Claire and Nicholas After Divorce novel · Chapter 16 of 24

Chapter 16: The Appointment

Claire's POV

I was angry at Audrey for two hours.

I stood in the Ames Row conference room at six o'clock with my arms crossed and told her so.

"You gave him the box."

"I did."

"I told you to burn it."

"I know," Audrey said. "I'd do it again. I'll do it twice if you like."

"Those were mine."

"They were about him, and he needed them."

Two of our lawyers sat at the table with the lawsuit between them.

I did not ask them to leave.

The door opened at five past six, and Nicholas walked in.

He wore a plain grey shirt, with no jacket and no tie.

His right hand was wrapped in fresh gauze.

He stopped just inside the room and looked at me.

"I'm late," he said. "I took the stairs, and then I came back down, and then I walked around the block."

"You read the letters."

"All of them."

"Audrey had no right."

"She had every right. They were addressed to me."

I could not look at his face, so I looked at the table.

"You withdrew your tenure file. The dean called me an hour ago. He said you resigned your studio, too."

"Yes."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it was your money."

"It was a gift."

"It was yours, and you gave it so I wouldn't know." He came a step closer. "I don't want a studio that's here because you paid for it. I want to be in a room because I earned it, or I want to stand outside with a hand-lettered sign."

"You earned the grant."

"I know. I read the part where you asked them to read my proposal properly." His mouth moved. "That's all you did. You asked a stranger to be fair to me."

"Nicholas, you've thrown away your whole career."

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