Free Seasons of Sorrow by C. C. Wood Page A

and Blake Holt is stalling for time.”
    A few moments later, a tall man came out into the lobby area. He was handsome but his smile was oily and full of fake charm. Charlotte felt her skin try to crawl off her arms. No wonder he was friends with Derek. Now that her husband was revealing his true colors, they both appeared to be cut from the same cloth.
    “Nora, what a pleasure,” he said, extending a hand to shake.
    Nora merely looked at him with distaste. “Where is your client, Blake?”
    His expression turned sheepish and he dropped his hand. “I’m sure he is just running late.”
    Nora made a big show of looking at her watch. “An hour late?” she asked sarcastically.
    Charlotte watched their argument for a few moments more then the buzzing of her cell distracted her. She glanced at the screen and saw she had six missed calls and probably around twenty text messages. Alarmed, Charlotte clicked on her voicemail app and put the phone to her ear.
    “Charlie, it’s Brandy. Greg called me looking for you. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on, but it’s important. Call him back as soon as you get this.”
    Charlotte stopped the voicemail and went to her favorites list. Greg’s name was right at the top, just below Brandy’s. She dialed him and chewed on her thumbnail while the phone rang.
    “Charlie! Thank God you called me back! Where are you?” he barked.
    “I’m at the lawyer’s office to discuss the property settlement with Derek and his attorney.”
    Greg laughed but it didn’t sound as though he found anything truly funny. A chill raced over her skin.
    “What is it?” Charlotte asked.
    “Well, I think you’ll be waiting a long time to speak to Derek. Last I heard he was on a plane with his secretary, headed to a non-extradition country.”
    She shot to her feet, her purse falling to the floor. The two attorney’s stopped their bickering and focused on her, but she ignored them.
    “What do you mean, headed to a non-extradition country?”
    “Well, Charlotte, you husband has been embezzling from our company for a very long time now. Somehow he found out that I had reported him to the police and he got the hell out of town before they could arrest him.”
    Greg’s words buzzing in her ears, she looked up at Nora. “That bastard skipped town with his girlfriend.” She glared at his lawyer. “Did you know about this?” she snapped.
    Blake Holt shook his head but Charlotte could tell he was lying. Apparently, Nora could as well, because she got in his face.
    “Listen up, Mr. Holt. I’ll be contacting the bar. You can kiss your license to practice law good-bye.”
    He must have believed her because his face paled.
    Nora went to Charlotte, picked up her purse from the floor, took her elbow, and led her out of the law offices of Heron, Walker, and Holt. Charlotte was in shock. She was silent as her attorney led her to the elevators and guided her inside.
    “What am I going to do?” she asked blankly. “Can I even get divorced? I can’t stay married to him. He abandoned me when I needed him most, he’s been cheating on me, he’s a criminal, and he’s also an asshole!” Her voice rose at the end until it was almost a shout.
    The other three people in the elevator shifted toward the walls as though they were afraid Charlotte would follow her verbal outburst with a physical one.
    Nora rubbed her upper back, trying to calm her. “I’m just as angry as you, Charlotte. Don’t worry, you will get your divorce. It may take a little longer than we anticipated, but it will happen.”
    They arrived at the garage level and Nora walked Charlotte to her car.
    “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” her lawyer asked.
    Charlotte nodded and blew out a breath. “I’ll be okay.”
    Nora promised to call her the next day and let her know what their next move would be. Charlotte wasn’t sure what to think. So many things had changed in her life in the last four months, and she couldn’t keep up.