Page 111 of At the Heart of It
“The crew at the door let me in.” The young lawyer stepped to the edge of the hot tub. “I’m sorry to intrude, but there’s some urgent information I need to share.”
Jonah frowned at the lawyer, who was pulling a chair to the water’s edge. They’d practiced this last night, the way he’d rest his briefcase across his knees and give the couple a solemn, meaningful look. Kate held her breath, watching the lawyer, not daring to look at Jonah.
“I’m Wade McNally with the law firm Solomon Ashe and Associates out of Portland.” His handsome face was fixed in a perfect expression of concern and professionalism. Kate had coached him on it in the studio earlier, making him say the words over and over until she’d heard them echoing in her brain all night when she couldn’t sleep.
“There’s been a new development in your divorce.”
Kate looked at Jonah and caught the flash of a frown. She knew before he opened his mouth what his response would be. She’d crafted the lawyer’s statement to prompt it, knowing Jonah well enough to anticipate how he’d reply. What he’d say.
“Our divorce?” Jonah scowled. “You mean the divorce that’s been final for over a year?”
In the final cut, there’d be a dramatic pause. Maybe a musical crescendo to build tension.
In reality, only a few seconds passed. “That’s what I’m here to talk about,” the attorney said. “There’s an issue with your paperwork.”
Something about the melodramatic tone must have tipped Jonah off. Or maybe it was the panning of the camera, the way the audio guy scuttled across the patio like a teenager hiding beer cans after a party. Whatever the reason, Jonah’s shoulders stiffened.
Kate watched, motionless. She kept her eyes fixed on his face as the words set in, as he braced himself for the rest of the news.
“What sort of problem?” Viv’s words were like a distant murmur.
Kate didn’t breathe. She didn’t move. She just watched Jonah and waited.
He looked up then, finding her face in the crowd. Kate inhaled sharply. She felt his gaze spear through her like a hot skewer, puncturing a rib and a lung on its way to her heart. She watched his expression shift from confusion, to suspicion, to the one thing Kate feared most.
Betrayal.
“What the actual fuck?”
Jonah couldn’t recall if he was allowed to say fuck on television, or if it was one of those things they’d have to bleep out later.
At the moment, he didn’t give a shit.
At the moment, the only thing he did give a shit about was the big stack of paperwork the man with the stupid orange tie had just locked in his briefcase with a taunting thunk.
“I’ve emailed you both a copy of the report so you can review it at your leisure,” the lawyer continued, though Jonah wasn’t sure the guy really was a lawyer. Did lawyers really wear ties that ugly? Or pronounce leisure like it rhymed with pleasure, which seemed unbearably pretentious.
“This is mind-blowing,” Viv said. She swung her gaze to Jonah and held it there. She didn’t look like he felt. Like he’d just been socked in the chest by a hundred-pound punching bag.
She looked . . . serene. Calm. Composed.
She looked like normal Viv, but there was something else. A sick feeling settled in his gut.
“Did you know about this?” he demanded.
Her expression faltered a little, and Jonah suspected that wasn’t his line. If this whole thing was as scripted as he’d begun to believe, that’s not how they’d expected him to respond.
Fuck that.
“I filed everything we agreed I’d file,” Viv said, reaching up to brush a damp strand of hair from her cheek. “The documents to divide our retirement assets, the paperwork with the bank?—”
“That’s not an answer to the question, Viv.” His voice rattled with anger, and he saw one of the sound guys step back. “How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long have you known?”
“Jonah, I’m just as surprised as?—”
