Page 12 of The Wrong Guy

“There is a lot of shit in these files. Next time you get married, you should have an attorney go over the terms,” Stavros greets us and continues to finish what he is writing down.

It isn’t long before he closes the files and then looks at me and my brother.

“Audrina, you’re my represented client. Do you want your brother in here while I discuss our angle?”

I nod. I need someone here to keep me calm.

Our parents are empty-nesters who just started to travel. They got cruise-line tickets for Europe and could not return for my divorce proceedings. I’m sure they would have if I had asked them to come back. However, they have worked hard in their lives and deserve this break.

I’m not mad at them, especially since I have my brother.

“Andreas, if you’re going to be in the room, you will be acting as her representative. That’s it. This is my lead.”

Andreas looks shocked at Stavros’s bluntness and direction. “Look, man, I’m going to respect you for your knowledge, but you need to remember I’m paying you.”

I raise my hand to stop the bickering, and they both turn to look at me. “I don’t need a pissing contest. I’m the one goingthrough a divorce. I’m the one who’s about to be browbeaten in the room.”

Stavros gets out of his chair to walk around the desk to speak to me directly. “There’s a couple of things we need to discuss beforehand. First, you will not bebrowbeatentoday. Second, there will be a lot of emotions that will all come running toward you at once. Third, do not play on your phone during the proceedings. We need you to be focused and present.”

I nod.

“One more thing. I want to discuss your wants and desires for the pre-nuptial agreement. You are going to be requesting all assets be divided equally. We are not going to get into ‘who drove which car’ more games,” Stavros continues, his eyes boring into mine. I feel the robust nature of his eyes, and I weaken on the spot.

My resolve to be a strong woman before entering this office has left me. I wonder what kind of player Stavros is. I wonder if his big persona is a ploy to cover up something more minor.

I hope that’s not the case because that would be a letdown for my fantasy.

What is wrong with me?

“Of course,” I answer and reach into my purse to silence my cell. “Anything else?”

Stavros smiles and looks from me to my brother.

“While we are in there, you are not to speak. If you need something, whisper to me first, and I will speak for you. Russell is a weasel, and I don’t trust that rat mother fucker,” Stavros informs me.

I get out of my chair and start to pace a little. I’m feeling all sorts of weirdness right now. I feel like I’m doing something wrong or as if something terrible will happen. I did try to make this marriage work. I did try to get Derek to do marriagecounseling. I tried all of those things, and nothing worked. Derek didn’t want to be married to me.

I’m wondering what will happen when Stavros lays down the gauntlet of the finances. I’m wondering if things are going to get nasty.

“Audrina, tell Stav what happened today.”

My heart thunders in my chest. I almost forgot about my car and what happened this morning. With today being so important, I’m having difficulty focusing on everything. I feel like I’m going crazy. Could the divorce be making me crazy? Is that possible?

I grab a chunk of hair, twist it around my index finger, and look everywhere around the office to not focus on the Adonis of a man standing in front of me in yet another custom suit. Why can’t he do me a solid and not look delicious when I’m literally hanging on by a thread?

I walk over to the window and look out with my hair twisted around my finger. I’m trying to give myself a wide berth for self-protection for unknown reasons. Everything is so hazy.

“Um,” I begin and try hard to swallow my feelings. I’m sure a shrink would love to psycho-analyze me for being insane right now. “My tire was slashed, and my window was busted,” I blurt.

Andreas growls again, and Stavros is next to me in seconds. “These are the types of situations I need to know about.”

“You guys are making it a bigger deal than needed,” I fuss and try to get them to move on to a different topic. I know how suspicious this looks and that I’m about to see Derek again. I’m not stupid. What I am, though, is worried that nothing will go right in the mediation. I know that Stavros is good at his job, or at least I’m assuming. However, I don’t know if he’s faced down someone like Derek.

Derek is pretty sly when he wants to be.

I uncurl my finger from my hair and shrug. “We can stress out about this later. I want to get this done so I can return to my life,” I whisper. I’m trying to sound like I have my life together, but I know I sound like a scared little housewife.

Chapter Nine

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