Chapter 1 - First Class Shadows
The soft hum of the Boeing 777 twin engines vibrated beneath our feet as the aircraft reached its cruising altitude of thirty-five thousand feet. Beside me, Nolan Voss adjusted his sterling silver cuff links, stowing his leather briefcase with the effortless efficiency of a man who treated international travel as a routine commute.
"I see you kept the understated aesthetic, Paige," Nolan remarked, leaning back into his leather seat and signaling the flight attendant for a glass of scotch. His dark eyes flicked over my simple cream silk blouse, my dark trousers, and the unbranded leather handbag resting at my feet. "Minimalist. Very sensible for commercial travel."
"It's comfortable, Nolan," I replied smoothly, re-opening my hardbound novel. "And three hours in the air doesn't require a tailored tuxedo."
Nolan chuckled, a low, smooth sound that brought back unwanted memories of our four-year marriage. "Still sharp. But let's be honest for a moment—you always had a flair for stubborn pride. When you walked away five years ago, you refused the alimony settlement. My legal team was ready to sign over twenty million dollars, a brownstone in Manhattan, and a generous monthly stipend. Instead, you took your maiden name and left with a single suitcase."
I kept my gaze fixed on the page in front of me, though I wasn't reading a single word. "Money that comes with strings attached isn't financial security, Nolan. It's a leash. I preferred my freedom."
"Freedom," he repeated, swirling the amber liquid in his crystal glass as the attendant served him. "Freedom to do what? Teach high school literature? Work for a boutique publishing firm? I checked up on you, Paige. A year after the divorce, you vanished from New York entirely. No social media, no corporate registry footprint under Paige Mercer, nothing. I assumed you had retired to some quiet seaside village to mourn what could have been."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping into a tone of patronizing pity.
"You didn't have to live in obscurity," Nolan whispered. "If you had just listened to me five years ago... if you had understood that my responsibilities as CEO of Voss Global required my complete focus, we wouldn't be sitting here as strangers. You wanted a fairy tale. I offered you an empire."
"You offered me a golden cage, Nolan," I said, turning to face him directly, my expression entirely calm. "And you didn't listen to a word I said the night you walked out."
Nolan's eyes narrowed slightly, a spark of irritation breaking through his suave demeanor. "I listened, Paige. You wanted emotional grandstanding. You wanted me to drop a three-billion-dollar acquisition meeting with European stakeholders just to stay home because you were 'feeling unwell.' You were being unreasonable."
"I told you I needed you that night," I corrected gently, a cold steel underlying my words. "I begged you to stay for five minutes. Just five minutes so I could give you something that would change our lives forever. Do you remember what you said?"
Nolan sighed, waving his hand dismissively. "I said business doesn't wait for domestic dramatics. And I was right. That acquisition doubled our valuation in Europe."
"You said," I reminded him quietly, "that nothing I had to say could possibly be more important than the future of Voss Global. Then you threw your keys on the hall table, packed your bag, and told your lawyer to serve divorce papers by morning if I wasn't willing to fall in line."
"And you signed them without a fight," Nolan sneered softly, his ego clearly stung by my lack of distress. "Because you knew you couldn't compete with my world. Look at you now, Paige. Sitting in seat 3B, flying commercial to Seattle. Meanwhile, my private jet was grounded in Chicago for routine maintenance, which is the only reason I'm on this flight. Otherwise, our paths would never have crossed."
"It's funny how fate works," I murmured, returning my eyes to my book. "Enjoy your scotch, Nolan."
For the remaining two hours of the flight, Nolan tried multiple times to bait me. He talked loudly on his satellite phone during permitted intervals, discussing multi-million-dollar real estate acquisitions in Bellevue and private dock leases in Puget Sound. He made sure to mention his upcoming merger with the Vance-Hayes Investment Group, the largest private equity firm in the Pacific Northwest.
"The Vance-Hayes family is notoriously private," Nolan observed casually, casting a sideways glance at me. "Old money, multi-generational shipping and technology assets. They don't deal with amateurs. Tonight at the Seattle Waterfront Gala, I'm meeting the mysterious co-founder who took over the chairman's seat three years ago. They say she holds absolute voting power."
"Fascinating," I replied neutrally.
May you like
"It's a world you used to orbit, Paige," he added, a condescending smirk touching his lips. "If you're staying in Seattle for a few days, I could probably get you a temporary pass to the gallery balcony. It might be good for you to see how the real world operates again."
"I appreciate the offer, Nolan," I said, closing my book as the captain announced our final descent into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. "But my schedule is already quite full."
