Page 14 of Aquarius Awakening
Imani and I spent hours in search of a shark to represent me in my pending divorce from Mason. Whatever feeling of sadness I had over the end of my marriage dissolved. Based on the quotes I received from these divorce attorneys, I needed to be done with him for good. We were currently headed to meet Lisa Gallovan. According to the reviews that I found, she was the best. What no one tells you is that the retainer for a good attorney is ten thousand dollars. Lisa’s hourly rate was one thousand dollars.
The car pulled in front of the tall glass building in the heart of Manhattan. I was surprised she could see me on such short notice.If she were such a shark, why would she have time for little ole me?Imani and I made our way to Lisa’s office on the fiftieth floor of the tall building. During the elevator ride, I found myself fidgeting with the bracelet on my left wrist. I only fidgeted when my anxiety rose. Imani tried to distract me with a meaningless conversation. Until I had someone who could handle Mason, nothing would work.
We exited the elevator and approached the large glass desk. The pretty receptionist with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes greeted us. “Welcome to Gallovan & Associates. How may I help you ladies?”
“Faith Baxter here to see Lisa Gallovan,” I answered.
“Mrs. Baxter, welcome. Please follow me,” she instructed as she stood to lead us to Lisa Gallovan.
As we followed behind the receptionist, Imani grabbed my hand. I was so grateful she was with me for the moral support. If she hadn’t been with me this morning, I wasn’t sure how I would have reacted. Every thought that raced through my mind was to hurt Mason. I wanted him to feel the pain he caused me to feel. My anger wanted me to find a way to make him feel as small as he had made me feel.
Moments later, we approached an extensive set of smoked glass doors with large gold handles. After a soft knock, the receptionist opened the door. She proceeded to enter the office as we followed. Lisa Gallovan stood up from behind her desk, a petite woman with a blunt bob cut and stunning green eyes.
“Mrs. Baxter, nice to meet you. Please take a seat,” she instructed.
“Nice to meet you as well, Ms. Gallovan. This is my sister Imani,” I introduced.
“Nice to meet you, Imani. Ladies, please call me Lisa. So, tell me about this husband of yours,” she insisted.
I took a deep breath before digging in my bag to provide Lisa with the paperwork. “I was served this morning at the rental property I’m staying at. Mason and I have been together for five years, but two weeks ago, we decided to divorce,” I explained.
“Did something happen to bring on this decision?” she inquired.
“Well, yes. We have been undergoing infertility treatments unsuccessfully for the past couple of years. During this time,Mason has been verbally abusive to me. More recently, he didn’t come home for two days, which prompted me to move into a rental. I thought it was temporary, but this paperwork says otherwise,” I explained.
“I see, so based on the summons and complaint, there is a clause in the prenuptial agreement that he wants to enforce—the infidelity clause. Did you see that?” she asked.
I looked over the page that I misinterpreted this morning. “No. I thought he was challenging the validity of the prenuptial agreement. There was no infidelity on my part,” I responded.
“Understood, Mrs. Baxter. If I may be frank, I had the displeasure of meeting Mason, which is why I wanted to meet with you. Our husbands serve on a charity board together. I went to a fundraiser a few weeks ago. My husband introduced me to your husband. Mason was with another woman who was very pregnant,” she explained.
“He could have been talking with a colleague. What made you think they were together?” I asked.
“Aside from the hand holding, they kissed while they slow danced. All night, he affectionately rubbed her belly,” she detailed.
My hand covered my mouth as I gasped. “That’s why Mason was in such a rush to divorce me. He cheated on me and is having a baby,” I uttered in disbelief.
“We’re going to hire a private investigator. We want to catch him with his mistress. If that doesn’t work, I’ll ask someone from the fundraiser to sign an affidavit. They can attest to having seen him with the other woman. We are going to enforce the infidelity clause but in your favor. I love nothing more than seeing my clients get what they deserve. I’m sorry you weren’t successful in your fertility journey. I can, however, make sure you win in this divorce,” Mrs. Gallovan assured me.
“Okay, Lisa. Girl, get my sister everything she deserves and more. I told you that you needed a shark. Everything will be just fine,” Imani added.
We sat in Lisa’s office for another hour, going over some additional details. She was very knowledgeable with over twenty years of experience. I was grateful to have found her. While I tried to put on a brave face, the news of Mason’s infidelity was hard to swallow.
I was no fool. I knew there was someone else. The fact that Mason had a child on the way was hurtful. In one of our last arguments, he said he shouldn’t be punished because I couldn’t give him a baby. Mason got his wish. He would get his family, but everything else would be mine.
A Welcome Distraction
I saton the balcony with my phone in my hand. Jacob had called and even texted since I saw him the night of the fashion show. An empty feeling was in the pit of my stomach as I looked at his contact information on my phone. My nerves were stopping me from calling him back. It wasn’t fair of him to get this version of me that was in the midst of a potentially messy divorce.
Every time I thought of my divorce, my blood boiled. I decided to stop allowing Mason and his shenanigans to stop me from connecting with Jacob. As I dialed his number, I listenedas the phone rang. There was a flutter in my stomach when he finally answered.
“You finally decided to call me back,” Jacob teased as he answered.
Just hearing his voice caused my nerves to subside. I suddenly felt silly that I had been nervous to call him back in the first place.
“Sorry, Jakey. My life has gotten a little crazy over the past few days,” I admitted.
“Jakey? Wow, I haven’t been called that in forever. I kind of miss hearing it. I understand how crazy life can get. It was great catching up the other night. Are you free this evening?” he asked.
