In the morning I felt like shit. I slept in until 11am, which was highly unusual for me. Sara was nowhere to be found, so I moped around the house, took a shower and made some lunch. After I had eaten I felt better, although in the light of day, my options seemed very limited.
Sara got home around 2pm. She was wearing sweats and her hair was damp, as if she had just showered. She told me that she had been at Adrian's, negotiating on my behalf. I scoffed, knowing full well what that entailed. Then she dropped the hammer.
"We have an appointment with Adrian at 7pm tonight," Sara began. "He is expecting both of us to be there. You need to shave, and get dressed up. Wear your best suit. You need to make a good impression on Adrian today," she told me, like it was a job interview.
"I will meet you there, as I have a couple of errands to run first," she continued.
I shot her a quizzical look, and she repeated her new favorite phrase, "Don't ask!"
I am not sure what kind of errands Sara had to run. However, apparently it required being chauffeured around San Clemente, because Adrian's limousine came up my gravel driveway around 2.30pm. Adrian wasn't in the car. I noticed it was the younger, physically imposing driver that looked like a bodyguard, who opened the rear door for my wife. She looked very ordinary in her baggy sweatpants and damp hair.
The limo disappeared down my driveway, and I shaved and prepared myself for the upcoming meeting. I wore my nicest suit, although it was tatty compared to Adrian's bespoke tailored suits. I got to his office right before 7pm and I was very nervous. There was no sign of Sara as I waited with Adrian's secretary, which made matters worse. At exactly 7pm, the secretary told me that we could go in to the office now.
As I walked into the office, I was stopped by the young bodyguard looking driver and searched. He patted me down thoroughly, to ensure I was neither armed, or wearing a wire. Then the secretary led the way through his office, and into the conference room, that was adjacent to it.
The bodyguard followed us, and motioned to Adrian saying, "He's clean Sir, no pink lipgloss today!"
There were a few men already in the room, and they laughed openly at this revelation. It was apparent to me, that the lipgloss story had obviously been shared with the men.
A long conference table dominated the room. On one side of it, sat Adrian and several well dressed men, who were introduced to me as his legal team. I recognized one of the men, from Adrian's limo, the day I had shown up with pink lipgloss in my pocket. He smirked at me, when I made eye contact with him.
I sat across the table from Adrian and his team of lawyers. The secretary sat next to me, and patted me condescendingly on the arm.
"I will take notes in shorthand," she told me. "That way if you have any questions afterwards, we can refer to my notes for clarification."
There were four attorneys sitting with Adrian, which seemed excessive for whatever this was.
"Sara is running late, so we will start without her," Adrian announced, taking control of the room. "She has already been briefed on the situation, and is comfortable with it."
One of the lawyers brought me up to speed. After laying out in excruciating detail, my current legal, financial, employment and marital woes, Adrian had decided to make me a very generous offer. If I initiated divorce proceedings against Sara in the next couple of days, Adrian would allow me to come and work for him as his personal assistant. He would give me a six month contract, which would match the time between filing for divorce and finalizing the divorce in California. He would match my salary and any benefits from my previous management job.
During this six month time period, Sara could come and go as she pleased, between our two households. However, as specified in our recent agreement, she would spend every weekend at Adrian's, including the one long weekend a month, previously agreed to. I would be off every weekend too, and enjoy one long weekend a month, to coincide with Sara's.
I had some major concerns about working for Adrian. I understood his motives. He could keep a close eye on me if I worked for him. Also, to a certain extent, he could mitigate any potential damage I could do to his relationship with Sara, particularly as we were still legally married. Lastly, he could keep me humble and diminish my status in Sara's eyes.
That said, it was a lifeline to me. Without a significant, immediate income, I was bankrupt. I would lose the house within a few months and would be couch surfing within my small circle of friends. My car payment was also unsustainable for long, and I would be forced to take public transportation to look for work. I decided to swallow my pride and accept his offer of a steady income. Before I could speak, the door to the conference room slowly opened.
