“First and foremost, I am Henry and Griffin’s attorney for their businesses. If there is a conflict of interest in any way, I have to protect their interest first. Understood?” I simply nodded. “I hope there is no conflict. Secondly, I may need to ask you some embarrassing questions that I expect you to answer honestly.” He looked at me, and I blushed. “I demand honesty.”

“Yes, I will,” I said. For the first time, Jake looked up and smiled and nodded, “Thirdly, my fee … ”

I was about to run with my standard line of having no money, but Jake waved me off. “About my fee: I assume we will put it on your account for now”—as if we were in a bar and running a tab. “Does that work for you?” As if in a game of Simon Says, Jake nodded, and I followed suit. I realized in those moments that talk is not cheap. Jake was getting paid handsomely. He was not here to perform therapy but to get the best outcome. That meant answering the questions he wanted to ask when he asked them.

“Let’s start with the timeline, Bailey.” He picked up some notes that I assumed he received from Larissa. “You and Elliott married on New Year’s Eve. We are now in September. Nine months. Not a good candidate for alimony.” He paused. “What are your joint assets?”

“Just our joint personal and business checking accounts. I have a court order freezing those assets,” I said in an effort to deflect my own feelings of incompetency.

“What about property? The restaurant? Your apartment? Are those jointly held?”

“No,” I replied.

Jake reflected. “After conferring with Larissa, she will do the filing, but she has agreed to let us handle the daily stuff to reduce your expenses. We will do a quick search of New York law to see if you have any rights to those assets.”

Damn. I had frozen those anemic checking accounts. That was the only thing Elliott and I held jointly. I’m sure Jake was used to representing Atlanta socialites who owned multiple homes in Buckhead and beyond.

“That’s why I want my money back. Including the fourteen thousand for the stove,” I started, and Jake waved his hand over his neck to cut me off from talking.

“Bailey, I do not need to know how or where you got that fourteen thousand. It doesn’t constitute comingled funds. Don’t mention it again. Is that understood?” I realized Jake Fein knew a lot more about my marriage than I thought. Including the provenance of that fourteen thousand dollars.

“Understood.” I paused. “Can I just ask one question, Jake?”

He nodded.

“If Elliott has an apartment and a restaurant, why didn’t he just borrow from an equity line? He’s always bragging about his ‘sterling credit.’ Why did he have to go to some loan shark?”