Chapter 8

            It was Monday morning, and Regina entered the large law firm in downtown Orlando. She sat in the waiting area of Bowman and Richards looking at her cell phone to see if she had any messages, and then put it away. Glancing down, she inspected her outfit of white stockings, white high-heeled shoes, and peach-colored business skirt and matching top. She had left the house before Scott and his men had arrived. She wanted to have breakfast out and stop by the post office to pick up a package of books she had ordered online. When they had arrived on Saturday, she wasn’t home. For some reason, the mailman wouldn’t leave them on her porch.

            A short, chubby, middle-aged woman approached her. “Mrs. Jackson?”

            “Yes.”

            “Mr. Bowman is ready for you.”

            Regina stood and followed the secretary down the hall to the last office. After the secretary opened the door, Regina entered the office. The room had thick, gray carpeting. The bookshelves were black and slick in appearance, and the walls were a dark cream color.

A white man with brown and gray hair who appeared to be in his early fifties was walking toward her. “Mrs. Jackson, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with a gentle smile, offering his hand to her.

Regina shook hands with him.

The secretary left the room, closing the door behind her.

“Let’s sit down at the table,” he said.

The table matched the bookshelves, and the leather chairs were large and comfortable.

Regina seated herself, and Mr. Bowman sat across from her.

“Scott Jenkins said you could help me,” Regina stated.

“Yes, he told me you were served with separation papers and needed representation. I’m more than happy to help you, especially if you are a friend of . . . Mr. Jenkins.”

She gave him a nod and reached into her purse for the papers she had been served and the packet that the PI had given her of the proof of Sidney’s infidelity.

As he took the documents from her, he said, “I need you to tell me exactly how this transpired.”

Regina explained her suspicions of Sidney’s infidelity and her hiring a private investigator. She told Mr. Bowman everything from her confrontation with Sidney to ending up at her vacation home in Orlando. After she was done, Mr. Bowman asked to list her and Sidney’s assets.

“If you want me to be your attorney, I’ll be happy to help. I can make sure he won’t get any of your salons and you can keep at least two of the rental properties and the vacation home here.”

“That sounds good. But I’ve been thinking. Sidney said I could have our primary residence in Livingston, but I really don’t want it. I never really liked living in New Jersey. The only reason I went along with it was because he wanted to live there. I would prefer to make the Orlando house my primary residence and to live in Florida for now on.”

Mr. Bowman nodded. “All right. I’m sure we can work that out. I’ll get in touch with your husband’s lawyer and start the process.”

Regina took a deep breath. There was a part of her that still couldn’t believe this was happening. Her marriage wasn’t perfect, but she never thought it would lead to divorce.

“I know this is hard and this was the last place you thought you would be. I’m going to do my best to make sure this process is as painless as possible from a legal standpoint.”

“Thank you, Mr. Bowman,” she mumbled.

“Since we’ll be dealing with each other for the next eight to twelve months, just call me John,” he said with a reassuring smile.

****

            Five o’clock that evening, Regina was back at her house. Scott was working alone today since most of the heavy work had been done by his crew earlier in preparation for the cement for the pool and new patio. The cement truck was coming on Wednesday.

She walked in the backyard and almost gasped. Scott was shirtless. His abs and pecs were chiseled, but not in an intimidating way. His white, raggedy jeans hugged his waist as the rest of his body molded down into a medium-sized V shape.

            “Hi,” he greeted with a big smile. Sweat glistened off his skin and dampened his dark hair.

            “Hi,” she said breathlessly. She walked over to him. “Are you done for the day?”

            “Yeah, I just finished,” he said. “There’s nothing else for me to do until the cement truck gets here. They are coming on Wednesday, so tomorrow you won’t have to put up with us banging and lifting things in your backyard for a whole twenty-four hours.”

“I don’t mind,” she said. “I knew what I was getting into when I hired you.”

The corner of his mouth kicked up. “I hope you don’t mind that I took off for an hour to pick up Clay from school.”

            “Oh, no. I’m sorry that you didn’t bring him with you. I would like to get to know him better. He is so adorable.”

            Scott gave her a proud smile. “Maybe he can come with me for a few hours one day.”

            His smile made an area of her body tingle. It was a sensation she hadn’t felt in almost six months. “Oh, that would be nice.”

            Scott put his hammer in his toolbox. “Did everything go all right with John today?”

            “Yes. He seems to be very competent. Thank you for recommending him.”

            “No problem,” he said as he raised his hand and then brushed the side of her cheek with the backside of his fingers.

            Their eyes met. For a moment, Regina thought he was going to kiss her. What surprised her most was that she wanted him to.

Scott blinked like he realized what he was doing. He snatched his hand away from her skin like it had burned him. “I’m sorry,” he said with wide eyes. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I . . . I . . . don’t usually—”

“It’s okay,” she quickly assured him. “I didn’t mind. I mean . . . I mean, it’s okay.”

He cleared his throat. “I am sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said again with a small smile. “I’ll see you on Wednesday, okay?”

He gave her a slight nod. “Okay.”