Getting Some. Kayla PerrinЧитать онлайн книгу.
“I am…unless you tell me otherwise. That I don’t need to be.”
Nick cracks a smile as he sits in his chair. He opens a folder on his desk and says, “You don’t need to be.”
Now my heart leaps with hope. “Are you saying—”
“I’ve got great news for you, Annelise. Your portion of the house—it’s all yours.”
My hand is shaking as I raise it to my mouth. “Oh my God. This isn’t a joke? This—it’s for real?”
“It’s for real. The matrimonial home will be sold, and you’ll get exactly half of the proceeds.”
“And Charles?”
“His half will likely have to go toward repaying the Wishes Come True Foundation, but I can’t be sure about that.”
“And my half is absolutely safe. The courts or whoever can’t change their minds tomorrow?”
“Basically, your house was a joint asset before Charles’s fraud. You aren’t guilty in that crime, and the courts agree that you shouldn’t have to lose what is rightfully yours. Charles has victimized enough people. You can put your house on the market as soon as possible.”
I blow out a shaky breath. “Wow. So this is over?”
“Not entirely.”
My face drops. “No?”
“Your divorce still needs to be finalized.”
“Oh. Right.” I chuckle. Compared to getting over this hurdle, the dissolution of my marriage seems like a minor detail to deal with.
“And, to that end, I’m meeting with the judge next week. I’m going to ask that he expedite the process, given everything. You were married to a liar, a cheater, a thief. Clearly, you want the union absolved as soon as possible.”
“Exactly.”
“I think this will go our way.”
“I wish it could be over tomorrow.”
“Understandably. But at least we’ve gotten past the biggest hindrance.”
“Thank God.”
“Now, there’s still the issue of Charles’s other assets. Until the state has figured out what it’s doing, I can’t make you any promises. However, based on what I’ve been able to learn, it looks like much of his property and other assets were most likely purchased with stolen money.”
“I don’t care about the rest of it,” I tell him, meaning it. “As long as my portion of the house is safe.” I pause, happiness filling my chest. “Oh, Nick. Thank you.”
“I’m just the messenger.”
“Oh, you’re more than that. I know you’ve been making calls on my behalf. Lobbying for me.”
“You’re a victim in this, just like the children from the foundation.”
“Thank you.” I reach across the desk and shake Nick’s hand. “Thank you, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
I can’t stop grinning.
“Now, I can handle getting a real estate agent for you. Or you can do it. Whatever you like.”
I’m already paying enough money per hour for Nick’s services. There’s no need to let him handle aspects I can deal with myself. “I’ll call someone. Hopefully the house will sell right away.”
“I have a friend who’s a real estate agent, and I can put you in touch with him if you like. He can deal with the legal issues of selling the house that are required in this situation, given its special circumstances. He can control the money and cut you a check for your half directly, minus his commission, of course.”
Of course. People might have your best interests at heart…for a cost.
But I can’t worry about that, especially since the reality is that, despite any commission I’ll have to pay, I stand to collect a pretty penny. Charles and I bought that house when we were first married five years ago, and house prices in our neighborhood have gone up greatly since then. We paid off the mortgage after one of Charles’s large class-action cases settled, which means I should walk away with some sizable cash. Likely a little over three hundred grand after the commission is paid.
Three hundred thousand dollars! With that kind of money, I can easily invest what’s necessary into my business.
“Annelise?”
“I’m sorry.” I know that, as I meet Nick’s eyes, I’m grinning like a fool. “What were you saying?”
“I’ll let you know what the judge says about expediting your divorce.”
“Great.”
“I don’t anticipate any problems.”
“I can’t thank you enough for all your help, Nick.” Of course, I’ll owe him a pretty penny as well, but now I can afford to pay him! And it’s money well spent.
“That’s my job.” He closes the folder. “Please, when you get an offer for your house that you want to accept, let me know.”
“Absolutely.”
I reach across the table and shake Nick’s hand again.
When I turn to leave, I’m so high on happiness that I practically float out of the office.
Three
Lishelle
I have got The Headache from Hell. I rub my temples and groan as I stare at Linda Tennant, my station manager. She’s sitting on the armchair in my dressing room, while I’m on the folding chair in front of the mirror. The makeup artist recently finished doing my face for the six-o’clock news.
“I’m just saying,” Linda says, “you need to give me more than this. Some sort of concrete direction.”
“All I know is that it needs to be a pledge drive.”
“A nationwide pledge drive,” Linda says, her tone doubtful.
“Yes,” I respond without hesitation. “I’d really like to coordinate this with our sister stations across the country. That’s what will make this fund-raising effort unique—as well as raise much more money for the Wishes Come True Foundation.”
“I’m not saying it isn’t a great idea…in theory. But a nationwide fund-raising effort—that’s going to take time. Honestly, by the time we all coordinate schedules, it could be a year before this event takes place.”
“A year?” I all but gasp. “That’s way too long.”
“I’m giving you my opinion.”
“But we need to do this now. Strike while the iron is hot. The embezzlement story has been big news across the country. This is when people will be more likely to give—a lot.”
“I hear you. And we can definitely try to do something on our end. It’s the coordinating it with our sister stations that’s going to be tough.”
“We’ll work it out,” I say confidently. How, God only knows. But I want to see this happen. Soon. Before everyone forgets about the tragic turn of events the foundation faced. Now is the time that people will happily dig into their pockets and give. But a year from now? Who knows?
“I’m open to whatever ideas you have,” Linda says.
“I’ll get you something.” If it means I have to start making calls to all of our sister stations across the country,