Page 10 of By Invitation Only
That wasn’t entirely true. When someone cheats, and the other doesn’t approve, that was an irreconcilable difference—technically. However, I knew judges who wouldn’t grant divorces for that reason. Instead, the parties were sent to counseling to try to make their marriage work.
Ava shook her head. “Cheating isn’t a factor. It’s honestly our work. He’s away on set, or I’m away on set. We don’t see each other except at Sensation and…”
I watched as she took long sips of her water before speaking again. “Okay, maybe it is cheating. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but like I said, we don’t see each other except for at the club.”
I nodded. “So you both have other partners, and you’re not into that anymore?”
She sighed. “I love the club. A lot of people I know go to it, and it’s safe. No crazy fans or anything like that. I just needed more out of my marriage, and Trent isn’t willing to give it to me. It’s like he wants his cake and to eat it too.”
“Did you tell him you’re filing for divorce? I remember you said you were thinking about not springing it on him.”
“I did.” Ava nodded.
“What did he say?”
She shrugged. “He didn’t really say anything except he wasn’t surprised. He also said he was hiring an attorney we both know.”
“Who’s that?” I questioned and took a sip of my water.
“Booker Jameson.”
I started to choke on the liquid as it went down my throat.
“You’ve heard of him?” Ava asked.
I snorted. “Yeah, we work with his firm a lot.”
“He’s a nice guy.”
I chuckled. “Maybe, but not when it comes to working with opposing counsels.”
Ava took another sip of water. “Why’s that?”
“He has a reputation of making people produce a lot of discovery, and is known to request ex parte hearings like they’re nothing.”
“What does that mean?”
I took a deep breath. “He has a way of spinning things to make judges schedule emergency hearings. Usually, it’s with custody or domestic abuse. Luckily, you don’t have children, and you haven’t told me about any abuse.”
Ava shook her head. “No, no children and no abuse.”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it past him to ask for you to provide every bit of email or anything that could look good for Trent.” I started to skim the file Lorelei had put together of my notes and client intake from when I’d first met with Ava. “If I remember correctly, your prenup is pretty cut and dry. Given that you both have separate incomes and have been living as though you are single, there shouldn’t be an issue with spousal support. The only thing we really need to determine is any property you purchased together.”
“He wants it all.”
I sighed again. “Figures. And Booker will try to make that happen.”
“He’ll get all the houses?”
“I won’t let him and neither will a judge.” I grabbed Ava’s Schedule of Assets and Debts and scanned it quickly. “You indicated that all these properties are shared. Does that mean you purchased them fifty/fifty?”
“Give or take. We had our accountants work it out.”
“Well, let’s get all the paperwork from them so we know exactly how much each of you put in, and we’ll need to get the properties appraised.”
“Can we avoid all of that?”
“Only if you two agree on what to split.”
