After Divorce, I Won The Christmas Lottery

Chapter 2: Zander Caine

Liz

I don’t believe this. I checked the numbers again and again, and sure enough, I won the Christmas lottery. My life just took another 180-degree turn. I thought I lost everything, and now, I am about to be a billionaire. This is definitely the Christmas miracle I was hoping for.

I call Robyn back to tell her the news and about meeting Mary. “Are you serious?” she asks. “Yes, I may still be in shock, but I triple checked.” I say and squeals so loudly, I almost drop my phone. “Wait, hold up. You can’t go cash that ticket yet.” She says and I frown.

“Why not?” I ask. “You are married in community of property, Liz,” She says. “f**k, I forgot about that. If I cash this ticket before I sign the divorce agreement, then that bastard is entitled to half of the winnings.” I say. “Exactly,” she says.

“No, I can’t have that. He plans to leave me with nothing, so he doesn’t deserve a cent of my winnings.” I said. “Ooh, I just remembered someone that can help you. Do you remember Zander Caine? The quiet hottie with the blue eyes and dark hair.” she asks me. “Vaguely, he also studied law, and he was in most of my classes. Why?” I ask.

“He moved back here too and is the hottest up-and-coming attorney in the city. He is very sort after, and his wins are all over the news. He is also a billionaire after he inherited his parents’ fortune when they died tragically last year.” she says. “Oh no, I am sorry about his parents. But what does this have to do with my situation?” I asked her.

“I will ask him to help you,” she says. “I can’t afford his fees right now.” I say. “He owes me a favor. I helped him out of a bind a few days ago, so he said I can call him if I need anything.” she says. “When did you help him and what did you help him with?” I ask.

“I ran into him at the hotel my conference is in. He was trying to escape a very handsy blonde, so I pretended to be his bitchy girlfriend. You should’ve seen me, Liz; I even took out my earrings and pretended I was going to give her a beat down. It was epic, like an Oscar-worthy performance, epic.

I am kind of bummed I didn’t major in drama. I could’ve been rich and famous by now.” She says and I chuckle. She sometimes gets so carried away that she forgets what the topic was in the first place. But I love her, she is my ride or die. “I am sure your performance was epic,” I say, and she chuckles.

“Give me a few minutes and I will get him to call you. Where are you staying?” She asks me. “I have no idea, and I don’t think I have enough for a motel. I can just sleep in my car until you come back. No worries.” I said.

“Absolutely not, it’s not safe in the city at night. And it’s the holidays, you deserve to be somewhere special. I will make sure you have a place to stay. Give me a few hours, I will call you back.” She says, and we say goodbye and I hang up. What would I do without her?

I sat for another few minutes with a huge smile on my face, before I headed back to my car. I had just got in when my phone rang. I didn’t know the caller ID, but I answered anyway. “Liz speaking,” I said.

“Hey Liz, its Zander Caine. I believe you are in need of a divorce attorney.” The sexy, velvety voice on the other line says, “Hi Zander, happy holidays. It’s so good to hear from you. I am sorry about what happened to your parents. Robyn just told me. I lost mine to a drunk driver when I was young.” I say.

“Thank you, and I am sorry about your parents too. When can we meet, so I can look over the agreement?” he asks me. “Are you sure you want to help me? I can’t afford your fees right now.” I said, and he chuckled. “I will help you pro bono, don’t worry. Robyn filled me in and, believe me, I get a thrill from getting back at men like your husband.” He says and I chuckle.

“Have at him then, he is all yours.” I say and we both chuckle. “Can you come to my home office right now?” he asks. “Sure, I have nowhere else to be anyway. But it’s the holidays, and I am sure you have plans,” I said. “I don’t, actually. I will message you the address. See you soon.” He says and hangs up.

That was a weirdly nice conversation. I felt so at ease talking to him. And his voice is so sexy. I always thought he was cute, but he was more of a loner. I spent all my time with Robyn or studying until I met Kyle. Then my life was all about him.

My phone alerted me to a message and I saw it was the address for Zander’s place. I quickly punch it into my GPS and start my car. I am excited to see what Zander can do for me. I don’t really care about anything Kyle owns. But that house is mine. I don’t want to live in it, but I bought it with my inheritance my grandparents left me.

The drive is nearly an hour away and thank God I filled my tank this morning. I stopped at the ATM to see if I could get some money, but just like I thought. That asshole froze all my cards. I got in my car and drove the rest of the way to Zander’s place singing along to Christmas carols.

I pulled up to his driveway and whistled softly. “Wow, this is not a house, this is a freaking mansion.” I whispered to myself. The guard comes out when he sees me and greets me respectfully. “Mrs. Liz Stanford?” he asks and I smile. “Hello, yes, that’s me. I am here to see Zander Caine.” I said, and he smiled and opened the gate for me.

“Just follow the driveway and park anywhere. The boss isn’t expecting anyone else today.” He says and I nod. “Thank you.” I say and drive inside. This place is so stunning and huge. I drive up the driveway and go around the fountain and park the car.

I got out and walked to the door. I am about to knock, but a man opens the door. A very handsome man in a t-shirt and jeans. “Hey Liz, come inside,” he says. “Zander?” I ask and he chuckles. “Do I look that different? You still look exactly the same, maybe prettier.” he says and I giggle. “Oh, don’t bullshit me. But it’s so good to see you.” I said and hugged him.

He hugs me back and he smells so nice. I let go because I feel like this hug is going on for longer than socially allowed. I really didn’t want to, because as weird as this sounds, I felt so safe in his arms just now. I hand him the file and he takes it. “Read that first before you decide if you want to help me,” I said.

“Come, I need a drink while I read this crap.” He says and shows me to follow him, while I chuckle. He leads me to his dining room and tells me to sit down at the table and I do. He walked out of the room and I looked around. This place is really stunning.

There are Christmas decorations up and it looks so festive. He comes back with a bottle of wine and pours us each a glass. “Thank you,” I say and take a sip while he goes over the agreement. He is doing a lot of frowning, so I am guessing he sees what a bullshit agreement it is.

When he was done reading, he threw it down on the floor. “Why did you do that?” I asked, frowning. “You and I both know that’s a bull s**t deal. I will draft a new one, but I will need more than 48 hours. We need to gather as much evidence against him as we can. You didn’t have a prenup, so you are entitled to half of what he owns, but I can get you more.” He says, but I shake my head.

“I only want the house. I bought it with my own money. I don’t have anywhere to stay after he kicked me out. And even though I will never sleep in that house again, it’s still mine.” I said. “Obviously, I will respect your wishes, but now is your chance to make him pay.” He said.

“I know, but all I really want is to move on. I don’t want anything that reminds me of him and I certainly don’t want his money.” I say and he nods. “I can respect that. Even if you don’t want his money, you can donate it to a charity. But he needs to be taught a lesson. Where will you stay in the meantime? You will need money for that. Selling a house and buying a new one will take time,” Zander says.

“I will sleep in my car until Robyn is back and then stay with her.” I said. “No, you will do no such thing. You can stay with me. I have more than enough room and I live alone. You won’t even have to see me if you don’t want to,” he says, and I frown.

“You would do that for me? We hardly know each other and I don’t even have any clothes. I left with my purse, car keys and cellphone.” I said and he chuckled. “Yes, I would do that for you. And we aren’t strangers, we were in the same class for years.

As for clothes, you can wear some of mine tonight, and tomorrow I will take you shopping for some new clothes. You need to look hot when you see your ex again.” He says and I chuckle. “I need to behave myself and try not to kill him when I see him again.” I say and he chuckles.

“That too, but you should still look good while you try not to kill him.” He says and I smile. “I also have another issue that I need your help with.” I say and he nods. I told him about meeting Mary and her buying me the winning lottery ticket.

“Wow, congratulations Liz.” He says smiling. “I don’t think it really hit me yet, because I haven’t freaked out.” I say and he chuckles. “10.9 billion is a lot of money. Robyn is right, you can’t cash the ticket yet. I will draw up a new agreement, where you only ask for the house and half of what was accumulated during the marriage.

I will add a clause that states that both of you cannot claim any compensation from each other after the divorce is filed. I know a judge that can help speed things up, but it is the holidays, so no guarantees. As soon as everything is done, you can go claim your billions.” He says and I smile. “Thank you, Zander. I would’ve been lost without you,” I said.

“I know you don’t have plans, so you will have dinner with me. Come help me get everything set up.” He said, and I nodded and followed him to the kitchen. We carry the various dishes to the dining room before we sit down and enjoy our meal.