CHAPTER ONE
ZANDER
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Iclimb out of my MercedesMaybach GLS, take in a lungful of the Midtown air and adjust my tie.
Manhattan has its own unique set of scents, not all of them good, but this place is home.It’s also the location of Sterling Obsidian & Partners.
Sterling Obsidian is my law firm, or ‘the sharks of Sixth Avenue,’if you listen to the media.
I do, and they’re right.
We’re probably the most feared divorce lawyers in the state, attracting high-profile clients.A recent seven-figure win earned us the headline:Sterling Obsidian once again delivers a scorched-earth victory for his ultra-wealthy clients.
Of course, we have competitors.
We battle for the top spot with Vanguard Locke & Partners, who are more the old guard, Ivy League prestige type.Don’t get me wrong, I studied at Harvard and have all the framed certificates on my wall, but we have an edge they don’t have.
It’s why we keep winning and attracting big clients.
Still, as my grandfather used to say, you’re one client away from failure, my boy.
Failure is not acceptable to me.Not when I network in the same circles as stuck-up Warren Vanguard, Junior, who is soon to take over from the esteemed Warren Vanguard Senior.
Junior, as he hates to be called, is an interesting guy.He looks like you could blow him over with a sneeze, but the moment he walks into a courtroom and the judge gives him the floor, the freckly redhead becomes an attorney worth my time.
Especially when I beat him.
Which is not always, and just quietly, I don’t mind that.It keeps things interesting.
Still, Vanguard Locke has had some juicy cases that have earned them a lot of press attention in recent months, and I’m keen to demolish them again very publicly.
Which is probably why I took on my new case.
The only reason.
The client is your typical rags-to-riches story and is nowsuddenlydivorcing her husband and demanding half of the marital assets.
Which she is legally entitled to.
She never worked.
Simply shopped and bided her time until it was appropriate to leave him.You might be surprised to learn he’s a little older.
I was shocked.
Then pulled a muscle rolling my eyes.
“See you tonight, Terrance,” I say to my driver.
“Have a good day, sir.”Terrance twists his head around and smiles as I close the door.
Freddie, my personal security, is already on the sidewalk doing his thing, as he does every day.He follows me into the building, and we head up in the elevator.
“How’s Tiger?”I ask of his son.
“Fell off his bike last night.Boy needs to toughen up.It was just a scratch, but his mother made such a fuss about it.”
