Read Online Totlandia: The Onesies, Book 1 (Fall) by Josie Brown - Free Book Online

lot of good that did.”
    “I’ll look it over. Some of its clauses may be struck down, but it depends. For the most part, the good of the children is the first consideration. However, depending on how it’s written, issues such as his infidelity may not be of any help to us.”
    Jillian felt like she’d been kicked in the gut. Having gotten Victoria pregnant was an even bigger wrong than had they been merely fuck buddies.
    He looked at his watch. “We’ll be filing the papers for the legal separation later today. My assistant, Tara, will ring you the moment the petition for divorce is ready for your signature. Then we’ll serve Mr. Frederick. At his office, I’m guessing.”
    Good , Jillian thought.   That should embarrass the hell out of both him and Victoria .
    “Tara will also be handing you a checklist of things you’ll need to do as soon as possible, like closing all joint bank accounts, making a list of all assets, pulling the paperwork on savings and retirement accounts, those sorts of things. If he’s got an employment contract, you need to get a copy of it.” Lutz stuck out his hand to shake but pulled it back. Instead, he hesitantly patted her back. “My assistant also has your invoice on her desk. You can make the necessary arrangements regarding payment with her.”
    Time to pay the piper, Jillian thought. “But I didn’t bring a checkbook.”
    He was practically shoving her and the stroller out the door. “That’s okay. We take credit cards.”
    Tara waited until Lutz closed the door before handing Jillian his bill. Jillian’s eyes bulged. “Forty-eight hundred dollars? But I was only in there for two hours! I thought it was six-hundred dollars each—”
    “We bill the first eight hours in advance,” Tara explained sweetly.
    Jillian fumbled in her purse until she found her Visa card and handed it over.
    Tara swiped it, then frowned. “Oh dear! Declined. I guess Mr. Frederick has already had it cancelled.”
    “What? Can he do that?”
    Tara’s nod was sympathetic. “We see it all the time. If I were you, I’d head down to the bank. He may have closed your accounts there as well.”
    I can’t do that now! Jillian thought. I’ve got to get the girls to the meet-up! Oh hell, this is a nightmare.
    A tear dropped from her cheek onto the assistant’s desk. Patting Jillian’s hand, Tara murmured, “Don’t worry. I’ll bill you for it. But hit the bank as soon as you can.”
    Jillian was too choked up to do anything but nod.
    She practically ran down the hall to the elevator. By now the girls were so hungry they were wailing.
    She waited until the elevator started its descent before she allowed herself to cry, too.
     
    9:52 a.m.
    “Well, well, well! Aren’t we the early birds!” Bettina’s tone was all sweetness and light as she reached out for Dante. Once he was in her arms, she dismissed Lorna with a wave of her free hand.
    Lorna had already made up her mind that nothing Bettina did today would get under her skin. But then Bettina stared down at Dante. “What is that, a tracksuit? Omigod! You’ve dressed him like some little old Florida retiree!”
    Lorna’s retort—that it was Ralph Lauren; that it was official Olympic gear; that Matt had chosen it for him—stuck in her throat as the room filled with more moms and tots.
    Most of the other little boys were wearing tuxedos.
    If not a tux, then monogrammed sweaters and khakis.
    Had Matthew been standing beside her at that moment, Lorna probably would have kicked him. Hard. Then she would have ordered him to run home and get Dante’s tuxedo.
    Instead, she stood there like a lump while Bettina introduced “Dante Connaught, and his mother, Lorna,” to two other women who gushed reverent thanks for the honor of being there.
    In fact, one of the women—Chakra Crutch—proudly said, “I made Quest’s tuxedo myself—out o f hemp! My husband, Stone, and I   eschew   synthetics. Plastics, too, for that matter. In fact, we live