Chapter 5: A Very Long Day

After lunch, Charlotte left the country club in a daze. What had she just done? 

It went against her principles to get ahead using her looks, and although this wasn't technically the same thing, it felt just as wrong. And she wasn't taking into account Floyd's feelings, but she was certain his interest in her had nothing to with matters of the heart. 

She drove home to her apartment, and as she was unlocking the door, she heard the phone ringing. She rushed inside and picked it up.

"Finally!" Janet said from the other side. "We... have a situation here at the office. You need to come over." 

"It's four-thirty... by the time I get there, it'll be past five," Charlotte said. "What is going on?"

"There's a woman saying she's Logan Hamilton's wife... or soon-to-be ex-wife," Janet said in a low voice. "And that we're representing her husband. Well, she specifically said that you're her husband's lawyer. She's been sitting here for over an hour."

"I'll be there in thirty minutes," Charlotte said and hung up.

She wasn't happy about going back to the office and driving through the rush hour traffic, but this was starting to become interesting. Logan hadn't mentioned anything about a divorce, and she was dying to know what on earth was going on. 

---

She got there faster than she had anticipated, and everyone was leaving the building as she went up. In the lobby sat a beautiful woman who had to be around thirty years old, flipping through a magazine. She was well-dressed, with an elegant white dress and matching shoes and purse. 

"Mrs. Hamilton, I presume?" Charlotte said. 

Janet had her lunchbox, and all her stuff already set out on her desk, ready to leave.

"You must be Charlotte Astor," the woman said, setting the magazine down and standing. "I went to speak to my husband's lawyer today, and he redirected me to you. Said he was no longer representing Logan." 

"We started working with him today. I would gladly schedule a talk with you sometime this week after we've gone over a few things with Mr. Hamilton," Charlotte said. More employees filed by, leaving the office.

"No. I need to talk to you right away," Mrs. Hamilton said. Charlotte didn't like the woman's condescending tone, but it would probably be easier and faster to just hear her out. 

"Ok. We can meet in my office," Charlotte said, as Janet glared at her. She wouldn't be able to go home until the talk was done, as she needed to close up the office. Usually, if someone had a meeting after hours, they'd take it someplace else.

Charlotte guided Mrs. Hamilton to her office.

"What can I help you with?" Charlotte said, once Mrs. Hamilton had sat down. "As I said, I'm not familiar with the case yet, so my knowledge about things is very limited."

"I need you to tell Logan that I'm not signing his divorce papers and that if he wants to get rid of me, he'll have to triple the amount he offered," Mrs. Hamilton said, ice in her voice. "He can't prove what he alleges I've done, so he'll have to pay up."

"What is it he alleges you've done?" Charlotte said, curious. It wasn't her place to ask- first, she'd have to read the files to get her facts straight- but she wanted to know the woman's version of whatever it was she had supposedly done.

"Hmmph. Some law firm he hired. Although it makes sense." Mrs. Hamilton said, scrutinizing Charlotte. "He's accusing me of cheating on him. It's not true. He just wants to move on to someone younger and prettier. I'm sure of it. Is he banging you? I wouldn't put it past him." 

It took all of Charlotte's self-control not to throw the woman out of her office. Or out the window. 

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Charlotte said, standing up. "As I said, we only started working with Mr. Hamilton today. And I will not be disrespected by you, or anyone, in my own office. When and if we require you to come back here, you'll be notified. Have a good day."

She gestured towards the door as the woman's mouth pruned up like she had just swallowed a lemon. 

"I'm going to take everything from him," she yelled. "He's going to wish he never crossed paths with me."

With that, she strutted out of Charlotte's office. Soon enough, Janet's head popped out from behind the doorframe.

"If it doesn't bother her royal highness Charlotte Astor, I'd like to go home. If you're going to stay here longer, would you mind locking up and leaving the keys at the reception?" she said.

"I'm leaving too," Charlotte said, picking up her purse.

She needed to speak with Logan, but she had thrown away his card and didn't know his number. That was before she had devised her plan, in which working with Logan would actually play in her favor. 

When she got to the parking lot, she saw that the Lamborghini was still parked in the garage with Logan's name, so she went back up to the last floor. She knew that the topmost floors were all occupied by the building's owner, and she assumed his office was in the penthouse. 

The reception was enormous, far bigger than the one they had at the law firm. Behind the desk sat a young man with oversized glasses. He had a computer, too. 

"What can I help you with, Miss?"

"Hello, I need to speak with Logan," she said.

"I don't believe you have an appointment with him," he said, flipping through a notebook. "You'll have to call to set one up."

"Well, you see, I'm his lawyer," Charlotte said, leaning into the desk. "And unless he wants to get into trouble, it's quite urgent that I talk to him right away."

"Oh. Wasn't that Mr. Weiss?" the man said, eyeing Charlotte suspiciously.

"He hired me this morning."

"Come," said a grave voice from behind the wooded panels that surrounded the reception desk. It was Logan. "Stuart, Miss Charlotte Astor never needs an appointment to see me. Next time, you let her in immediately."

"Yes, sir," the receptionist said, looking like a scared mouse. 

Charlotte gave Stuart a quick smile and followed Logan through a sea of very sleek and clean cubicles. She had seen this type of decoration in a magazine, although she couldn't quite remember what it was named. 

Logan led her to an office that was just as sleek and bare. Everything was black, white, and pristine.

"What a lovely surprise, Miss Astor. I thought I told you you could have the day off," he said, unbuttoning his suit and taking a seat behind his desk. He leaned back as if he were enjoying a movie and not talking to his new lawyer. "What brings you here so soon? It is presumptuous of me to hope it's because you missed me already?" 

Charlotte scowled at him. She was used to guys flirting with her, but he seemed to take even flirting as a joke. 

"I had taken the day off, but I was called back into the office because Mrs. Hamilton wanted to talk to me."

He straightened up at the mention of his wife. Charlotte was glad to see it had unsettled him, at least a little.

"That was unfortunate," he said. "And what did Mrs. Hamilton want with you?"

"Well, it appears you've fired your former firm, and we're taking your divorce case. At least that was what she said. I was not aware we were also representing you on a personal level."

"Ah, yes, I might have forgotten to mention that when I spoke to Floyd."

"I don't appreciate not knowing things before I have to deal with them," Charlotte said. "It would have been more professional to let us know about the case. Or to wait before you fired your former lawyer."

"I must extend my deepest apologies," he said, placing a hand on his heart. "I didn't think she'd be contacting you so soon."

"She wanted me to let you know immediately that she is not signing the divorce papers unless the alimony is a larger amount. And that you can't prove she cheated," Charlotte said, eager to get this over with. 

"It's that I'm not happy to see you, Miss Astor. But you could have called to tell me that," he said, fiddling with a silver pen that probably cost more than everything Charlotte had on herself at the moment. 

"I lost your card," she said. 

"Lost it or tossed it?" He grinned at her with that crooked smile of his. 

"Is that relevant? The fact is I didn't have it, which is why I came. That is all. Now, if you'll excuse me, it's after hours, and I'd like to go home," she said, standing up. "We can resume this tomorrow."

"I'll meet you in the parking lot at eight," he said, almost dismissively. "I want to show you something."

With that, she left his office, glad to finally be done with this. It had been a very long day, and she really needed to be alone.