"I've made my ruling. Mr. Warner. Mrs. Warner. Counsel?"
Five people in the courtroom stood. My lawyer, Adam Brillstein and his assistant, Lauryn Tourney, myself, my soon-to-be-ex-husband, Bryant and his dim-watt bulb lawyer, Arthur Acrisos. Lauryn gave my shoulders a quick, gentle squeeze and Adam shot her a stern look. She had evidently forgotten his admonition about showing emotion in the courtroom but I appreciated her gesture. After all, she had been my closest confidante during this entire proceeding.
"Mrs. Warner, you will receive the house in Miami Beach, the ranch in Jackson Hole and the cottage on Martha's Vineyard." With each word, my excitement and anticipation grew while I saw Bryant's face bleed red with anger. "You will also receive the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II, the Bentley Corniche and the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. I believe you have the keys, Mr. Warner?"
Bryant looked apoplectic but Acrisos turned to his client and sticking his hand out. My soon-to-be-ex-husband shoved his hand into the front pocket of his Roberto Cavalli suit and dropped the keys into his attorney's hand. "Yes. We have the keys, Your Honor."
"Good. Please give them to the bailiff. Janet, please hand the keys over to Mrs. Warner." The judge paused in his reading, watching sternly as his personal bailiff completed her orders. "All right. Mrs. Warner, you also will receive a lump sum payment of $50 million dollars and an annual payment of $10 million a year for the rest of your natural life. Mr. Warner will retain the Manhattan penthouse, the plantation in Georgia and the cattle ranch in Texas as well as the various other cars, some of which were purchased before the marriage." The judge set the papers down and cast his discerning eye upon both myself and Bryant, as well as our lawyers. "Any objections?"
I looked over at Bryant and saw him struggling to keep his mouth shut. His lawyer glanced at him and gave an uneasy smile with a nod which my lawyer copied. And with a bang of his gavel, my marriage was over. Lauryn was the first to congratulate me, giving me a long, hard squeeze that briefly robbed me of breath. Brillstein gave me a curt nod and handshake and I sank down in a chair, watching Bryant stalk out, fuming while our lawyers civilly shook hands.
"Well, what do you want to do first?"
I laughed at Lauryn's question, forcing the image of her naked body from my mind. "How about a drink? I need one!"
"Sounds good. How about you, Mr. Brillstein?"
"Have to get back to the office." The lawyer clicked his briefcase shut. "But you may go, Lauryn. In fact, take the rest of the day off." Brillstein gave us a rare smile. "Mrs. Warner ... "
I cleared my throat and said, "Miss Williamson."
"I'm sorry,
Miss Williamson