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Chapter Fourteen
Raven
“I feel sick,” I complain to Baxter.
“Don’t worry. It’s a standard mediation meeting.”
“Ugh it sounds like I’m getting divorced.”
“Never.” I glance at him and his eyes are blazing with fierce intensity.
“I didn’t strike you as the ball and chain type.”
“I’m not,” he scoffs. “But I don’t believe in divorce.”
“How can you not believe in it? Like what? You don’t think it exists? You just refuse to acknowledge and accept it? Or do you—”
“Ms Deighton?” My barrage of confused but teasing questions is interrupted by the conference room door opening. A suited lawyer is standing in the doorway staring expectantly at me.
“Yes.”
“Come on in. We’re ready and waiting for you.”
“Oh.” I falter a little because I know for a fact we’re fifteen minutes early. I wanted the upper hand ready for facing Cordelia again. I had envisioned being sat at the huge boardroom table, all calm and collected as she walked in, and now I’m all wrong-footed and flustered.
“Don’t worry,” Baxter whispers, taking my arm to guide me. Strength in numbers. “We’ve got this.”
We enter the large conference room and take a seat at the oversized oval table, we’re facing the enormous floor to ceiling windows but I’m too nervous to enjoy the view. My stomach is in knots, and Baxter has to prise the leather folder of documents out of my white-knuckle grip. Opposite me are a team of three lawyers. Cordelia is nowhere to be seen.
My own lawyer takes a seat beside me and starts the meeting.
“Where’s Cordelia?” I ask.
“Ms Deighton sends her apologies that she can’t be here today. She was unable to arrange suitable childcare for the meeting,” one of her lawyers replies.
I grind my teeth. She could have brought Nix with her or let any of my guys watch her. Hell, even Baxter’s grandfather could have babysat!
“Let’s begin, shall we?” My own solicitor, Melissa, suggests. I nod. “Okay, so we’re here today to present financials and other evidence to rebuff Ms Deighton’s claims against my client. We are hoping to reach an updated suitable arrangement for the shared custody of the child in question.”
I open my mouth to refute this but Baxter squeezes my hand. No way in hell am I sharing any more of Nix with Cordelia than I currently have to, but Baxter has warned me that if mediation fails and we end up in court, it will look bad for me if I didn’t appear willing.
“Very well,” Cordelia’s solicitor says. So far he’s the only one who’s done any talking. He’s definitely in charge in her absence. “Let us see what you have to present.”
Baxter slides over the folder of documentation and my heart beats erratically in my chest. I feel like my entire life is in his hands, contained within that smart black binder. The lawyer wordlessly takes it and flips through each document, slowly. I can tell he’s not reading everything in full but is skimming. Probably just looking for the numbers on the ledger. My own lawyer already has all of this information so she sits beside me with a serene smile on her face. Baxter is impassive, but he seems calm. Is it only me sweating like a pig in here?
“Can I get some water please?” I say nervously.
“Of course.” Melissa gets to her feet and grabs a jug and three glasses from the sideboard behind us. She returns to the table and pours me, Baxter and herself a glass. She doesn’t offer drinks to Cordelia’s lawyers.
I’m not even thirsty, though my mouth is dry. I just wanted something to do with my hands besides twisting the material of my top around and around. But I know as soon as I have a sip of water, I’ll need to go for a nervous wee. Shit. My hands are shaking so much I almost knock the glass over.
Cordelia’s lawyer glances up quickly and blinks at me in surprise.
“As you can see,” Melissa begins. “My client has provided more than enough evidence to refute the claims that she is a poverty-stricken, incapable mother with no idea who her child’s father is.”
“I don’t believe it,” the lawyer mutters under his breath and Melissa pounces.
“I can assure you that all documentation is real and official. You may request authentication from each source if you wish, but I believe that will be a waste of time. You have enough there that we should be able to come to some sort of agreement, out of court.”
