Risk

Twenty Two

Nat❣️

08:30am

I'll be finished around 1:30pm...

Great. Meet you at the bar just off Broadway at 2pm? The one with the quirky cocktails on the menu.

Nat❣️

I'll be there.

He heaved a sigh, rubbing his forehead as he pushed his phone back into the pocket of his suit jacket. He straightened his blue tie, then linked his hands together as he waited in thought.

He had a lot to do today, and a large portion of that involved Natasha. Well, the most important part. He'd already planned to wine and dine her to soften her up, try and ease her into the idea of forgiving him from being a complete idiot.

Not that he didn't still have the uncomfortable doubt that her and Clint were something different, but he had definitely let his own insecurities overpower his judgement. James cringed silently to himself as he remembered the look on her face when she left, a numb look of shock he wanted to never see again.   She loved him, of course she did, and he couldn't imagine her ever hurting him.

On the other hand, the woman in front of him would happily bleed him dry and laugh about it. James forced himself not to frown as his soon to be ex-wife arrived and together with their lawyers, they entered the nearest meeting room.

D-day. Divorce day. A storm was brewing over the city, creating the perfect atmosphere for the day and they scowl on his ex's face. The subconscious stress was already leaving him quicker than expected, much like the reasonable yet still large sum of money Maria had managed to wrangle his legal fees down to. Still, he'd have paid millions just to start fresh as an unmarried man.

His ex had dyed her hair, again, and her lipstick was a shade of pink that was just a tad unnatural. She was a beautiful woman, yes. But false, like her personality. He couldn't help watching as she sat across from him and the lawyers got straight to business.

He could recall a time where he loved her, or at least thought he did. Looking back now he merely tolerated her because he felt like that's what he should do. Marry his childhood sweetheart, buy the house, and the car, work himself to the bone to find her extravagant lifestyle and impress her boring parents. He was glad he realised how unhappy he was when he did before anything moved further. He'd wasted a large portion of his life pretending everything was alright, ignoring concerns from family and friends, and she'd spend a larger portion wearing him into the man she wanted him to be, not who he was. Him finally deciding to end things just turned her more toxic than she had already become.

"Let's just get this over with," he sighed after lengthy discussions over property and finances, scribbling his signature on the paper and sliding it across to her.

"That's it?" She frowned, finally speaking up. "No fight for anything? The cars? Half of the house in Manhattan? The joint account?"

"I've got my half of the money, my own earnings and as for the rest, anything linked to you, I couldn't care less about."

He physically watched her ego wither just a fraction, and he felt bad for a split second. Then he caught the childish pout she gave and immediately was relieved he didn't have to face her tantrum later.