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“They say more than enough. And they admitted it.”
“No, they didn’t.” My father shrugs.
“Yes, they did!”
“It’s your word against theirs, Mr. Wells.” He moves around the desk and stands to the right of him, looking down at him, the same way he used to do to me when he was preparing to scold me. “Think about it, an ex-husband grasping at the straws of a failed marriage, but it’s obvious it’s over. Your wife doesn’t want you.” He shrugs again, his body language showing his indifference. He bends slightly, putting his hands on his knees so that he’s at eye level with Matt. “So, in true lover’s scorned fashion, you make up this whole story about an affair, and these so called illicit pictures which are merely my client helping his patient pick up the pieces of her life by finding a new home. A new home sinceyouso selfishly sold the only one she’s ever known.”
“That’s bullshit!” Matt slams his fist on my desk and I try my best to appear unphased as my father continues to belittle him.
“Let me guess, these pictures may show that they areclose. But what else do they show?” I run through my brain wondering if Charley and I have ever been in any type of intimate embrace in public. The timeline is so hazy, and I don’t know when exactly someone had started following her.My father’s gambling here. Typical lawyer trick.
“They were having an affair.”
“Maybe.” My father shrugs. He walks to my window, staring out of it for a second before turning back to Matt with a sinister grin playing on his lips. “But can you prove it?” He doesn’t wait for him to reply before he continues. “See, no. You can’t. Butwecan prove that you tried to blackmail my client. You tried to blackmail a very well-respected and renownedDoctor.My client has received accolades for his service to the community,you,on the other hand, Mr. Wells, rip apart companies of hard working people and sell the parts off to the highest bidders. A profitable, smart business. But a selfish one.”
“I amnotthe bad guy here. Charlotte cheated onme.With him!” His eyes shoot daggers at me. I can sense Matt is getting anxious as his hands begin to fidget with his tie and he sends a hand through his hair every few seconds. “My job has nothing to do with that.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Matthew. Because if you go after my son, I will go after everything you’ve worked your life to build.” J.R. moves closer, almost in Matt’s face at this point. “The career you chose over your marriage? I’ll take that from you too.” My eyes widen as I hear my father’s fierce defense of me. I suppose if it came down to it, I expected this level of loyalty, but seeing it in action has rendered me speechless.
“I have them on tape!” Matt blurts out, and my father and I both freeze. “That’s right. A tape. Of your son and my wife,fucking.”
My father’s eyes land on him and shoot back to me for a brief second. “Excuse me?”
What? How? And WHAT?My blood runs cold, knowing that I won’t be able to deny anything if there arevisualsof Charlotte and me.
Not to mention, that would destroy her.
“I wanted to know.” He shrugs as if the answer to my questions and my father’s need for clarification is that simple. He pulls out a small recorder, before rising from the chair. He kneels next to my couch pulling another small device from under it. “I needed to know, once and for all. And sure enough, a day after that bullshit post-marital session I had to sit through, just so I could plant this shit, you’re in here on top of my wife.” He points to the couch where just earlier today I’d made Charlotte come with my tongue.
Matt had all but begged me to set up a session and I’d obliged knowing that meant I’d also be able to have one with Charlotte.
Fuck.
“I knew you’d be meeting with mywifesoon after you met with me.” I hear the beep of the recorder, and I assume he’s just shut it off.
“It’s been going that entire time?” I ask. “Since you left here yesterday?”Wait… so that means he has access to the very private information of every session I had between his and Charlotte’s? Fuck.I run through the last twenty-four hours.
Four couples.
Eight people.
“Indeed, Doc.”
“So, let me see if I understand this correctly, you illegally planted a tape in my client’s office, which by the way is inadmissible in any court of law or your divorce proceedings.” He doesn’t answer. “A tape, mind you, that is purely audio. Surely you can see the gaping holes in your story. Again, you’re a man getting divorced and all of a sudden, shortly before you finalize your settlement, there’s a mysterious tape that surfaces of your wife having sex with another man. I’m sure someone—me, for instance—will call bullshit.”
I see him shift nervously in his seat and my father continues, knowing that he’s got him where he wants him. “Let me ask you something: when you intentionally planted this listening device in my client’s office, were you aware that you would be in violation of federal HIPAA laws as well as the privacy of any patients that you have inadvertently recorded in your quest for evidence? Each of whom could press charges against you, once they were informed?”
Again, he’s silent, and I’ll bet regretting not pushing harder to have his lawyer present, because this is a bloodshed. “All in all, Mr. Wells, it seems that the person who has the most to lose in all of this is you. Mrs. Pierce, is still entitled to half, and while my client may lose his practice due to the scandal this may cause,you’llbe in prison. Can you imagine what the DA will do to you when he finds out that not only did you bring on potential malpractice suits but you blackmailed my client as well? You want to see how this all plays out in court? On top of ALL of that, do you think that we won’t hesitate to bring up the fact that you manipulated Ms. Pierce into believing that her step-father who physically and mentally abused and tortured her for years was still out there looking for her, a year after he was dead? And you want to call Ms. Pierce a liar and claim that she’s manipulative? I can assure you that the only person who will come out looking manipulative and deceitful is you, Mr. Wells. So, I guess my question for you is, what’s your endgame here? You want my client to leave Ms. Pierce or else, what? You’ll go to his board? Your lawyers?”
Matt’s eyes narrow and his breathing has begun to accelerate, his chest moving up and down rapidly as if he’s just run a marathon. “So, nothing happens? You just get to keep everything, after you ruined my marriage?” He raises his voice.
“I didn’t ruin shit, Matt,” I say.
You want to talk about who ruined your marriage? Are you kidding me? Your wife was drowning in misery before I even met with you.
Is he fucking delusional?
I’m snapped from my thoughts when I hear my father continue nailing Matt to the wall. “The law doesn’t give a shit about your hurt feelings or pride, Matt. Georgia law couldn’t give a damn if Charlotte fucked everyone in Atlanta. Now, my client’s ethics board, on the other hand, would have cared to know that he had an inappropriate relationship with his patient, and if you wanted a prayer at bringing charges over that, you should have gone about this completely differently. And to be perfectly honest, given Charley being of a consenting age, and the fact that she has asked for a divorce prior to the affair are both mitigating circumstances. So essentially, if my team played our cards right, we may be able to get him out of this with his medical license still intact. You, however, will be brought up on some pretty significant charges. At this point, the list is endless of what we can nail you with. Do you want to risk it?” my dad asks, the look on his face is one of a smug, arrogant lawyer who knows he’s won his case.
