Page 24 of Laws of Love
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.
13
“Aiva sat at the table beside Knox as they waited for Mia and Harvey to arrive. She was beyond irritated because they were late. Not only wasting her and Knox’s time but the mediator’s as well. Their session was due to start at eight-thirty, and here it was, ten minutes till nine, and the other party had yet to arrive.
She’d been willing to let them slide for being a few minutes late because she assumed Mia might have taken Yasmine to school. When fifteen minutes passed, she wondered if the child was sick and maybe they needed to reschedule. When she voiced her concerns to Knox, he informed her that Yasmine was fine, and he’d taken her to school that morning.
With that not being a possibility, she wondered if Harvey was scrambling to get his shit together. He must have thought Aiva was playing with him when she said they’d go to immediate mediation when he and Mia filed their counterclaim. She didn’t know why Harvey thought she was. He was familiar with how she and her sister conducted themselves for their clients. If she told you something, then it was always in your best interest to believe it.
Knowing that she was going to push for immediate mediation meant he should have been getting his information, facts, and evidence to back up what they were asking for together. Aiva would bet Harvey twiddled his thumbs, and when they received the mediation appointment forty-eight hours ago, as she and Knox had, Harvey scrambled to get everything he would need in order.
Aiva brought up her notes app on her tablet and wrote that the other party was late. She placed a dash after it, intending to write the time they arrived if it happened within the next ten minutes. At nine, they would have to reschedule the mediation; the thirty-minute window the mediator who was sitting at the end of the table gave would close.
A part of her wondered if that was Harvey’s plan. To have this initial appointment rescheduled to give him more time to get things together. However, she knew not even he was that incompetent. Canceling would show they were unprepared, which wouldn’t work well in their favor. Harvey had plenty of time to prepare. From the day he told Aiva they were filing a counterclaim until now, he’d had nine days.
It was five minutes until nine when Mia and Harvey stepped into the room. Aiva was seeing her for the first time, and she’d have to admit she was a pretty woman. Her black hair was in ringlets of curls over her shoulders, and as she removed her sunglasses, brown eyes set against sand-colored skin looked between Aiva and Knox. Her features were sharp, and Aiva could tell she was of Latin descent. However, her pretty features were overshadowed by the air of superiority she had about herself.
“Aiva, lovely to see you as always,” Harvey stated as he pulled out his chair and took a seat.
“Harvey,” she responded simply because, again, she would not lie to him. “Knox, Harvey Flint. Harvey, Knox Chandler,” Aiva introduced to get the formalities out of the way.
“My client, Mia Chandler. Mia, Aiva Neel,” Harvey reciprocated.
“Neel?” Mia inquired, pulling her chair closer to the table as the mediator rose to close the door. “As in one of the partners at Neel & Neel?”
“Yes.”
“I contacted your office, your sister, more specifically about representing me. She refused. I now see it was because the two of you would have to argue against one another, and I’m sure it’s always hard to lose to your sibling.”
Aiva refrained from rolling her eyes at the implication. “My sister and I have no problem sitting on opposing sides if we have to. We’re very selective of our clients, and those we feel aren’t worth our time and effort do not receive our services,” she responded before turning her attention to the mediator, who had just taken his seat, giving him the floor. She and Meila didn’t sit on opposite sides of the table, but she would not give Mia the satisfaction of thinking she was correct.
Once he went through what they were there to do, what mediation was, and his role in all of it, which Aiva had already briefed Knox on, they were ready to begin. Albeit half an hour later than expected.
Aiva signaled for them to start. She figured if she let them go first, they could get the most unpleasant part of the session out of the way. She opened a saved file on her tablet, listing everything their counterclaim requested. Aiva wanted to make sure they covered them all, and she could write any agreement they came to concerning them, though she wasn’t sure they’d come to many, if any. There were two items that they wouldn’t need to discuss in depth. So, at least, that was something they did not have to worry about.
“First,” Harvey started. “Regarding the marital home, my client feels she deserves it as she was a homemaker for the duration of their marriage and kept it warm, welcoming, and inviting for Mr. Chandler when he returned home after practice camps and games.”
“She can have it,” Aiva responded as she marked it off her list.
“Very good. Now about her vehicle.”
“She can have it too,” Aiva replied, marking it off her list.
She looked up to see Mia smiling like the cat that got the cream, and Aiva wasn’t sure why. She’d only gotten a house Knox didn’t want and a car he had no use or need for. That was where their simple compliance would end, and Aiva was itching to burst her bubble and wipe that smug smile off her face.
“Mrs. Chandler would also like fifty percent of the rental properties to be transferred into her name as part of the settlement,” Harvey continued. The tone of his voice picked up a bit of confidence from her giving in to his first two demands without a fight. Aiva was about to knock it out of his voice. Poor man.
She crossed that off her list before placing her pen down. “Absolutely not.”
Mia’s smile fell from her face as Harvey seemed to pause for a moment. He then glanced at his client before turning back to Aiva and Knox.
“My client will settle for twenty-five percent of the properties as long as she can pick the ones she wants.”
“No,” Aiva started, her voice firm. “She gets zero percent of the properties.”
“I am entitled to those properties,” Mia stated, and Aiva swung her attention to the other woman.
“No, you aren’t. Therefore, you will get none of them. Next item.”
