CHAPTER FIVE
Becca
The sunlight streaming through my window roused me from my sleep, urging me to get up and enjoy the first full day of my vacation. It was one of those crisp and cool autumn days where the clear blue sky and the sun beaming down gave the impression that it could have been eighty degrees outside, but a touch on the window told me it was probably perfect sweater weather.
I smiled with anticipation as I envisioned the day I would enjoy wandering through the woods. One of the best things about getting away to this place was the chance it afforded me to shed all the stress of the city and simply immerse myself in the quiet of nature. A nice long hike would do me a world of good. Maybe I’d even have a picnic outside on the front porch when I returned.
Before long, however, I came crashing back to reality when I opened my email and saw a message from my attorney letting me know that he would be calling me around ten to discuss the issue with my ex-husband, Dustin. I mentally kicked myself for not specifying to him that I should be left alone during my vacation, but it was important and probably shouldn’t be put off until I got back to the city. Still, I didn’t like being mired down with such hassles on my relaxing vacation.
A glance at the clock told me it was only nine, so with a lot on my mind I grabbed a shower, got dressed for the day, and made my way to the breakfast buffet in the dining room downstairs. As I sat picking at my eggs and bacon, I let out a heavy sigh. In truth, I wanted to let out a scream and pound my fists in frustration, but it wasn’t exactly the thing to do in the middle of a quaint bed and breakfast, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Dustin and I had divorced three years ago, but he was still as big a thorn in my side as ever. All I had ever wished for when he and I broke up was to be left alone to carry on and live my life happily, but it seemed Dustin would have none of that.
Right before we married, I found the most incredible townhouse on the Upper West Side, and we picked it up for a steal. Three bedrooms, two baths, and an office for me, but even more, the townhouse became my sanctuary in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city.
When we divorced, Dustin claimed he didn’t care about the townhouse and agreed it was mine. After all, he was a new bachelor on the prowl after a few years of a failed marriage and had no interest in the townhouse we’d shared as a couple. Dustin hadn’t even bothered to help decorate the place when he lived there, so he obviously had no interest in keeping it.
Now years later, he found himself some gold digging floozy who liked to live well above her means, and he needed money. So, of course, he wanted to sell the townhouse where I lived and had been living for years so that he could finance her expensive and completely gaudy taste. Even more importantly, he wanted to buy a new place for the two of them but wouldn’t be able to afford the down payment without the money we’d get from selling my home.
I shook my head, not wanting to stroll down memory lane anymore, and finished my breakfast before walking towards the stairs to return to my room. If my attorney was going to be calling, that needed to happen in private, but I certainly wasn’t going to ruin my time in the woods with a conversation like that.
As I walked past the stairs, the young brunette at the front desk waved and said, “Have a wonderful morning, Ms. Fox. Is there anything we at The Gilford House Inn can do for you today?”
She was so chipper, but I heard a genuine sincerity in her voice that charmed me instantly. If I hadn’t been so distracted, I would have said more, but I just smiled and replied, “No, but thank you so much. I’ll let you know if there is. Have a wonderful day.”
“And the same to you!” she called back with a smile.
At least my stay at the inn was looking better than it had the day before.
I returned to my room and caught up on some work and a little social media before my phone rang at precisely ten o’clock. Attorney Edward Wickers was nothing if not punctual. I answered it and reclined back on my bed. If I had to get stressful news, at least I could be comfortable while doing so.
“Good morning, Edward. What are the chances you’re calling me with good news today?” I asked, more hopeful than I should have been.
“Highly unlikely, unless your idea of good news is an ex-husband full of hassles.”
Edward had a no-nonsense style which made him often come off as a bit terse if you didn’t know him. I did know him, though, and I knew he wasn’t a bad guy. Just someone who wanted to get the job done right and quickly. I appreciated that in a lawyer I was paying so handsomely.
“Good morning, Rebecca. I’m not going to sugar coat it for you. It isn’t great. Dustin didn’t seem to have much of a case in the beginning, but the fact that you have always earned more than him doesn’t help. I know his attorney, Loretta Michaels. She’s damn good at what she does, and quite the pain in the ass. Pardon my French.”
“What about the fact that when we divorced three years ago, he signed the paperwork that left the house to me?” I asked, still desperately hoping that fact would save me from the nightmare situation I had been in with all of Dustin’s crap.
“It’s a big help. I can say that much. But honestly, it’s not enough. He’s claiming that you coerced him into signing with the threat that he wouldn’t receive alimony if he didn’t.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose trying to dispel the headache forming just above my eyes. Dustin’s refusal to act like a goddamned adult made me want to scream up at the ceiling.
Sighing, I stood to pace and said, “That’s ridiculous. He declined alimony payments and took a lump sum. You know that, right?”
“I do. I drew up the paperwork myself all those years ago. It doesn’t look good at the moment, seeing as he did pay for some of that property as well, but I assure you I am doing my best.”
“I know. You always do. That’s why you’re the best.”
My flattery never fazed him, though, and he simply pressed on with our conversation.
“In the meantime, see if you can smooth things over with him without involving his lawyer. Trust me. You do not want to deal with her.”
Crestfallen, I stopped my pacing at the window and looked out, trying to stay positive and in vacation mode. All I wanted was some good news, but it seemed like Dustin was constantly gaining the upper hand somehow. The fact that he was a slime ball of a guy only made it worse. He didn’t deserve to reap any more benefits from having been with me.
“Okay. I’ll do my best. Anything else?”
“Yes. I have some things we need to go over and then I’ll be out of your hair, so to speak.”
We spent the next thirty minutes going over minute details that to me didn’t seem to matter but I assumed were important if Edward wanted to discuss them. He wasn’t the type for idle chit chat, so when he was finished, he abruptly said, “Okay, that’s everything. I’ll go over all of this and get back to you within the week. If you need anything from me, please call, and if you get any movement from Dustin in either direction, send me an email with the details. Didn’t you mention you’re on vacation?”
“Yes, a sort of sabbatical really. I needed to get away from New York for a little while.”
“I see. Well, enjoy your time off, Rebecca. We’ll speak soon.”
Without a formal goodbye, he hung up. All the better really. I could only imagine the bill I had racked up talking to him for so long. I set the phone down and paced from the bed to the window as I worked to get over my anger at Dustin once again ruining something good in my life. I tried to relax as I walked around the room to clear my head, but it was no use. I couldn’t shake the stress coursing through me, and I knew it was because I didn’t want to talk to Dustin.
The last time we tried had actually been in person. I figured meeting for lunch could be more civil than a phone conversation, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. From the moment he sat down at the table, things went downhill. He didn’t want to hear a thing I said, and when I mentioned that I wouldn’t let the townhouse go without a fight, he began barking orders at me that I’d have to, drawing attention from everyone in the restaurant around us and embarrassing me. From that moment on, I vowed I would do everything I could never to have to spend another moment around him.
But now I didn’t have a choice. I had to speak to him if I wanted a chance at keeping my home.
With my stomach twisting into knots, I picked up my cell phone and dialed his number.
“Hello, Becca,” he answered, sounding distant and uncharacteristically cool.
“Good morning, Dustin. How are you doing today?” I said, infusing my words with all the sweetness and charm I could muster.
In truth, it was easier for me to be nicer to the girl downstairs at the front desk than the man I’d shared a bed with for two and a half years.
“I’m fine. Just spoke to my attorney actually.”
“Listen, Dustin, do we really need to do this? I know we’ve been curt with one another for nearly three years now, but what happened to the best friends we used to be? I’m not saying we need to return to that, but this whole back and forth over the townhouse is ridiculous, and we both know it.”
“Becca, I don’t think—”
I cut him off, hoping I could get a few more moments of sweetness in and control the conversation that would inevitably begin to go bad at any second. “Dustin, I love that place. You know that. It’s my home. It’s not just some townhouse. It’s where my memories are. It’s where we spent those years together. I know we aren’t best friends, but that has to count for something. I don’t want to lose my home, Dustin.”
“Cut the crap, Becca. You and I both know that you can afford a new place.”
And there was that nastiness in him that never failed to rear its ugly head. God, I hated him. What a selfish bastard.
“That’s not the point, Dustin. The point is that—”
He cut me off and snapped, “That you’re a spoiled brat who just wants to get her way?”
I sighed and shook my head. “I’m spoiled because I want to keep my home?” I asked as I paced the room, my stomach fully knotted up.
“Becca, I get that you want to keep the place, but we bought it together and—”
This time, I cut him off before he could tell any more lies. “Bought it together? You put up less than a fifth of the money, Dustin. You and I both know it was me who found that place and me who paid for the majority of it.”
“Be that as it may, we owned it together, and I need money now, so you’re just going to have to deal with it. Now if we can come to an agreement without the lawyers, maybe we can work something out for you.”
I clenched my fist in anger and struggled not to whip the damned phone at the wall across from me. “Cut the patronizing bullshit, Dustin. I’m going to fight you tooth and nail on this. By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be wishing you took the five hundred thousand I offered you. Fuck you and your gold digging bitch. That place is mine. Deal with it.”
Before Dustin could get another word in, I pressed END and pitched the phone onto the bed. The nerve of that asshole to talk to me like he had any power over me or my home. If there was any justice in the world, he’d get hit by a bus on the way to his stupid attorney.
Needing some fresh air, I grabbed my jacket and marched down the stairs. The front desk clerk, the kind woman from earlier, tried to say hello but I brushed her off. I couldn’t deal with talking to anyone at that moment and simply needed the fresh autumn chill to clear my head. I gave her a slight nod and hoped she understood before pushing out the front door and letting the cold air blast me in the face.