The Broken Heart Syndrome

CHAPTER 8

RHYTHM

The moment my supposed lawyer walks in the hall, the table with our family goes quiet and all the attention is on the newcomer. And Mr. Singhania is already on his feet to our table.

"Who is this? And why is she here?" he hisses at Mr. Adams.

"She is Ms. Sinh's lawyer. She's here to explain the prenup to her." He replies nonchalantly.

Mr. Singhania turns to me, "Ms. Sinh we have an excellent lawyer of our own. I don't think another would be necessary."

I give him my sweetest smile, "I wanted someone who is not on your payroll. We wouldn't want any issues in the future now, do we?" I say batting my eyelashes.

A cough comes from other side of the table, but I don't back down.

"Very well then." he looks around the table and goes back.

Meanwhile the lawyer is standing on my right between me and Mr. Adams, observing the situation with mild intrigue and curiosity.

She extends her hand and introduces herself with a polite smile, "Hello, I'm Meera Desai and I guess you're my client."

I shake her hand, "Yes, I'm Rhythm Sinh."

My social battery is declining at a rapid pace, and I don't have time or energy to beat around the bush, so I jump right into it.

"Have you ever met with or done any business with Mr. Singhania or Mr. Adams before?" I ask cutting through the small talk bullshit. I need an honest lawyer who is loyal to her job.

"I know about them as they are very high-profile people, but I've never had any business with them." She replies.

I stare her down searching for anything that might give her up cause technically she's also on their payroll. But I don't find anything but sincerity and a little bit of confusion.

Giving her a small nod we sit down, "Do you know why you are here?"

"Yes, Mr. Adams explained everything to me on the phone. I'm here to give you unbiased legal advice on three contracts here which are a prenup, an NDA and another contract."

"Yes, that's right." impressed by her straight forwardness.

Call me cynical but I had to try again so I continue to challenge her, "But how can I trust that in the amount of time it took for you to come here, he hasn't bought you too after all he's the one paying your fee?"

I can feel his eyes on me the whole time. It is taking everything in me to not return the stare. It is pissing me off even more because I don't want to feel anything right now. If I allow myself to feel anything but this pretense of anger, I will feel the crack in my heart and I can't afford a breakdown right now. I have to keep thinking about mom and Rohan. They are the only reason I'm even trying in the first place.

You can do this. You can do this. Think about Rohan and mom. You can do this. Take a deep breath. Just for a little longer.

I keep chanting it in my head. Unclenching my fist and taking a deep breath I snapback into reality.

Ms. Desai straightens in her chair and interlaces her fingers on the table, "Mr. Adams explained that you asked for a female lawyer. So, I'm guessing you wanted someone who would understand your situation better and you're right. I understand where you're coming from and honestly, I don't care who is paying my fee. You are my client. It will be unethical of me to be dishonest with my own client. I like to make sure my clients feel comfortable with me and in future if you ever feel like I betrayed you, you can always file a complaint with the Bar."