She smiled. “Thank you so much. I received a letter of apology from your firm several weeks back, but I’m so grateful that you’re trying to make amends. Since you’re offering a discount, it looks like Simon won’t have to worry about paying. I can handle it.”
Simon exchanged glances with the lawyer. Even with a discount, Aaron’s services were out of her budget. But that was far too awkward a matter to deal with now.
“Everything has already been paid for,” Simon explained smoothly. He had already made the payments and had been more than glad to do it. The truth was, he could deny her nothing.
“Anyway, I think the best strategy for keeping custody of your son is for you to really go after your ex-husband,” Aaron said. “Now is the time to play hardball.”
“I agree,” Simon said.
Heather folded her arms, narrowing her eyes first at the lawyer then directly at Simon. “Well, I don’t.”
“Don’t you at least want to hear what that strategy entails?” Simon asked. As admirable as her stubbornness could sometimes be, he knew how talented Aaron was.
“Fine, I’ll hear it, but I’m not promising anything,” she said.
“Well, I believe that we need to put your ex-husband on the defensive. He lied about the nature of your relationship with Simon. Your ex-husband came at you in the press, and I don’t think you should let him get away with that,” Aaron said.
“But even though Gary was lying at the time, Simon and I are together now,” she pointed out. “We’re keeping a low profile at the moment, but I’m not going to flat out lie about our relationship.”
“I’m not asking you to lie,” Aaron said. “Just show how destructive his revelation to the media was. Show that while you were trying to put out the fire and get rid of the unwanted media attention, Gary insisted on fueling the fire. That hurt your son, didn’t it?”
“I managed to protect my son from most of the news, but it was really hard to pull that off,” she murmured. “I couldn’t have done it without my parents’ help.”
“We can use that,” Aaron said. “Talk about the effort you’ve put into protecting him from Gary’s missteps. On top of all that, I think we need to really dig into Gary’s life. Look for every skeleton in his closet.”
“No,” Heather said firmly. “I don’t mind you using his actual actions against him, but I’m not going to actively try to find dirt on him to ruin his reputation.”
“But finding dirt could help you win this case,” Simon said. “You could have full custody.”
“I don’t want full custody,” she said. “Finn deserves to have both his parents. I’m not trying to punish Gary. This isn’t about payback or anything like that. I just want what’s fair and what’s best for our son. Shared custody is the right call.”
Simon sighed loudly. “I think you need to go after Gary with everything you’ve got. Which includes the services of a lawyer who can look through his private life.”
She didn’t respond. Instead her frown deepened.
“I’m not forcing you into anything,” Aaron said. “You’re the one in charge, Heather. This is all up to you.”
“Is it? Because Simon is paying and—”
“Heather, it is up to you,” Simon interrupted gently. He suddenly realized how much pressure he must have been putting on her by jumping in and telling her what to do. Spending money on her had been a way to help her, not strong-arm her into his way of thinking no matter how right he was. No matter what happened, he refused to let his money get between them. “I’m sorry if you feel pressured. Everything I’ve said is just advice. I’m not trying to force you into anything.”
She gave him a faltering smile, her eyes lighting up. “Thanks. I appreciate that, Simon. I don’t want to go through Gary’s personal life. Bringing up the fact that he tried to pay off Simon or talking about the fact that he rarely sees Finn is fine. I don’t want to do something that would jeopardize his relationship with his son. Maybe that’s naive, but a part of me still believes that Gary could be a good father if he just tried.”