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damian

“I think it’ll work,” Rhyett muttered, glancing at Ash, who was typing furiously on his laptop. The three of us were surrounding my desk, like we had been for the last three hours.

I sighed. “Yeah, it will.”

Ash glanced at me from his screen. “Nothing will change.”

“Everything will change,” I grumbled. “It is what it fucking is. I can’t keep the club when he’s holding my marriage over my head.”

My phone vibrated on my desk, and I picked it up when I saw Talie’s name.

“Hey,” I answered, rubbing my eyes with one hand. “I should be home soon.”

“It’s fine.” She paused. “I’m going out with Char. I’ll be back at the apartment later tonight?—”

My exhaustion faded as I stiffened. “Where are you?”

“We’re going dancing,” she replied. “I wanted to make sure you were okay before I went into the club. You still haven’t told me what’s going on.”

My father’s words filtered through my mind. What was my wife doing on her nights out with her sister?

“What club are you going to?” I asked, doing everything to keep my voice level and calm.

Silence lagged over the line for a few moments. “Why?”

Because I had a shit night and seeing her always made it better.

“I’m all done,” I told her. “I’ll come meet you.”

Rhyett frowned. “We’re not done?—”

I strode away from my desk. “Text me the address, Natalia. I’ll be there soon.”

“Damian…” she trailed off, the nerves in her voice making my stomach roll. “Why don’t I just see you at home?”

“Are you hiding something from me?”

“No—nothing bad,” she rushed out. “Do you not trust me to go out without you?”

“Give me the address,” I repeated. “I want to see you.”

“Fine,” she replied curtly. “I’ll be at Cosmos.”

She hung up before I could respond. I blew out a frustrated breath as I turned around to see Ash and Rhyett staring at me.

“We’re going to Cosmos,” I mumbled, grabbing my wrinkled tie off the couch.

Ash gawked at me. “The line to get in there is insane.”

Rhyett scoffed. “Please. We’ll get in.”

I was curious how Charlotte had the pull to get into Cosmos.

While her last name carried weight, everyone who walked through those doors after it opened had to have a stack of cash.

Which I knew Talie’s sister didn’t have since she’d spent all of it getting into my club.

It opened two years ago and was one of the best in the city.

I finished putting my tie back on before rolling my sleeves back down. “Let’s go.”

“The paperwork isn’t done,” Ash complained as he shut his laptop. “But I can’t pass up going to Cosmos. I’ll finish it tonight.”

“Dad gave me three weeks.” I grabbed my jacket. “I have every intention of being here as much as I can until then.”

“Talie is at Cosmos?” Rhyett questioned, raising a brow. “She has expensive taste.”

I chuckled. “It also has some of the best music, which is why she’s interested.”

We left the office, and Ash called Kal to make sure he locked up. Rhyett fell into step next to me, his hands in his pockets as we left the building.

“If you think she’s there for the music, then what was the phone call about?” he asked quietly.

“I asked her where she was.”

The parking garage was empty besides a few cars. The lights on Ash’s black sedan blinked when he unlocked it.

“Bullshit,” Ash coughed as he opened the driver door. “We both heard you. But you clearly don’t think she’s with another guy because you’re far too calm.”

Rhyett crossed his arms, leaning against the door. “I don’t think she’s cheating like Christian thinks. She wouldn’t go behind your back to do that. If she wasn’t happy with you, she’d make sure you knew it.”

I scoffed. “I’m aware. But she is sneaking around.”

“If she was sneaking around, she wouldn’t have told you she was at Cosmos.” Ash paused. “Unless she lied about where she was.” When I glared at him, he grinned and shrugged. “Come on—you really didn’t think about that?”

No. I believed what she’d told me. Especially after we hashed out the past, both of us promising to start fresh.

“Let’s go,” I said gruffly, opening the passenger door.

My heart pounded furiously as I slid into the car. Whatever my wife was up to, I was going to find out.

“Shit,” Ash muttered as we strode past everyone. “Look at this line.”

We got a few glares and side eyes from the people waiting to get into Cosmos. The line wrapped around the block, and even I was surprised. This was the kind of crowd for a weekend, not for a Wednesday night.

Rhyett cleared his throat, nudging me in the shoulder, nodding toward the line. I followed his gaze, anger flashing through me when I locked eyes with Jack. He had a scowl on his lips, and he crossed his arms as we went past him without saying a word.

Ash snickered. “Well, at least you know Talie is here.”

There were two bouncers in expensive suits standing in front of the door, and one of them raised his hand, making sure we stopped behind the velvet rope.

“We’re full right now,” the guy said firmly. “Go to the back of the line.”

I pulled out a wad of rolled bills, holding it up. “We need to find someone. We won’t be in there long.”

“We’re full,” he repeated slowly, as if we hadn’t heard him.

“Come on, man,” Ash said brightly, holding out more cash. “Check your list. I’m sure you’ll see Damian Valentin is on it.”

The man’s eyes flared with recognition of my name, but he frowned, shaking his head. “Not happening tonight. You’ll wait like everyone else.”

“Hold on.” The other bouncer was staring at his tablet, scrolling with one finger. “He’s on the list.”

The two of them stepped back, talking amongst themselves as I bounced my foot impatiently. After a minute, the bouncer sighed, moving to unclip the end of the rope to let us through.

“Thanks,” I muttered, handing him the money.

He pushed my arm away. “You’re on the list.”

Ash pushed past me, trying to peek at the tablet. “Wait, really?”

“Yes,” the bouncer grated out, glancing at me. “Go ahead.”

My stomach flipped in shock as we walked past the bouncers. How in the hell was Talie able to put me on the list?

“Your wife has connections,” Rhyett said, surprise lacing his voice. “More than her last name.”

“Makes you curious what she’s been up to,” Ash sang out, clearly enjoying this. “Maybe she has a secret club too.”

We entered the room, the loud music drowning everything else out. The ceiling was draped with fancy black fabric, and the crystal chandeliers sparkled in all different colors when the strobe lights hit them. It looked the same as when we were here during their opening week.

The dance floor took up most of the area, and right now, it was packed.

High-top tables were scattered around the edge of the dance floor, and I couldn’t see any empty ones.

The long bar counter spanned the entire left wall with five employees behind it, busy with orders.

My eyes drifted to the stairs leading to the VIP area.

“That explains why it’s so busy,” Rhyett yelled over the music, pointing to the railing of the second floor. There was a large banner announcing the DJ who was playing tonight.

“Damn,” Ash exclaimed, his head whipping to the side to look for the DJ table. “We’ve been trying to set up a meeting with her to play at Facade.”

I read the banner, recognizing the name. DJ Savoie. She’s been in the city for a few months, making a name for herself. From what Ash had told me, she was well-known in Asia and sometimes played in Europe too. He thought she would be great for our club on special nights.

I glanced up to a different area on the second floor that was cut off from the VIP section. The DJ was behind the table, and I glanced at her red mask as she focused on her laptop, changing the song. Losing interest, I scanned the room again, searching for Talie.

“I say we check upstairs,” Ash said as we squeezed through the crowd. “If she put your name on the list, I bet she has access to VIP too.”

We climbed the steps, and when I stopped at the landing in front of the velvet rope, I spotted Charlotte. She was sitting on one of the leather couches, laughing at something the guy next to her was saying. My pulse thudded unevenly as I looked around, not seeing my wife anywhere.

“Name?” the employee asked.

“Damian Valentin.”

I blew out a laugh when he let us enter.

My curiosity was burning about how Talie pulled this off.

Ash sauntered forward, and Charlotte’s head snapped our way when he called her name.

The guy she’d been talking to let out a protest when Ash squished between them as he sat down.

I followed, halting near the side of the couch.

Charlotte turned her attention to me, and I didn’t miss the nerves swarming in her eyes as she gave me a small smile.