“I’m not quitting the club.”

“You are.”

My mouth opened and closed at least a dozen times before I found the proper words.

“No, I’m fucking not.”

“You are, Sloane. You heard Lorenzo last night. He’s arranging for me to buy a girl. He’s dangerous.”

I didn’t miss the way Asher spat out the word buy. I also didn’t miss the hatred in his voice.

“I’m not stupid, Asher. I know he’s dangerous.”

I watched as Asher’s frame grew stiff, his face contorted, and I braced for his fury. But it never came. Something else passed over him. Defeat? I couldn’t exactly place the emotion before it was gone.

His face was carefully blank when he asked, “Has he ever asked you to plan a VIP party before?”

What? That was it? After he’d demanded I quit, he was giving up? That easy.

I should’ve been elated that Asher was moving the conversation on—there was no way in hell I was going to quit. But instead, I was strangely disappointed.

“No,” I answered. “The closest I’ve come is setting up a private viewing for a Platinum member.”

“What’s a private viewing?” Cole asked.

“The member wanted an erotic show,” I explained.

“Still not tracking what a show is.”

It was too early in the day to be discussing the ins and outs of an erotic sex show. No, strike that, there was never a time during the day or night when I wanted to discuss my job duties at the club. Sometimes my job was blessedly normal—ordering food and liquor, scheduling the staff, and checking the rooms were cleaned and stocked. Those were the times I could pretend I worked for a hotel or some rich guy who liked to throw parties five nights a week. Of course, that normalcy dissolved when the members arrived and clothes came off. But for the most part, I could lie to myself that I hadn’t sunk into a world where I didn’t belong.

“The member wanted three women, all blondes, to dance for him. His rules were they didn’t touch him. He got to direct the action. The setup of that was easy; all I had to do was clear a room and schedule the women.”

To my surprise Cole’s nose scrunched up, making him look adorably disturbed.

“Where did you find the women?” Wilson joined the conversation.

One would think after all the months I’d worked around nudity and sex I would’ve become ambivalent about the whole scene. Yet, I still found it difficult to talk about my job.

“Like Sammy, the girls I called in work at the club. There are no outsiders allowed in except during the yearly masquerade ball. I, however, haven’t worked at the club long enough to attend one, I just know that extra staff is hired for the evening.”

“Why are you averse to calling in Sammy?” Wilson continued to question me.

“She’s young.”

“The tall blonde? Sammy Price?” Asher asked.

Of course, he knew who I was talking about. Not only was Sammy beautiful but he’d also taken notice of her age.