The Matchmaker's Gift(24)
Diane stood to greet her client. “Evelyn! You look wonderful! It’s so nice to see you!”
Evelyn’s voice was soft and strained. “You too, my dear. Of course, I wish I didn’t require your services, but it’s good to see you just the same.”
“I have to say, I was surprised to hear from you. You seemed so happy with Michael, and he was so … accommodating.”
“Yes, he was. He still is. He really is the sweetest of all my husbands.”
The words popped out of Abby’s mouth before she stopped to think about them. “Why are you divorcing him?”
Evelyn turned to Abby and stared. She squinted her eyes as if Abby were far away. “I’m sorry,” she said smoothly. “Who are you?”
Diane gave Abby an icy glare before turning back to her client. “Evelyn, this is Abby Silverman. Abby is my new associate. She’s been with us for just over a year now. I asked her to sit in today and take notes. Abby, let’s not bombard Evelyn with questions.”
“It’s fine,” Evelyn said. “Poor Michael keeps asking me the very same thing. He can’t reconcile himself to the fact that it simply has to end.”
With that, Evelyn Morgan began to cry. The tears came slowly at first, but soon, her whole body shook with the force of her sobs. Diane nudged a box of tissues across the table in her direction and waited patiently for the tears to subside. The outburst, as Abby knew all too well, was Diane’s cue for the words that always came next.
“Tell me, Evelyn, what can I do to help?”
Though Abby had heard Diane pose the very same question at least a dozen times before, this was the first time she noticed the lack of empathy behind the words. Evelyn Morgan was in real pain. She wasn’t pitching a fit about a vacation home she wanted or screaming about child support she didn’t want to pay. She wasn’t out of control and she didn’t need handling; she was a woman heartbroken over the end of a marriage to a man she clearly still cared for.
Abby wanted to hug Evelyn, or to reach across the table and squeeze the older woman’s hand. Of course, she couldn’t do either of those things—not with a client she had only just met and certainly not with her boss staring at her like that. So instead, Abby kept herself glued to her chair and wondered why it was that a sixty-three-year-old woman on her fourth marriage was sobbing like a teenager in love.
Abby poured Evelyn a glass of water, which gave her something to do with her hands. After a few sips, Evelyn grew calmer.
Diane cleared her throat and leaned forward in her chair. “Now that we’re all settled, why don’t we discuss how we will proceed. Given the prenuptial agreement Michael signed, this should be extremely straightforward. Michael is entitled to the house in Lenox and five hundred thousand dollars for each year of your marriage. The Lenox property is worth one and a half million dollars, plus the extra million makes two and a half. There are obviously no children, and Michael has no stake in your business, so, as far as I can see, everything should go smoothly.”
Evelyn shook her head. “He won’t agree to it,” she said.
“He doesn’t have a choice. The prenup is binding—”
“I don’t mean the prenup. I mean the divorce. Michael won’t sign the papers. He doesn’t want to leave.”
“If he won’t leave the apartment, we can file for a—”
Evelyn Morgan held up her hand. “Diane. Please. You’re not hearing me. Michael isn’t trying to make things difficult. He simply doesn’t understand why I want the divorce, and I’m afraid that I can’t give him any real answers. My reasons are personal, and they are not up for discussion.”
Diane nodded. “Of course. I respect that completely.”
“There is one more thing,” Evelyn continued. “I want to give Michael more than we agreed on. I’m going to increase the payout from one million to five.”
Diane’s features rearranged themselves into an expression Abby did not recognize—confusion, certainly, but most of all, surprise. Diane prided herself on her vast experience, on the fact that she had “seen it all.” No matter how many affairs her clients alleged, no matter how many lies their spouses told, or how much revenge money they spent, Diane assured her clientele that she would never judge, and that she could never, ever, be shocked. But this request from Evelyn Morgan? This was something Diane had not heard before.
There was silence for a moment while Diane struggled to recover. “Do you mind if I ask why? If you’re worried about Michael releasing unflattering information to the press…”
Evelyn held up her hand a second time. Abby could see that she was a breath away from bursting into tears again. “No. Absolutely not. He would never think of such a thing. I’m giving Michael five million dollars and that is the end of the discussion. I do not want to hear him maligned. If we’re going to move forward together, Diane, I must have your promise on that. I don’t want one bad word said about Michael. I just want this divorce to be done.”
Diane tried her best to smooth things over. “Of course, Evelyn. I apologize. But you must understand that it’s my job to protect you. Believe me, I don’t enjoy thinking the worst of people. I get paid to think the way I do, not because I’m trying to be negative, but because I must anticipate every possible unfortunate outcome. Sadly, I’ve watched too many clients put their faith in the wrong person, only to have that trust betrayed.”