Page 66 of The Me I Left Behind

Julia pulled a yellow legal pad out of her bag.

Maggie noticed a lot of notes and scribbles on the page.

“All that for me?” she asked. “Looks intimidating.”

Julia flipped over a few top papers and found a clean sheet. “Just some notes while I was on the phone with Max’s new attorney.”

“New?”

“Yeah.” Julia looked up. “He switched firms, apparently. This new guy is out of Raleigh. His name is Jonathon Murray, just in case he contacts you for any reason. He shouldn’t because I’ve instructed him not to, but you never know. He, or one of his assistants, could try to catch you off guard.”

“Goodness. Is this case going to be that difficult?”

Julia sighed. “Mags, it’s going to be high profile—that is if the media ever gets hold of it. I’m trying to avoid that.”

“Good. I don’t want that for the kids.”

They paused when Angie brought the pot of coffee.

Julia leaned over the table. “So, if anyone, and I mean anyone—friends or foe or unknown—asks questions about Max, your marriage, your pending divorce, your kids, or anything related, your response is what?”

Maggie shrugged. “I don’t know. What?”

“No comment. That’s all. Let me hear you say it.”

“No comment.”

“Great. Say it and then get away from them. Don’t trust anyone right now. I have some idea of what Max is capable of, but I also know we may not have scratched the surface of Max’s intent. Be cautious.”

Maggie sat back, suddenly not very hungry. “I shouldn’t have ordered that big breakfast.”

“You okay?” Julia looked concerned.

Not really. No.“I’m fine. Let’s get on with it.”

Julia held her gaze for a moment. “Alright. So, I had the call with this Jonathan Murray yesterday.”

“You said he knew Max was interested in selling the house, but didn’t know about the inspection.”

“That’s right. I told him Max was jumping the gun and requested he back off until we’ve met with a judge.”

“Wait a minute.” Maggie shifted in her seat. “We’ve not filed yet. I don’t remember signing anything. Is that putting the cart before the horse?”

“No, we’ve not filed, but I want to soon. I know what you want, and I know what you need to demand, so I’ve drawn up preliminary documents for you to look over.”

“Today?”

“That’s up to you. You can keep and review, or we can go over them now.”

“If we have time, let’s do that.”

Julia reached into her briefcase and pulled out a file folder. She sat it to her right on the table. “Alright, but first, I want to share a few things I learned yesterday.”

Maggie braced herself. Max was thousands of miles away, yet his presence in the conversation was palpable.

“Max wants to sell the house. You’ve built up quite a bit of equity in the years you’ve owned it, and the property in that subdivision has substantially increased.”

She nodded. “I imagine it has. Ours was one of the first houses built there. So, if we sold, we’d split the equity. Right?”