There was a momentary silence. “What do you mean by good?” Michael asked carefully.
“I mean, get him out of my life,” Maggie laughed, realizing what it had sounded like. “Not six feet under out of my life. Just divorced and to leave me alone. Maybe even get some sort of court order to stop them getting anywhere near my boutique.”
"In that case, what do you need?” Michael asked. “And what happened to bring this on?”
"Vanessa happened," Maggie told him. "Do you remember those photographs she took in my boutique yesterday?”
“I do,” Michael confirmed.
“Well, one of them is now plastered across the Kitsch Couture website as their exclusive new wedding line, and my client's name is in the caption.” Maggie drew in a breath as the anger hit her once again. “Not just any client, but the one whose dressI’m currently working on that is highly classified, and if I’m not working on it, it sits locked in a safe along with the patterns and design drafts.”
“Oh!” Michael drawled.
“The client called me a little while ago. And as you can expect, she is furious. She gave me until five o'clock to fix it." Maggie shook her head.
There was a small silence on the line.
"We can get her for stealing your designs,” Michael told her. “But we will need the proof.”
“I have a plan to get it,” Maggie told him. “But we need to set and bait the trap.”
“Mmm,” Michael said. “What is the plan, and does it lead to you destroying Vanessa’s boutique?”
“I’m not being callous here,” Maggie said. “But I’m not really interested in what happens to Vanessa’s rip-off shop. A shop she only started after she first came to mine with Kevin.”
“That’s not callous, Maggie,” Michael assured her. “You’re protecting your business and high-end clients. They don’t just deal in excellent products, but they demand trust from those they deal with.”
“Exactly,” Maggie stated. “And right now, Vanessa and my soon-to-be ex are tarnishing a reputation I’ve worked very hard to get.” She glanced at the sketch of Michael on her desk and quickly put the book in her top drawer. “My main goal here is to get enough leverage to get Kevin to sign the divorce papers without another long, drawn-out trip to his attorney's office, only to find more demands. And for him to go away with nothingof what I built or access to Toby until my grandson is old enough to decide if he wants to know his grandfather or not.”
“So, taking down Vanessa in the process is just an added bonus?” Michael asked.
“I don’t wish ill on anyone’s business,” Maggie assured him. “But make it your own. Don’t steal it from someone else.”
“Your heart is too good, Maggie,” Michael told her. “So what is your plan>”
Maggie walked him through it. She kept it simple. She told him what she needed from him. She told him what the celebrity would do. She told him about the design on her desk that Vanessa would not be able to resist. She told him about Vanessa's habit of sending her stolen photos straight to Kevin's phone, and about the slip Vanessa had made eight months ago that Maggie had filed away in her memory and never quite forgotten.
"You thought up all that in a few minutes?” Michael sounded impressed. “Good grief, Maggie, I always knew you were good at scheming, but this is terrifying.” He laughed. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.’
“This is not my bad side,” Maggie told him. “This is my fed-up and protective side.”
“All right, I’m in," Michael agreed, without another thought. "Tell me what time you want me there."
Maggie gave him a time. “I will confirm it as soon as I’ve spoken to Kevin and got him to agree to be here just before lunch.”
They said goodbye, and she hung up.
Maggie looked down at her phone in her hand. It was show time. She found Kevin’s number and dialed. He picked up on the fifth ring.
“Hello, Maggie,” Kevin answered. “Are you calling to let me know that you’re letting my grandson come to my wedding?”
“I’m phoning to tell you that I just want you to sign this divorce now,” Maggie told him, ensuring she sounded resigned. “Bring me your new list of demands, and I’ll go over them. I think we should just do this without the pressure of attorneys around us. Once we’ve agreed, we can bring them in again.”
“Does this mean you’re agreeing to give me part ownership of your business, Maggie?” Kevin asked, and she heard the spark in his voice. “You know I do have a right to it. You spent a lot of time there during our marriage and neglected me.”
Neglected him. Not their son, just him.That was Kevin, the most selfish, self-centered person in the world, who really did think the earth revolved around him.How had she ever let herself believe she was in love with him?Maggie suppressed a shudder, reminding herself he’d given her their son and, as a result, her other pride and joy, Toby.
“Bring the demands,” Maggie told him. “If you can bring them to my boutique. I have to fix this design and create a fresh dress for a very important client. Someone leaked the last one, and she is not happy.”
