Chapter 6
Kyle
To say that the phone call from Simone had surprised me would be an understatement. Trent, Addie, and I usually had lunch together, so leaving the office without a bunch of questions from the two of them hadn’t been easy. During the drive to the diner, all kinds of thoughts ran through my head. The scene I’d witnessed on Jim’s birthday was still weighing heavily on my mind. I tried to focus on the seriousness of Brad’s hostility toward Simone, but images of her curvy body in her tiny, pink bikini kept creeping in.
“Kyle, focus. She needs your help, not a lechery lawyer,” I muttered to myself. It wasn’t very professional of me to have these sorts of thoughts about a potential client. Especially one who was married. It didn’t matter that she was seeking a divorce.
I’d spent a lot of time during the last week thinking about Simone and how she was doing. I worried about her and Stella in a way that I hadn’t expected since we weren’t much more than acquaintances. But something about her drew my attention. Simone was naturally quiet for someone her age, but I didn’t mind that. She was poised, and clearly took her responsibilities as Stella’s mom very seriously. She probably thought more about her daughter’s own happiness than she did her own and that had been more than evident last weekend.
My grip on the wheel tightened as I thought about how shitty Brad had treated everyone, especially his own family. I’d had awful parents and knew firsthand the sort of pain that caused a child. It pissed me off on a whole other level to see him treat Stella poorly. He had done everyone a favor by leaving early, as the rest of the day had gone smoothly.
Jim didn’t believe in birthday gifts and the only request he’d made was for all of us to show up, and for Simone to bring her famous brownies. However, none of us ever listened to him so me, Addie, Trent, Erik, and even Ian, all the way from South Carolina, had pitched in to give him a year’s worth of weekend golf at Torrey Pines—with Marla, of course. Those two did everything together. Trent added professional lessons for both of them as well. After he’d opened his other gifts and cards, we’d spent the rest of the evening hanging out outside around the fire pit and shooting the shit. Without Brad there to destroy the good mood, we’d all had a great time—even Simone, once she had finally relaxed and let her guard down a bit.
Now, I was going to spend more time with her if I took her on as my client, and help her with her divorce.
When the guys and I were younger, we had barely tolerated Brad since we’d all seen right through his games, and we would do everything in our power to ditch him. Marla had never seen how manipulative Brad could be until recently, and would occasionally bribe us to spend time with him. Jim had decreed that we had to include him when Brad complained about how we were mistreating him. Playing the victim card he had cultivated to perfection as an adult. That’s what I had to watch out for during this entire ordeal if I represented Simone. I could see Brad totally throwing her under the bus to protect his fragile ego.
I pulled into the parking lot of the small diner, grabbed my leather messenger bag just in case I needed to take notes, and headed in. The place was always packed on the weekends but on weekdays it was usually pretty quiet.
I walked through the door, the bell alerting the wait staff that a customer had entered. My eyes started searching the restaurant to see if Simone had already arrived. There, in the back corner booth, I found her. She was hunched over the table picking apart the paper napkin in front of her. As though she could feel my stare on her, she lifted her head and our gazes locked.
I smiled at her and started to make my way across the restaurant. I took a seat on the bench across from her, setting my bag down next to me.
“Hi,” I said, greeting her. That’s when I saw her red-rimmed eyes up close and the dark circles underneath. It was obvious she was exhausted and emotionally drained.
Before Simone could respond, our waitress—CeeCee, an older woman with white fluffy hair, blue eye shadow, and a nice smile, interrupted us. She took our drink order and gave us each a laminated menu and rattled off the day’s specials. After I ordered water and Simone ordered lemonade, we made a show of perusing our menus for about a minute before setting them down at the end of our table.
“Thank you for meeting with me,” she whispered, after another full minute had passed.
I watched her tear another napkin apart, piece-by-piece. “Of course. Anything for a friend,” I said, echoing my sentiments from last weekend. Briefly, I placed a hand on hers in an attempt to still her fidgeting. She stopped and looked at me. “Hey, things will be okay. I’m here to help you. Want to tell me what happened?”
I hadn’t planned on jumping right into discussing what was going on. I had wanted her to lead the conversation, but I’d sensed that she needed to talk to somebody and that it’d be easier for her if I initiated it. She removed her hands from under mine and hid them under the table. I drew my hand back as well, still wishing I could comfort her in some way.
“Um… I decided to end things with Brad last night,” she started, her voice hoarse. She sniffed, eyes downcast. “He was cheating on me.” Her words broke at the end. She was trying to hold back her tears.
It was clear she was embarrassed by Brad’s cheating although she had no reason to be. This didn’t make her look bad, it only reflected negatively on him. He’d cheated on Addie. Cheating on Simone, unfortunately, wasn’t surprising. In fact, thinking about it, he’d probably been cheating on Simone from the start of their marriage. The reason they got married was so fucked up, all of us should have seen this coming. From what Jim and Marla had said back then, Brad had ‘appeared’ to get his act together. Clearly, he’d always been good about concealing his true intentions.
CeeCee returned with our drinks and we both ended up getting the half sandwich and salad special. After she left, I switched into lawyer mode. I needed to remove the personal element and try to get answers. It was the only way I was going to be able to help her.
“Are you sure he was cheating on you?” I asked, opening my bag and taking out a legal pad, pen, and my glasses. Treating this like any other meeting would help both of us. I put my glasses on and gestured at her to continue.
“Well, considering I walked into my bedroom and he had his dick halfway down Tiffany’s throat, I would say I’m sure,” she said bluntly.
Well, fuck. I wasn’t expecting that. There was no expression on her face but I saw her eyes flash with anger and her jaw tighten. I’d never seen that side of Simone before. When Brad was around, she was meek and quiet, carefully treading in dangerous waters.
I wrote down Tiffany’s name, and I knew exactly who she was. Erik was going to flip out once he learned of this, but it wouldn’t be from me even though I felt an obligation to inform him.
“And he planned it so I would walk in on it,” she added. “He wanted me to catch them in the act.”
I looked up at her. The cheating didn’t come as a huge surprise but the fact that he’d done that in their bedroom with the intent to hurt Simone was inexplicable.
“I should have known he was messing around with her. She always gave me an attitude any time I called or visited the shop,” she continued, sighing. “I should have known better. He had a history of it…”
We were both quiet for a second, both of us looking at each other and thinking about Addie. I moved on quickly. “Simone, are you positive you want to file for divorce?” I asked. She wouldn’t be the first person I met with who decided cheating wasn’t enough of a reason to go through the painful and time-consuming process. But because I was so familiar with her situation, and I doubted anyone would want to stay married to a guy like Brad, I knew she had more than enough cause.
She looked directly at me and I could feel the daggers she was shooting at me.
I held up my hands in surrender. “I agree with your decision,” I admitted, “but I just want to confirm that you’re ready to move forward.”
Her eyes softened a bit but they were absolutely determined. No doubt at all, and I would never question that again. “Yes, I’m sure I want to file for divorce. I should have done it a while ago.” She said that last sentence under her breath but I was still able to hear her.
I paused for a second, wording my next question carefully. “Simone… has Brad ever hurt you?” I asked quietly, watching her body language as much as listening to her words. “Physically, I mean?”
Her eyes widened a bit, and had a lost, faraway look as she recalled something, but then she slowly shook her head negatively. I moved on from that question since it appeared I wasn’t going to get any more of an answer from her on that topic, but I knew I’d have to revisit it.
“What about Stella?” I asked, watching her closely.
I didn’t like what was registering on her face but again; she shook her head in the negative. I swear to God, if I found out that Brad had ever harmed Stella, I’d crucify him.
As a lawyer, a family law lawyer at that, learning to read people was essential. And Simone was an open book. It didn’t take much to see it on her face or in her body language. She had no idea what I was gleaning from her silences alone. It’s why I knew there was a history of some sort of abuse, never mind the emotional and psychological abuse Brad inflicted upon her and I’d witnessed myself. I still remembered the way Brad had gripped her arm back at the Thompson house and the way she always flinched whenever anyone but her daughter touched her. I did have a basic understanding of her past from what Trent had relayed to me a long time ago. I knew she never talked about it in depth and I wasn’t sure if anyone had really pressed for that info. Whether she liked it or not, that too would be a topic we’d be discussing at length.
“Has he cheated on you before?” We lived in California, which was a no-fault state, so it didn’t really matter for filing purposes if he had cheated multiple times. I was just curious if she was aware of any other indiscretions.
“I suspect he has, but I never really thought about it before nor did I go out looking for evidence of it. You know how our marriage started, and he was never completely on board with it. He told me as much last night when he said he was basically forced into marrying me.”
I winced a little at that. My own involvement lingered in my mind even though I’d had nothing to do with forcing Brad to marry Simone, I still knew. “I have to ask, and this is as a friend, not as an attorney, why did you stay with him so long?” This was something I had wanted an answer to but I wasn’t sure she would open up to me.
She was quiet for a moment and I figured she wasn’t going to answer. “It sounds so stupid now that I know he never cared about me or Stella. But I really wanted Stella to grow up in a loving, stable family. My parents were horrible, so bad, in fact, that I was removed from their home and placed in foster care. I wanted better for my daughter.”
So maybe that was the reason for her silence when I asked about abuse. “It doesn’t sound stupid at all; it makes perfect sense,” I stated firmly. I leaned over, making sure she was looking me in the eyes. “You probably don’t know this but… Addie and I had pretty shitty parents, too. Our father left early on and our mother was in and out of our lives before she died. I understand the desire to have a perfect family. That doesn’t mean you should feel bad for picking the wrong person, and you shouldn’t feel bad for getting yourself out of that situation. The fact that you realize you deserve better, that you and Stella deserve so much more, is a brave step. I hope you realize that.”
I could see the tears welling up in her eyes again and it broke my heart. I’m not sure what possessed me but I got up and moved over to her side of the table. I sat down next to her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders and just let her cry. It wasn’t a professional move, but I felt an overwhelming desire to comfort her. I knew she didn’t have very many people to support her but if I could help her in any way, I was going to.
Again, she surprised me when she returned my gesture and wrapped her arms around my middle. She let me hold her as she cried softly in to my shoulder. I propped my chin on the top of her head, and rubbed her back, letting her cry it out. It was odd how natural my actions came, but Simone felt oddly familiar in this position, like holding her was something I did often. It reminded me of our moment during Jim’s birthday.
After a few minutes she was able to pull herself together. She disengaged, almost reluctantly, and looked up at me. “Thank you,” she whispered, eyes still tearing up but not as much. “You’re really sweet, Kyle…”
I didn’t know what to say because I couldn’t stop staring at her. Our faces were so close that I could feel her breath against my lips and I could see my reflection in her dark brown eyes. The expression on my own face unnerved me. I smelled the scent of her shampoo or whatever she was wearing, and breathed it in. When she licked her lips, which seemed to be another nervous tic of hers, my eyes darted to the curve of her mouth. For a split second, I swear she moved closer to me. Or maybe it was the other way around. I swallowed hard, looked away, and pulled back.
“Better?” I asked, but my voice was a little hoarse and I could feel the pulse at my temples thudding against my skull. What the hell? Back at Jim’s birthday party, I’d felt drawn to her and her sadness, but at that time, my intentions had been… mostly… innocent. But here, this was something different, a little bit dangerous. I felt it in my body, the way I reacted to her, the turn of my thoughts from friendly to something akin to lust. When I looked back at her, I wasn’t sure if she’d felt what I’d felt. Probably not. She had bigger problems to deal with than me being irresponsible.
I handed her the napkin from my side of the table so she could wipe her eyes although she was no longer crying. I had to force myself to move back to my seat, needing the distance to compose myself and get back into my lawyer mode. The worst possible thing I could do was to start thinking about Simone in any way other than a client. No more touching, even though it felt instinctual for me when it came to her. She was vulnerable, afraid, and probably felt all alone. She had come to me for help, to find a safe haven from the shit storm she was about to go through. I wanted—no, needed—to be that stable force for her in a way that wasn’t just about being a damn good lawyer, but something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Something I didn’t want to focus on right now. So I forced myself to think about the next steps she would need to take.
“So I can get the paperwork started as soon as you’re ready,” I informed her, clearing my throat and taking a long drink of my water to cool off. I still felt overheated and my heart was still doing jumping jacks in my chest. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with me? “You said Jim and Marla don’t know you are doing this, correct?”
She shook her head. “I doubt it. I kicked Brad out last night but I don’t think he went over there. They’re watching Stella right now and they didn’t say anything to me when I dropped her off.”
“You should consider telling them,” I advised. “They’re going to find out eventually and they love you. I’m sure they would want to hear it from you first, and I wouldn’t trust Brad to come clean with them any time soon.”
She didn’t respond, just began fidgeting again, but this time with her glass of lemonade. She had long, slender fingers, and short nails. I glanced at the simple gold band on her left ring finger and noticed that it was a size too big. Either Brad hadn’t made an effort when buying it or she’d lost some weight from all the stress she was under. Both were possible.
“I’m scared,” she said quietly.
Nodding, I could see it on her face, too. I considered my next words thoughtfully. “About what, exactly, Simone?”
She took a deep breath. “Jim and Marla have been so accepting of me even though I came into their life unexpectedly. Brad is their son; it’s only natural that they’ll continue to support and even side with him,” she said, her voice wavering again. “I refuse to put them in the middle of our mess, and if they end up in that position I’m afraid I’m going to lose the only people I ever thought of as family.”
I felt bad that she believed she’d actually lose Marla and Jim. That her only connection to them was through Brad, or her daughter. She had no idea how much they adored her. “Simone, I have known the Thompsons for twenty years. Trust me when I say they’re coming to terms with the fact that they have to let Brad stand on his own instead always fighting his battles. You and Stella mean so much to them, don’t ever doubt that,” I told her, trying to allay her fears. “Things may be a little uncomfortable, but they won’t abandon you. In fact, I think they might help you more than you expect.”
For the next half hour, we ate our lunch while we continued to talk about the process of filing for divorce. Simone had asked for a piece of paper to write some of the details down for her own notes while I continued to take mine. I explained to her that I was willing to take her case pro bono. She tried to argue but I absolutely refused. Then she broke out in tears again. She explained that Brad told her she was going to need to move out of their apartment since he was the one on the lease. She wasn’t sure how she was going to afford rent, lawyer fees, and any other expenses that would probably come up, especially for Stella.
I was surprised by Brad’s statement since I was pretty sure Jim and Marla were on the lease for the apartment—not Brad. It was another reason for her to speak with them. I didn’t believe they would make their only grandchild and her mother move out. Especially since they had a room at their house for Brad if he needed a place to live.
We were just finishing up when I heard a voice behind me say, “Uh, hey, Kyle.”
Shit. I turned around and saw my sister. Her gaze flicked between Simone and me with a raised brow. “Hi, Addie…” I said, smiling wanly at her. I wasn’t sure what else to say because my brain was still trying to figure out how to explain the two of us together, and Simone’s miserable expression and puffy eyes.
Addie and Simone had talked at Jim’s party, and as far as I knew, there weren’t any hard feelings between them. It didn’t make this moment any less awkward, though.
“Hi, Simone,” Addie greeted politely, and walked closer to our booth. She was giving me a ‘you’d better explain this to me later’ look that I knew too well.
“Hi,” Simone returned, her face nearly bloodless. She looked toward me but like her, I was still at a loss for words, which was not only usual for a lawyer, but for me personally, as well.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you back at the office,” Addie said, once she realized we weren’t going to explain why we were having lunch together. She gave me another speculative look then turned back around to grab her to-go box at the register and left the restaurant.
“I’m so sorry, Kyle. I hope you helping me out won’t cause any problems between you and your sister,” Simone started, unsettled. Like we’d been caught doing something illicit.
I shook my head, knowing Addie would keep things to herself until she got the details out of me. “Don’t worry about it and I won’t tell Addie anything about you filing for divorce yet. She’s my assistant but I’ll keep your files in my office and type up all your documents myself. Please don’t worry about anything except taking care of yourself and that beautiful little girl of yours.”
She smiled at the mention of her daughter. Her smile was beautiful, and I wanted her do it more often. Living with Brad probably didn’t give her many reasons to. Simone may have made an awful choice when picking Brad, but she came out with an amazing child from that union. I knew she was determined to be the best mom ever, and from everything I had seen, she was doing a great job.
“You don’t need to keep this a secret, especially since you work with Jim, Trent, and Addie,” she said, biting on her lower lip for a second but she seemed less uncertain now. Maybe she was already beginning to accept that her divorce was going to happen. I admired her ability to roll with the punches. Sometimes life took a very wrong turn to let you know when to stand up and fight. “I’m going to talk to Brad and then his parents this afternoon so you don’t have to hide any paperwork. You’ve convinced me that it’s probably a good idea.”
We talked a bit more and then it was time for me to head back to the office. I picked up the check the waitress had dropped off at our table and we moved to the register so I could pay for our lunch. I saw Simone digging around in her purse for her wallet. No way was I was going to let her give me money.
“I’ve got this covered,” I told her.
After I paid the bill, I placed my hand on her lower back and led her out of the restaurant. I had managed to not think about pink bikinis all through lunch; however, as soon as I placed my hand on her, it was all I could think about. I really needed to stop touching her, but it felt too good and it was like my hand had a mind of its own. At her car, I said, “I’m going to need you to come into the office in order to draft the divorce filing. I’ll also need you to sign a disclosure agreement acknowledging my connection to Brad.”
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and handed it to her. “Here, program your number then I can text you so we have each other’s numbers,” I said. “You can text or call me when you want to take care of the paperwork.”
I didn’t give my personal cell phone number to my clients, but I felt better knowing that she would be able to get ahold of me if she needed anything.
I texted her number to test it, and heard her notification alert go off. “You can call me, for anything, day or night,” I offered, the words out before I could stop them. She stared up at me, and then she hugged me again. She squeezed me tight around the middle, hard. I wanted to return it, let this moment linger, but she pulled back and got her keys out of her purse.
“You’re wonderful,” she said, eyes tearing up. “I feel so much better knowing you’re on my side. Thank you.”
Her emotions got to me; a simple ‘thank you’ was never more powerful to me than hers. I opened the car door for her and then watched her drive away, disappearing into the busy afternoon traffic.
While driving back to the office, I thought of all she had shared with me and I hoped she would be okay. I knew she was worried and scared about a lot of things. It was obvious to me she didn’t know she had people in her corner. I’d do what I could to prove that to her, and I would protect her, like I should have done for Addie. Brad still needed to learn a lesson, and I had no problem teaching it to him.
*****
I had just sat down at my desk when Addie came in and closed the door behind her.
She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the door. “So what in the world did I walk in on back at the diner?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious.
There was no point in keeping this from her since it would come out soon enough. Plus, I trusted Addie explicitly. “Simone called me this morning, asking to meet so we could discuss her filing for divorce,” I answered, matter of fact.
Addie just stood there silently contemplating. I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She was probably thinking some not so nice things and a lot of ‘could have seen that coming’ comments, too. I also saw sympathy in her expression. Addie wasn’t heartless, and while she was probably still bitter about Brad, she knew she’d come out of that deal rather well. And Simone did not deserve what she got; we both knew that without question.
“What happened?” she finally asked.
“She caught him cheating on her,” I stated, shrugging.
Addie could have taken some joy in the fact that Brad had cheated on the woman that he had cheated on her with, but she wasn’t that kind of person. Instead, I saw the frown form on her face as she nodded her head, showing she wasn’t surprised by his actions.
“You and I know he’s a total douche. I had really hoped he’d changed his ways for Simone and Stella.” Addie sighed, shaking her head. “She must be heartbroken.”
“Honestly, I don’t think Simone is upset about her relationship with Brad not working out. She is, however, worried about of losing Jim and Marla, and possibly the relationship they have with Stella. She shared with me some things from her past—like the fact that she had it rough like we did except she wasn’t lucky to have people like the Thompsons or Grandma stepping in to help her out when she was younger. She wanted better for her daughter and now she feels like a failure.”
“She’s not a failure,” Addie said adamantly. Her expression went a little hard. “That title belongs to Brad.”
“And I wish I had done better by you in making you realize that before he hurt you,” I said softly.
She smiled a little, but it was slightly strained. “Brad could charm a nun out of her habit,” she said grimly. “I fell for it, and so did Simone. Regardless of what she thought or was hoping for when she married Brad, her reasons were genuine. Brad’s weren’t.” She paused, narrowing her gaze me. “You are going to help her, right?” she asked, although her tone made it clear she expected me to.
“That’s the plan,” I informed her. “Pro bono.”
She visibly relaxed. “Good. I’d be mad at you if you didn’t. And if you need help, of any kind, count me in.”
I smiled at that, glad my sister was on board. Then I frowned somewhat, thinking about how the rest of this day might unfold. “I’m just hoping it won’t make things awkward with Trent,” I said, meeting Addie’s gaze. “Simone is telling Brad that she’s filing for divorce and then she plans on talking to Jim and Marla afterwards. I’m going to need to sit down with Trent this afternoon before we leave for the day.”
“Hopefully, there won’t be any problems there. And, again, please let me know if you need me for anything. I’m serious, Kyle,” Addie repeated, pointing a finger at me. “Don’t leave me out. Even if it’s to babysit Stella or hold Simone’s hand or buy Kleenex, I’ll do it.”
I grinned. “Okay, I get it, now go file some papers already,” I teased.
She stuck her tongue out at me but then opened the door and went back to her workspace. I scrubbed my face hard, wanting to get things squared away quickly. I didn’t want to give Brad too much time to weasel his way out of this if he felt that staying married to Simone would benefit him in the long run.
In regards to Trent, I didn’t think I’d get much resistance from him. Since he wasn’t a fan of his brother, I knew he wouldn’t harbor any ill will toward Simone. But I also wasn’t sure how he would feel about me representing her, or our law firm getting involved in something this close to home. She didn’t have the resources to pay for an attorney and I didn’t want her to risk missing out on anything she was entitled to by filing for divorce on her own or getting preyed upon by some sham lawyer. I knew I couldn’t leave her to deal with this alone, and I wasn’t going to walk away from Simone until I saw her smile again. And damn it, some selfish part of my brain wanted me to be the reason she never stopped smiling.