Page 2 of Soaring Free
“Just say it, Jack. What did Max see?” I ask barely above a whisper as things start to sway a bit, and I place my hand on the lounger to steady myself.
Jack takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Max wasn’t positive, but he thought he saw Shane at the bar having drinks with Kane Daughtry. It was too crowded so he couldn’t get closer to verify initially, but Max was pretty confident in what he saw.”
What. The. Hell.
That can’t be right. Kane Daughtry is a liar and a complete cad. He worked for Jack’s company for a few years before he was fired for corporate espionage, and they still have all kinds of ongoing issues with the loser tied up in court. On top of that, Kane likes to make things personal.
When Jack was in college, he launched a streaming service with his best friend Wells Sinclair. They quickly grew the company with a few other friends, and Lux has been successful beyond anything I could have ever imagined—and financially lucrative as well. Due to the impressive success Jack’s company has achieved, paparazzi occasionally show up to try and find anything juicy about my brother or his personal life. Kane has gone out of his way multiple times to trash my brother’s name in the press, telling salacious lies to try and steal some of my brother’s thunder. Kane loves to pop up onThe Spill, whereas Jack would prefer to keep his personal life as private as possible. Jack never gives that kind of press too much attention—he doesn’t want it—but if our family had sworn enemies, Kane Daughtry would be at the top of that list.
“But it was crowded, right? And you said Max wasn’t sure if it was Shane with that twat, so maybe it wasn’t him?” What was Shane doing last night? “He was in Nashville for … a client event … or at least, that’s what he told me.”
“Well, like I said, Max wasn’t sure, and I wanted to verify anything before bringing it to you, so on my way here, I called Liam and had him look into it,” Jack replies.
“And did he? Did Liam look into it?” My voice raises unintentionally.
“Yeah, Liam had someone check it out. There is very clear video evidence of Shane meeting with Kane for close to two hours last night. That’s not to say he’s taking him on as a client, and I don’t know the nature of the meeting, but Shane still had drinks with the asshole. At one point, Kane also handed Shane what we believe looked like a flash drive, but there’s no way to verify if that’s what it was or what was on it.”
My husband had drinks with someone who is gunning for my brother. He betrayed my family.
I know Shane has never been close to my brothers, but anyone that comes after my family in the press, might as well come after me personally—and my husband not only had a conversation with the man, but sat and had drinks with him for almost two hours? I suppose I should be thankful there aren’t photos leaked to the gossip sites about the meeting, as we know Kane loves to tip them off to anything that will get him any attention, but I’m not finding any gratitude in my heart right now. Shane knows how I will view this and I’m speechless that he still met with the man. I vaguely hear Vivian filling Jack in on the penthouse and divorce drama. I guess Shane really is done with me … I’m just the last one to know.
Vivian rubs my back, bringing me back to the present. “Sav, honey, what can we do right now?” Vivian asks in a soothing tone.
I shake my head as I sniffle and swipe my tears with the back of my hand. Glancing down at my hands, I’m shocked I still had mascara to cry off at this point as I sit back and take a deep breath. “Right now, you can order us some dinner and sit with me while I feel all these shitty feelings. Then tomorrow, when I get started, y’all can have my back, and help me find the best tactics.”
Vivian tilts her head and glances at our brother. “We always have your back, but what starts tomorrow?”
“Today was the last day I help make his life good. Tomorrow, Shane Williams will discover how good he’s had it—and I will do anything and everything to make his life hell.” I finish off the glass of wine and look up at my sister. “He wants to be done? He’s justdone with me, our life, our girls, all of it? Okay, that’s fine. He can be done. I’m just getting started.”
Chapter two
Last September
Four months prior to penthouse discovery
Slightly shaking my hair out after flipping my head upside down, I assess the results of my effort, and boy did I put in effort today. I know I’m a beautiful woman, but tonight, I’m a damn knockout.
Earlier after I dropped the girls off at Daddy’s, I took my time getting ready—including taking an extra hot shower without a single person interrupting me to ask a question or tattle on a sibling. It was bliss. I expertly applied my makeup and partially dried my hair while enjoying an epic playlist of my favorite early 2000s pop hits. Once my hair was in rollers, I finished dinner while my hair set. After a final spritz of hairspray, I check the time on my phone, and even with taking longer to get ready, I’m finished with a few minutes to spare.
I set the dining room table to look like a picnic table. Back when we first started dating, Shane and I used to love getting carry out from a local diner near his place and eating on the rooftop of his condo building. There wasn’t a proper dining table up there, and half the time I wasn’t sure we were even supposed to be up there, but Shane would bring a blanket and we would have a private picnic. I smile at the memory of how simple things were between us back then. I’m hoping to bring a little piece of that magic back tonight.
We met shortly after I started working as a marketing executive for a large advertising firm in Nashville and he was a rising attorney at what was then Brown and Lewis, before Shane was promoted to named partner a couple of years ago. But back then, we were both focused on our careers and loved everything about living in the heart of Nashville. We went out to parties, award shows, and incredible concerts. We had so much fun together and being with him was so easy, it was a foregone conclusion that he was the one for me. Any relationship prior to him was always so much work and I always had to sacrifice or settle, but not with Shane. He met every requirement, fulfilled every request, and was everything I was looking for back in my twenties.
Or … at least, I thought he was.
But we’ve built a good life—a great life, really. Every day may not look like the happily ever after I imagined when I was younger, but that’s life. It’s not always easy, or fun, or honestly even good. Some days are messy and hard. Despite being married with three beautiful children, and having a close-knit family that is nearby, sometimes I find myself feeling lonely in my own house. I don’t like to dwell on those feelings and often have to remind myself that it must be perfectly normal to feel this way.
But tonight is for celebrating and it should be a happy evening. It’s our thirteenth wedding anniversary, and I blocked our dinner off on Shane’s calendar six months ago. I also made sure his assistant confirmed it on his schedule three days ago, so he should be walking through the door any minute. I run a hand down the front of my dress, smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles. The navy wrap dress is forgiving enough with my generous curves that you can’t immediately tell that I’m wearing lingerie under it, but I’m excited to surprise Shane with it tonight after dinner—or maybe even before dinner is served.
When was the last time we had sex outside of the bedroom? It’s been far too long if I can’t even remember when or where it was.
I specifically ordered tonight’s matching lingerie set in Shane’s favorite color, deep emerald green. He has commented multipletimes over the years that it made me look like a goddess whenever I wore this specific shade, and tonight, I want him to remember us, to remember our passion and our love, and how we used to be before we were busy with his career and our kids. We were a team, just the two of us. We need to get back to that place in our relationship and remember that all of this is because we fell in love with each other.
I smile with anticipation of seeing my husband—and his reaction to his present under my dress. I check the clock over the stove. Hmmm, I thought he would be home by now, but I guess he isn’t technically that late. I light some candles on the dining room table and turn on the music so the vibes are perfect. The salmon is resting but I don’t want the roasted vegetables to get cold, so I decide to wrap them in foil and stick them in the oven on low.
While I wait, I decide to pour myself a glass of wine. It’s not the same wine we would have shared back in the days of our rooftop picnics, but like a lot of things in life, our tastes and preferences have evolved and changed throughout the years. I personally think my preferences have evolved for the better, even if my wine taste is much more expensive these days.
One glass turns into two, but my husband still isn’t home. I try calling him but it just rings before going to voicemail. I don’t make a habit of it, but I decide to call the main office line. A receptionist I know answers the phone and sends my call back to a conference room. It rings twice before one of the junior partners that Shane often works with answers it. Kyle puts me on hold, and a few minutes later, my husband finally surfaces.
