Page 49 of The Wrong Guy
“We propose that personal assets be divided seventy-thirty, in Ms. Ford’s favor, in light of Mr. Ford’s obvious and incontestable activities outside of the marriage. In addition, professional assets will be divided seventy-thirty. While we concede that Mr. Ford has run the day-to-day operations of their marital business, it was Ms. Ford’s initial investment that started the business, and she has been an active and equal participant in the business all along, providing support that allowed Mr. Ford the freedom to work as he desired.”
Holy shit! Chrissy really is planning to take Jed to the cleaners. A seventy-thirty division of all assets? I’m no fan of Jed’s, but that’s punitive by definition.
“You think you’re equal in my business?” Jed sneers at Chrissy.
She smiles coldly. “Honestly, considering it was my inheritance that funded your little Bob the Builder dream, I’d say more than equal.”
Jed nearly comes across the table at her, but stops halfway to plant one hand on the surface and point at her with a thick finger. “You bitch. No matter how miserable I was, you never gave a shit. Just wanted me to fund your shopping sprees and spa days. And now you’re pissed that I’m finally happy.”
Chrissy doesn’t so much as blink at his angry outburst, but rather coldly answers back, “Happy with her? She’s a baby, Jed. Of course she thinks you’re some knight in shining armor and you’re going to have this oh-so-perfect little family, but I bet she feels differently when her knight can’t afford a pot to piss in, hates children, and is too old to get it up without a blue pill.”
Oooh, snap! Chrissy and Jed are hitting low and hard.
I’m on the edge of my seat, morbidly curious how he’s going to reply back to that, but Robert forcibly pulls Jed back to his seat and leans over to whisper in his ear. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but Jed is turning redder by the moment, mostly because I don’t think he’s breathing in his effort to bite his tongue.
Keeping a straight face, I look to Oliver, who’s holding out a staying hand at Chrissy’s. He looks ... pleased? This must be some sort of bluff on their part, a negotiation tactic to get the ball rolling in Chrissy’s favor, which isn’t unusual. Start at seventy-thirty, Jed counters fifty-fifty, and they settle at sixty-forty, which still nets Chrissy more than she probably expected from Jed.
Robert gets a nod from Jed, and leans forward to look at his phone screen. Typing on his calculator app, he repeats, “We’ve looked over your financial auditor’s evaluation.” Type, type, type. He holds up the calculator, showing the number to Jed with raised brows. When Jed doesn’t react, Robert finishes, “We agree to its contents.”
That alone surprises me. Even if he’s not hiding money, I figured Jed would want to undervalue some things and overvalue others. It’s a common tactic in contentious divorces so that one party gets more than their “fair share,” and totally something Jed would do.
“Okay,” Oliver agrees slowly. His answer is solid, but his shoulders have inched up a bit. Why is he nervous? It’s his idea.
“Agreed.” Robert’s single word sets the room ablaze.
“What?” Chrissy squawks.
“What?” I hiss.
Ben makes a gurgling noise that has me worried for a second.
Even Oliver seems shocked, but maintaining professionalism, he holds his hand out to shake on the deal.
Robert grins. “Ah, ah, ah, not so fast—”
Thank fuck. There’s got to be more to this, because otherwise, Chrissy just became the CEO and owner of Ford Construction Company and the person I’ll have to deal with for Township. And as bad as Jed is, Chrissy is ... Chrissy.
“With one consideration. Jed wants to retain the ownership of the name Ford Construction Company, with no noncompete to enforce.”
“Wait. What?” Chrissy demands. “It’s my company. That’s what you just agreed to.”
Jed smiles now. “You buy out my share and you get the company ... assets. The Ford name is mine, and I won’t have you doing business as me, trading on the success I’ve built.” He stands, and Robert mirrors him. With an evil grin, Jed slides a whole ring full of keys across the table, pinging right into Chrissy’s chest because she’s not remotely prepared to catch them. “Good luck.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Robert tells Oliver. The two men exit, both with matching shit-eating smiles that terrify me, and Chrissy looks at Oliver in confusion.
“That’s good, right? I got it all?”
Oliver frowns. “Yes, but it’s way too easy. I’ll read through the settlement carefully to make sure there are no surprises.”
Chrissy quit listening after the “yes” and is basically jumping around the conference room like she’s won the lottery. “Let’s go, Ollie! We’ve got celebrating to do! Champagne’s on me!”
Oliver stands, still looking concerned as he gathers his papers.
“Looking forward to working with you on Township, Wren.” Chrissy’s statement might as well have swept my feet out from underneath me because it definitely steals my breath.
“Whaaat?”
But Chrissy’s gone, quickly tippy-tapping down the hallway in her excitement and taking my pride in Township with her.