The Private Club 3(2)

“I’m still here, you know.” Greyson rubbed his forehead and stared straight ahead. “I can tell my own story of insularity and detachment.”

“It wasn’t until I met Katie and lost her that I realized what true pain was. What heartache was. And I knew that I had lost her because of my sins. I didn’t deserve her.”

“But you’re the one who dumped her. You dumped her even though you loved her?” I frowned, feeling uneasy. How would Katie react once she found out that her boyfriend was a monster?

“I dumped her because I loved her. I dumped her because she needed to grow and I needed to make peace with who I was as a man.” He looked towards Greyson. “We were wrong, you know.”

“Wrong about what?” Greyson frowned.

“Life isn’t just about us and about sex and money.” Brandon took another step towards Greyson, and as I watched his movements, I finally understood what Katie saw in him. He wasn’t just handsome and strong. There was a delicate grace and warmth in his aura that gave him an animal magnetism that was hard to resist. It made you drop your defenses, even if you knew you should back off.

I looked back at Greyson. His body was tense. His eyes were squinted, his breathing uneasy. I could tell that the situation was hard for him. He wasn’t in control, and I could sense that a part of him was unraveling, and that gave me hope. An evil man wouldn’t be on the brink of unraveling, would he?

“Meg, when Greyson and I started the club, we were—or at least I was—a different man.”

“Do you take advantage of innocent women?” I asked loudly, not able to take it anymore. “I want to know what’s going on. I need to know what’s happening.”

“So do I.” The voice was familiar, and I looked toward the door in shock.

“Katie!” I screamed and ran over to her. “Oh, Katie, what are you doing here?” I gave her a big hug and she smiled at me sadly.

“I was worried about you.” She squeezed me tightly. “I was worried about you and I kept asking Brandon what was going on.” We both turned to look at him, and he stared back at us with a blank expression. I could see Greyson looking back and forth between Brandon and Katie, and his face looked mutinous.

“I’m fine.”

“I didn’t know.” She pointed at Brandon. “You lied to me. You said you were going on a business trip.”

“This is the business trip I was talking about.” Brandon stepped towards Katie and then stopped abruptly as she threw her hands up. “I didn’t lie to you, Katie.”

“You knew I was worried about Meg being here.” Katie’s voice broke. “After everything we’ve been through, you lied to me again.” Katie’s voice was angry. “I’m so done with you, Brandon. I can’t stand—”

“I asked him not to tell you.” Greyson’s voice was direct. He looked me over for a few seconds before continuing. “I called him and asked him to come help me take care of a situation.”

“What situation?” My voice cracked.

“I asked him to come and get you.” Greyson’s voice was cold and he avoided eye contact with me. Brandon’s face looked surprised, and I felt my body growing cold.

“What?” I took a deep breath. “What do you mean?”

“I asked Brandon to come and take you away. You shouldn’t be here.”

“You wanted me to be here. You hired me.” My voice was a mere whisper in the room. I could see Katie giving me a concerned look, but I couldn’t look at her. “I’m still in training.”

“You need to leave, Meg.” Greyson’s face was like stone as he looked at me again. “You’ve been here too long. It’s time for you to leave.”

“So you’ve used me and now it’s time to discard me? Is it because I slept with you or because I know the truth about you?”

“Oh, Meg.” Katie’s words were hushed and worried.

“Yeah, so I’m a fool.” I bit my lower lip. “I know that now. I didn’t want to believe you could be that man, Greyson.”

“I never told you to believe that.” He shrugged. “You should all leave now.”

“Greyson, no.” Brandon shook his head. “You can’t—”

“You’ve changed your life, Brandon. You have real things to lose. You should leave.” Greyson walked back to his desk. “You should all leave.”

“Greyson, this isn’t for you to decide.” Brandon looked at Katie and sighed.

“Yes, it is.” Greyson picked up a pen. “I’m fine. I have a heart as cold as ice. I’ll survive.”