Page 18 of Laws of Love
Aiva watched Sheila think about it for a moment before nodding. She knew that even with the slight increase, Craig would more than likely sign the papers because Aiva was serious about taking everything he had if he didn’t. Once he signed, Sheila could take care of her kids, and she didn’t have to worry about paying Aiva. She’d made it a stipulation in the original documentation that Craig paid her fee.
After telling Sheila she would call her when she got a response, the two women got into their cars. Aiva had just pulled out of the parking lot when her phone rang. She glanced at the screen in her car and saw that it was forwarded from the office phone.
“This is Aiva.”
“Hey, Aiva, it’s Knox.”
She knew. She always knew it was him when she heard that deep baritone. It was like a warm caress.
“Hi, Knox. How are you?”
“I’m confused.”
Aiva furrowed her brow, but she figured he had a question about his divorce case. “Okay, maybe I can help. What are you confused about?”
“Mia dropped by today to tell me I was being selfish, but before she left, she said that she and her lawyer would take me to the cleaners.”
Aiva would not let that happen. There wasn’t a judge on earth that would give Mia anything more than what Knox was willing to give with all the evidence he had against her regarding her parenting and the way she harassed him. She thought she’d been doing a good job of showing him that, but maybe he needed some reassurance. Before she could respond, he continued.
“Her lawyer, Ms. Neel.”
Aiva snorted. She hadn’t meant to. It just sort of slipped out. She wasn’t sure what universe Mia was living in where a definitive no equated to a let me think about it and get back to you. However, she understood his confusion because it would mean that either she or her sister had taken Mia on as a client.
“I can assure you that if she has a lawyer named Ms. Neel, they don’t work at my firm. She inquired with Meila, but we have a rule that we don’t sit on opposing sides of the table. So, she didn’t take her case.”
Aiva felt it was fine to tell him that much since Mia wasn’t a client, and inquiring was not protected under privilege.
“Thank you for clarifying. It just caught me off guard.”
“Don’t worry about it. I take it that means that she’s yet to find a lawyer. Let’s use this time to brainstorm some counterattacks and find some places where you may lean a bit. I’m headed back to the office now. When I get there, I’ll check my calendar and we can get something scheduled.”
“Okay, I’ll await your call,” Knox responded.
The two said their goodbyes, and Aiva stopped and picked up something for lunch. She knew she had a few appointments opened for Friday but wasn’t sure what time. She’d check and get him in as soon as possible.
10
“It 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.
