Divorce Attorney

Part 27: The Honeymoon Phase Won't Last Forever

That afternoon I was sitting alone in my office working on paperwork when one of our paralegals, Derek, entered unannounced.

I looked up from my computer at him, "Hey, everything okay?"

Paralegals were always welcome into my office and I would never be mad at anyone who came in as long as I wasn't meeting with a client, but unannounced barging in certainly was unusual around here.

"Um Christiana Love is here unexpectedly, and she is pissed off." He seemed almost scared. 

"That certainly is unusual," I stood up. I had never seen Christiana pissed, I wonder what happened. "Tell her I'll meet with her in the meeting room in 5 minutes. I just need to go speak with Justin and see if he knows anything before we go in there. Offer her snacks and a soda, anything to cheer her up as little as we can."

Derek excused himself from my office. I looked at my unfinished work on my laptop and sighed. I saved the progress I had made so far and closed the computer. I really didn't have time to stop everything for an impromptu meeting, but with a client as high profile as Christiana Love you don't really get a choice. I exited my office and walked into Justin's, thankfully his door was already open.

"Christiana?" He asked as I entered. "Derek just came in and told me too."

I furrowed my brows, "You haven't spoken to her at all since we last talked to her right? You know any reason she could be pissed?"

"I haven't spoken with her myself, but I may have an idea what she is so angry about," He answered. He typed a bit on his laptop before turning the screen around so I could see.

I was greeted with a TMZ article.

"ALEXANDER LOVE ALREADY MOVING ON? RECENTLY SEPARTED L.A. MOVIE STAR SPOTTED WITH AN MYSTERY GIRL AT A DANCE CLUB"

"Should we be more mad at the tabloid headline, or their awful grammar?" I asked, earning a smirk from Justin. "So, her soon-to-be ex has already moved on. I mean I guess I get the heartache but why run over and be pissed off at your attorney?"

Justin leaned back in his chair, "My assumption is either mad the story got out to the public, or wants to somehow turn this into a divorce due to adultery situation."

"It's not adultery if it happened after separation. Millions of people start dating after separation before an official divorce decree," I pointed out.

"Maybe she's got some kind of proof that this happened before," He shrugged. "Best to not keep her waiting, you ready to go in there?"

I stood up, absentmindedly placing a hand on my stomach for comfort, "Ready as I'll ever be."

Together we walked into the meeting room to find Christiana sitting at the table, sipping on a can of Sprite and eating out of pack of peanut butter crackers, bless Derek for listening to the snack suggestions. She looked unlike herself. Her hair was in a messy bun with pieces falling out all around her face, she was wearing no make up, her eyes were red and puffy, her cheeks swollen from crying. She looked like she was definitely in a rough emotional state.

I gave her a short, sad smile. "Hey Christiana, what's going on?" I sat in the seat across from her. Justin sat at the head table in between us.

She sniffled, "Did you see the TMZ article?"

"We did," Justin nodded, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "I'm sorry you had to see it too. I wish we had known it was coming out and tried to stop it, but we had no idea."

I nodded in agreement with Justin, "I just found out about it a few minute ago," I added in to prove to her that we were totally in the dark about the matter. 

She huffed, "I cannot believe he just moved on already, like I was never anything to him. I mean was I just some easy lay he picked up on a street corner?"
"Of course not," Justin comforted her.

Christiana frowned and leaned back in her seat, "What would you two know? you're happily in love and about to have a baby." She stared out of the window. "The honeymoon phase won't last forever, you know." She turned her gaze back to us. "Before you know it, you'll be selling stories about each other to tabloids about your separation." She scoffed in disgust at her soon-to-be ex.

I bit down on my lip, "I am so sorry you are having to go through this." I reached across the table and grabbed Christiana's hand to ground her back into the moment. "You, me and Justin are a team. We are going to get you through this together. That is a promise."

A very small, barely visible smile hinted on Christiana's lips. "Thank you, I want to bury him in court. Make everyone see he was the villain of our marriage."

"He is trying to win the court of public opinion because he knows he'll be exposed in the court of law," Justin reassured.

"I know where you're at. I have stood where you are right now, and I have gotten to the light at the end of the tunnel," I glanced at Justin, then back at Christiana. "My ex husband had a mistress who he then married and had a baby with after we divorced. I absolutely know how you are feeling. We will make men like Alexander pay, because I wish I had an attorney who made Tom pay when I was in your shoes."

Christiana's smile now seemed genuine as she reached for my hand and gave it a squeeze. "You promise one day everything is going to be okay?"

I bit my lip, unsure how to answer. I can do my best to make sure she gets everything she wants in the divorce, but I have no control of fate or how her future love life will turn out. "You've got my word," the words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. Promising something I had no control over but now felt responsible for.

I could see Justin lace his fingers together and bite his lip in my peripheral vision. He was probably having similar thoughts that I was. Can guarantee we're going to kick some ass in court, can't guarantee life will be all sunshine and rainbows in the future.

Christiana sighed and released my hand. "Thanks, I just didn't know where else to go when I saw the article. I'm not sure why my first thought was to go cry to my attorney." She leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling, "God, I need to get a damn shrink."

"I think a therapist is a great idea while you are going through this big change," Justin spoke up. "However, there is nothing wrong with you, so I don't want you to go down that path of thinking."

Christiana nodded and took another swig of her Sprite. "I apologize for taking up your time." She stood abruptly. "Do you need anything from me for my case?"

I shook my head, "No, I just recommend you avoid speaking to the media about the divorce. I would advise you wait until all legal proceedings are done. If you ever feel like you want to make a statement, the three of us can set up a meeting and can include your publicist and manager as well. That way we're all on the same page, and we keep you legally untouchable from him or his attorney."

The three of us all shared our goodbyes as Justin and I walked Christiana to the front door and saw her off. Once she was gone he and I both sighed.

"I love her, but God we do not get paid enough to be attorneys," Justin shook his head.

I smirked, "Did you miss that day in law school? Divorce attorneys double as therapists, I don't make the rules."

Justin and I shared a laugh before we both headed back to our offices to debrief from the interruption and continue on with our days.