Punished by Divorce

Meeting

Naomi

I smoothed down my pencil, mid-length bright red skirt just as I was led into one of the smaller conference rooms. It wasn’t the first time I had been in this room, and it also wasn’t the first time I had come to Billora Computer Software headquarters. I was hoping to catch Corey for lunch. However, I had to get this over and done with first. Erik and I hadn’t gone over any specifics of the divorce, but he had set up this meeting to finalize everything. I was ready, I was eager and all I wanted was to be a free woman.

“Mrs. Carlson,” a woman said as I entered the room. She looked vaguely familiar, but I wasn’t all that good with faces. Or names.

“Hello,” I said as I went around the table and sat down. Erik had said he would get me a lawyer, if necessary, but I had declined. Now I was starting to wonder if I should have agreed.

“My name is Miss Susan Casey. I am Erik’s attorney,” Susan introduced herself, but I could barely nod in acknowledgment. I just wanted this to be over with. “Unfortunately, Erik won't be able to attend this meeting, so I’ll be going through everything with you. Once you’ve signed, Erik will sign and…and well, then you will be divorced,” I couldn’t help but notice that she referred to Erik as Erik and not as a client. I didn’t want to think about it too much.

“Fine,” I agreed, because what else was I supposed to do?

“Great. Erik told me that you won't be fighting him on this?” she said, but it was directed at me in a way that said she wanted me to confirm it. So, I did.

“Yes, correct,”

“Perfect and because of that, Erik is going to be extremely generous,” she said as she started to fiddle with the paperwork. I, however, frowned in confusion.

“According to the contract we signed before we got married, what’s mine is mine and what’s his is his,” I stated. Susan looked momentarily guarded, but then her features softened, and she smiled.

“Exactly. Which means that is more of a gift, since the Scott family has officially been cut off from Billora,” Susan said as she made eye contact. I stared at her in silent shock as I tried to wrap my head around what that meant.

“Corey?” I whispered and Susan shook her head.

“No, employees of the company are safe…I simply meant that your parents…your father, specifically, has been…removed from the board,” she explained. It didn’t make much sense to me, and I didn’t care much about it. I had other plans.

“Ok…so, what is this gift?” I questioned.

“Oh, yes…Erik is paying out a settlement amount of one hundred thousand bucks. Nothing more, nothing less. You have one month to pack up your things and leave the penthouse…after that, you are no longer his concern,” I wanted to make a comment, but I stopped myself. This woman spoke as if Erik was doing me one hell of a favor. And one hundred thousand bucks sounded like a lot, but it wasn’t all that much. Still, the money would help me do what I wanted to do, so I wasn’t about to complain. I simply nodded as Susan then went through the divorce papers. I made sure to sign in all the right places and ten minutes later, Susan was packing up everything.

“One month from today?” I asked, just to be sure. Susan nodded before she scurried out of the conference room. I remained seated as I slowly came to terms with the fact that I was no longer married. Once Erik signed the paperwork and Susan submitted it, I would be free. Completely and utterly free.

“Good, you are still here,” a deep voice said, and I jumped in my seat as I realized it was Erik. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you…is everything all right? Did Susan explain everything to you?”

“Yes, she did,” I confirmed.

“I wish I could explain, Naomi, but…it may be best for you to avoid your parents for a while…the s**t is going to hit the fan, as soon as next week,” he said, and I nodded. I had questions, but in reality, it didn’t affect me directly, and it meant that I would be able to make a clean break. My parents would be distracted by the news while I got away. I considered talking to Erik about my plans since he was a business guru, but we weren’t friends.

“Is Corey available for lunch? I feel like celebrating,” I remarked. Erik looked completely taken aback and I shrugged. “I mean no offense or disrespect, Erik. It wasn’t as if we were a real couple. We barely saw each other, and our dinners together were mandatory, not because we wanted to see each other. There is no love between us, no affection, nothing. I mean, I am still a virgin!” I blushed at my confession and Erik frowned.

“I…I apologize, Naomi, I didn’t realize…” his voice trailed off and I sighed softly.

“It was a business arrangement…honestly, that is what it felt like. I kept waiting for you to come home. I kept waiting for our relationship, our marriage to become…real,” I said.

“Business arrangement?” he repeated, and I chuckled.

“I mean, it may as well have been…it was an arranged marriage after all. It’s what our fathers wanted. I never wanted it, did you?” I asked. Erik slowly shook his head as I stood up. “Exactly, but I will say this…thank you for the gift,” and with that, I walked out of the conference room and headed for Corey’s office.

“Mrs. Carlson!” Missy, Corey’s receptionist, greeted me when she saw me. “You just missed Mr. Max. He went out to lunch with Mr. Henderson,”

“Ah, well, I’ll see if I can catch up with them. Thank you, Missy,” I said as I left. I wasn’t going to do anything. I was going to go home and start planning the next part of my life. It was time to move on.