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Lola’s satisfaction at having scored a point on Adriana was short-lived. The flowers were still arriving in droves when Natalia appeared in the waiting room.
“What the hell is this?” Natalia spoke like a cold snap.
“There was some confusion with the delivery address,” Adriana lied without looking at Natalia before Lola’s brain could process her question. “We’re taking care of it.”
Lola glared at her. She didn’t need her coming to her rescue. Didn’t want to owe her anything.
“Well, get this out of here. It looks like we’re observing a fucking wake.”
Adriana nodded and as soon as Natalia was gone, she said something about arranging for the flowers to go to a nursing home she just happened to know because she was some shining example of humanity.
The elevator dinged, teaching Lola that she could direct a surprising amount of ire at a carnation.
CHAPTER8
“Getting married?”Carmen repeated, glad she wasn’t drinking anything that would have resulted in a spit take. “Wouldn’t you agree this is a bit sudden?” she asked instead of using the words that more correctly captured her sentiments like rash, crazy, disastrous.
Sitting across the desk from her, Elaine was beaming. “Marcie and I dated for almost ten years before we got married. I don’t know if we would have taken that long if marriage had been legally available to us sooner, but there it is. We were married for another decade. I thought I knew her better than I knew myself. I trusted her to start a family. Trusted her to never hurt me.” Her smile turned remorseful. “And in the end, she did everything we said we’d never do if we broke up. She tried to take everything from me, Carmen. Our sons. And I’d known her for nearly twenty years. Went through the absolute highest highs and lowest lows together.”
Carmen kept her tone gentle and her expression soft. If she had any chance of getting through to Elaine, she’d have to see that she was on her side. That she only had her best interest in mind.
“Do you mean to say that because someone you knew for a long time could hurt you, someone you’ve known for two days can’t?”
The gleam returned to Elaine’s eyes. “I’m sure they taught you plenty of logic in law school,” she said with a chuckle. “But life doesn’t abide by the transitive property of equality. I’m just saying that the amount of time you know someone is not the determining factor in how the relationship will end.”
“But what’s the hurry?” Carmen leaned forward, resting her elbows on her desk. “Be in love! I’m so happy — and a little jealous — that someone swept you off your feet. That you’re on cloud nine and living your fairytale. All of that. But do you really have to bring legal complications into it? You already have this lawsuit, and even though we should win, things are unpredictable. We can’t—”
“And isn’t that exactly it?” Elaine smiled like Carmen had just danced into her trap. “You know, Fortune said something that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. This earthly realm is but a brief flutter of the soul’s journey. Allow your spirit to soar by following your heart’s true calling.”
Trying not to wear her thoughts on her face, Carmen took a beat before responding. “Fortune? The woman in the elevator the other day?”
Elaine nodded. “We rode with her to the penthouse before Star and I could get back down to my car. It couldn’t have been more than a minute that we spent with her, but it was like she was looking into me.” Chuckling, she shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it either. “Listen, I’m no mystic. I don’t even believe in horoscopes. But I can’t argue with the fact that this life is unpredictable and you have to snatch happiness when it’s in front of you.”
“And the only way to snatch it is by entering into a binding contract that could end up bringing you a considerable amount of legal and financial pain?” Carmen wanted so desperately for Elaine to hear her. She was one of the few clients she had that she actually liked, and she didn’t want to see her get hurt.
“Go big or go home, right?”
Carmen shook her head, reaching for a business card in her drawer. “At least get a prenup.” She handed her the card. “I went to law school with him. He’s a good guy. At least protect yourself.”
By the way Elaine took the card, Carmen knew she wasn’t going to use it, but she was too polite to decline.
“Have you considered that Starla’s motives are less than pure?” Carmen asked as carefully as she could. She didn’t want to mention that she was old enough to be Starla’s mother. Elaine was an attractive woman with a lot to offer, but it was impossible to ignore that she was also a wealthy woman of a certain age, and Starla was barely old enough to drink.
Relaxing into her chair, Elaine laughed. “I’m impressed you forced yourself to wait this long to mention it. I’m fifty and she’s twenty-seven,” she said like it was a concession. “Fortune said intertwined destinies cannot be ignored. Like the sun and moon, every pair’s cosmic dance was written in the stars. And what are a few years to the billions-of-years-old cosmos?”
Irritation pulled Carmen’s jaw tight. “Fortune had a lot to say on such a short elevator ride,” she said instead of calling her a charlatan.
“It doesn’t take a lot of words to reframe our perspective, just the right ones.”
Carmen shook her head. “Is that from the Gospel of Fortune, too?”
“Nah, just something I realized.” She stood. “How much have I spent on the GreenScape Design suit?”
The question caught Carmen off guard. “In legal fees?” She turned to her computer and pulled up Elaine’s file in their accounting software. “Why?”
“Do you think I’ll spend more than that before this thing is said and done?”
“It’s impossible to know. I’m drafting the motion for summary judgment—”
