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“Those are serious accusations,” Chase continues. “As your attorney, I can tell you this could ruin your career. Your life. The woman in question—” Chase waves his hand to Ben. “—what’s her name?”

“Brenda,” Ben says.

“Brenda went to the tabloids,” Chase says, as though I’m not familiar with the outcome of my last sexcapade. “This 365-day nonstop sex calendar of yours is earning serious attention right now—and not in a good way. We can’t afford it to draw any more attention or else we’ll end up losing important deals and clients. If you don’t stop, we’ll soon be facing a crisis.”

“She never asked for money,” I say.

“Yet.” Chase sighs. “She hasn’t asked for money yet. But once she learns that you take photographs of all your conquests, she’ll want a payout. In the meantime, she’ll go to every rag magazine that wants her and earns her media coverage.”

“She won’t.” I let out a chuckle because IknowBrenda. I know what she really wants.

Remember the kinds of women you should never go for? Yeah, she falls into one of those categories.

“You can’t know that.” Chase interlinks his fingers as he stares me down. “Did you get her written permission to take photographs?”

I exhale. “No, but it’s not like I’m publishing and selling the snapshot of afaceon the Internet.”

I groan.

What’s the big deal? The snapshots I take are there to help me remember the women I’ve bedded. They aren’t even dirty, unless the woman in question wants them to be.

I always make sure I never photograph below the waist unless I’m asked to.

“For now,” Chase keeps saying. “But the moment your other conquests come forward, that’s the moment your entire life will go downhill.”

I drape my arm over the chair and lean back, thinking. Brenda was into me a bit too much. I gave in and slept with her in a moment of weak judgment. Once she realized we’d never walk down the altar, the claws came out.

At last, I draw a deep breath as I realize maybe that makes her unpredictable. “All right, little brother. What do you recommend we do?”

“You mean what we recommendyouto do?” Another board member, Vince, chimes in. He’s the oldest in the room. His hair is streaked with gleaming silver, which kind of reminds me that I’ve no idea what he actually does in the company. Investors and shareholders shouldn’t have the kind of power he has.

“There was a meeting yesterday.” Ben ignores the glances I throw at my brother and continues, “It’s been decided that you’ll attend the LAA center. It’s the only place that will help save your reputation which, as I’m sure you know, is our reputation, too.”

The LAA center?

I snort.

“I’m not a sex addict.”

Ben sighs. “We’ve already discussed all other options. You have no choice. You either attend it or you retire. It’s that simple.”

With that he gets up. “Your choice, Kaiden,” he throws at me in the kind of voice I’d like to punch right out of him. “Your therapy starts tomorrow. If you’re not there, you can kiss your seat goodbye. For the sake of our friendship, we recommend you do as we say.”

I stare at him, my anger flaring up. “May I remind you that I built this company from scratch?” I point my finger to each of the six board members, including my brother. “You wouldn’t be sitting here if it weren’t for me.”

Ben nods his head as if he saw that coming. “We’re all aware of your hard work, Kaiden. But your company wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for our shares, connections, and support. Right now, you’re risking our investment and reputations for a bit of a good old roll in the hay, so to speak.” He stares me down, which doesn’t quite have the threatening effect I’m sure he’s going for.

“It’s still my private life,” I mumble, irritated.

“That may be true, but we won’t let you ruin the very company you and your brother worked so hard to build.” His expression softens. “Your father and I were friends long before you were born. Remember our agreement before we agreed to invest in your business?” He pauses, but not long enough to give me a chance to reply. “We want you to get better.”

Better?

I snort.

Frankly, I’ve never felt better. The sex is ah-mazing. Like rip-your clothes-off-amazing. Imagine you could have all the food you wanted. Now imagine what you got is so deliciously and mouthwateringly melty you’d instantly lick your fingers, and that’s sex to me. Just give me a woman with hips and something to grab onto so that it doesn’t feel like I’m fucking a blowup doll. Give me a pair of tits—any size, any shape—I can push my face, or cock, in between, and I’m happy and ready to go.

“I’m doing very well, thanks for asking,” I say.