11. Shane
“Linc, what’s up with the early morning runs this week?” I ask.
Declan glances over at me, then to his brother. We sit at the kitchen table scarfing breakfast before heading over to Solum for the day. Linc swallows his bite of cereal slowly, eyes darting first to Dec then back to me.
“Just trying something new.”
Someone new, more like. “Who is she?” I press.
He chokes on his bite, thumping his chest with a fist as he coughs. Dec tosses me a wry smile and shakes his head, amused. Not sure how long you’ll be entertained, friend. I have a feeling I know who it is, and Dec won’t be thrilled.
“She who?” Linc coughs.
“I’m surprised you have time for a girl with how much you’ve been working,” Dec muses. “Where’d you meet her?”
Linc looks up at me with panic in his eyes. I raise my brows and tilt my head, waiting for his answer. After a few moments, he sighs and leans back in his chair.
“I told her I couldn’t lie to you two.”
“Who the fuck asked you to lie to us?” Declan’s glare could strip paint off the walls.
“No, no,” Linc rushes, raising a hand in plea. “She didn’t ask me to lie, sorry. That came out wrong. Fuck.”
“Take a deep breath, kid.”
He huffs at the nickname, but does as I suggest and fills his lungs with a slow inhale through his nose.
“I’ve been running with Lex for the past few days.”
Declan freezes, his eyes locked on his brother. “Excuse you?”
“Dec, come on, man. Don’t be like that.”
“I’m sorry I’m worried about getting fucked over by another woman we don’t know,” Dec snaps.
“Lex is not Anne-Marie, and you know it.” Linc’s brows draw down. “They’re nothing alike.”
“How would you know?” Dec taunts, his fear over being betrayed again on full display, whether or not he realizes it. “You having heart-to-hearts on these daily runs?”
“I…no, it’s not like that. We barely talk, I just…she mentioned she only has time to run at four in the fucking morning and I hated the idea of her doing it alone. So I showed up the other day, and we went together.”
I blink in surprise. Linc’s a good man, but I wouldn’t call him the most thoughtful person. He’s a frat boy through and through, more invested in the fun and games than anything else, especially when it comes to women. Him going out of his way for Lex was telling. Of what exactly, I’m not sure.
“Where do you run?” I ask.
He closes his eyes briefly, then meets my gaze. “We do a loop, starting and ending at her place.”
“You’re fucking kidding me,” Declan growls. “Lincoln, tell me you’re joking.”
“No, I’m not joking.”
“Why the fuck do you know where she lives?” Declan throws his arms wide. “Tell me you’re not making the same goddamn mistake twice.”
Linc levels a finger at his brother. “Hey, that’s uncalled for. Nothing about this feels like a mistake. If there’s anything I’ve learned about Lex in the last week, it’s that she’s an honest, genuine person.”
Declan’s face falls, consternation crossing his features. “How have you even spent enough time with her to make that determination?” He studies his brother’s face for a long moment, then grunts in frustration as he reaches the same conclusion I have. “You’re fucking her, aren’t you? Shane, did you know about this?”
“Dec, chill.” Linc holds his hands out in a placating motion. “Shane didn’t know, because it’s no one’s business but mine and Lex’s.”
“Oh, right, because she asked you to lie to us!”
Linc scrubs a hand over his jaw. “Damnit, man, stop twisting my words. She wanted to keep things between us, and I told her I would be honest if asked. We agreed we wouldn’t broadcast it, but I’m not going to lie to you.” He meets my gaze. “Either of you.”
“Appreciate that,” I murmur, processing his confirmation.
I knew Linc was into Lex, that much was obvious from the moment she stepped into the conference room at Athena. And given their easy banter during the facilities tour earlier in the week, I suspected it was mutual. But I’m surprised to hear things progressed so quickly.
“That’s all you have to say, Shane? Seriously?” Declan laughs sarcastically. “This is a fucking disaster. I told you going to Athena was a terrible idea.”
“Declan, what the fuck? First of all, I’m offended by how little you think of my ability to focus. And second, you have to know Lex is the ultimate professional. Absolutely nothing that’s happening between us is going to negatively impact the deal between Solum and Athena.”
“You can’t know that, Lincoln. This was a reckless, selfish, immature decision. What the fuck were you thinking?”
Lincoln frowns and crosses his arms as he looks down, refusing to meet his brother’s accusatory gaze. Having lost his punching bag, Dec rounds on me.
“Are you seriously not going to back me up here, Shane?”
“Linc’s an adult, Dec. So’s Lex. What they choose to do in their free time is their business.”
Dec lets out a shocked breath, his eyes wild and a vein throbbing down his forehead. “I can’t believe what I’m hearing. This is bullshit.”
He turns on his heel and storms from the room, thundering down the stairs to the basement. Linc sighs and pulls his hat off, running a frustrated hand through his messy curls before resettling it backwards.
“Thanks for backing me up.”
“It’s the truth. We’re all grown ups.”
“I know, I just…I wish Dec could see it that way.” He looks toward the stairs, then shakes his head. “He’s so convinced there’s another villain in our story, and somehow it’s Lex.”
“No, pretty sure he’s cast himself in that role.”
Linc glances up in surprise, then his expression turns thoughtful. After a moment, he scoffs.
‘Yeah, I guess he has. When do you think he’ll figure that out?”
“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? Knowing your brother, it’ll be right before it’s too late and not a minute earlier.”
Tilting his head back to face the ceiling, Linc groans. “I hate that you’re probably right about that.”
He slumps into his chair, then pulls his soggy bowl of cereal closer despondently. Hunched over the table, he looks up between bites.
“You don’t have any questions?” he mumbles around a mouthful of food.
“I have all the questions, Linc.”
He grins. “Fair.”
“Most of them would be a violation of Lex’s privacy, though, so…I’ll keep them to myself. For now.”
His eyes twinkle. “She’s something else, man. That’s all I”ll say.”
“She must be, if she’s got you up before sunrise and willingly going toe-to-toe with Declan.”
He grimaces. “Yeah, it’s not my favorite place to be. But I really think Dec’s got the wrong idea on this whole thing. Lex isn’t the enemy. If anything, she’s exactly what I–what we–need.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I stand, gathering our dishes and taking them to the sink. “I’ll go check on our fearless leader.”
“Not so fearless these days, is he?”
I chuckle. “As much as I love Bold Lincoln, I gotta counsel you to keep the insightful shit between us.”
“I know, I know,” Linc says through a shit-eating grin. “He’d fucking deck me if he heard me psycho-analyze him.”
“He sure would.” I dry my hands on the kitchen towel, then turn for the stairs. “Don’t wait up. If you’re done, head over. We’ll meet you there.”
“Sure thing, man. And, Shane?”
I pause at the top of the stairs, looking back at him over my shoulder.
“Thank you.”
He has the ghost of a smile on his lips, and I return it before heading down the stairs. The Wilde brothers and I have a pretty smooth dynamic. Dec is our self-appointed leader, Linc the jokester, and I usually try to keep anyone from getting killed or overly pissed off. It works, but we admittedly experienced little conflict to test the model. Then Anne-Marie happened. Bitch. Ever since, it felt like everything between us was out of whack. But with Lex and Athena involved, I see an opportunity for us to intentionally evolve into something more sustainable.
I know our time with Lex is temporary, she’s been clear on that, but if we can learn enough from her and her team, we’ll be able to tackle any future challenge. Though we’ll never unlock our potential while Dec has his head in the sand. Or up his ass.
“That hole wasn’t there yesterday,” I observe, walking to stand next to my friend.
He’s facing a section of drywall with a suspiciously fist-sized hole punched straight through. His only response is a grunt.
“You want to tell me why punching walls felt like a good idea?”
“Wall.”
“Come again?”
He glances my way, his expression pinched. “I punched one wall. Not walls.”
“Right,” I drawl. “Apologies. You want to tell me why punching this one singular wall felt like a good idea?”
“I just can’t believe he’s being so stupid, Shane.”
“That’s an uncharacteristically harsh assessment.”
He casts me a side-eyed glare. “I disagree.”
“You have every right to disagree. Doesn’t mean you’re correct.”
He grumbles in frustration, then picks up a tape measure and holds it up to the hole. “I’m concerned about the business and the negative impact she could have. The closer Linc gets, the more risk we’re exposed to. We all let Anne-Marie in, and look how that turned out.”
He can claim it’s all about the business, but I have my doubts. Strong ones.
“Lex owns the top VC in the Bay, Declan. Maybe the country. You think she got there by hosing her clients?”
“No, I–”
“Then help me understand. What on earth would she gain from pulling one over on us?”
He scowls at the hole in the wall, stubbornly refusing to meet my gaze.
“And,” I continue, “if she wanted to take us down, she could’ve shown us the door like she did three years ago. It’s to our benefit she offered us a deal.”
“I know.”
“So what’s the rub, really?”
“I don’t know, Shane,” he says, sarcastic exaggeration ripe in his tone, “but the thought of them together is like nails on a chalkboard.”
There it is. “Sounds like jealousy.”
Dec’s jaw clenches. “Fuck off, Shane.”
I shrug. “I get it, man. She’s intelligent, kind, gorgeous. I’ve got my own green-eyed monster to deal with over the whole thing.”
If Linc and Lex want to have a little something on the side, I won”t begrudge either of them. Lincoln deserves something good, and my gut tells me Lex does, too. But it would be a lie to say I don’t want an invite to their exclusive little party. Fuck, we’d be hot together.
“That’s ridiculous. Jealousy is not what’s going on for me.”
“Sure, Dec.”
“It’s not.”
“I’m not arguing.”
“It’s a ridiculous assertion.”
“Do I even need to be here?” I look around. “Seems like you’re carrying this conversation all by yourself.”
He flops his forehead against his hand, still braced above the hole in the wall. “You’re an ass.”
“Sometimes,” I agree with a bemused smile. “So are you.”
He scoffs and straightens, meeting my gaze briefly. “You’re not wrong.”
I step up beside him and knock my shoulder into his. “Go easy on Lincoln, yeah? He’s trying, and he’s not the source of your frustration.”
Declan takes a long, slow breath. “I know.”
Nodding, I clap him on the shoulder as I turn away. “Come up when you’re ready to be civil.”
“I’m always civil!”
I snort at the claim and head for the stairs.