Chapter 5

The day of the mediation was overcast.

Desmond James wore a well-cut dark gray suit, his hair combed back without a strand out of place. He arrived at the mediation room ten minutes early, Lawyer Chavez at his side.

"Be tough in there," Desmond told him. "Make her feel the gap between us."

Ten minutes later the door opened. Angela walked in.

Desmond blinked. Angela had cut her hair short and had it curled in soft waves, put on light makeup, painted her lips a muted rose. She wore a beige cashmere coat that had real quality to it, and the bag in her hand wasn't that old canvas tote. It was a black leather briefcase.

Behind her came a middle-aged man in a pinstripe suit. Desmond's pupils shrank. He knew this man.

Les Lambert. The top divorce and family-law attorney in the city, the one who handled billionaire divorces, whose consulting fee ran by the hour and started in the five figures.

"This is your lawyer?" Desmond couldn't help himself, and the mockery came through. "Angela, you cleaned out your retirement savings just to save face and hire a lawyer? Lawyer Lambert, do you know she can't cover your final invoice?"

Les smiled politely, pulled out a chair for Angela, then sat down beside her and drew a file from his briefcase.

"Mr. James, my client paid in full." Les's voice was deep and steady.

Once Angela sat down, she didn't look at Desmond at all. She only lowered her head and straightened the cuffs of her sleeves.

"Let's keep this brief." The mediator rapped the table. "Petitioner Angela Pruitt, respondent Desmond James. On the matter of the divorce, have the two parties reached an agreement?"

"Divorce," Desmond said, arms folded. "But on the property, it's what we said before. She walks away with nothing. I'm not giving her a cent."

"We object," Les said.

Desmond laughed. "Object? On what grounds? On her forty-five hundred a month?"

Les ignored the jab. He drew a thick document out of the folder, handed it to Lawyer Chavez across the table with both hands, and slid a second copy over in front of Desmond.

"This is the Marital Community Property Division List my client is submitting, along with the supporting asset documentation."

"Based on the principle of joint marital ownership of property during the marriage," Les said evenly, "we are requesting the division of the following assets. She has also submitted a property inventory and the related supporting evidence."

Desmond picked up the file without much interest. "What property inventory? What could she possibly own? A few old clothes? Or those bank cards of hers with a few thousand on them?"

Then his eyes landed on the first page. The smile froze on his face.