Married Again

CHAPTER 5

“I have a proposal for you. When you've tabled your matter, we will discuss it.”

He was looking pointedly at me. What offer could he possibly have? I decided to put that at the back of my mind and deal with my issue.

“I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday. I was out of line, considering we haven't even met before”, I apologized.

“Why are you here, Madam?”

“Well, that was rude”, I scrunched up my face in annoyance.

“Oh, it was? Look who's talking about being rude”, he narrowed his eyes.

“Okay, fine. Can we start?”

“You may proceed. I really hope you have a proof to back your claim.”

I rummaged through my bag for some documents and placed them before him. I watched him glance at it like it's nothing.

“What's this?’’

“What do you think? That's the marriage agreement drafted by this law firm.”

I watched his brows furrow as he opened the agreement once again.

“Okay….”

He perused the document and the look of confusion and annoyance on his face gradually shifted to that of surprise and more confusion. I guessed he realized the kind of law firm he'd been managing and directing.

“Are you sure this was drafted here?” He asked for clarification, still looking confused.

“You can see the crest there, right? Isn't that your firm's crest?”

“It is but -”

“But what, Mr Rein? This agreement was filed here. Do you know how unfair and wicked an agreement it is?”

“I understand. Give me a moment, please”

I didn't realize his face could look so calm and inviting. He had even become a bit polite. I guessed he felt guilty since he was supposed to be the managing director. He picked the office phone and moved to an inner room to make a call.

I looked around the office while he was gone. It was a big room painted in white. The large mahogany desk in the middle of the room had a sleek surface, giving it the impression that it was polished often. By a corner was a large flower pot with real flowers in it. I thought it'd take a very meticulous and dedicated person to water such real flowers everyday. Or maybe the cleaners do it for him. A classy-looking shelf housed different award plaques and a cabinet, probably filled with files, stood sturdy beside it. Overall, the office had a homey and calming atmosphere. He came back into the main office.

“Emily. Is it okay if I call you Emily?” He asked with raised eyebrows.

“Yes, it's fine.” I didn't mind if he called me by my first name. I was also tired of calling him “Mr Rein” anyway. “Then, I'll also call you Phillip.”

“Fair enough.” He took a seat at his side of the table and sighed heavily. He checked the document for a minute or two again before looking up at me and giving a soft smile.

“I'm so sorry, Emily. I've found out the truth of the matter. I think an employee of ours connived with your husband to draft this ridiculous agreement. Ordinarily, you should get a half of your husband's property after the divorce. Don't worry at all. We will make sure to rectify this and sanction the lawyer in charge.”

“Alright. I'd really appreciate it if you can do that for me. I mean, Ethan planned to ruin me. After cheating and calling me all sorts of names, he went ahead to empty our joint account and even dissolved my investment. Can you imagine?”

He had given me hope again. I had thought Ethan taking off with my whole savings was the end of it for me. Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought of Ethan committing this kind of crime. We had been so good together and so happy. What went wrong?

“The lawyer who did this probably has a personal relationship with your husband and has something to gain from the whole deal.”

“You're right. What is the lawyer's name?”

“He's Brian Stevens.”

“Brian Stevens?”

“Yes”

“Bald, tall and talkative Brian Stevens?”

“Yes. You know him?”

“Yes, I do. He's Ethan's close friend.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah.”

“So, Brian did all of these because of a friend? For goodness sakes, he almost put the firm in trouble. What if you had decided to sue and not come here?”

“Well, considering how you treated me yesterday, maybe I should have done that and gotten more money than Ethan stole”, I said half jokingly.

“Very funny, Emily, but I do appreciate it that you didn't sue. This is a very serious issue.”

“Well, I'm glad my misfortune could bring his atrocities into the open”

“Not a complete misfortune though because I'll make sure you get justice.”

“Thank you, Phillip, I appreciate your help even though we had a rocky start from yesterday”, I laughed.

He smiled. “You're welcome. I'm glad I could be of help. It's my job.”

“I'd love to get going. I still have to go to work.”

“Oh! Where do you work?”

“I have a restaurant. I run it.”

“Wow! That's awesome.”

“It is. You should drop by someday.” I checked a tiny compartment in my bag and brought out a complimentary card. “Here's my card. The address is on it.”

“Okay…sounds fun. I'll think of coming whenever I'm not buried in so much paperwork”, he said with a smile.

I left his office feeling lighter than I had felt in days. Finally, I'd be rid of Ethan and his shenanigans.

I had gotten to the restaurant and was done with quite a few things before I remembered that Phillip told me before we began our meeting that he had a proposal for me. What could it be? I made a mental note to call him after the close of the day.

When I got home, I called him. Thank goodness he'd given me his business card before I left in the morning.

“Good evening, Phillip. It's Emily. Emily Kale. I met you this morning”, I introduced myself.

“Good evening, Emily. How are you?”

“I'm well. You forgot to run me through the proposal you said you had for me.”

“Oh, yeah. I didn't forget.”

“You didn't?”

“I want you to marry me”