still married to you. Our marriage is null and void.”

Avery was shaking with rage. “You knew about this?”

“Not until I told her she couldn’t have another penny of the company’s money.”Aha! I was right!Avery thought. “Then she told me we’d never been legally married. She’s still legally married to you. Aren’t you the lucky guy?”

“She needs to be charged with bigamy,” Avery told him forcefully.

“Then you take care of it. I’m finished with her,” Ben said, leaving no room for negotiation. “I told her to get out and take her shit with her. So she showed up there, huh?” he said with a laugh.

“I don’t know what she said to my girlfriend, but if she’s caused trouble between me and Lydia, so help me god, I’ll kill her, and then I’m coming for you,” Avery spat out, his rage spilling over.

“You need to stay the fuck away from me,” Ben barked.

“You… I’m done with you. Go fuck yourself,” Avery shot at him and hung up the phone. The little asshole wasn’t good for anything except pissing him off, and he’d had enough of that.

He drove straight to Lydia’s apartment, but she wasn’t there, so he turned and headed to her parents’ house. Sure enough, the BMW was there, but when he knocked on the door, her mother opened it a crack. “Avery, she doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“Belinda, please. I really, really need to talk to her.”

“No. You need to leave her alone, at least for a while. Just give her a bit to get her legs under her and I’m sure she’ll want to talk to you.”

“But, Belinda, I need to talk to her right now. She needs to know what’s going on. Please?”

“No. I’m sorry. Please leave her alone. Please?” She closed the door in his face and left him standing there, his heart in his hands.

Avery didn’t know what to do. He sat in his truck for a few minutes, then fired it up and headed to the one place he knew he could find someone who’d talk to him.

The doors were propped open at GoheenEquipment when he strode in and looked around. It took him all of two seconds to find Rodney and when their eyes met, the older man motioned Avery in the direction of the conference room they’d used before and headed that direction. Not a word was spoken until the door closed, and Rodney turned to Avery, fire in his eyes. “This had better be good.”

“It’s not. It’s not at all. I’m trying to get to the bottom of it, but so far, no luck,” Avery said, and Rodney pointed for him to take a seat. “I can’t believe she turned up here, but I just talked to my brother and he says the divorce was never final.”

“How could you not know that?” Rodney snapped.

“Because I was moving around. She’d kicked me out. I was staying with first one friend and then another. I asked about the final paperwork and she told me I probably missed it and that I should be more responsible with my mail. But I swear to you, Rodney, I knew nothing about this. And Lydia was there when the bitch showed up. God only knows what Shannon said to her.”

“I can tell you. She told Lydia she was moving back in.”

“Yeah, well, nothing of the sort’s going to happen. When I leave here, I’m going to the sheriff’s department to swear out a warrant and have her arrested. I’ve still got the property posted and she’s got no business there. Plus I’ve got to go see my attorney. But I want to talk to Lydia. Please, talk to her? Tell her I love her and nothing’s changed? I’ll get this straightened out; I would’ve already done it if I’d known.”

“I know. I figured it was something unusual, but I didn’t know what. You’ve always struck me as an honest guy. I knew you wouldn’t do something like this on purpose. But I really don’t understand this.”

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