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“A meeting you didn’t need to go to,” I replied. He had forgotten I was the supervisor of his floor.
I kept my eyes glued on the table in front of me, not wanting to look at him for even a second. I could feel his eyes darting back and forth across the room as he, too, tried to avoid all eye contact with me. It was horribly awkward and painful to sit through, especially when, three months before, we were gazing into each other’s eyes and committing our lives to one another. I shook my head, thinking about our wedding day, wondering what had happened to make the sweet and kind man I had married turn into an obnoxious primidone with no heart. Then again, maybe it was all for show. Maybe he was never that kind loving man I thought I knew, and after getting married, he realized it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. I had heard stories about Jordan before we started dating, but his personality and those stories never seemed to match up. I shrugged them off as nothing more than gossip or jealousy. Now, though, looking back and comparing the stories to this stranger sitting across from me, it all made perfect sense. He was a coward, and I couldn’t believe I’d fallen so hard for his ridiculous lies. There was no way you could love someone the way he said he loved me and then dump them on their ass the next day as if they never meant anything to you. It was cruel and harsh, and I was tired of being treated with no respect.
“Alright,” his lawyer began. “Both parties have agreed this marriage has reached its finality. In regard to their personal belongings, seeing as the couple was married three months prior, they have agreed to the following terms: The house in the Greek District, purchased by Ms. Wells prior to their marriage, will stay in her possession, including all items minus Mr. Bank’s personal effects. The apartment in Manhattan, purchased by Mr. Banks prior to marriage, will stay in his possession, including all items minus Ms. Well’s personal effects. Each will continue to possess their personal vehicles purchased before the marriage. In regard to the joint bank account started two and half months ago, Mr. Bank’s has relinquished all rights, and the money has been signed over in the form of a cashier’s check to Ms. Wells.”
The attorney slid an envelope across the table, and I put my hand over it, shutting my eyes, and trying to remind myself to keep it together. I bet giving me that bank account made him feel good, like he had done the right thing. All twenty-two thousand dollars of it, a price he found fair for putting me through so much grief and agony. I didn’t want the damn money that had been put in there to start a fund for our child’s education, the child we would never have. It was almost like he was taking a jab at me for not being able to have children. I grasped my hand around the envelope and slid it into my purse.
“If all parties are in agreeance,” the attorney continued. “Ms. Wells, you need to initial in these three spots and sign at the bottom. Mr. Banks, you will do the same.”
I clutched the pen tightly as I scribbled my name through the legal document. As he pulled the papers toward him, I could hear the tip of the pen scratch across the paper. With every curve of his name, my heart sunk lower and lower, until the tears were burning at the corners of my eyes.
“Well, if that is all,” my attorney said.
“That was easy,” Jordan said in a jovial tone.
I slammed my hands on the desk and shoved the chair back behind me, looking up and staring deeply into his eyes. He looked taken back, almost scared for a moment, but he wasn’t worth the extra breath to explain what he’d done to me. I turned and walked from the room before he could even stand. I sped through the courthouse, tears beginning to blind me as I pushed out onto the sidewalk and jogged toward the garage where my car was parked. Fumbling with my keys, I dropped them twice before finally getting the car open. As soon as the door slammed shut, I grabbed the steering wheel and let my resolve release. Tears dampened my face as the pain in my chest plummeted to my belly. That was it, the love I thought I had for a lifetime was gone with the stroke of a pen.
Chapter Three
Jason
The day was moving by at a glacial pace, and for some reason, I couldn’t get my brother’s divorce from Tiffany off my mind. Everything had gone down the day before, and I had made sure to steer clear of the family dinner. I knew if I heard him gloating about his divorce, or celebrating in any way, I might not be able to keep myself from jumping over the table and hitting him in the head with one of mother’s silver platters. Instead, I propped my feet up on the couch and watched television until it was time for bed, something I didn’t do very often. Laying there, my mind had wandered all over the place, trying to imagine what Tiffany was doing. I knew she was struggling. I mean, how could she not be? She had been blindsided by her husband during a time in her life when she’d needed him the most, and then, he’d cast her aside, leaving her to clean up the mess. I shook my head as I stared at my computer screen, trying to wrap my head around the fact that she was done so dirty and done so by my own blood. It was almost embarrassing to think Jordan and I were related.
Growing up, we’d gotten along well enough, both knowing our lives were pretty much mapped out for us. In college, I distinctl
y remembered Jordan pulling me to the side and pointing Tiffany out to me. She was just as beautiful then as she was now, if not more. Her long blond hair would blow in the wind whipping across the campus courtyard, and her smile lit up my world. Apparently, it lit up Jordan’s too because from then on, he was determined to get this girl. When our father announced the new pool of employees for the company, I thought my brother’s head was going to pop off. Tiffany was strong, assertive, and just the woman this company needed to propel us forward. She had worked her way up quickly, and though the whispers said it was because of her relationship with Jordan, those of us who knew her understood it was because of the type of woman she was. My brother had started to change, calming down a bit, staying away from the bars and clubs, and devoting his time to her. I thought about how lucky everyone was that Tiffany had come into our lives, especially since she had a way with Jordan that no one else did. Part of me couldn’t help but think this was all more because he wanted to be single than it was over a family, but either way, he had used that as his cause. It had hit home hard.
I could hear Jordan out in the hallway flirting with the new secretary and for some reason, it fucking pissed me off. I scooted back from the desk and stood in the doorway staring at him as he leaned over her, showing her something in the paperwork on her desk. I strolled over to the desk and tapped on the wood, drawing both of their attention.
“You seem pretty happy,” I said looking him in the eyes. “I thought since you just got divorced yesterday, you might be in a bad mood, or sad, or any of those human emotions we tend to have.”
Jordan’s face faded from smiling to irritation as he stared over the desk at me. I smiled back at him, my hands in my pockets. He looked down at the secretary and smirked, pointing one more thing out before standing up. He cleared his throat and straightened his tie.
“Sorry about that,” he said to the secretary before moving forward and grabbing me by the arm and dragging me into my office. “What the hell? What is your damn problem?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I said smartly. “The fact that you broke it off with your wife for something she couldn’t control? The fact that it was one of the biggest dick moves I have ever seen, which is saying something.”
“Look,” he whispered angrily. “It’s none of your God damned business, but if you must know, it wasn’t an easy decision for me. I know you are sitting over there imagining this evil nemesis making plans to completely ruin Tiffany, but that is not at all how it went. This was hard on me. I’m just not going to walk around wearing it on my face. I sat on this information for a while before I decided to divorce her. I was miserable, beat down, and didn’t know what to do. I did know I wanted a child of my own, a baby that came from me, and she couldn’t give that to me. I knew if I continued in that relationship, no matter how much I loved her—which I do love her very much—then I would just end up resenting her in the end. I thought it was better to end it upfront than wait until years down the road, when it would get harder to walk away. So there, I hope you are happy.”
He dropped his hand to his waist and walked out the door, slamming it as he left. Maybe I was being a little too hard on Jordan. Maybe I wasn’t there to help him through this when I should have been. Everything he was saying made perfect sense, and I couldn’t fault him for ending something he knew would eventually end in a fiery blaze anyway. I guess in a way he saved Tiffany years of disappointment, fighting, and ultimately, a really nasty divorce. Still, I couldn’t help but think he didn’t really let the news sink in before making the decision to get divorced. I felt like he did what he always did, which was making a major life choice based on emotion, not rational thought. Unfortunately for everyone around Jordan, when he thought with emotions, he was the only one who didn’t get the shit end of the stick. I took a deep breath and walked out into the hall, looking both ways but not seeing Jordan. I turned right and walked down the hallway, glancing into Tiffany’s empty dark office. As I turned, Tiffany’s secretary walked up behind me.
“Hey,” she said cheerfully. “Hey. Um, do you know if Tiffany will be coming back anytime soon?”
“I don’t really know,” she said shaking her head. “She is on sick leave right now.”
“Okay,” I smiled letting out a deep breath. “Thanks, I’ll just try to give her a call.”
I walked back to my office and closed the door, turning my phone over in my hands. I didn’t know whether I should call Tiffany, this family probably being the last people she wanted to talk to. I didn’t even know what I was going to say when she answered, but I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going through this alone. I also wanted her to know no one in the family stood beside Jordan’s decision. In fact, I was pretty sure my parents didn’t know why Jordan was divorcing Tiffany because that would have made him look bad to our parents. Instead, he was a coward and joked his way through the conversation until my mother finally changed the subject. I did know that my mother and father loved Tiffany like their own daughter and were really worried about her. They didn’t want to intrude, knowing their son was the culprit behind her disappearance, but they were constantly whispering to one another about how she was doing. If nothing else, maybe I could be the middle man between them.
I scanned through my contacts and pressed call when it landed on Tiffany. I pulled my cell phone to my ear and listened to it rang on the other end. After several rings, the voicemail picked up, but before the beep, I hung up, not knowing what I would say on an answering machine. Tiffany and I weren’t close by any stretch of the imagination, but I had never called her and not gotten an answer. We always were in contact with the business, and she was very serious about her career, something I admired in her. So, anytime I called her, she immediately picked up, knowing I wouldn’t call unless it was important. I guess today she wasn’t in much of a mood to care about whether the business needed her help or not, and I really couldn’t blame her. She was employed at a company soon to belong to her ex-husband, working alongside him at every turn. If I were her, this would be the last place I would show up and deal with Jordan flirting with girls right in front of her.
Still, there was something that really worried me about the fact that she wasn’t answering the phone. She was in a very fragile state, and from the way my brother phrased giving her their joint bank account as a parting gift, I could only imagine how that slap in the face must have felt. To really think about it, I probably would stay away from the office too, but more so that I didn’t try to murder Jordan in his designer suit, at his own mahogany desk.
I leaned back in my chair, trying to put Tiffany out of my mind, still perplexed as to why all of this was affecting me so damn bad. Sure, I thought Tiffany was gorgeous, kind, sweet, and intelligent, but she was now my brother’s ex-wife, and not really someone I should be comforting during a divorce. I may have a big heart, but I also knew the very important value of family and support. In Jordan’s case, it was difficult for me to show support when I didn’t agree with anything he did. When you felt like your own blood was out there completely obliterating a woman because she couldn’t have children. The thought itself was absolutely mind-boggling, and I needed to make sure she was okay. She deserved so much better than that on so many levels. It probably wouldn’t make anything easier, but I thought she should know she wasn’t alone. Before I could give the thought any more attention, my father stuck his head into my office.
“Can I come in?” He smoothed the lapel of his thousand-dollar suit, a charcoal gray that paired well with his perfectly coiffed black peppered hair. I only hoped I aged as well and looked as good as my father when I got older.
“Sure, Dad, come on in.” I cleared my desk and shut my laptop. “What can I do for you?”
