Chapter Five
ALICIA
“Don’t you Americans take any time off for the holidays? Today is the day before Christmas Eve. You would think the courts would be closed.” I laughed at the way my mother had referred to me as one of the “Americans.”
“The courts will be closed tomorrow, Mother, from Christmas Eve day until the day after New Year’s. Until then, it’s business as usual.”
Lady Winston shook her head disapprovingly. “This is why there are so many unhealthy Americans,” she said. “All work and no time to take care of themselves. It gets you an early grave. I certainly hope you and Adam will remember that. You both work too much. You need time for your health, both physical and mental.”
“Yes, Mother, you’re right. I promise we will do our best to remember it. I plan to have a long, healthy life with the love of my life.”
“And give me plenty of healthy grandchildren, I hope?”
I laughed and said, “Slow down, Mother. We’re not even married yet. We’d like to get comfortable living with each other before we start adding ‘plenty’ of children to the mix.”
The truth was that Adam and I had not even talked about having children. I would like one or two someday, but I have no idea how he feels about that. He and Marjorie didn’t have any kids and he is forty years old…maybe it’s something I should talk to him about before we get married.
“Well, of course you should give it some time,” Mother said. “But not too much.”
I kissed her on the cheek and stole a piece of the cookie dough she was rolling. “Not too much,” I agreed. “I have a meeting and a court date. I won’t be late today. We also have the company Christmas party tomorrow night.”
My mother nodded. “I’ll need to go shopping for something to wear.” That was when my dad looked up from the table where he was sitting quietly reading this whole time.
“Why on earth did I pay so much for luggage on the airplane if you’re going to buy a whole new wardrobe while we’re here?”
Mother rolled her eyes. “Don’t you want to be proud to have me on your arm?”
“I’d be proud to have you on my arm naked,” he said.
“Of course you would be. I look fantastic naked.”
“Oh my goodness, that’s my cue to leave,” I told them. I heard them both still laughing as I went out the door.
I went to the office before the courthouse to meet with Miles. As soon as I stepped off the elevator I saw him standing near Carla’s desk. I wasn’t close enough to hear what they were saying, but I knew Carla well enough to judge by the look on her face that she was actually impressed by the man. As I got closer, Miles looked up and spotted me.
“Well, hey there, little lady. I was just getting to know your very pleasant assistant here.” I glanced at Carla and was surprised to see that she was actually blushing. I knew Miles’s history of mating and dating beautiful young women, but I couldn’t for the life of me see what was attracting them. With the other women I might possibly say money, but I also knew Carla well enough to know with her that wouldn’t be the case for her. I made a mental note to ask her about it later as I greeted Miles.
“Good morning, Mr. Brigham. Thank you for agreeing to come in so early at the last minute. They changed my court time on me today.”
“Not a problem at all. Had I known Carla was so interesting to talk with, I would have come by even earlier.” I had to physically clench to keep from rolling my eyes.
I smiled instead and said, “Please, come into my office.”
Miles followed me through the office door, winking at Carla as he did. I closed the door behind us and saw Carla’s face flood with color once more. Resisting the head shake, I said, “Please have a seat, Mr. Brigham. Can I offer you something to drink?”
Miles sat in a comfortable leather armchair facing my desk and said, “No, thank you, and please, call me Miles.”
“I’m sorry, I’ll try to remember, Miles.” I sat down in my chair facing across the desk toward him as he said,
“So, how dire is this situation I’m in?”
“Well, I can’t really get into details, but I can tell you that I know for a fact that the FBI is exploring other possibilities with regards to Vick’s murder. The NYPD and District Attorney’s office are unfortunately still doing their best to build a case against you however circumstantial it may be.”
Miles scratched his chin and said, “That damn midget DA Dawson has it in for me. I’m not sure what I ever did to him, but I suppose that small bit of good news is better than none. You do know I didn’t do this, right? I admit that I’ve been involved in a few slimy deals in my time, but murder has never been one of them.”
“Yes, Miles, I am sure you are not a murderer. I can promise you that I will do my absolute best to prove that if and when this goes to trial. Just keep in mind, though, as the trial draws nearer that all we really need is to give the jurors any reason to doubt you did this. The State has the burden of proof on them, and I don’t believe that they have enough to convince twelve people you did this.”
“I do thank you for your vote of confidence. I’ve been defended plenty by lawyers who knew I was guilty as charged. In this case, though, it’s real important to me that people know I am not a cold-blooded killer. Speaking of, how about these allegations against my son? Do you think they’ll go anywhere?”
“At this point, it’s all hearsay. I don’t think the D.A. will pursue it unless we actually have an eyewitness step forward. Dawson loves to win and he hates to lose. He doesn’t often throw his hat in unless he believes it’s a sure bet.”
Miles nodded. “Okay, then. If they did arrest him, would you still be willing to defend him?”
“Yes, of course. I agreed to be your family lawyer. Nothing has changed. As for your trial, you do have the right to a speedy trial if you should wish. I would recommend against it, but the choice is yours.”
“I would definitely prefer to wait until this civil suit is over and done with. I don’t know if my old ticker could take the stress of two trials at once. Hell, just the jury selection process was giving me chest pains yesterday.”
I laughed and said, “I doubt that, Mr. Brigham…I mean Miles. If your ticker is as strong as everything else I know about you, you’re bound to outlive us all, stress or no stress.”
Miles smiled as he stood up and extended his right hand. “Thank you again, little lady. I have to get back to the damn courthouse. I feel better about all of this knowing it is in your capable hands.”
Miles made it as far as the door before turning around and saying, “You mind if I ask a personal question?”
I wasn’t sure I liked that idea, but said, “No, go right ahead,”
“I was wondering if it would be a problem for you if I were to ask your pretty little assistant out on a date.”
“Mr. Brigham, you are a piece of work.” He shrugged and smiled and I went on, “Carla is a single free adult and welcome to date whom she chooses, so go for it.”
He winked at me and closed the door behind him as he left. I could only shake my head. I had most definitely never met anyone like him before. I looked at the clock then and decided I better head over to the courthouse. Traffic would suck today with last minute shoppers out and about and I wasn’t going to walk today – it was freezing outside.
I got to court in time to greet Pamela just before the judge called it to order. We’d gone over everything yesterday and the judge had taken the night to deliberate. He asked now if anyone had anything else to say before he pronounced judgment. Both parties declined and the judge went on,
“I have carefully reviewed the assets of both parties both before and after the marriage state. I have also carefully reviewed the pre-nuptial agreement signed by both parties prior to their marriage. With both of these things in mind, I have then taken into consideration the statements made to this court with regards to the situation leading up to this divorce.
“I am not one that often declares a legal contract null and void. In this case, however, I am finding that if the prenuptial agreement were to be upheld Mrs. Lewis would be excuse my language here please, sorely screwed. She was the one who established and built her business. From all I have read and heard here, she was the one that made it the success it is today. I will uphold the part of the prenuptial that regards alimony only.
“Mrs. Lewis, you are not granted alimony nor are you to be granted any of Mr. Lewis’ assets. However, your business is yours, as well as the assets that come with it. As far as the apartment is concerned, I grant you both fifty-fifty interest in it. I would strongly urge you both to put it on the market, split the proceeds, and move on with your lives.”
The judge slammed his gavel once and pronounced court to be dismissed.
Patricia was ecstatic. She hugged me and over her shoulder I saw the look of astonishment on Nick’s face. He had truly believed he would win. I was happy for Patricia. It was a good thing that she was rid of this arrogant, entitled man.