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damian

I turned on the radio, flipping through the channels until I found the financial news. Talie grumbled something under her breath from the passenger seat, clearly unhappy I wasn’t letting her choose the music like I did every time we were in the car.

“Something important happening in the business world?” she asked in a bored voice. “You never listen to the news, Damian.”

I chuckled, ignoring her question. “How do you like working at the club?”

We were headed to Club Facade, and Talie had come with me nearly every single time for the last few weeks. Flicking on the blinker, I turned left, merging into traffic as the radio host droned on about a topic I had no interest in.

“I like it,” she replied, scrolling on her phone. “When do I get to wear one of those sexy outfits?”

My dick stirred at that thought, and I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. “When do you want to wear one?”

“During the show last week, you had women on the stage.”

I shot her a dirty smirk. “You want to dance, Talie?”

She scoffed. “You know I can’t dance to save my life. Not like you or the other dancers, anyway. I’d probably scare off your clientele.”

“You don’t have to dance…” I trailed off, already thinking of ideas as we stopped at a red light. “We do demonstrations too.”

“Demonstrations?”

“Toys, bondage. We sometimes send out a questionnaire to see what our customers want.”

“Do you participate in these demonstrations ?”

I looked at her, arching an eyebrow. “Jealous?”

“Yes,” she answered with no hesitation, meeting my gaze. “I don’t want you doing kinky fun with anyone other than me.”

Smug satisfaction flowed through me as I chuckled. “No, I don’t participate. Never have. I plan the shows and dance. That’s all.” I paused, realizing I hadn’t asked her an important question. “Are you okay with me dancing?”

“If I wasn’t, I would have told you already. I’ve been watching all the shows.” She set her phone on her lap. “Dance all you want, husband. I love watching you, just like all the other women do.”

My heart strummed a bit faster when I realized what I would do if her answer was different. While I loved dancing, I would stop if she had an issue with it.

“Bossy,” I commented. “It’s sexy as hell when you take charge.”

“Really?” she purred in a sinful voice. “Does that mean I can put the cage back on you?”

I chuckled gruffly. “Go for it. But you might want to wait until you find out your punishment for locking me up last time.”

The radio host’s voice was the only thing cutting through the silence, and I snuck a glance at her before focusing back on the road. Her cheeks were flushed as she stared at me with wide eyes.

“I thought teasing me when you still had the cage on was payback,” she muttered, shifting in her seat.

Before I could respond, the radio host started talking about the story I’d been waiting for. From the way Talie’s eyes darted toward the radio, she recognized the person he was speaking about. I pulled into the garage, slowly descending to the underground parking.

“…Grant Hammond is under investigation for bribery, fraud, and money laundering. This all came to light when a whistle-blower from his security company came forward…”

The radio host kept talking, but that was all I wanted to hear. Talie’s stare was burning a hole through the side of my head as I parked in my spot. Turning off the engine, I pulled out the keys before looking at her. Her eyes narrowed as she studied me.

“He’s the one who flirted with me at the restaurant,” she said slowly.

“No,” I corrected her. “He’s the asshole who touched you as if he had a right.”

“You got him arrested?” she hissed. “Damian, you can’t?—”

“Can’t what?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything. You heard those charges. He dug the hole himself. It’s not my fault he’s a stupid bastard.”

“You’re saying you had nothing to do with this?”

“I’m not saying that either.”

She shook her head. “You’re ridiculous. All he did was touch my wrist. How did you even do it?”

“You know how good Ash is with computers. Even with owning a security company, Grant Hammond couldn’t hide his secrets well enough. It only took Ash a week to dig it all up.”

She rolled her eyes. “What if his business wasn’t dirty? What would you have done then?”

“I would have still ruined him,” I stated, with no remorse. “You forget how much weight my last name carries in this city. When I threatened him with it, I meant every fucking word.”

She scoffed. “A little over-the-top, don’t you think?”

“Natalia. Nothing is over-the-top when it comes to you.”

The tension fizzled slightly when my phone went off. I grabbed it from the center console, seeing Kal’s name on the screen.

“I’m about to walk in,” I told him.

“Damian, I’m sorry, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer?—”

“Who?” I snapped, my gut knotting.

Kal hesitated. “Your dad. He’s here, in your office.”

I froze, dread spreading through my limbs. “What?”

“He showed up and threatened his way in. He won’t leave.”

“Fuck,” I cursed, glancing at Talie. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked when I hung up.

I put the keys back into the ignition. “I need to deal with something. You can drive home, or I’ll have Kal take you if you want.”

“What happened?” she pressed.

“I’ll talk to you about it once I figure it out.” If I told her my father was here, she’d want to come in too, and I didn’t want her anywhere near this.

She frowned. “You won’t tell me?”

“I will later,” I said, giving her a firm look. “Do you want to drive, or should I call Kal?”

She scowled, looking ready to argue, but she must have guessed I wasn’t budging on this because she finally sagged back and sighed. “I’ll drive. But you better tell me.”

“I will.”

I leaned over, giving her a quick kiss. “Go home, Talie. I’ll see you later.”

Pushing the door open, my heart raced as I jogged to the employee entrance. I glanced over my shoulder to see Talie staring at me, still sitting in the passenger seat. Cursing under my breath, I slowed down when Kal opened the door for me.

“I’m sorry,” Kal rushed out, panic in his eyes. “He shoved right past me after announcing who he was.”

“It’s not your fault,” I muttered. “My wife is sitting in my car. Do not let her come in. Understand?”

Kal stared at me, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, of course.”

I strode down the hall, panic and nerves crashing into me as I stopped in front of my closed office door. Taking a deep breath, I turned the knob, pushing it open. I spotted Jack first, who was sitting on the small couch against the left wall.

“Damian,” my father greeted me, a cold edge in his voice. “What an interesting place you have here.”

My eyes cut to him as he sat perched on the corner of my desk. He had a smile on his face, but there was no mistaking the anger gleaming in his eyes. A muscle in my jaw ticked as I fought to stay calm.

“Imagine my surprise when I had Jack follow Natalia, only to find out the club she’s visiting is owned by my son?—”

“You’re having her followed?” I cut in sharply.

He pushed off the desk, standing at his full height. “That is not what I want to talk about right now.”

“You have no right to interfere with my marriage,” I snapped. “My wife is none of your concern.”

“She is when her father is my partner,” he hissed, his eyes blazing in fury. “When your marriage contract is the lifeline to my many companies.”

I glared at him, my fists clenched at my sides. “You were having her followed for what? To see if she was doing anything to void the contract?”

“That’s exactly what I was doing. Only to find out it’s my son who is threatening my livelihood,” he roared, standing toe to toe with me. “If Jude found out about this, it could ruin our family. What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I was thinking I wanted to build my own company. Doing what I like,” I shot back. “I’ve been doing this for five years. With no issue until you walked in here.”

“This is done,” he growled. “Before Jude finds out you own a damn strip club.”

“No one gets naked here. It’s completely legal.”

“It’s not respectable. Or decent. Could you imagine the gossip if our investors heard about this?” He paused as if thinking about something. “Are you dancing here?”

“I own it. I can do whatever the hell I want.”

“This is finished,” he ordered, rage coating his voice. “Right the fuck now.”

I kept his stare as I answered. “No. This club is mine.”

“I’ll cut you off,” he threatened. “You’ll have nothing.”

I laughed bitterly. “You think I need the family money? Look around, Dad. I’m doing more than fine on my own.”

Instead of the fight I was expecting, he shook his head as he took a step back, stroking his chin. “Fine. Keep it. I’ll have our lawyers get your divorce papers ready.”

My heart stopped. “What?”

“Your wife has been spending nights with her sister,” he informed me as if I didn’t already know.

“And?”

“They go to clubs almost every weekend they’re together.

Jack has followed her twice and each time, he loses sight of her inside the club.

She doesn’t meet back up with her sister until the end of the night.

” He cocked his head. “It’s clear she’s having an affair.

Once we get concrete proof, then it will be her breaking your marriage contract.

Most of the companies will go to our name, and you’ll be free to keep this little club.

Though, things will have to change. You won’t be performing.

We’ll also make it a place where men can be entertained too. ”

The fact that he was trying to change the image of my entire club barely fazed me.

Right now, I was stuck on what he said about Talie.

My chest tightened painfully, my heart pounding furiously.

There was no way she was sleeping with anyone else.

While I trusted her, there was a small ball of dread slowly filling my stomach. What the hell was she up to?

“I’m not getting a divorce,” I finally ground out. I wasn’t going to let our families get in between us. I could ask Talie once I was finished dealing with my dad.

“Even if she’s playing you? She was gone for five years, Damian?—”

“I was fine with her being away,” I argued, my voice growing louder with each word. “I have no plans on wrecking my marriage. It’s not fucking happening, so drop it.”

“You can’t have both. Not when it interferes with my business.” He crossed his arms. “Your marriage or this club.”

“Give me a day,” I told him through clenched teeth. “I’ll draft up the bill of sale.”

A heavy silence fell over the room. Jack remained sitting on the couch, his eyes darting between me and my father. Surprise flashed through Christian’s eyes at my answer before he scowled.

“I knew it five years ago,” he growled. “She is not suitable to be the wife for a Valentin. You choosing her over a business? What else would you do?”

Anything. I’d do fucking anything for her. It was why I didn’t chase her when she left. Why I dealt with both my father and hers over the years, no matter how insufferable they were.

“You have three weeks to get everything in order,” he said stiffly. “Sell it. Or I’ll find out what Natalia is doing behind your back and file the papers myself.”

He jerked a nod at Jack before storming past me, leaving the office. Jack stood, buttoning his suit as he walked toward the door. I stepped in front of him, slapping my hand to his chest.

“Stay the fuck away from my wife,” I warned in a deadly tone. “I don’t want you following her anymore.”

“I don’t take orders from you,” he spat out, knocking my hand away. “You want me to stop, then talk to your father.”

My chest heaved as I watched him leave my office, slamming the door behind him. Sliding my hand into my pocket, I pulled out my phone.

“Rhyett,” I said, once he answered. “Get Ash. We need to talk. Right now.”