Uncompromising (Age Gap, gxg)

Chapter 12

Monique slowly read through the prenuptial agreement that Elliot had signed back in college, nodding as she did so. "You said your mother in law wrote this?" she said absently after she smiled at one particular provision.

"Her lawyer did after she told him what she wanted. She knew what her son was like and was trying to protect me since I was doing her a favor. I guess we both hoped he could be changed, but it was foolish in retrospect. We tried though. The agreement was supposed to give him financial penalties if he messed up, which he did."

She nodded, then looked up at me. She had striking brown eyes and skin as dark as Jashanna's with gorgeous dark hair that hung past her shoulders. She also had a rock on her ring finger the size of my knuckle! "You said she already transferred the company to you?"

"Correct. Just over ten years ago, he fathered a child with another woman up in Orlando. The woman made him get a DNA test to prove it, and then arranged a settlement where he paid a one time fee and waived all parental rights to the daughter. He tried to hide it, but the woman's lawyer reached out to Elizabeth, his mother, to make sure he wasn't hiding anything. Within six months of that, she transferred the company to me, and he was livid. He probably still thinks he's getting it though, if I divorce him, for some reason. I know he had several affairs before that, reaching as far back as to my second pregnancy, though I can't prove those. There are a couple of girls he's seeing now that work for ex clients of ours. I can give you their names if that matters."

"That's fine. If the other case was up in Orlando, then the other agreement will be filed in the Orange County Clerk of Courts, and I can get a copy of it. That, plus the fact that your mother in law already took the legal recourse of transferring the company to you is more than enough to show that he violated the agreement. I'll try to get proof of the current women to show that he hasn't changed, but we might not need it. He can try to fight it, but if he has a decent lawyer, they'll tell him to just settle and take what the agreement gives him. The only issue after that are the children."

"I wouldn't think that is an issue. My oldest, Hollie, is 18, so she should be free to do what she likes. My youngest is Gracie, and she is 16. She doesn't even have a relationship with her father, he sees her maybe four times a year, if that, and almost always on a weekend. This past year he wasn't home for Christmas or Thanksgiving, though he used to come back for at least one of those. If she was able to testify, that would be easy. I'd want full custody, and he could see her on some weekends, we could set up a schedule, but I would want her to have input on that. I wouldn't want to force her to see him."

She nodded slowly at that. "I'm sure something like that could be worked out. As you said, he lives two hours away, and I doubt he'll want to do that much driving very often. He's going to have no case to get primary custody, and visitation will probably be similar to what he does now unless the realization of what's happening changes him. I've seen that happen before, but it usually is just a temporary change. At her age, she would definitely have an input on the visitation, and the judge would listen."

I felt a little sick to my stomach at the thought of Gracie having to do things with Elliot if she didn't want to. Maybe we could have them supervised at Elizabeth's house or something? Hell, I'd even let Elliot come to my place and hang with her, but I don't know that she would want to go hang out with him, unless she brought Jashanna. "Can I talk to my daughter and see what she'd like from a visitation standpoint?"

"Of course." Monique smiled at me, putting me right at ease. "The primary concern would be her health and wellbeing, so I'm sure we can work something out. Are you ready to move forward with this?"

I nodded right away. I knew the retainer would be expensive, but I also knew that she was a great lawyer, and I was willing to pay to make sure that this went smoothly, and that Gracie didn't get hurt. "I am, yes. But I was hoping to talk to you about one other thing in addition to the divorce. We have a family friend, 16 years old, who spent the summer with us. When she went home before school, she found out her family had moved away and left her behind. The house is empty and had been foreclosed on over a month ago. Her mother never told her that they were leaving, and didn't even leave her clothes. Is there any way that I can easily adopt her to make sure I can take care of school or medical issues? I really don't want her to end up as a ward of the state when I can easily take care of her."