Carnal Curiosity Read Free Page B

seven months ago I hired the attorney, and negotiations began on the settlement.”
    “Were you asking for a lot?”
    “I wasn’t asking for anything—he was. I have some inherited wealth from my father mostly in the form of the house I live in, where I also rent out two apartments. My net worth is not ahuge amount, but it’s enough to keep me. He wanted half of everything.”
    “That’s outrageous after only a few months of marriage. You shouldn’t give him a dime.”
    “The settlement he agreed to, then refused to sign, gave him a quarter of a million dollars.”
    “How long ago did he verbally agree?”
    “Nearly three months ago.”
    “This is what I recommend: tomorrow I’ll have another attorney at my firm officially represent you and send his attorney a letter withdrawing from the settlement and including a document that, if he signs it, will agree to a no-fault divorce with each party retaining his own assets. We’ll tell his attorney that he has until noon the following day to consent, or we’ll file for divorce and exercise your right to a jury trial, which he is unlikely to want.”
    “That will make Don crazy,” Crane said, “but I’ll follow your advice. Why can’t you represent me?”
    “Because you and I have formed a relationship, and that would make my representing you awkward from an ethical standpoint. It’s better if someone else is the attorney of record.”
    “I understand.”
    “I also think it would be better if you didn’t sleep here until the matter is settled, though I will certainly miss that.”
    “I’ll miss that, too.”
    They finished their cognac, then he put her into a cab and sent her home, which had not been his original plan.

5
    S tone slept poorly. His dreams seemed to alternate between his extraordinary carnal attraction to Crane Hart and fights with her ex-husband—correct that, husband. He awoke still tired from the day before, and his day was improved only by the newspaper reports of Kate Lee’s announcement of the evening before. They were mostly favorable, except from right-wing sources like the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal , which questioned the value of being first lady to her qualifications as a candidate. These sources mostly ignored her service as director of Central Intelligence and her foreign policy experience. The more objective sources praised her intelligence and the wit she had displayed in her announcement.
    Stone got to his desk late, still feeling fuzzy around the edges from his lack of deep sleep. Joan took one look at him and produced a second mug of coffee, which helped.
    He phoned Herb Fisher, his friend and colleague at Woodman & Weld, and asked him to take over Crane’s divorceproceedings, then e-mailed him a draft of the letter to Don Dugan’s attorney for his consideration.
    Joan buzzed him. “I’ve got to run out for half an hour on some personal business,” she said. “Okay?”
    “Okay.”
    “If you don’t want to screen your own calls, then let the machine pick up.”
    “Okay.”
    She had not been gone for more than five minutes when the phone rang, and he picked it up without thinking. “Stone Barrington.”
    “This is Don Dugan. I want to talk to you about the damage you’re causing to my marriage.”
    “Hold it right there,” Stone said. “First of all, you don’t have a marriage, except on paper. Second, since I am not a party to your divorce, I’ve no intention of discussing anything at all with you. Any contact between you and your former wife should be conducted through your respective attorneys and not through me. Please don’t call again. Good day.” He hung up.
    Another five minutes passed, then the doorbell rang. Joan had left the outside door to the office locked, so he got up and went to answer it. He checked to see who it was through the one-way glass panel and saw a man in a business suit. He opened the door. “Yes?”
    “Mr. Stone Barrington?”
    “Yes, what can I do for