So hey, I know I said I wouldn't be updating for a while, but last night I got a surge of creativity juice thanks to your feedback. So here goes enjoy! Read and Review!
It had been a week since Misaki's last session with Doctor Rosenberg, things were slowly going back to normal. She was following instructions, no alcohol, no cyber stalking, no asking for updates about them, just work and rest. The wedding had happened three months ago, long enough for her to understand what it meant, but not long enough to move on. Takumi and Suzuna had tied the knot, they were the happy couple. It was a reality she could not escape. She was obsessively making up scenarios in her head where Takumi and she end up together:
Scenario one: he and she never breakup and do long distance
Scenario two: she accepts his proposal, and they get married
Scenario three: While he is at the altar waiting for Suzuna, he turns to Misaki says "he can't do this" then they ride into the sun.
It made her feel less awful, but then she would regain her senses and reality would hit her like a ton of bricks. "He is with her".
She was filling her free time with dozens of activities ranging from workouts, to pottery and cooking lessons. She had to keep her mind off of that crazy alien monster she loved. Her number one priority was connecting with people and making friends. People she met at school were more business acquaintances and given the competitive nature of her field she could not really confide in any of her colleagues. She was lonely, and very much alone. Her family lived in another continent, and she hadn't really been in touch with them after everything that went down with Takumi.
Misaki, was a senior associate in one of New York's top firm. She was specialized in both family law and finance. She had taken two weeks off from work after having two consecutive panic attacks related to all the stressors she had to deal with. As prescribed by her psychiatrist, she took the time to rest and meditate. It had only been a week since she was back at the office. Work was demanding, which was great because it kept her from thinking about her ex.
She was working on a divorce. The McKinley divorce, a multibillion case. Joseph and Harriet McKinley met when they were 16 and 18 and when they got married, they had not signed a prenup, as neither of them owned any property or had any sort valuable asset. In the 90's Joseph McKinley with the help of his wife and the support of both of their parents launched his own tech company which soon after boomed. Today this company was valued at 760 billion dollars. Joseph's personal fortune was estimated at 100 billion dollars which accounted for a majority stake in his company. Harriet was entitled to half of this money. However, to get it, Joseph would have to sell a large part of his stocks, which means he would lose ownership of the company he spent years growing into one of the largest of the world.
Multiple scandals had badly tarnished the reputation of that man exposing him for the cheater he was. Photos, voicemails, videos were released in the press of him performing lewd acts on young women which are thought to be sex workers. His affair with a former porn star had been televised around the world. This as a very messy situation. Harriet was a proud woman. She had a lot of influence within the bourgeois circles. Her reputation was casualty from her husband's gaffs. She couldn't just turn a blind eye to it. The only way to salvage her social standing was to cut him off completely. A divorce was the only way out for her. Despite everything that had happened she still had love for him, but she couldn't shake her anger against him.
That's where Misaki came into play. Her firm was representing both parties. The objective was to make sure both were happy at the end of the negotiations. If they were successful in brokering a satisfying deal, XFACE, Joseph's company, could become one of their clients which could turn in a massive profit for the firm and would allow it to grow.
Misaki was representing Mrs. McKinley. She had worked on the case for 6 months as there were a lot of details to be agreed upon. The negotiation was tough, but she pulled through. Harriet was intransigent about a few issues, which were stalling the divorce proceedings.
The division of assets was particularly tricky given that XFACE had a lot of subsidiaries, most of which were owned by Harriet. Tensions were running high at this point as Joseph was growing more and more impatient. Misaki was under a lot of scrutiny from her bosses to make Harriet sign the divorce settlement put forward by her husband's lawyers.
- Mrs. McKinley, we need to find a compromise with your husband.
- Call me Harriet. You can call me by my first name given that you already know my deepest darkest secrets.
- Harriet, I…
- Misaki, you are a beautiful woman.
- Th-Thanks.
- You are young, you are working in a top tier law firm, making the big buck in New York. Never give that up for anyone. No man is worth your ambition.
- Mrs. McK- Harriet, I know you want this to end as much as everyone else does, but the more we temporize, the harder it gets…
- I know how it works. I know that the media is sensationalizing this divorce. I know this is driving the stock price down. I know this is not good for either of us. I want a fair deal.
- And I want you to get a fair deal.
- 100 000 dollars per year of marriage sounds fair to you? Giving up all my stocks worth billions, plus my voting rights is fair?
- I agree that this initial deal is not the best, but that how negotiation works. They say a number then we say a number. Then we find a compromise that satisfy you both.
- Don't patronize me. I know what a negotiation is. I'm just not willing to negotiate my rights away. I could go to a judge right now and be granted a divorce with half of our marital assets, but here I am with you.
- I'm sorry, I misspoke, my point is, we need to be willing to give up on certain things. If you are wiling to give up your voting rights and give him ownership of these three companies, we have some margin of negotiation.
- Iam set to become one of the richest woman on earth and people are calling me a gold digger. People come up to me when I'm having lunch and tell me I should feel ashamed. I've become a pariah on all of my social circles because I had the audacity to be cheated on publicly. Jo did all the work, they say. He is the reason XFACE is successful, they say. And I'm that bitch who carried his four children, stayed married to him for 25 years stood by him after he very publicly cheated on me, and for what what purpose? To steal half of his hard-earned money from a company he founded while we were married? I was not a trophy wife who spent her days at spas, nor was I a stay at home mom, taking care of his kids while he made the big buck. I was an equal partner. I wrote his damn business plan. Iam the one who negotiated our very first deal. I am the one with an MBA in business and finance from an Ivy League University. I am the idiot who gave up her career in investment banking to help him make his dream true. Iam entitled to that money. And now people are looking at me like Iam crazy, erratic, irrational. For what? fighting for my rights?
- No one thinks that.
- You are either naïve or blind. Misaki, we are women, we face judgement from everyone.
- Harriet, I will fight for you. If you need this, I will fight for your interests, and I can assure you no one will be laughing.
- Good.
Misaki spent the whole afternoon sat at her desk, writing a counterproposition which she submitted to the opposing council. They discussed over the phone some of the details. Apparently, Joseph was very unhappy with the demands of Harriet. He felt as though she was taking advantage of him. Misaki argued as best as she could, she rewrote a new proposition after conferring with her client but didn't hear back from the opposite side.
As she was finishing writing briefs for another case, she heard a loud bang. Someone had violently slammed files onto her desk. It was Daniel Seth, one of the managing partners of the firm. He was a thirty-six old man who dedicated his life to corporate law. He was a prominent lawyer in New York, very well respect in his field. He had worked on some of the biggest corporate deals of this decade. His reputation as the best closer in all the East Coast was unmatched. He was usually quite calm and never lost his temper. However, this case was different given how much was at stake in this divorce. The firm had issues paying its creditors and desperately needed to XFACE as a client. If they were
-What the hell is this? The man yelled.
She examined the documents, confused.
- This is Mrs. McKinley's counter proposal. She answered calmly.
- That was rhetorical.
-…
-Didn't I tell you to get her to sign the damn deal by Thursday?
- With all due respect sir, Iam looking out for my client's best interest.
- Let me be perfectly clear, if we don't close this deal by the end of the week, I will make sure you'll never see the inside of a courtroom again. I will have you right briefs for the rest of your miserable career here.
- Yes sir. Despite the aggression, Misaki kept her cool, and didn't flinch one bit.
- Daniel, if I may, I think I can take the lead on this. Afterall, I have worked on high stakes divorces before. I'm sure I'll be an asset on this case. A male colleague commented. It was Leo Nelson, a junior associate who had started to work at the firm around the same time as Misaki. His father was a highly influential lobbyist in Washington. He was the typical prep school kid with an impeccable hairstyle and a 10,000 dollars suit. He was the epitome of annoying. Although he was a very hard-working lawyer, he was passed on for a promotion last year, this left him bitter and incredibly competitive.
- I can handle it myself. Misaki retorted in a dry tone.
- Clearly you can't. Daniel stated.
- I know Mrs. McKinley and we have established a good relationship, if I were to be replaced by some neanderthal man, she'd probably seek outside council.
- You have until the end of the week to close this deal, if you don't, I'm taking you off this case.
Psychiatrist
- So that's basically what happened.
- And how did that make you feel?
- Anxious, and sad.
- Was it the trigger for your panic attack?
- No, it happened much later after we went to court to submit the divorce settlement.
- Ok, so what happened next?
The pressure was at maximum, I knew I couldn't fail. I spent the night working on a new proposal. I discussed with the husband's lawyer and we negotiated the terms. I had to convince my client to give up on a few things, and he had to convince his client to concede on others. I met with my client the next morning to try to work things out. Bur apparently someone had already gotter to her.
-You have lot of nerves coming here!
- What do you mean?
- Trying to blackmail me into signing your insulting agreement?
- Blackmail?
- I don't want you on my case anymore. I fired your firm this morning.
- Please Harriet, tell me what happened
- So you were fired?
- From the case yes. The wife was seeking outside council which was the worst position we could be in. The senior partner on the case just let me have it. Apparently, some idiot tried to sway the wife by showing her proofs of her infidelity. And that same dumbass told her it wouldn't look good to the press. So of course, she fired us.
- I take it you know the "dumbass"
- My colleague, Leo.
- Did you talk to him?
- Of course! I set him straight right away.
Flashback
Misaki confronted Leo in front of all the associate who watched in disbelief as she swiped his desk with her hand making everything fall to the floor.
- What the hell? He screamed shocked by Misaki's actions.
-Who the hell allowed you to approach my client? Misaki yelled.
- Wha-
- You know what I'm sick of all your bullshit. You had it out for me ever since we got hired. What's your fucking problem?
- Look I messed up, I know-
- You let me take the heat for YOUR mistake.
- I'll fix it.
- No, you did enough already. I don't want to see you anywhere near my case. She grabbed Leo by the collar an gave him a menacing look before saying: Is this clear?
- Y-Yes.
Misaki spent her day looking for ways to convince Harriet to come back as her client. She contacted Rosalie, a young divorcée from her pottery class for support and advice. Rosalie told her that the best way to get through to Harriet was 1: show her you regret by writing a heartfelt note with a nice fruit arrangement 2: Offer her something nice she wouldn't get for herself like a spa day 3: Find dirt on her husband she can use even if she doesn't take you back as an attorney.
After arranging the two first tasks, she was now looking for dirt on her soon to be ex-husband, or rather, anything, she could use as leverage in the divorce negotiations. Despite being very thorough in her research Misaki couldn't find anything to hold against Joseph. Everything was already out in the open: his sex tapes, his affairs, his fraudulent use of the company credit card in 2015. There was no way she could get Harriet back. There was nothing more she could do for now, so she decided to go home. When she arrived at the office the next morning, she saw Leo drop something on her desk.
- What the hell is this?
- It's what you need to get Mrs. McKinley back.
- Why?
- You didn't rat me out to the partners, and you scare the crap out of me.
Misaki grinned as she examined the documents Leo had given her.
-Let's go.
- Where?
-We're getting our client back.
Misaki and Leo drove to the hotel where Harriet was staying. They waited for her to exit so they could ambush her and get her to listen to what they had to say. After an hour of waiting she finally came out. Misaki and Leo rushed towards her.
- Are you being serious right now? Go away.
- Not before you see this.
- Is this another cute gift? Just because I'm blond doesn't mean I'm stupid, you can't buy me.
- It's not that.
She opened the file.
- What is this?
- It's a prenup.
- I don't understand.
- The reason your husband wants to rush the divorce proceedings is because he wants to marry the… the woman he had an affair with.
- The Porn star?
- Yes.
- What do you want me to do with it?
- Take this to your lawyers. They'll be able to leverage a deal in your favor. In this prenup, some assets listed have not been officially disclosed to us during the divorce proceedings. Hiding assets is against the law.
- How much did he hide?
- Around 20 billion dollars in properties and money from different offshore accounts.
- Why would he put that on a prenup, isn't that like an official document?
- There's a non-disclosure agreement keeping her from talking about any of the terms agreed upon.
- Wha- So you're telling me my husband of 25 years wants to marry a porn star and straight up broke the law to rob me of half of what's rightfully mine?
- I know you want this to be over. Leo interjected, I know it's been hard. And I know you are trying to salvage your reputation. You need to let go of the anger, and the shame. Dwelling on the past, on what he did or didn't do not restore your dignity, it will not make you feel any better.
- And we think that she probably blackmailed him into marrying her and is probably the one who… leaked the photos, videos, and messages to the press. So, I'm not sure he's really winning. Misaki added with a sarcastic tone;
- I mean… you're not wrong. I think he'll probably be paying for what he did until the very end. When can you finalize this divorce?
Psychiatrist
- After that we met with Joseph's lawyer, presented our case and we got her a 40 billion dollars settlement.
- That is a load of crap.
- Excuse me?
- A woman who spent twenty plus years, with a man, loving him, raising his children, being his biggest cheerlead and growing a company from the ground up is replace by some twenty year old, and all she get is money? That's not a good day.
- What are you getting at?
- It's you. She is you. You see yourself in her.
- My situation has nothing to do with hers.
- Why are you telling me any of this?
- Because I wanted to celebrate a victory. I won a case. I got praised by my bosses.
- You had a panic attack in court, and you still haven't told me what triggered you're not gonna be honest with me there is no point in continuing to spend your money on therapy. You need to open up.
- I did open up, I opened up about everything.
- You didn't.
- I did. Everything. I delved into deep detail about how depressed Iam that my ex lover is married to my sister. I told you about my childhood, about work, about daily stress. I told you I was lonely and friendless. What more is there to say?
- Let's talk about this client.
- She is not me! Her relationship to her husband had nothing to do with what Takumi and I had.
- Your parents.
- What about them?
- It's not your relationship with Takumi that parallels hers, it's your relationship to your parents.
- Yes my dad left, but…
- Your mother too.
- Wha-
- You never refer to your father as being your father. You either call him by his name or by his relationship to your mother.
- My dad abandoned me and my family. Yes, it was tough.
- And your mother betrayed your trust by lying about why he left.
- She did it to protect us.
- She did it to punish him and motivate him to come back sooner.
- No, she-
- You spent your whole life providing for your family. You never had a childhood, and yet your family never thanked you. No one's ever taken care of you or supported you.
- That's not true, Suzuna and mom cooked dinner and… they… they tried…
- You were a model student, the president of your high school. You held a job that went against your principals as a maid in a café. You spent your time as a college student working 3 jobs to take care of your family. And yet, you felt inadequate because you didn't know how to cook as a child, and you didn't feel that you deserved to be feminine.
- What are you getting at?
- Your mother? Your family dynamic. You are allowed to feel angry at them. You are allowed to be angry at your mother for denying you a father. You are allowed to be angry at your sister for stealing your man. And you are allowed to forgive your father.
Misaki started crying uncontrollably. The doctor handed her tissue and patted her back as she let out all of her frustration.
-There was this boy in court. His parents had forgotten about him. They were divorced, his dad had remarried, and he was supposed to stay with him that day but he cancelled on him. His mother had forgotten and locked him out of his own home. He had to break in. Someone saw him and called the police on him. A twelve-year-old boy. That's what triggered my panic attack. I was in court waiting for my turn to hand in the divorce papers.
- Because-
- Not my story. Takumi's. I just… When I saw that boy, he reminded me of my ex, because he never had anyone. He didn't have a family as a child. And this poor boy… didn't either. Neither did I apparently.
After her session with Dr Rosenberg, Misaki tried calling her mother. She needed to tell her how she felt and let her know that her behavior towards was not okay, but she didn't respond. She went back to the office to finish the paperwork on one of her cases. Later that day her mother called her for the first time since the wedding. As soon as she picked up the phone, she started telling her about how happy her sister was, how she was proud of Suzuna and her accomplishments. Misaki remained silent, then snapped abruptly "STOP IT" she yelled. She spent 10 whole minutes pouring her heart out to her mother and telling her how miserable she had been, how she was disappointed in her reaction. Their conversation lasted for more than an hour. Neither party was satisfied with the outcome. Minako felt attacked and didn't understand where Misaki's anger came from, while Misaki was frustrated that her mother was not willing to admit her faults. She left the conversation in tears.
-Hey are you okay? Leo asked.
Misaki quickly whipped her tears with her hand.
-I'm fine.
- You don't look fine.
- It's…
- Your mom is being a bitch. I get it. Mine is no gift either.
-…
- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I came to bring you this. He placed on her desk a very expensive bottle of champagne. "I wanted to thank you for including me as co-council, I'm sorry I've been a dick to you".
- I get it, we are here win cases and hopefully climb the ladder.
- That doesn't excuse what I did. Also, I'm- I heard what you said.
- Which part?
- All of it?
-…
- Sorry! I'm gay, I love gossip, I can't help it, it's in my DNA.
- Wha-
- It's a bad joke. I just mean, yes I'm gay and I also love gossips, but those are two independent event.
- You're funny. She said giggling.
- Do you want to have a drink?
- I shouldn't, but why not. Do you want me to open this. She said pointing to the bottle of champagne.
- You know I do.
Misaki poured the drinks.
An hour later
-So let me get this straight? Your sister did your boyfriend? And your mother supported that?
- She married him and my mom who knew for months about it, didn't tell me. Then she helped organized the wedding and tricked me into attending it.
- Damn! That is, that is SAAD.
- You're one to talk! Didn't your ex cheat on you, at your place with your mail man?
- No, he cheated on me with every breathing male in a radius of 50 miles.
- Hahahaha Sorry-
- Yes, my pain is funny.
- Yeah, mine too.
- What you told your mother, about her never seeing you… I relate to that too.
- How come?
- I'm the gay sibling in a conservative family. I was always the anomaly. I had to hide my attraction. My sister would pretend that my boyfriends were hers so I wouldn't get caught. Until one day my mom saw me kissing another boy and all hell broke loose. She sent me to conversion therapy, and once I came back, she made me go to church everyday to pray the gay away. Now that I'm out, she won't talk to me.
- What about your dad?
- He had issues with it at first. But now, he came around. He's not exactly marching on the Gay Pride, but he supports me and loves me. So that's good. And I mean, he's the one who got me out of conversion therapy.
- He's a good dad.
- Yeah… what time is it?
- It's almost 9PM.
- Shit! I have a date in 20 minutes.
- Okay have fun.
- Are you going home?
- Yes, I'm taking an uber.
- Okay, see you on Monday.
Misaki got out of her office, ready to head home.
-Well, it was quite a week.
- Daniel, hey. It sure was.
- You're headed home?
- Yes!
- Congrats on your win.
- Thank you.
- I have some good news for you.
- I love good news.
- Your prowess with our London client landed us a huge client.
- Oh that's great.
- And they've requested you as council!
- They did? Who is this client?
- Have you heard of the Walker family?
So I'm done with this chapter. I had a lot of things to say, I hope it wasn't too long. Tell me if you like when I dive in minor intrigues (the McKinley case, Misaki's rivalry with Leo, etc.)
Again, I'm all ears if you have suggestions. As you can see your reviews helped me update sooner, so if you have any feedback, don't hesitate to post it ! Thank you.
Also, for TakumiXSuzuna shippers, I rewrote part of chapter 2 to include more moments between the two of them, so don't hesitate to check that out.