Chapter 14

SHANNON WAS UNHAPPY.

That wasn’t an unusual state these days. Her husband was the kind of guy who could use his wealth, good looks, and charisma to get nearly anything—including any woman—he wanted. Shannon had identified that characteristic years before and decided to use it to her advantage. His affair with her had led to his divorce from his first wife.

As a result, he’d forced her to sign a prenuptial agreement that would lock Shannon out of whatever wealth he had when they married. She’d been fine with that, since wife number one and child support had stripped Royce of most of his wealth. They started out far closer to even than he suspected. But he had a high-power position in JeriCorp and she had good prospects in the finance department. It turned out he needed her as much as she wanted him.

The prenup had no restrictions. Any divorce, initiated by either party, for any reason, would result in an even split of assets and liabilities, excluding anything either brought to the marriage. Royce didn’t want to be on the receiving end of an infidelity suit like he’d been with wife number one. He hadn’t quite realized at first that it gave wife number two equal immunity to such a suit.

Shannon still wasn’t happy that her husband had arranged to have Bruce laid off after her affair with him.

But she was also smart. Her strength in finance was that she could spot opportunities and capitalize on them. Building up the Duvals’ financial standing had been mostly her management. Creating the consortium that bought a quarter section in the property Lawrence Jerico was snatching up was her idea and she’d kept the lid on the deal through any means necessary.

Now, Royce wanted to go ‘walk the property.’

Shannon offered to go with him, but he had a reason she shouldn’t go for every offer she made.

“I’ll come and help,” she said. “You always practice best with an audience.”

“Don’t be silly. You’d be bored to death. And you hate nature. I’ll be fine and I’ll be home for dinner. Or, if not, I’ll call you as soon as I have a signal,” Royce said.

“You won’t have a signal?”

“That’s part of what I’m checking on. I’m told we have to have five bars of service through the entire property, or I need to contact the cell companies and negotiate new towers. You know, it all falls on me. Nothing in this company would ever get done if I didn’t go out and do it.”

“Yeah. How well I know.”

He’d packed an overnight bag, just in case he got muddy and tossed it into his car. Shannon kissed him goodbye and went directly to her car to go get groceries. Not that she ever cooked anything, but it was always nice to have something sweet to go with coffee in the morning. As soon as Royce turned the corner, Shannon reversed and followed at a safe distance.

This trip and Royce’s ready list of reasons she shouldn’t join him had all the markings of an affair. She was beyond caring if Royce found someone new to sleep with, but she wanted information. Knowing things, like who he was meeting, gave her leverage.

He didn’t head straight for the highway. She wondered at first if he’d left something he needed at the office. He stopped at a downtown apartment complex and Shannon watched as Erin Scott came out of the building with a large notebook, and tossed an overnight bag in the back of the car. She didn’t look like she was on a date, dressed in blue jeans and a flannel shirt, but some women looked spectacular no matter what clothes they threw on.

Seeing Erin Scott leave with Royce gave Shannon an idea. This would help undermine Preston Carver and move her husband up the corporate ladder. She turned toward the high-end market on the north side of town. They would have everything she needed.

Showcase Foods could always be depended on to have gourmet meals ready to take home and eat. Shannon checked to see she had everything together, including two bottles of wine, then entered the code for Carver’s private elevator. She’d worked with the security company when they set up this elevator and knew the override code to enter on the keypad without needing a matching card.

When the elevator arrived at the penthouse, she had to move two batches of things before she could let the door close. She looked around and set her bags on Erin’s desk.

“Oh, Preston! It’s Shannon. I’ve brought you a surprise.”

“What? What?” Preston said, sticking his head out of the kitchen. “What are you doing here? How did you get up here?”

“I took the elevator. Apparently, my key card works. Doesn’t everyone’s?”

“N-n-no! Access strictly l-l-limited. P-p-please g-g-go.”

“Oh, but Preston, Royce has told me how hard you’ve been working this past week. I’ve just brought you lunch so you can relax for a while,” Shannon persisted.

“I-I-I have lunch. I c-c-cook.”

“Really? Things smell delicious. What are you making?” Shannon asked as she entered the kitchen.

“It-Italian roulade with r-r-red sauce and pasta. I-I-I’m a little far along to switch to a different lunch. P-please. L-l-l ... Go!”

“Well, we can share. You wouldn’t turn a poor wayfarer away, would you, Preston? My husband and your assistant have gone off for a weekend together and I’m feeling abandoned.”

“Th-they what? Together?”

Shannon knew exactly what she was doing. Royce had talked all week about how Preston doted on his new assistant. There was no reason for the CEO and Chairman of the Board to have such a buffer from reality. Preston couldn’t function in public without panicking. A good assistant was a cushion he could depend on. Royce was supposed to be the only one he depended on.

“Yes. You know Royce. He’s never been able to keep his pants zipped when he’s around a willing woman. I try to ignore it most of the time, but sometimes I just get so lonely when he’s off playing with another toy.”

Shannon tossed off her assessment so casually that it caught Preston by surprise. He paced across the room shaking his head.

“N-n-not Miss S-S-S ... Maizie.”

“Oh, I could tell the day she applied for the job that she intended to nail a company exec. Those gold diggers always give themselves away. She must have gotten tired of waiting for you and decided to dig her nails into Royce. Have you dated?”

“N-no! She’s my p-p-p ... assistant. We work! She ... we ... couldn’t...”

“Oh, I’m sure that whatever you have for her to do would still leave time for romance. You don’t have much work up here. She’s that kind of girl, you know. I wish Royce was made of sterner stuff, like you are. He’s always been an easy target for a sneaky woman.”

“L-l-like you,” Preston managed.

“Oh, I’m not sneaky. Royce knew what I wanted from the first time he met me. I told him as much. Like I’ll tell you that if you need a little comfort this afternoon, I’m available.”

“N-n-no.”

“When I started here, I was a broken woman—recently dumped and trying to find my way on my own. I was vulnerable and Royce saw it. Nonetheless, I told him right off that I was only interested in marriage and if he wanted me, he needed to be single. But he saw my vulnerabilities and before I knew it, I was married to a man with roving eyes.”

Preston was wandering around the room, gasping for breath under Shannon’s assault. She had him right where she wanted him. If she slept with him, he’d feel guilty and want to give something to Royce. Even if she didn’t his head would be full of images of Royce with the Scott woman.

“Let me help you, Preston,” she said, stroking his arm as he passed. He jerked away, looking like a deer in the headlights.

“Roulade...” he managed, stumbling to the kitchen. He pulled the tray out of the oven and set it on the unused part of the stove. Shannon put a wine bottle in his hand and had him sit at the table.

“I see that little gold digger had her hooks in you. If I’d known you cared about her, I’d have done my best to hold Royce back. Drink a glass of wine. I’ll get the roulade ready. Oh! Fresh pasta. How nice.”

She put the pasta in the boiling water, careful not to let Preston see her smile. This was working out better than she’d hoped. Whether Royce seduced Erin or not, Preston would never trust her again. She transferred the roulade to the waiting cutting board. She had no idea how this was supposed to be served, but it was obvious it needed to be sliced. Everything was out and ready for serving, so all she needed to do was add a place setting for herself. There was plenty of food.

“Relationships these days are all so complicated,” Shannon said as she set the table. Preston hadn’t moved to open the wine. He was fidgeting with one of those cube toys. Stupid thing for a grown man to do. She took the bottle of wine and opened it, pouring generous glasses for each of them. She drained the pasta and served the sliced roulade, pasta, and red sauce. Preston stared at the plate she set before him.

“This is a lovely meal, Preston. Thank you so much!” He just stared at his plate. “Do I need to cut your meat for you?” she asked, trying not to let disdain creep into her voice. Preston looked up. He stared at the food and at Shannon.

“I don’t like you. P-p-please leave.”

He stood from his place and went upstairs to stretch out on his bed. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling until he fell asleep.

Shannon took another bite of the roulade. It was pretty good. Too bad Preston was stuck pretending to be a corporate executive. He’d make a good chef. If it wasn’t for Royce, the company would go down the drain. And she’d just made Royce’s next step easier. Preston would never trust his assistant again and without her, Shannon was certain Preston was little more than a gibbering idiot. Royce wasn’t a deep thinker, but he was a great leader. She had a plan for her husband and it didn’t need Preston Carver as CEO or Chairman.

She finished her glass of wine and left the table. In the living room/office area, she picked up a cube and fiddled with it. They always got stuck when she tried to work them. She forced it to turn and a piece fell off. She looked at it and then pressed it back onto the corner until the magnets caught and it snapped into place.