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Authors: Isabelle Flynn
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can get one of my buddies to help you out. Did she just up and leave?” At Lee’s nod, he continued, “Maybe you could use desertion as grounds for divorce. I’m assuming she hasn’t been faithful, but neither have you.”
Lee opened his mouth and shut it closed with a snap. Faithful? He could be honest with his friend. He could lay it all out on the line but he ’d look like a stooge, a complete idiot. Later, he could tell Jake the whole story but for now he’d stick to the bare facts.
Jake stood up and put his glasses in his pocket. “I’ll go ahead and hire someone in New York to take a look into what your wife has been up to in the last two years.”
“ This situation is delicate. I want as few people to know about it as possible. Make sure this person knows that they are to handle the situation with as much discretion as possible.”
“ Of course. Lee, I’ve got to tell you. You could be in trouble. If this woman wants to, she could really take you for a ride. I mean, we’re talking half of your worth. A good lawyer can make a difference, but maybe you should think about settling.”
“ I’m not giving her a dime. She’s engaged. I’m not letting her future husband walk away with anything I’ve built in the last two years.”
Lee agreed with the curse out of Jake ’s mouth. The situation was messed up. He just needed to get out of it with as little damage as possible.
“ Jake, one more thing. I don’t want to drag her through the mud. She’s not a bad person. She just lost her father and I think it would be best if we kept things as clean as possible.”
Jake paused abruptly in the act of nodding his head. “Her father died? Sam Pierce is your wife?” He threw up his hands. “That explains the look on your face the other day. Now things get a little clearer. She’s not what I would have expected from you. Melissa’s more your type.”
“ What does that mean?”
“ You know what I mean. Ray’s daughter isn’t exactly the wife your mother would be expecting you to bring home, is she?”
In a way, he was right. He had never brought Sam around his family , but that didn’t have anything to do with her and everything to do with the cold, severe home he grew up in. His silence must have been telling because Jake picked up the papers on the desk and slid them into his briefcase. “I’ll call the investigator I’ve used before. I’ll get him on it ASAP.”
Lee scratched out Sam ’s full name, Dylan and Serena’s name, and the general dates of her time in Manhattan. He didn’t have an address, but he assumed a good investigator could find that out with little trouble. He handed off the slip of paper, and without another word, his friend walked out.
He looked around his home office, the one that was meant to be a place of calm, and needed to escape. He headed toward the sliding glass doors and the solace only the beach could give him when his sister’s voice stopped him.
“ Why didn’t you tell me?”
He squeezed the door handle and dropped his forehead on the cold plate glass. He closed his eyes to the view of the water for a breath. A moment later, he straightened and turned to face his sister.
“It’s ancient history, Joanna. We just need to get some papers signed and it’ll be over.”
She sat on a stool by the kitchen counter, a mug of coffee in her hand and a grim look on her face. “It doesn’t look that way to me. You look…” she hesitated as she gave him a once over, “tortured.”
“ I’m not tortured. What I am is tired. I’ve got four small businesses I’m trying to keep afloat. One of which is barely above water.” He walked over to the coffee maker and poured his third cup of the day. He’d slept about four hours last night after working out some ideas for the bar.
“ For what it’s worth, I don’t think she’s doing too well either. She looks tortured, too.”
“ Don’t romanticize this. We’ve been over for years. The divorce is just
Lee opened his mouth and shut it closed with a snap. Faithful? He could be honest with his friend. He could lay it all out on the line but he ’d look like a stooge, a complete idiot. Later, he could tell Jake the whole story but for now he’d stick to the bare facts.
Jake stood up and put his glasses in his pocket. “I’ll go ahead and hire someone in New York to take a look into what your wife has been up to in the last two years.”
“ This situation is delicate. I want as few people to know about it as possible. Make sure this person knows that they are to handle the situation with as much discretion as possible.”
“ Of course. Lee, I’ve got to tell you. You could be in trouble. If this woman wants to, she could really take you for a ride. I mean, we’re talking half of your worth. A good lawyer can make a difference, but maybe you should think about settling.”
“ I’m not giving her a dime. She’s engaged. I’m not letting her future husband walk away with anything I’ve built in the last two years.”
Lee agreed with the curse out of Jake ’s mouth. The situation was messed up. He just needed to get out of it with as little damage as possible.
“ Jake, one more thing. I don’t want to drag her through the mud. She’s not a bad person. She just lost her father and I think it would be best if we kept things as clean as possible.”
Jake paused abruptly in the act of nodding his head. “Her father died? Sam Pierce is your wife?” He threw up his hands. “That explains the look on your face the other day. Now things get a little clearer. She’s not what I would have expected from you. Melissa’s more your type.”
“ What does that mean?”
“ You know what I mean. Ray’s daughter isn’t exactly the wife your mother would be expecting you to bring home, is she?”
In a way, he was right. He had never brought Sam around his family , but that didn’t have anything to do with her and everything to do with the cold, severe home he grew up in. His silence must have been telling because Jake picked up the papers on the desk and slid them into his briefcase. “I’ll call the investigator I’ve used before. I’ll get him on it ASAP.”
Lee scratched out Sam ’s full name, Dylan and Serena’s name, and the general dates of her time in Manhattan. He didn’t have an address, but he assumed a good investigator could find that out with little trouble. He handed off the slip of paper, and without another word, his friend walked out.
He looked around his home office, the one that was meant to be a place of calm, and needed to escape. He headed toward the sliding glass doors and the solace only the beach could give him when his sister’s voice stopped him.
“ Why didn’t you tell me?”
He squeezed the door handle and dropped his forehead on the cold plate glass. He closed his eyes to the view of the water for a breath. A moment later, he straightened and turned to face his sister.
“It’s ancient history, Joanna. We just need to get some papers signed and it’ll be over.”
She sat on a stool by the kitchen counter, a mug of coffee in her hand and a grim look on her face. “It doesn’t look that way to me. You look…” she hesitated as she gave him a once over, “tortured.”
“ I’m not tortured. What I am is tired. I’ve got four small businesses I’m trying to keep afloat. One of which is barely above water.” He walked over to the coffee maker and poured his third cup of the day. He’d slept about four hours last night after working out some ideas for the bar.
“ For what it’s worth, I don’t think she’s doing too well either. She looks tortured, too.”
“ Don’t romanticize this. We’ve been over for years. The divorce is just
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