“Also aware, also there,” Vivien said, her annoyance growing. She had better things to do than have this not-so-lovely stroll down memory lane.
“It is our feeling that Rex has been more than generous in regard to alimony payments. In most cases, alimony for marriages that last under ten years are for only half of the time married, so three and a half years in your case.” Rex opened the top file and ran his finger down the page as if to confirm what he wished to discuss. Vivien knew the act was all for show. Harry knew what he wanted to say.
“Your point?” she asked.
“Would you agree it’s been more than fair?” Harry prompted.
Rex used to try to manipulate her like that. He’d ask a series of questions to get her to say yes to things so psychologically she’d be primed to say yes to the thing he really wanted.
“Why am I here?” Vivien leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest.
Rex looked at his page. “You receive thirty-five percent of his income. I would say that has been more than generous.”
“Is he looking for a thank you card?” Vivien quipped. She had no clue what this ambush meeting was about, but she could psychically pick up Harry’s lunch order. Why was her gift so useless right now? Regardless, it had quickly become apparent that Rex wasn’t going to grow a pair and face her. “Rex offered the thirty-five percent.”
“In North Carolina, it’s unusual for a—”
“Harry, I’m going to stop you right there. My lawyer told me that in this state and under my particular circumstances I could have easily pushed for forty percent, so one could argue that I was very generous. Now, either you get to the point, or I’m leaving. You’re acting like Rex needs a liver transplant.” Vivien felt the man’s mounting frustration, even though he schooled his expression.
Rex had never believed her when she said she had psychic abilities. In fact, the term he used was nutjob. Vivien didn’t need her ex-husband to believe her. She knew she was clairsentient. When she was with someone, she could pick up on what they were feeling. She also happened to be claircognizant and often knew things without knowing how she knew them.
Like now.
“It’s not a liver transplant, is it? He’s in line for a promotion.” Vivien gave a small laugh, secretly grateful that her gift had finally given her something useful. “Are you making him a full partner?”
“Let’s stay on topic, please. We’re going to petition the court to end alimony payments. We feel—”
“We? Don’t you mean Rex feels?” Vivien inserted.
“We feel that fourteen years of compensation for a seven-year marriage is excessive.” Harry tapped his pointer finger on his stack of files.
“Fourteen? Did you seriously just imply that I was compensated during my marriage, as well as after?” Vivien shook her head. She kept her tone light, mostly to annoy him, as she added, “That’s insulting not only to me but to every married and formerly married woman in the world, and it cheapens wives to no more than prostitutes. Do you think wives are prostitutes, Harry?”
“I misspoke. Of course, I meant seven.” Harry was unable to hide his frustrated reaction to that comment. Some things she didn’t need to be psychic to see. “This is a courtesy meeting to give you the chance to sign away further payments without having to go to court.”
Wow. This guy had a giant set of balls. He talked like he was doing her a favor.
“You have had ample time to find meaningful employment,” he continued, “and a new residence if the mortgage payments continue to be a financial burden.”
That was something her lawyer had asserted in the divorce proceedings—financial burden.
These people acted like all the things she’d done to help Rex’s career were nothing. It wasn’t just decorating his house, hosting parties, and being his plus one at endless dinners. She’d drafted half his legal arguments, including the one that set him on the partner track.
Vivien pulled her purse from the table onto her lap. She dug for her phone and clutched it in her hand. “Well, since it has been seven long years like you so eagerly keep pointing out today, let me remind you why Rex offered me alimony in the first place.” She glanced down at her phone and tapped the screen to bring up a passworded folder. She clicked on the first picture and held it up so he could see. “I’m no attorney, but I believe the term my lawyer used when he saw these was marital misconduct.”
Harry glanced at the picture and his eyes widened.
“You didn’t see these during negotiations, did you?” Vivien leaned forward and angled her phone so they could both watch what she was doing. “Here’s Rex with three prostitutes. Though, between us, I think they’re all faking those expressions.” She slid to the next shot. “And Rex trying on that woman’s clothes and makeup. Fishnets are not an easy look to pull off.” She scrolled to the next one. Vertical blinds blurred part of the picture, but there was enough of the seedy motel room visible to show a camcorder pointed at the bed. “Here’s Rex recording himself. You’d think a lawyer would know better.”
“I don’t see what—”
“Oh, wait, I have the actual video.” Vivien moved to the next file. “After the private detective I hired showed me the photos he took, I recognized what looked like our personal camcorder in some of them. It didn’t take long to find the rest of the evidence I needed. But here, watch for yourself. As my lawyer liked to tell me, solid proof plays out so much better in court than hearsay, and people just love watching videos. It’s like reality television.”
She pushed play. The sounds that came from her phone belonged in a porno. Then again, that was exactly what the video was—amateur porn. Vivien was no prude, but she had never let Rex record them in bed.
“Hold on, let me fast forward to my favorite part.” Vivien ran her finger over the screen until she found what she wanted. She zoomed in and held the phone close to his face. “I believe that’s cocaine Rex is snorting off that young lady’s very trim backside.” She moved the screen view. “And that’s a coffee mug with the law firm logo.” She moved it again to show the full shot. “The private detective told me that one of these girls was only twenty. So I’m guessing when he pours them shots later and serves her liquor, that’s a bad thing.”
Either Harry had thought she’d lost the evidence, or he had not realized how bad it made Rex look. “You can’t prove when that was taken.”
“I suppose the time stamp on the camcorder could have been faked, but at about twenty minutes in you can hear the newscaster talk about a book launch party for a local author, which proves when it was taken.” She held her phone in front of her and hovered her finger. “Do you want me to find it for you?”
Harry refused her offer with a firm shake of his head. “No. I don’t need to see more.”
“Drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, adultery.” Vivien turned off the video, unable to continue listening to the sex noises. “It doesn’t look very good for your new partner, Harry. But you do what you have to do. We can go to court, show the judge, and let him decide what I deserve for putting my career on hold to help Rex with his, for being faithful, and throwing parties to entertain law firm clients. I might just ask for forty percent this time instead of thirty-five. There is a lot of pain and suffering in this video that I will have to live through. Not to mention my humiliation when this goes public.”