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“Yes.” I leaned back against the couch. “I cooked it in cast iron on the stovetop, and then I finished it in the oven. Black peppercorn encrusted, by the way.”
“Damn it.”
“I made a bleu cheese butter to go with it. Olive oil mashed potatoes and blanched green beans.”
“Aw, cupcake.”
“Don’t aw cupcake me. Why do you smell like another woman? And why didn’t you call?”
He scrubbed his jaw. “I was at the strip club.”
“You son of a bitch.”
“No, for the club,” he explained quickly. “The Tarnished Angels recently took over a strip club. It’s part of a thing we’ve got going on.”
“The club owns a strip joint?”
“Yes. I was with the boys.”
“So which one of them put on the cheap perfume and gave you a lap dance?” I asked.
“It’s not like that.” He sighed. “We were having a meeting in the back. One of the strippers collapsed on stage and had a seizure. I carried her to her car and drove her to the hospital, but in the chaos of the moment I accidentally left my phone at the strip club. I don’t have your number memorized. Otherwise, I would’ve called and let you know I was running late. I didn’t want to send a prospect to explain why I was late because then they’d have to explain about the strip club and I wanted to do that in person.”
The vein in my temple began to pulse.
“Say something,” he stated.
“I don’t know what to address first. The fact that the club owns a strip joint and that I didn’t know about it until now, or that you blew me off and got the shit beat out of you.”
“I didn’t lie about it,” he clipped. “And for what it’s worth, I didn’t lose the fight either. The eye is just part of what happens when grown men get into it.”
“It’s called lying by omission. You never volunteered that the club was involved in the stripper business, so later you can say you didn’t lie. Is that how the club is planning on helping the community? What happened to rescuing women in need and all that shit? Huh?”
“Watch it,” he said, his voice low. “The strip joint is part of the club’s holdings. I don’t owe you an explanation.”
“Apparently not.” I glared at him. “But I’m not going to stick around and let you cheat on me like Knox did.”
“How the fuck did you make that leap?” he demanded.
I rolled my eyes. “Please. I’m young, not an idiot. I know what goes on in strip clubs. I know stripper is just another word for prostitute. Everyone knows what happens in the VIP rooms. You think I want to be with a man who is regularly around young naked women who have sex for money?”
“I promised you fidelity and I meant it. My word should be enough for you.”
“Right. Your word. You were also the one that said men cheated simply because they wanted to, even if they had something really good at home.”
“You could just as easily cheat on me,” he pointed out. “You’re fucking hot. I see how guys look at you when we’re out.”
“Don’t.” I shook my head. “You don’t get to do that. You won’t be able to convince me this isn’t a big deal.”
“Christ, woman. You didn’t bail when you found out the club was involved with the cartel, but you balk at the club running a strip joint?”
Internally, I recoiled.
How was a strip club my line in the sand, but finding out the club was involved with a cartel wasn’t?
He has a point.
“The cartel is in the past,” I stated. “The strip joint is in the present. You said you were done with shady shit…”
