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“Here,” he replies, tapping the screen. “I’ve got it. Right, the first thing is the application has to be made within ninety days of the marriage.”
“Got that covered. I’ll be doing it today. What do I have to do?”
You file a Petition for Annulment with the clerk of the court.”
“A what?”
“You fill in the form I print out, say you were coerced into the marriage, and that’s it. Hunter won’t contest it, so it’s easily sorted. You get a declaration of invalidity, and then legally, you’ve never been married.”
“And if the court refuses to grant the annulment?”
“You have to apply for divorce instead, but I must tell you my client has made clear that he won’t fight your decision. I believe he has no desire for the marriage to end, but he’s already been married to someone who hated him. I do not think he wishes that would be the case again.”
“I bet. Too cowardly to pick up the phone and speak to me when I call, though, isn’t he? You tell the son of a bitch for me that I draw a line in the sand about liars, and he crossed it when he fired everyone at the magazine after promising me he wouldn’t. I’ll be putting it all down on the form along with everything else he forced me to do.”
Toby raises his eyebrows. “Hunter didn’t fire the workforce. Who told you that he did?”
“We got a letter delivered to us from him.”
“That was not from Hunter. All his legal work comes through me. Can I see this letter?”
“It’s at the office, but I promise you, it had Hunter’s signature.”
“You’re sure? Augustine’s looks similar. Could it have been A Lombardi on the document in question?”
“God, you lawyers are all the same. What’s the difference?”
“Augustine runs the Lombardi famiglia. He’s the Don for a bit longer, at least. It’s possible he signed off on this without running it by his son or me.”
“So Hunter’s dad fired us all? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“What I’m saying is that you are going to sign a legal document stating that Mr. Lombardi let go of the workforce of the magazine when that’s not true. Would count against you in court when the truth came out.”
“So you’re saying Hunter had absolutely nothing to do with that decision.”
“I know for a fact that Hunter Lombardi signed no paperwork authorizing the firings.”
“But why would his father fire everyone?”
“Perhaps because he has no desire to run a magazine. Perhaps because it is costing him money. Perhaps because someone forged his signature. There could be many reasons beyond the simple vindictiveness of men like my client. I’m surprised you acted on the letter without coming to me first.”
He gets up and walks over to a printer in the corner of the room. “Here you are,” he says. “You fill that in now, and I’ll take you down to the court. I’m assuming you want this thing done as rapidly as possible.”
“Damn right, I do. Can you get in touch with Hunter once I’ve been to the court? Make sure he does his end quickly?”
“I’ve been assured by my client that he will move swiftly. He’s shortly leaving the country, I believe, for good.”
“Yeah, I bet he is. Running away from the cops or from me?”
“You heard then?”
He’s looking at me funnily from the other side of the desk. “Heard what?”
“You didn’t hear? Nothing. Doesn’t matter. Not important.”
“What doesn’t matter?”
“Fill that form in now, and then we’ll get to the court.”
