42nd & Lex Read Free

bad day. I love him, Abri, but I
can’t live like that. I’m not ending up like my mother; married to money for
the sake of money and not happiness.”
    So things are not as green on the other side
as I thought. Secretly that makes me feel better about being single and yet
worse for being so jealous all these years. I am a little surprised at how
emotionally mature Sarah appears to be. 
    “It has taken me nearly twenty five thousand
in therapy to be able to say that, Abri. Thank God it was not my money.”
    “Twenty five? Wow.” I am back in friend mode.
“That is a lot. Wouldn’t some Hagen Daas and a good chick flick have been
cheaper?” Sarah smiles but it does not reach her eyes. “Sorry, I know that’s
not very professional.”
    “No, that’s okay. How long have we been
friends? I would expect my friend to say something like that. The therapy
wasn’t because of Mark. It was to learn what a healthy relationship could be
after seeing my mom and Don all those years. I thought I’d finally broken the
cycle, so to speak, when I met Mark.” She sighs and fidgets with the hem of her
cashmere coat. “So do you need me to fill out some paper work or something? How
much of a retainer do you need? I have my dad—er, Don’s credit card. He may not
be good at love and marriage, but he’s good at having cash when you need it.” She
laughs a laugh neither one of us feel.   
    Don never adopted Sarah but she always considered
him her father. Her real father, much like mine, disappeared after the divorce.
    “Oh yeah. This is our new client packet. It
has some information on divorce and some forms to fill out. Basic stuff. Names
and addresses. Are you going to live together while this is going on?”
    “Oh God, no! Mark hasn’t been home in days.
He’s probably staying with friends or something, but I’m having the locks
changed today. What part of town do you live in?”
    “Uh, I live in Chinatown right now.” It’s
cheap and I have a ton of student loans to pay off. “But I’m considering moving
to Chelsea when my lease is up in a month or so.”
    I inwardly grimace at the thought of what Sarah
is thinking about my tiny ass apartment in Chinatown. Over the years I’ve
become immune to the ever-present smells of Chinese cooking. I might even miss
that dump a little when I am gone. Sarah is nodding her head while she fills
out the forms. 
    I am skilled at reading upside after watching
clients fill out these intake forms day after day. Apparently, Mark makes about
a half million a year with his salary and other business dealings. Choke. No
kids, of course. They rent a penthouse near Central Park. Figures. Several
million dollars in liquid assets and various real estate holdings.
    All this means I had better get a whopper of
a retainer from her because once the fight begins Mr. Ainsworth will make sure
most of this disappears. Not to mention that if Sarah knows about this much,
there is probably much more she doesn’t know about. That kind of money never
puts all its cards on the table. 
    “The retainer is one hundred fifty thousand.
It’s nonrefundable, but it should be enough to finish things up.” I hope she doesn’t
expect a discount because we are friends, I don’t carry that kind of clout
around here yet.
    “Oh, wow. Don figured it would be way more
than that, it being New York and all.” With a smile, she flips a black American
Express Card onto my desk. I have never seen one of those up close before. I don’t
usually sign up the cases that bring in that kind of money. I manage to
suppress the urge to inform her of this fact.
    “Reason for filing...” Sarah mutters to
herself, the end of a Monte Blanc pen in her mouth. Embarrassed, I pick up the
slightly gnawed Bic pen sitting on the desk and shove it into a drawer. “Abri,
I have to tell you something. The cruelty is not the only reason I’m filing.” She
looks a little scared, no longer confident in what she’s doing.
    “What