Shane had been sitting in his office for about 10 minutes now trying to wrap his mind around what just happened. He had tried Capri a few more times and her phone was still shut off. He was trying to replay the interview over in his head, it was over a week ago and he talks to so many people it was hard to remember exactly what he had said. He remembered the woman asking a lot about Marissa and he tried his best to brush off questions but still be polite.
"Tracy, can you come in here a sec?" Shane said calling his assistant in over the speaker phone on his desk.
"Sure Shane, I'm on my way." She replied. Tracy had been his assistant for about 5 years now. She was in her early 30s now and worked very hard. She knew Shane's routine and they worked real well together. Things were usually very causal between the two of them, he told her the first day she started working for him to never call him Mr. McMahon, that was his father, it was always first name basis. Being his assistant for over 5 years now, she had seen Shane try to fix his marriage and saw it ultimately fail. Tracy would never overstep her boundaries but it broke her heart to see such a nice guy going through so much pain and never talking about it. When he first split with Marissa, all the other McMahon's would ask Tracy how Shane was doing on multiple occasions. However Tracy had seen such a change in Shane the last several months. He was back to his old self again, in fact Tracy didn't think she ever saw her boss so happy and she knew it was because of the new woman in his life. Capri had come to the office a few times when she came down for the weekends. There was actually one Friday afternoon where a board meeting had ran way over and Shane was stuck in there. Capri came by because she was supposed to be meeting him and this gave Tracy and Capri time to chat and get to know one another. Over an hour later and when had finally come out of his meeting, the two women were sitting at Tracy's desk looking like the best of friends. Shane laughed at the sight and said it was time that the' two woman that ran his life' had finally met.
Shane's office door swung open, "What's up boss?" Tracy said smiling walking into the room but the second she did, she realized the air just wasn't right.
"Remember that interview I did last week with that magazine? I need you to find a copy of it. This is very important. I don't know if you can find it online or go out to the store and pick one up, I really don't care. I need it right now." Shane said barking orders at Tracy. Now she knew something was up, Shane was usually a please and thank you kind of boss. He never demanded anything; that was more his father's style. Shane was actually known throughout the whole office building at being the best McMahon to work for.
But Tracy knew it must be important if he was acting like this and set off right away to find what he wanted. She went back to her desk and pulled up the magazine's website searching around for a couple minutes until she found what she was looking for. Quickly she printed it out and ran it back to Shane who grabbed it from her then dismissed her back to whatever she was doing before.
Capri needed to be alone so after telling JoJo that she would be fine and call her in a little while, she as finally able to get her to leave. She was going insane in the house and decided that she needed to get out so she leashed up Stormy and decided a run down the beach was what she needed. Capri didn't live far from the beach so she decided instead of driving there, her and Stormy would jog the whole way. Once she made it to the water, she sat down on the sand looking out at the ocean. These were the times she missed her mom the most, she would know what to say to make Capri feel better. The words she read in that magazine were burning a hole in her brain. Out of all the loser men out there, she really thought she found the perfect one that would never hurt her. Yeah, they have bumped heads over the past 5 months but it kept things interesting. She was really fully 100% in love with this man and she really thought he was in love with her too. She thought back to his family's charity event and telling her that he loved her for the first time. He was so nervous when he said it and Capri thought it was the most romantic thing. Shane always made her feel like the most important person in the room. So why would he say these things? She knew how difficult a divorce was especially if it was from the only person you had ever loved so if he was having second thoughts about a divorce and wanted to give it another try than fine but he shouldn't be dragging Capri along. She was just getting too many mixed signals at the moment and didn't really know what to think. After staring out over the horizon for a few minutes she picked up Stormy's leash and the two starting running as Capri tried to clear her head and sort everything out.
Meanwhile back at WWE headquarters, Shane was in his dad's office flipping out. He had read the article three times before marching up to his dad. Stephanie happened to be walking by her dad's door and heard her brother going off so she had to poke her head in to make sure everything was okay. "Shane! What the hell are you screaming about?" Steph barked at her older brother. She looked over at her dad who just had a blank look on his face staring at his son. It wasn't often that Vince McMahon had nothing to say.
"Look at this bullshit!" Shane said tossing the papers at his sister, "Can you believe these assholes, they completely twisted my words!" Shane was fuming.
Steph sat down in one of the chairs in front of her father's desk as her brother paced back and forth. "Alright relax, hold on." Steph said as she quickly read what her brother handed her, trying to get up to speed.
"Shane, you've got to calm down. This is just a stupid interview with a trashy magazine. I never should have agreed to anyone here doing it. Everyone knows you don't want to make up with Marissa, that ship as long sailed." Vince said trying his best to keep his son's temper at bay.
Stephanie looked up from the papers, "Okay wait a minute, what exactly did you say?"
Shane stopped pacing and glanced at his sister, "All I said was that things happen in relationships and unfortunately we couldn't make ours work. They asked me if I still cared for her and I answered honestly, as much as the bitch screwed me over I will always care for her. She WAS my wife for Christ sakes. But the way these fuck heads make it seem is that I would get back together with her tomorrow. Capri read it and now isn't speaking to me."
Steph was now getting the big picture, Capri was upset and quite frankly Steph didn't blame her, "Shane why when they asked you if you were dating anyone, you said no?"
Shane finally slumped down in the chair next to his sister shaking his head in defeat, "I don't know, it was just reflex. I thought it would be better the media thinking I wasn't dating anyone. I don't want people tracking her down and bothering her, wanting to know who she is."
Vince stood up walking to the other side of his desk sitting on the edge of it in front of his grown children. "Shane look, who cares about this trash." he said taking the papers from Steph's hands and throwing them in the garbage basket. "Your girlfriend doesn't understand this world. She doesn't understand that companies like this are not journalists, they are just people that will say anything to get other people to buy their product. What's done is done, you can't take this interview back. What you need to do is fix things with Capri. You love her?"
"More than you know." Shane answered.
Vince looked at his son and started to see that old depressed look coming back that he had seen for too long. "Then you need to fight. You're my son, you are a McMahon, don't let these assholes take something so precious away from you. Go and talk to her."
Steph looked at her brother, just like Vince she was started to see Shane retreat back into his shell like he had been doing before Capri came into his life. "Dad's right bro, this girl loves you. You just have to explain to her what you meant and why you told them you weren't involved with anyone. She will understand once she calms down and you talk to her."
"Guys she won't even turn her phone on. How can I talk to someone who won't even pick up the phone when I call? This was supposed to be the best weekend for her birthday and now its all fucked up." Shane said.
Steph and Vince glanced at each other before the eldest McMahon spoke again, "Well there's other ways to talk to someone besides a telephone."
Shane was silent for a minute, his dad and sister were right. If Capri wouldn't get on the phone than he would have to make it more difficult for her to ignore him. He wouldn't lose her over something so ridiculous.
Shane had taken his motorcycle to work this morning. With fall already here he didn't have many more opportunities to ride it so he started taking it out as much as possible. He had given Capri her first ride on a bike earlier in the summer. She had never been on the back of one and was so nervous; Shane remembered how it took some convincing to get her on it and when he started the engine she grabbed his waist so tight. He could feel her shaking like a leaf behind him. Shane took it slow at first until he could sense that Capri was feeling more comfortable. Towards the end of the ride she was having the time of her life. Not that Shane needed another reason to love riding but having Capri on the back pressing her body up against his, quickly made its way to the top of the list of reasons he preferred that way to travel. In no time at all, Shane was speeding up the highway on his way up to Boston. If he calculated it right, he would hopefully miss all the Friday afternoon traffic and get there in a few hours. The ride would do him some good anyways, he needed time to clear his head and gain perspective on what was important in life.
Few hours later and JoJo was back over checking on her best friend. When she walked in she was laying on her couch with the dog at her feet looking all kinds of depressed. When she got back from the beach, she had turned her phone back on and checked to see if she had any missed messages from Shane. She was a little disappointed when there was nothing but she kind of understood. After much time alone at the beach she was a little embarrassed at how she reacted.
"Jo, maybe you were right. Maybe this whole thing is one big misunderstanding." She said sadly.
JoJo had known Capri most of their lives and could tell her best friend had been crying most of the day. Her eyes were all puffy and her voice was shaking. She sat down on the couch taking half of the blanket she was using and looked at her best friend. "Girl, you've got it bad for this boy." She said laughing.
Capri looked down at her phone again, "Think he'll call?" she said.
"After the way you ripped his head off, I'm sure he's afraid to." JoJo said. "You should call him."
Capri reached for her phone and tapped Shane's name then placed the phone to her ear. It rang and rang then eventually went to voicemail. Capri sighed thinking he might be ignoring her, little did she know that he couldn't hear his phone being on the bike.
Hour later and Capri was getting more upset, Shane hadn't called her back. JoJo was starting to get a little freaked out too, but decided to order some Chinese food which was her best friend's ultimate comfort food. Capri kept insisting that she wasn't in the mood to eat and would try later so JoJo started a fire in the pit outback and dragged her depressed insane friend outside to at least try and enjoy some outdoor time. JoJo made a pitcher of sangria and was trying to entice Capri with that. Just to humor her friend, Capri made a glass for herself and took a few sips but on an empty stomach, she knew she would start to feel nauseous so she very slowly took a few sips .
Stormy had been laying at the girls feet enjoying being outside with them. Both women thought she was asleep but all of sudden the husky jumped up and headed towards the gate that went out to the driveway. She started barking like crazy letting Capri and JoJo know that someone was here. "Jesus, Jo did you order more damn food?" Capri asked. JoJo shook her head no and both girls stood up getting a little freaked out at what the dog was barking at. Then Capri heard the only voice that made her stomach do flip flops.
"Damnit Storm, be quiet, they can hear you in fucking Texas." He said walking into the yard and petting the dog on the head calming her down.
Capri felt her heart in her throat. She couldn't believe he was here. After everything she said this morning, then hanging up, and shutting her phone off she thought for sure he was over her. Shane very slowly made his way over to the two women. Before either Shane or Capri could say anything JoJo stepped forward and stood in front of Capri facing Shane. "For the record McMahon, I really hope this is one big misunderstanding because you do make my best friend very very happy." She then turned to Capri, "I'll leave you two alone but I'll be in the house if you need me." She gave Capri a big bear hug and whispered in her ear, "See, told you he was crazy about you." And with that she made her way to the back door of the house.
The sun was just starting to set and it was a gorgeous sunset. Both just stared at one another for a minute not knowing what to say. Finally Capri broke the silence, "Hi"
Shane smiled sofly, "Hi" He was about to start explaining himself then saw tears forming in Capri's eyes. "Please don't cry" he whispered taking one more step closer to her.
Capri shook her head whipping the tears out of her eyes, "Strangely enough I'm crying because I'm relieved. As much as I don't know what to say to you right now, I am so happy you're here."
Shane smiled at his girlfriend and finally wrapped his arms around her, "Where else would I be huh? Look, I need to explain this whole interview thing." He motioned for her to sit down in front of the fire and he took the seat next to her.
"Shane wait, before you start I want to apologize. I should have called you and expressed my concerns over this. Not avoid you all day and then blow up at you. You deserve better than that." Capri said looking deep into Shane's dark chocolate eyes.
"Capri stop, you had every right to be upset. I do wish that you had discussed it with me. I always want you to come to me with anything that upsets you, especially if it's going to affect our relationship. Look, the way that magazine twisted what I said is ridiculous. They completely quoted me wrong and took what I said out of context. I don't want to fix my marriage. My marriage is over, its dead and you know what, I'm happy about that. I'm happy because I have found the most amazing person, the real person that I was meant to spend my life with. But with that being said, I also can't ignore my life prior to you. I was with Marissa for the majority of my life and she was my wife for 10 years. A part of me will always care about her but in no way does that mean I want to get back together. At that point I was just trying to say anything to get this interview over with. You have to understand something, I am used to talking about wrestling or business. I don't talk about my personal life so I was completely caught off guard with this interview and handled it completely wrong."
Capri took a second to process everything he just said. She could understand where he was coming from. Even though Ryan completely broke her heart, she would always in someway care about him. You can't spend that much of your life with someone and instantly stop caring about them. She also understood about the media and them twisting things to try and get more interesting stories. But there was still one thing that was bugging her.
"Why did you say you weren't seeing anyone." She asked.
"Babe, you gotta understand something. These people can be vultures. If I had said that I was in a relationship with someone, they would stop at nothing until they found out who you were. They would be in front of your house taking pictures, at your dad's restaurant, they would follow you when you went to the grocery store. I don't want that for you. I don't want you not to be able to live your daily life because you are attached to me. Trust me, if you want me to shout it from the Empire State Building that I am in love with the most gorgeous girl on this planet, I will. But I really truly was trying to protect you when I said that."
Capri had heard enough. She jumped up and planted the biggest most passionate kiss she had every given anyone right on Shane's lips. "Baby I am so sorry." Capri said now crying. Shane wiped the tears falling from her eyes. Capri batted his hands away, "No I'm fine really but seriously, you have been the most amazing man and I completely ruined this weekend because I was insecure about myself."
Shane smiled at her, "Shhh…. It's okay. I should have explained what happened before it got printed. I just really didn't give it a thought, it was a stupid interview that I should have never done. And babe for the record, this weekend if far from ruined." With that, Shane reached behind him and unzipped his backpack he had carried in with him. He then pulled out an envelope and handed it to Capri. "I was going to wait until tomorrow on your actually birthday to give this to you as kind of a birthday gift, but I want you to open this now."
"Shane, I told you I didn't want anything. Especially after how I acted, I don't deserve it." She said looking at Shane.
"Capri, shut up and just open the fucking envelope." He said laughing at his incredibly stubborn girlfriend.
Capri finally did as she was told and pulled out a series of documents that looked to be from a lawyer. She read the first few lines still not connecting the dots, she looked up at Shane with a confused look.
Shane had a big smile on his face, "Babe, these are my official divorce papers. Judge finally signed off on them this week. I am legally a free man."
Capri dropped them on her lap and started crying even harder. Even though Shane legally being married really didn't effect them at all, it was symbolic in a way. Finally she felt like Shane was 100 percent hers and this gave her the confirmation she needed. She jumped up and pulled him off the chair up to her lips. They kissed each other with such passion and need for one another. This was a pretty big fight that could have ended very badly. Neither one of them wanted to stop kissing, this was such an emotional day for the both of them and it truly put their relationship to the test.
"Hey, you guys I'm going to head out and let you guys get to makeup sex." JoJo yelled from the house causing Shane and Capri to separate immediately.
"Jo! Shhh! I got neighbors you know." Capri said pretty embarrassed hoping no one heard that.
JoJo stood in the doorway with her arms crossed, "What? They don't have sex?"
All Shane could do was laugh. In the 5 mouths him and Capri had been together he had learned that you never knew what was going to come out of that girl's mouth. "Wait Jo" Shane said stopping her in her tracks. He felt bad having her leave. He was sure that she had been her all day with a very angry Capri so in his eyes, he owed her. "Why don't we all start Capri's birthday off together and get some dinner? My treat."
"Well, if you're buying moneybags than I'm eating." JoJo smiled grabbing her purse from inside the house.
Dinner was so much fun. JoJo had let it slip in the car that Capri hadn't eaten all day so Shane was making sure she ate plenty before they started drinking. Capri couldn't believe how crazy this day was, it went from being a horrible day thinking her relationship was over to being the best night with her two favorite people.
JoJo grabbed her wine glass and tapped it lightly with her fork, "Can I make a little toast please?" Shane put his arm around Capri and they both gave JoJo their undivided attention. "Look, I'm not going to get all sappy or anything so don't get too excited but I just wanted to wish my best friend in the whole world a happy birthday. Capri, I love you so much, we have been through so many ups and downs, and that was just today."
Shane let out a laugh and Capri gave her friend a "dirty look" "HaHa, very funny Jo." She interrupted.
"Quiet bitch, my speech" JoJo continued. "Capri I am so proud of the person that you have become and even though you drive me insane half the time, I am honored to be your friend. I am so happy that you have met the man of your dreams. I love you and happy birthday my love! Now lets drink!" JoJo finished and clinked her glasses with Shane's and Capri's. "Oh and McMahon just so you know, I was very close to having to kick your ass today. I'm always watching you!"
Shane laughed at JoJo threat, "I wouldn't have it any other way JoJo!"
Written a lot this week, please reviews, I love reading them.
Thank you everyone who wrote me this week: ShaneOMacGirl, takerschick, lilygirl, beautifuldisater, and DanniChappell; you all are awesome