23. Chapter Twenty-Three | Savannah #3
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 and Shane 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 you seem 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.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I know. But I didn’t even share with you yet what I’m considering doing with them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, I would submit them as evidence in the divorce proceedings as I file for joint or maybe even sole custody of our girls. I mean, I have to do what’s best for our girls, and if their own mother doesn’t have the integrity and morales to raise our girls like we always intended, then as a God-fearing man, I’ll be forced to take action.
” I audibly gulp at his claim. He is blatantly threatening me right now but so long as he has those photos, no one can stop him.
“Or … if the judge thought th ey were too boring, I do wonder what your fellow members of the PTA would think of them.”
“Shane, please don’t do this. Please don’t do this to our girls.
” My plea is barely a whisper and I can feel the tears running down my face.
I’m not ashamed of those photos, but for him to insinuate that he would put them out there for anyone else to see is a violation of trust I did not see coming—not from him.
“Then sign the fucking settlement and close the chapter on the bullshit, Savannah. It’s up to you.
” He checks his watch and grumbles something I can’t decipher.
“Tell your attorney you accept the settlement, and I would recommend you do that soon, darling.” He then tilts his head before he has the audacity to wipe my tears from my face.
“You always were so pretty, even when you cried.” He leans in to kiss my cheek, pulls back, and hums before turning and walking away like he didn’t threaten my entire world.
Bile is creeping up my throat. I can’t let him do this. I can’t let him threaten me like this and get away with it. There is no way in hell I’m letting him win, and there is no fucking way he is taking my girls away from me.
I tried calling Theo as soon as I got in my car and locked the doors, but he must still be in court so I sent him and Pippa a group text explaining what happened and I’m sure I will hear back from one of them soon. I text The Cavalry as soon as I get home.
Me
I already messaged Pippa, but you all need to be aware that Shane cornered and threatened to publicly embarrass me with private photos and file for sole custody of my girls.
I don’t know if any of you have been holding back on any of your anger with him leaving me, but I’m open to any and all suggestions .
Vivian
He did WHAT?! That’s blackmail!
Jack
Did you let Pippa know about this? Where was the confrontation? Could there be video footage of it?
Me
Doubtful, he pulled me to the side of Thom’s Hardware when I walked by.
Finn
So does this mean I finally get to punch him in the face?
Me
Honestly, I’m good with it.
Ryan
No punching him in the face… yet.
Jack
Ryan’s right. We need Sav to have the legal stuff settled first.
Moments later my screen lights up with an incoming call.
“Hi,” I barely squeak out the greeting to Liam but I’m so exhausted from the coffeehouse bullshit, then being threatened, physically accosted, and even the creepy kiss on my cheek has drained me emotionally.
I have two hours until I need to pick up the girls and I plan to spend most of that time in my current position of curled up on the couch in a ball.
“Hi, Sav. I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me and not tiptoe around it because I’m your brother, okay?” Shit. He’s going to ask about the damn photos.
“Uh-huh.”
“What are the photos of and where are the copies of the photos he’s using to threaten you?” Liam’s voice doesn’t falter so he is apparently better at having awkward conversations today than I am.
“They are photos from a tasteful but … revealing photo shoot I had done for one of our anniversaries. There is only the physical copy of them in an album that he said is in the safe at his office. He threatened to have them entered as evidence in our divorce.”
Liam growls at that. “Are there any digital copies?”
“No, that’s why I chose the photographer I did. She gave me the negatives of the photos and I burned them in our firepit years ago.”
“That’s good you got rid of them, but do we know he hasn’t made copies?”
“I didn’t even think of him making copies.” I groan and pull the blanket over my head. This day just keeps getting better.
“Don’t worry about that right now, and in fact, don’t worry about this at all, okay? I’m going to handle it and that’s all you need to know.” Liam’s voice is deceptively calm. I’m not buying it.
“Liam, the only way to handle this other than my ex to stop being a fucking asshole is to get my hands on that album and I don’t see him opening his safe for me anytime soon.”
“Savannah, do you trust me?” Liam asks.
“Of course.” My response is automatic, I don’t even have to think about it. I trust Liam—and all of my siblings—without hesitation.
“Then trust me to handle this, okay? Fill Theo in, but then don’t talk to anyone else about it, okay?”
“Okay, if you say so, Liam. And thank you. I don’t know how you’re going to fix this, but I just hope you can.”
“I’ve got you. And Finn is going to have to get in line to punch that asshole in the face when this is all said and done.” Liam’s comment makes me laugh unexpectedly, the first time I’ve even been able to smile since leaving Java Jive earlier today.