Page 40 of Soaring Free
“I assure you, I’ve already heard more than I ever wanted to about what you think about my life. Girls like you are all the same, and quite frankly, you two birds of a feather can flock right off together. Grow the hell up.” I spin on my heel and turn to go to the door and see Cami standing next to a table she was wiping down, wide eyed and mouth open in shock. Great, give the girl another reason not to like me. I can’t care about that right now as I rush out of Java Jive.
I barely make it a few feet out of the coffee shop before I hear someone shouting, “Savannah! Wait, Savannah!” I steady my breath before I turn back around to see who is calling after me, but I am floored when it’s Cami rushing out to see me. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I froze in there when I realized what was going on, I’m not good with confrontation but I’ll … I don’t know, I could kick them out or something. You don’t have to leave. I’m sorry, that was awful what they said.”
I shake my head. “You don’t have to kick them out, they aren’t worth it but thank you. I’m fine, it’s fine.” Or I will be, someday. Eventually.
“It’s not fine for them to gossip about you like that, that’s pretty disgusting behavior. Please tell me they weren’t your friends.” Cami looks back to the shop as both offensive women walk out and scurry in the opposite direction down the block toward Brown, Lewis, and Williams.
“Ha, no! One of them works for my ex’s law firm, honestly, they both could for all I know, but the one I recognized never liked me.” I shrug before I compare it to how Cami herself doesn’t like me for some reason.
“That’s really shitty, and I’m sorry. Are you sure you were planning on leaving? It doesn’t feel right for you to have to walk away from them. I don’t like mean girls.”
“I’m sure your boss wouldn’t want to deal with their uproar if you kicked them out.”
She shrugs. “I don’t think he’d care; he made me manager for a reason. He told me it’s up to me if I refuse service to someone.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you were the manager, but really it’s fine, I’m going to just walk back to my car and run a few more errands.” Cami nods and takes a step back before I reach out and touch her arm. “But thank you so much for checking on me. That was very kind of you and I appreciate the gesture, Cami.”
She smiles what is probably the first genuine smile I have seen aimed at me before responding, “Of course. You’re always welcome at Java Jive, bullshit behavior like that is not. I’m glad you’re okay, and please don’t let their mean comments get to you. You’re beautiful and they’re just jealous hens.”
I nod and thank her again before turning around to walk the few blocks back to where I parked my car. Unfortunately, my reprieve of bullshit is short lived. As I pass Thom’s Hardware, my elbow is grabbed, and I’m steered around the corner of the building by none other than my asshole ex himself.
“How long has my phone number been blocked, Savannah?” Shane glowers at me.
“What are you talking about, Shane?” I try to yank my elbow from his grasp and jut my chin out at him.
“I’ve been trying to reach you, but my texts aren’t delivered, and my phone calls go straight to voicemail. That’s not very mature of you, nor how a wife should treat her husband.”
“Husband? No, you gave that title up for a penthouse in Nashville, remember?” I tilt my head as I take him in. He looks well rested, rat bastard.
“Semantics.” Shane looks back to the street—is he checking for witnesses? I don’t think he would hurt me, but maybe this conversation should be on the sidewalk where I can actually see another person. I take a step toward the store’s entrance andShane pulls me back. “No, you don’t get to avoid me or having a conversation with me anymore.”
“What do you want, Shane?” I shove that small voice of fear way down and lean into all the pissed off energy I’ve been carrying around for weeks. It’s not hard to find angry energy to direct at him.
“What the fuck do you think I want? I want this to be over so we can both move on with our lives. I want to be done with this and your family, especially after dealing with the bullshit potential federal sanctions violation, which despite being cleared of within thirty days of that bullshit, the named managing partners love to remind me about the negative attention I brought on the firm.” He shakes his head. “Listen, you have a settlement offer and you need to take it.” He shoves his finger in my face like I’m a child he’s scolding.
I swat his hand out of my face. “You have less than a twenty percent chance of that happening, odds are not looking good, buddy.” I specifically mention the percent so he can figure out that I’m already aware of his most recent bullshit offer. I finally shake my arm loose from him and take a step back, but he unfortunately takes a step closer to me.
“I know you like to think you run things, Sav, but let me be clear. We are not going to keep playing these games.”
“And what games would you be talking about?” I bat my eyes and try to channel my most innocent looking expression.
“Cut the shit. Hiring Theo and his sister as your attorneys, when I know your brother could have paid for anyone to represent you. You had to go and make it personal by picking him.”
The nerve of this prick. “Isn’t it a bit hypocritical for you to comment on making things personal when you took on Kane Daughtry as a client? He is a treacherous leech that is out for one of my brothers. And I’d argue divorce is pretty fucking personal, Shane. At least for anyone with a heart.”
He huffs at me and rolls his eyes, like I’m the one being ridiculous. “I can have a heart but still be reasonable, which youseem to be incapable of doing. I get it, you thought it was a fun insult to hire the golden boy, but you’re wasting your time, Savannah. And I want to be done wasting my time with this divorce. Sign the settlement, or else.”
“Or else what?” Damn it, why does my voice sound smaller than I mean it to sound?
“Or else I’ll bring out the big guns.” A smug smile spreads across his face. “Do you remember our second wedding anniversary?” I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion at where he’s going with this. “Oh, you forgot about the private gift you gave me? It would be a shame for those to become public, wouldn’t it?”
I gasp at his insinuation. For our second wedding anniversary, I had a tasteful, yet very sexy boudoir photoshoot done for a private album of photos for Shane to have, but they obviously weren’t for anyone else to ever see. I had forgotten about the album to be honest, but I can’t remember where it is at the moment.
“If you’re wondering where the album is, it’s safe like I promised it would be, and is currently in the safe at my office. But I can change that if you’d like to play some more games.”
He wouldn’t … would he? “Those were private, Shane.”
“Oh, I know, and they were still some of my favorite photos of you, especially the ones of you in the bathtub, but I’d be willing to share them with the world if it became necessary.”
