“I’m on my way to a client meeting nearby,” he said as he ran a hand down his silk tie before adjusting his Windsor knot. “I decided to stop here to get the last of my boxes. Raj, you are keeping the company, the house, and most of the money. Surely you can afford to also retain the housekeeper to open your door.”

“Don’t be salty, darling,” she said, flipping a lock of hair behind her shoulder. “You knew the terms when you signed the prenup. My business, my money, my property. Besides, you will be receiving a nice little settlement.”

He rolled his eyes. “A tenth of our joint savings is nothing and you know it.”

“Well, good thing you have your trust fund, then.” She patted his cheek and stepped aside so that he could enter.

“Are you still mad at me?”

“Yes,” she said. “But you know that. I’ll be nice, though. How do you like your new life, your new apartment?”

He looked around the foyer as if he hadn’t seen it a million times when he’d lived in the house with her. “It’s actually more to my taste than I imagined. I’ve only been there for a few days now, but I have to say, the view from Battery Park is definitely a beautiful sight to see in the morning.”

“I envy you. This brownstone feels more and more like the investment we originally purchased it for. You said you left some boxes here?”

“Yes, and since you were so hasty in changing the keypad codes for the doors, I had to knock. I’m missing a few things that I’d packed away from college. Do you think Kaka can get them for me and bring them out to my car?”

Raj shook her head. “Kaka is busy. He’s leaving for India in a few hours.”

“Again?” He blanched. “Christ. I know that you grew up with him helping you in your family’s house, but he’s taking advantage of you.”

“My house, my rules.” She hated when he criticized the way that she treated Kaka. Robert would never understand how Kaka had protected her and continued to do so even though he was in his seventies now.

Her ex-husband held his hands up in surrender. “I’ll get the boxes and get out of your hair.”

She stepped to the side and waited while he and his driver crossed the foyer and descended the spiral staircase to the lower level. They returned two minutes later. Robert held one small filing box, while his driver had three stacked on top of each other.

Raj held open the door for them to exit, hoping there would be no more small talk, but she wasn’t that lucky. He paused and leaned against the doorjamb.

“Oh, before I go, my assistant got a call from your brother a couple days ago.”

Raj froze. “My brother?”