Page 28

On Tuesday morning, Stone was just finishing his second cup of coffee when Herb Fisher walked into his office and sat on the sofa.

“Please, make yourself comfortable,” Stone said.

“Can I get you something? Coffee, tea, peeled grapes?”

“The grapes sound good. Thanks.”

“Are you just here to annoy me, or is there a reason for your visit?”

“I’m here for the meeting.”

Stone cocked his head.

“What meeting?”

“The Sara Hirschy divorce meeting. I’m just a little early.”

“I see.” Stone called toward the door, “Joan!”

She appeared at the threshold.

“You beckoned?”

“Are we having a meeting about Sara’s divorce?”

“I’m not.”

“Am I having a meeting about it?”

“Yes.” She looked at her watch.

“In ten minutes.”

“And how come I didn’t know about this?”

“It’s on your calendar.”

“It is not on my calendar.” Checking his schedule had been one of the first things he’d done when he arrived at his desk that morning.

“It is.”

“It is not.”

To prove himself right, he brought up his calendar on his computer.

He was about to proclaim victory when he noticed a bubble in the ten a.

m.

slot only a handful of pixels tall.

When he clicked on it, it expanded to fill the space through eleven a.

m.

, with the label Sara Hirschy Divorce right at the top.

He frowned at Joan.

“You just put this in here, didn’t you?”

“Wrong again. I didn’t set up the meeting.”

“Who did?”

She looked down the hallway and said, “Ash?”

Ash appeared in the doorway several seconds later.

“Yes, Ms. Robertson?”

“Mr. Barrington is wondering why he didn’t know about the meeting until just now.”

Ash looked bewildered.

“It’s on his calendar.”

“He says it wasn’t.”

Ash pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, then grimaced.

“That’s, um, because he hadn’t accepted it until just now.”

“I never received an email asking me to accept the meeting,” Stone said.

“What email?”

Before Stone could respond, Herb said, “That was the old calendar version.”

“Old version?” Stone said.

“We switched to the new version a couple of weeks ago. You should have been updated.”

“I wasn’t,” Stone said.

“He was,” Joan countered.

“I was?”

“A month ago,” she said.

“In a meeting at the Seagram Building.”

Stone vaguely remembered something like that, but he’d only paid half attention, assuming Joan would tell him what he needed to know.

“You assumed I’d tell you what you needed to know, didn’t you?” she said.

“That’s how things here usually work.”

“I did tell you.”

“When?”

“Right after the meeting when you asked if there was anything important discussed.”

“I did?”

Joan turned back to their new associate.

“Thank you, Ash. You can go back to getting ready for that meeting that’s been on the calendar since yesterday.”

“Thanks.” He disappeared down the hallway.

Joan turned back to Stone.

“Need me for anything else?”

“No, you’ve done enough damage,” Stone said.

The front door buzzer sounded from down the hall.

“That’ll be Sara,” Joan said and left.

“Are we meeting here or in the conference room?” Stone asked.

Herb pointed at Stone’s computer.

“The details are in the meeting invite.”

“You’re not helping things.”

“We’re meeting in here.”

“How hard was that?”

Ash walked in, carrying his laptop and a legal pad.

“Sara’s here.”

He started to set his things on the coffee table, in front of the couch, then seemed to question his choice.

“This isn’t your spot, is it?” he asked Stone.

“It is not,” Stone said.

Ash sighed in relief and put his laptop and pad down.

He then straightened his tie, ran a hand through his hair, and checked himself via the camera on his phone.

From outside Stone’s office came the sound of Joan and Sara talking.

Ash quickly put his phone away and moved to the door, getting there a moment before the women appeared.

Sara was sans neck brace but was still sporting the splint on her wrist.

“Miss Hirschy,” Ash said.

“Thank you for coming in today.”

There seemed to be an extra sparkle in her eye as she looked at him.

“Thank you , for helping me with this.”

They held each other’s gaze for a moment before Joan cleared her throat.

“Please come in,” Ash said, ushering Sara inside.

Stone and Herb greeted her, and everyone but Joan sat.

“Would anyone like something to drink?” Joan asked.

“Miss Hirschy?” Ash said.

“Water’s okay for me. Sparkling again, if you still have some.”

“I’d love a coffee, if you don’t mind,” Herb said.

“Make that two,” Stone said.

“Ash?” Joan asked.

“Sparkling water, please.”

She left to get the drinks.

“How are you feeling, Sara?” Stone asked.

“Much better, thank you.” She lifted the wrist splint.

“I’m hoping I can get rid of this by the end of the week.”

“And how is your aunt doing?”

“Well enough to argue with the medical staff about how soon she can be released.”

“That sounds like Hillary,” Stone said.

“Have they indicated when that might happen?”

“The soonest won’t be until the weekend, which, as you might imagine, didn’t go over well.”

“I bet not.”

“I’m actually more concerned about Uncle Jack,” she said.

“How so?”

“I think he’s taking the accident hard. He seems distracted, and anytime I try to talk to him, he tells me not to worry about anything, then locks himself in his study.”

“I’m sure his mood will improve when your aunt gets home,” Stone said.

“I hope so.”

“How about we talk about some good news,” Herb said.

“Yes, please,” Sara said.

From his briefcase, Herb removed a thin stack of stapled papers and set them in front of Sara.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Your divorce agreement.”

She let out a resigned sigh.

“You mean another one he won’t sign.”

“No. I mean your final divorce agreement.”

She stared at him as if he’d spoken in ancient Greek.

“Final?”

He nodded, then said, “Take a look at the last page.”

She flipped through to the end, and her mouth fell open.

“Leonard has already signed it?”

“The courier package was waiting on my desk this morning.”

“This is fantastic, Herb,” Stone said.

“I was under the impression he’d been trying to make the divorce as difficult as possible.”

“He has,” Sara said.

“He’s had a change of heart,” Herb said.

Sara picked up the document and took a closer look.

“It definitely looks like his signature.”

“It’s his,” Herb said.

“Ash and I watched him sign it via videoconference yesterday.”

She turned to Ash.

“You didn’t say anything about this at dinner.”

Ash shot a nervous glance at Stone before answering Sara.

“I apologize, but Mr. Fisher made me promise not to tell you. He wanted to make sure we had it in our hands first.” He looked again at Stone.

“Miss Hirschy has had a rough few days. I-I thought I should make sure she was eating. You did say I should always do what was best for the client.”

“I did indeed,” Stone said.

“How about we talk about this later?”

“Of course,” Ash said, looking no less nervous.

Sara flipped back to the first page.

“Is this the last draft I sent him?”

Herb chuckled.

“Not even close. That one went straight into the shredder. This is the one I wrote, with Ash’s help, based on the conversation you and I had in my office on Friday.”

“I don’t understand. All I did was give you a history of how negotiations have gone.”

“You said a lot more than you think you did.”

“So, how much do I have to give him?”

“Nothing.”

She blinked.

“I’m sorry. I thought you said nothing.”

“I did,” Herb said.

Sara’s face twisted in confusion.

“But Leonard told me he’d never sign without getting his cut.”

“Like I said, he’s had a change of heart.” Herb retrieved a pen and held it out to her.

“He even agreed to having proceedings moved to New York. Ash took care of that paperwork yesterday, while I talked to a judge I know and explained your situation. If you sign now, we can see her this afternoon and you’ll be divorced by end of day.”

Her hands shaking and eyes brimming with tears, Sara took the pen.

“I can’t believe this.”

“You should look it over before you sign,” Ash said.

“Right.”

She carefully leafed through the document, Ash explaining each section.

When she reached the end, she said, “This is perfect.”

She signed where indicated, then returned the pen to Herb.

“Thank you,” she said to him, then looked at Ash and Stone.

“All three of you. This is so much better than I allowed myself to hope.”

“I’m merely a bystander,” Stone said.

“Herb and Ash deserve all the credit.”

“Without you, I would not have their help.”

“She’s got you there,” Herb said.

Sara took a deep, refreshing breath and smiled.

“So, what’s next?”

“Next, I let the judge know we’re on for this afternoon,” Herb said.

“Ash will call you as soon as we know when and where we’ll meet. Until then, take a few hours to celebrate getting your life back.”

“I don’t know if I can do anything more than walk around in a daze.”

“Then do that. But somewhere safe. We don’t want you walking out into traffic.”

“Did you drive yourself here?” Stone asked.

“Um, yes.”

“How about I have my driver take you home? You can send someone for your car later.”

“Or I could drive her home in her car now, and catch a cab back,” Ash suggested.

Sara’s smile widened.

“I’d love that. Would that be all right?”

“I think it’s the perfect solution,” Stone said.

They all rose and said their goodbyes, then Ash escorted her out.

“Joan?” Stone called.

Joan entered.

“Ash is taking Sara home and should be back soon.”

She smirked.

“I saw that.”

“Why do I feel like I need to have a conversation with him about avoiding relationships with clients?”

“Did anyone ever have one of those with you?”

“I never needed the talk.”

“Sure you didn’t. And no. You don’t need to talk to Ash. He’s well aware that would be a problem.”

“And you know this how?”

“Because he told me himself.”

“Then there’s nothing going on between them?”

“There’s plenty going on between them. But it involves a lot of yearning and unfulfilled desires.”

“I can corroborate Joan’s assessment,” Herb said.

“He talked to me, too.”

“Well, since you two are his confidants, are you sure he won’t act on those yearnings and unfulfilled desires ?”

“Of course he won’t,” Joan said.

“You’ll realize that after you spend more time working with him.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that since he started here, you haven’t had a lot of one-on-one time.”

“I agree with Joan about that, too,” Herb said.

Stone eyed him.

“That’s becoming a bad habit. And neither of you have answered my question.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Joan said.

“He’s still a freshly minted attorney and has a very strict sense of what’s right and wrong.”

“Why does that sound like an attack against me?”

“If that’s how it made you feel, perhaps you should do some introspection.”

“Feel free to return to your desk.”

“Wait. Tamlyn called and asked if you’d like to have dinner tonight. I assumed you would say yes, so I told her to meet you at Clarke’s at seven.”

“What if I’d had other plans?”

“You don’t. I keep your calendar, remember? And your calendar for this evening is free. I mean was free. Unless you want me to cancel?”

“No, dinner’s fine,” he replied, half distracted by a thought triggered by something she said.

“Thanks, Joan.”

She left.

Herb waved a hand in front of Stone’s face.

“You still in there?”

Stone finally looked at him.

“Sorry about that. Something just occurred to me.”

“Concerning Sara’s divorce?”

“Unrelated,” Stone said.

“So, how did you get Sara’s husband to agree to walk away with nothing?”

“It had little to do with me. You remember what you told me about Yates being jumped last week and you thinking it might be connected to what happened to that other guy?”

“Paul Weston. I sent Bob Cantor to dig into it, but he came back with nothing.”

“Because he didn’t talk to Yates,” Herb said.

“Because Yates wouldn’t see him. Are you saying he talked to you?”

Herb shook his head.

“His lawyer let it slip that the person who beat him up told him to leave Sara alone or he wouldn’t walk away the next time he visited him.”

“So, the cases are linked.”

“Looks like it.”

“I’m surprised Yates’s lawyer didn’t use that to say his client was being coerced.”

“He made a little bit of noise, but I said they’d have a hard time proving Sara had anything to do with it, because she didn’t. I also pointed out that if we were to take the case to court, we were prepared to detail not only the emotional abuse Sara suffered during the marriage, but also his many infidelities, including witness testimony from several women. The lawyer called me back ten minutes later and said that Yates never believed she was responsible, and they wouldn’t be making an issue of it.”

“That’s when Yates offered to take nothing?”

Herb snorted.

“Hardly. He wanted to sign the last settlement agreement Sara’s former lawyer sent. But I told them that document was no longer valid, and that I would send them a new offer.”

“The one that he signed.”

Herb smiled.

“I thought he might push back a little, but within an hour his lawyer arranged the videoconference and the rest is, as they say, history.”

“You may not have been the catalyst of his change, but you did a stellar job of taking advantage of it. I owe you dinner. Just not tonight.”

“I never say no to a free dinner.” Herb checked his watch, then picked up his briefcase.

“Gotta run. Client meeting in thirty minutes.”

“Let me know how things go with the judge this afternoon.”

“I will, but I don’t anticipate any hiccups.”

“Neither did Napoleon at Waterloo.”