Page 16 of Laws of Love
Aiva put her files away. “Add a movie other than a cheesy romance to that, and it sounds like a good night.”
Her sister laughed as she placed the bag and wine on the coffee table before going into the kitchen as Aiva finished putting her laptop away. When Meila returned from the kitchen, it was with two wine glasses and two forks.
Aiva chose a movie while her sister opened the different food containers from the bag. Depending on where they got takeout from, they seldom used plates and ate from the containers.
“You’re representing a client with the last name Chandler, right?” Meila asked as they began eating.
“Yes.”
“Knox Chandler.”
Aiva turned her attention to her sister with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, why?”
“I thought so. His wife reached out to me today. I apparently represented one of her friends a few years back, so she got my number from them directly and called my office.” Aiva watched her sister roll her eyes. “The nerve. Anyway, she wanted to procure my services as her lawyer. I politely declined.”
Aiva nodded. She and her sister made an agreement when they’d gone into practice together that they’d never be on opposing sides. Meila not taking cases that involved children made that easier.
“I’m sure she was trying to nail down the best. Knox wants sole custody of their daughter, and I’m assuming she’d want to fight him for it.”
“Wait, they have a child? Of course, they do. It’s your specialty, but she didn’t mention that, just kept saying she wanted the money she deserved and would pay three times my fee if I helped her get it.”
Aiva shook her head. She shouldn’t be surprised that all Mia seemed to think about was money, but she’d hoped the other woman would at least show interest in their child. Even if only a little.
“I only spoke to her for a few minutes, but that was long enough for a headache to creep on. You’ll definitely have your work cut out for you and whatever lawyer is money-hungry enough to represent her,” Meila stated.
“Knox has made me very much aware. He’s been keeping records of text messages and voicemails and recording phone calls. From the messages I’ve read, the calls I’ve heard, she’s definitely a selfish piece of work.”
Aiva would say that Mia was the worst significant other she’d seen in a while, and she’d seen some crazy ones. Mia was on a different level. Her only focus was on herself and how much money she could squeeze from Knox, it seemed. Their child together was an afterthought for her. If she was a thought at all, but that would benefit them. It gave Aiva hope that she’d give custody to Knox with little issue.
Though she was sure it could also work against them because as much as Aiva hated to think it, she was a realist. Mia could use agreeing to give Knox full custody as leverage to get him to pay her more. Not that it would matter much after a couple of weeks of mediation.
Knox had already supplied enough evidence to take before a judge to get full custody. It would simply be a matter of holding out against whatever demands Mia made so they could get in front of one.
She would add calling Knox to her list of things to do on Monday. Even though Meila hadn’t taken the case. It would be better for him to hear that his ex-wife inquired from Aiva than someone else and make it seem as if she was trying to hide it. Being upfront with her clients was always her goal, and it helped them retain their trust in her.
Aiva focused her attention back on the movie as she continued eating. She had a lazy weekend planned, and this time she would not be letting her sister or Finx talk her into something else.
9
Knox contemplated whether to answer the door as he looked through his peephole. However, he knew that if he didn’t, she would just continue to knock and then cause a scene that he was sure his neighbors would witness.
Pretending not to be home was appealing, but he knew it wouldn’t work. Knox knew Mia well enough to know that she’d more than likely scoped the parking lot for his vehicle. Not to say he couldn’t have left with someone else, but he was sure she wouldn’t allow that thought to even cross her mind.
With a deep breath to help prepare him for whatever storm was about to sweep through his condo, Knox unlocked the front door and pulled it open.
“What are you doing here, Mia?”
It was a question that he didn’t need the answer to. He knew precisely why she was there. He hadn’t engaged with her over the phone anytime she called and wanted to talk about how unfair and selfish he was being. So, she’d come to speak with him in person. Knox had to give it to her. It had taken her longer to show up at his front door than he thought it would.
“Don’t play games with me, Knox,” Mia bit out, turning to look at him with her hands on her hips.
He wasn’t playing games with her. He just would not be the one to start the conversation. Knox felt they shouldn’t be communicating about anything but Yasmine outside of the presence of their lawyers. He planned on protecting himself against anything Mia could think to come up with and started recording when he realized it was her on the other side of the door.
His tablet sat on the bar, the screen dark as the audio recorder prepared to pick up whatever conversation they were about to have. Knox documented every call since he’d filed for divorce, and just because Mia made a house call, that didn’t mean he would not continue the trend.
“You seriously think that I’m going to take a measly two million dollars when I invested years of my life into what we had, into trying to make us work?”
Knox raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if her anger at the sum they’d both agreed on previously had caused her temporary amnesia. Yes, she’d put in years of her life, which she’d used to spend frivolously, throw fits he’d pacify by buying her whatever she wanted, took luxurious trips, and did what she wanted when she wanted.
