Page 109 of All Right No
“Am I supposed to be grateful that you allowed me to bask in your glory? I had plans. I had dreams of my own. I didn’t want a gilded fucking cage. I was young, and I let grief and the counsel of people who should have known better to blind me. We’re wrong for each other Miles. We were always, always wrong for one another. And we always will be, so why prolong the agony? Why not just be done with me? Let’s just divorce and be done with one another, then you can screw the lovely Lacey as much as you like. Though, I have to confess I’m surprised, I didn’t think genuine affection was in your repertoire, or is it just that the piece of the corporate pie you’re desperate for is likely to vanish if this nonsense with the diplomat doesn’t blow over?”
“Stop talking about that. Just shut up.”
“I’m not going to. Miles, I’m barely getting started.”
“Fine, have your goddamned divorce.”
Ginny took a seat on the sofa.
“What are you doing? I said all right. I agreed.”
“And I’m not stupid. Sorry Miles, I need more than your word and a handshake. You’ll need to contact your lawyer in order to make this go away.”
“It’s eleven o’clock at night, you crazy bitch.”
“And I’m sure this isn’t the first time you’ve had to call him late with an urgent matter.”
Ginny let him huff and puff a bit. Eventually, he poured himself a second drink, and then picked up the phone. “Derrick. Hi. Yes, I realise it’s late, but I’ve decided not to proceed with the divorce filing. Can you see to the papers being withdrawn? Back together? What? No. God no. The whole thing is getting too embroiled, it’s diverting my attention away from where it should be focussed.”
He nodded in agreement with whatever the man on the other end of the call was saying. “Yes, I’m agreeing to end it on the basis of her filing. It’s coming up to four years, and we’re never going to settle our differences in a way that would allow our marriage to work.”
Consternation puckering his lips, he glanced across at her, kicking her heels over on his sofa, then grabbed a pen and scribbled something on a piece of notepaper, which he then passed to her. “We’ll need to agree upon a financial settlement if we want to slide this through quickly without the judge flagging it up for query.”
“I don’t want your money.”
He lowered the phone from his ear and pressed the device to his abdomen to cover the speaker.
“Did you not hear me? I thought you wanted this dealt with. The only way that will happen is if we come to an out of court agreement over what the law considers joint assets. So, look at the fucking figure, and tell me if it’s enough.”
Ginny scrunched the paper up without having looked at it. “I told you. It’s not about the money, Miles. Write whatever number you feel is necessary in order to appease whichever judge you have in your pocket. The only thing that matters to me is the document confirming you were a gigantic mistake.”
“You have to agree to it, Genie.”
“It’s Ginny, not Genie, or Geneva, and I did if you were listening. Any number is fine as long as I have a copy of the decree nisi in my hands by the end of tomorrow. If I don’t, I’m going to hand serve you to the tabloids. I’m sure they’ll love hearing about your affair with Miss Tilverton. I was just browsing while you’ve been nattering, apparently that diplomatic incident also involved Ezekiel Farr. Aren’t the Farr’s one of your biggest competitors?”
Miles threw the phone so that it bounced off the sofa cushion to the left of her head.
“Being friends is not illegal.”
“Nor is marrying a minor with her parent’s blessing, but it sure does make a great tabloid headline.”
He gave a small uneasy laugh, as he stepped forward with his hands raised. He pointed to the mobile phone. “I didn’t break any laws.”
Apparently, his lawyer was relieved to hear that.
Ginny rose and rested her hands upon her hips. “It’s not about the facts, Miles, it’s about perception. You have until five tomorrow, or I will make your life every bit as shitty as you’ve made mine.”
“I can’t influence a judge, Genie.”
“Whateves,” she said. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
***
The decree nisi was granted by Judge Henry Wilton the following day. Miles had the official documents couriered straight to her. That meant in six weeks she could apply for the decree absolute and be entirely free of him. She marked the date on the kitchen calendar.
Three hours later, the divorce settlement from Miles hit her bank account. An occurrence she was only made aware of as a result of the urgency call from the branch manager of her bank, who wanted to know if she’d like to come in and discuss investments.
She politely declined.
