Vivian raised one eyebrow, and Jules realized she’d just made an uninvited personal comment. Crap, time to redirect. “Oh! I need to reschedule your pedicurist. Tomorrow morning should still be—”

“I look ‘well’?” Vivian asked.

Her tone had been absolutely neutral, not cold or angry. Jules still broke out in a sweat. “Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“Because—” Was this a trap? “I didn’t mean to presume.”

Vivian raised the other eyebrow as if trying to make sure they both got an equal workout. “Only apologize when you know you’ve done something wrong. And only to the right people.”

We dictate the rules, not them. Vivian had said that to her only yesterday in the lobby of this same building. Another lesson. Jules had never heard her dispense advice to underlings before. She probably didn’t call them at 3:30 a.m. either, though.

Probably.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. “How do I know who the right people are?”

“Trial and error,” Vivian said. “You’ve got a limited number of errors at your disposal.”

Well, that wasn’t news. “Right.” Jules managed a smile.

Vivian did not return it—of course—but instead considered her again with a stare. “Let’s go,” she said and headed back out of the cafeteria.

Jules quickly gathered up their garbage and tossed it in the trash can on the way out.

This meeting was in Preston’s private office. He held the door open for them. “Good morning, ladies,” he said, and added more seriously, “How are you doing today, Vivian?”

“Robert’s admitted to infidelity,” Vivian said. “Tell me what that means for the process.”

Right to the point, then. Jules had expected no less.

Without batting an eyelid, he sat down behind an impressive mahogany desk. “Under the circumstances, I recommend we continue with the original filing of irretrievable breakdown, meaning that your relationship with your spouse has been beyond repair for the last six months. We can finalize it after determining the allocation of assets and responsibilities.”

Jules had to give him points for not adding as you probably remember from last time.

“I got pregnant less than six months ago,” Vivian said quietly. “I’d think that might complicate the situation.”

A hot ball of anger formed in Jules’s stomach. Robert had probably had sex with Vivian knowing full well he would file for divorce soon. While he was cheating on her with someone else too. Gross.

But Preston shook his head. “Sexual relations do not necessarily imply that the relationship is salvageable. It just means the people in the relationship had sex.” He darted a sudden, wide-eyed look at Jules.

Fair enough. Jules was fighting not to cringe. She was listening in on talk about Vivian Carlisle’s sex life with her ex. What sin had she committed in a former life to be here?