Chapter 6

Monday was a normal day at work until Brian met with his three o’clock appointment. His secretary escorted Cynthia Jenkins into his office. Cynthia or Cindy, as she once told him she preferred to be called, was also a member of the Glen Creek Country Club. She was married to Donald Jenkins, a plastic surgeon who was said to have a very lucrative practice.

Cindy was a very beautiful woman, a thirty eight year old trophy wife as some people had remarked. She was five foot six or seven inches tall, about one hundred and twenty five pounds with all of it in the right places in her hourglass figure. Her shoulder length blond hair, blue eyes, and attractive face rounded out a very nice package.

Brian didn’t know Cindy that well but had long admired Cindy because of her good looks. He did know her well enough to say hello to so he said, “Hi Cindy, what can I do for you?”

“I need you to represent me in my divorce.”

“Whoa... , take a seat and tell me what is going on.”

After sitting she said, “Donald told me yesterday that he wanted a divorce. I know our marriage hasn’t been good for the last couple of years but he caught me by surprise when he said that. I talked with Carol, who is Don’s office manager and she said it seems that Don is infatuated with a twenty two year old nurse who works for him and supposedly is built like the proverbially brick shithouse. The way things have been going in our marriage I am not going to fight him on this but I want to make sure I get my fair share of our assets.”

Cindy opened the briefcase she carried in and took out a number of documents and handed them to Brian.

“Here are copies of our brokerage accounts, a list of the properties we own, and our income tax records for the past three years.”

Brian glanced at what he was given and could see that there was a considerable amount of money involved.

“Are you sure you don’t want to try counseling with Don?”

“No, he told me in no uncertain terms that he wants a divorce.”

“Do you know who Don’s attorney is? Can you also tell me what you are looking for in this divorce?”

“Jack Kincaid is his attorney and like I said I just want my fair share of the assets. I know I would be entitled to alimony and maybe a piece of his practice but I will waive that if I am compensated sufficiently in the division of the assets.”

“Let me review what we have here and talk to Jack who I know. I would recommend that you let me hire an investigator to make sure we have an accurate list of all the assets.”

“Sure, do what you need to do. What is going to be your fee for doing this?”

“I am not sure what the investigator will charge as it depends on how much time she spends on this. My fee is also based on the time that I spend on this matter and how quickly it is resolved. Since both of you are in agreement with the divorce, just getting an agreement as to the splitting of the assets that normally is where most of the work is and where my time is spent. It might be quick or it could be drawn out. I would suggest you close your checking and other bank accounts, credit cards, after you purchase a few things and have them reissued in your name only. I will let you know as soon as I hear anything.”

“That solves one of my problems.”

“You have others?”

“Well... , this Saturday is the annual dinner dance for the Children’s Hospital of which I am the chairperson. Going unescorted to that function is going to be a little embarrassing.”

“You know that we are a full service law firm. If you need an escort for that function I will be happy to volunteer for that duty.”

“You will?”

“Cindy, you are a very beautiful woman and it would be my pleasure to be your escort. I would be doing that for me as much as for you.’

“Thank you for that, you don’t know how much it means to me to hear you say that. Can you pick me up at six? It is a black tie affair.”

He told her that he will be there and watched her beautiful backside jiggle as she walked out of his office.

Brian took some time and read what Cindy had brought in. He picked the phone up and called Emma Jackson who had a service that would check Don Jenkins’ assets and gave her the information and the assignment. He put a call in to Jack Kincaid to see what their position was and when they could get together to discuss the splitting of assets. He also made a mental note to take his tuxedo to the cleaners.

Saturday came with Brian being somewhat anxious to be Cindy’s escort. Exiting his car which he parked on the circular driveway in front of Cindy’ home, he took a moment to study the house. It was a monster of a house he thought. The house had two stories and he would guess that it had ten thousand square feet of living space along with an attached four car garage.

Cindy opened the door and invited him inside. She was dressed in a black satin strapless floor length gown with white trim. The color of the gown as well as the diamond necklace she was wearing had a way of highlighting her blond hair and her creamy white skin. She was out and out beautiful.

“I am not going to tell you something that you already know but you are one beautiful woman, someone who is going to be constantly violated in the minds of men that will see you tonight. Your soon to be ex-husband is out of his mind.”

Smiling which further enhanced her beauty she said, “Thank you for the compliment, they are always nice to hear.”

At the dinner dance it was as Brian had predicted. He could see the looks Cindy was getting from the men and even from some of the women. The looks didn’t bother her and in fact it seemed like she fed on the looks. She had her arm around Brian’s as they walked among the crowd. Brian knew a few of the people that were there but Cindy seemed to know many more of the attendees. Cindy excused herself to check on some arrangements which enabled Brian go to the bar to order drinks and look at the items that were on the silent auction table.

Cindy reappeared and thanked Brian for the drink.

They took their seats for the meal when asked to do so. The three other couples sitting at the table were nice and Cindy had them all mesmerized. She was quite the charmer thought Brian.

There were some speeches about the hospital and what the future plans for expansion were. Cindy received a large round of applause when she was introduced as the chairperson for tonight’s affair. She told Brian that she had received some questions as to why she was there with him instead of her husband. She shocked these people who had asked her when she told them quite bluntly that she was getting divorced. Cindy told Brian that the word was going to get out sooner or later, so she said there was no reason to try and hide it.

When the band started playing Brian had Cindy up on the dance floor. He could see the looks she was getting and while he was sure some were admiring her beauty he would bet some were passing the news of her divorce around.

The time flew by and Cindy suggested when they should leave. On the drive back to Cindy’s house Brian told her he didn’t know how the silent auction would turn out but she could have put an item up for auction that would have generated the most money.

“What was that?”

“A date with Cindy” and that caused Cindy to laugh but she did say that maybe she would consider doing that next year.

At her house she asked Brian if he wanted to come in for a drink.

He said, “You don’t know how hard this is but I am turning down your invitation. The reason is that you are still married and probably very vulnerable because of going through a divorce. I don’t want to assume that anything will happen between us but there can be ethical problems if an attorney gets involved with a current client. Once you are divorced and that matter is settled, I will then no longer be representing you and I will be the first man knocking on your door asking you to go out on a date.”

“I can’t disagree with what you say and you may be right. I will hold you to what you said about a date.”

Cindy leaned over and gave him a little kiss on his lips.

Brian was thinking about Cindy and her soft lips while driving back to his condo. She was the best looking woman he had ever taken out and it went without saying that he should get to know her better. Besides her looks, she seemed like a warm and interesting person. He knew he wanted to get to know her better.

Brian received a report on the assets of Cynthia and Donald Jenkins the following week. He saw that there were some major surprises has he read the report. Brian phoned Jack Kincaid and made arrangements for them to get together to work out a proposed asset division they could present to their clients.

Brian had dealt with Jack Kincaid before and found him to be very practical in resolving differences. At the meeting, Brian told Jack what Cindy was looking for and that she was receptive to waiving alimony. They discussed Donald’s wealth and future income potential, the value of his practice as well as the living style Cindy had become accustomed to. Brian showed Jack the report he received about Donald’s assets which eliminated the few bones of contention. They both said they would show their agreed upon proposal to their clients and recommend they accept it.

Cindy looked good when she came into Brian’s office wearing tight black slacks and a white silk blouse that encased her perfect body. He told her how good she looked and she thanked him for saying that. He took the proposed division of assets out and presented it to her.

She read the proposal and he could see the initial surprise on her face and then the unconscious nodding of her head expressing her satisfaction with the proposal.

“This says I get the house and its furnishings, my car, the summer cottage, health insurance, all of the brokerage accounts, fifty percent of the bank accounts and he pays your fees. That is at least ninety percent of our present assets, maybe more. Is Donald going to agree to this?”

“With you waiving any alimony and not touching his practice, his attorney is recommending that he accepts this proposal. Another reason is that Don never disclosed that unlike your home and the summer cottage which are mortgage free, he also owns two ten unit flats that do have mortgages. He also owns a condo that has a mortgage where this nurse he is involved with presently resides. I think he is also living there since he moved out.”

“I will accept the proposal and when will you know if Don will?”

“His attorney will call me as soon as he can discuss it with Don. Can I ask you what you are going to do?”

“I have given it some thought. I know people refer to me as a trophy wife but I am hoping to be more than that. After college and while I was married to Don, I did go back to school and received a MBA. I haven’t had the chance to use that degree yet. I don’t know if you know but my maiden name is Collier. My dad’s company is Collier Shipping which is a large, privately-owned barge company. Dad wants to retire in a few years and I am the only child he has left. My brother Greg, was killed in what we were told was a training accident with the Navy Seals. Dad has been after me to take over and manage his business. I think I am going to do that. I already have a few ideas on how to expand that business.”

Brian said he would phone her as soon as he hears from Jack Kincaid. “If there is an agreement the paperwork will be drawn up and you will need to come in and sign where necessary. Once we have all the signatures the papers will be filed with the court and that will be it. I will do the necessary transferring of titles for you.”

Cindy thanked Brian and said she would be waiting to hear from him.

Two days later Jack Kincaid phoned Brian and told him that Don Jenkins had kicked and screamed but he reluctantly accepted the division of assets. Jack said that Don was hot to trot over this nurse and Don told Jack that the way business was going he should be back to where he was in a few years. Jack further said that while Don didn’t have a pre-nuptial agreement with Cindy, Don said he would never make that mistake again.

Cindy was ecstatic when he told her the news and he set it up for her to come in for the final signing in two days.

Brian phoned Arlene to see if she was available this Saturday. He told her he was looking forward to some home cooking. Arlene was somewhat hesitant and with a little reluctance told him that she wasn’t available as she had a date that night. She said it was with a friend of her husband’s that had seen her with Brian at the club’s dinner dance. Brian told her he was glad she had a date and hoped that she would have a good time.

Chuckling a little he said, “Who knows, you both may enjoy having dessert.”

Arlene said, “Maybe we will and I will tell you that if I like him I am not going to wait for the third date for dessert.”

Brain laughed in hearing her say that.

From having a number of women available to date to now having none was a little disappointing. Brian thought something would turn up but nothing did. He considered phoning Liz but after giving it some thought decided against doing that. Finally on Saturday afternoon he decided to go to the club that night. He knew that when there wasn’t the monthly dinner dance, they had had a nice buffet featuring roast beef, shrimp, and a variety of other dishes.

There was a good crowd at the club. It wasn’t a great crowd but a decent crowd. He said hello to a few friends and had a dirty martini to drink. After downing the martini at the bar he thought it would be best if he had something to eat as he was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

The buffet as usual was excellent with a large assortment of food. Carrying his loaded plate in one hand and his salad dish in the other he looked for a table to sit. Brian didn’t see anyone that he would be comfortable in sitting with which had him take a seat at an empty table.

He was just finishing his salad when he heard, “Mind if I join you?”

Brian looked up and saw that the speaker was Cindy. He rose and helped her sit by pulling a chair out for her.

The conversation started by him telling her she looked good in the mint green dress she was wearing and that he was happy to have the company. They both agreed that eating by yourself or with someone you don’t know is not very palatable. He asked her how things were going and she told him things were good. She had spoken with her father and told him that she would start working with him. She also made some changes to the investments in her brokerage account that will result in a steady stream of income coming in, some of which that will be reinvested if she doesn’t need it all.

Her current concern was in putting her house on the market. It was just too big for one person to live in. She found a nice two bedroom penthouse condo that she made a low ball offer on. She was also debating if she should keep or sell the summer cottage. Cindy said she wasn’t that much of a beach person because of her light skin.

Brian suggested that she might want to keep it has an investment and hire a management company to rent it out. Renting it would after the bills were paid generate some income and she wouldn’t have the headaches of being a landlord because of the management company would be handling any problems. When housing values turned around she could then sell it if she wanted and have that money to invest. Cindy thanked Brian for the advice.