“Whatever it takes, remember.” I reminded him of our first conversation.
“You’re an admirable man, Trent and someone who’ll love Ashrika whether her memory returns or not, but you can’t make this decision for her. As you said, she’s hurting because I pushed her away, imagine what it would do to her if you also pushed her away. She has to choose.” There was no aggression in his tone and his words made perfect sense.
I had no idea what he had in mind, but I intended going ahead with my plan. “Tomorrow, I’m bringing her here.” At his frown, I shook my head. “No. Not to see you. I’m giving her a chance to be who she wants to be, for one night.”
“I don’t understand.” He looked genuinely staggered.
I raked a hand through my hair then dropped into a chair. “Have you ever taken the time to talk to her? Do you know anything about the woman you’ve been married to for the last three years? Her likes, dislikes, her favorites, her cravings. Her desires perhaps?”
He shook his head. “Some. Circumstances—”
“Fuck circumstances. You took the woman under your wing and chose to give her a life. The least you could’ve done was gotten to know her, make her feel more of a person than an empty vessel floating around until her memory came back.” I snorted. “She describes herself as incognito, living a day-to-day existence under pretense, to make others happy. Why is that, if you gave her a life and everything she needed?”
“Quit the twenty fucking questions and tell me what you’re planning,” he barked but wasn’t quick enough to hide his shock.
I stood. “Everything is not always black and white, Zayne. Sometimes you need to dig a little deeper to understand a woman. I don’t know if you told her about this place or not, if you do happen to see her here tomorrow, you need to decide what you’re giving her. I know I already do.” I walked out, leaving him with a deeper frown than the one I’d walked in on.
Ashrika
CLIMBING OUT OF THEcar, I surveyed the tall, glass building, my eyes falling to the subtle nuance of glowing gold that made up the name. “Incognito,” I whispered. It didn’t strike me as your typical nightclub, not with those tinted revolving doors, red carpet and black-suited security that manned the entrance. No. It looked like some high-end restaurant, hotel, or even a private casino for a specific brand of people. I turned as Trent rounded the car. “What is this place?”
He merely smiled and looped my arm through his. When we pushed through the main doors, cool air drenched my skin and my senses perked up at the blend of lime, mint and something sweet, almost like Indian incense I’d smelled at a spice shop. The combination had an almost drugging effect.
“Good evening, Mr. Shaw, we’ve reserved the VIP suite for you,” a young blonde with a friendly smile, greeted him.
“VIP suite?” I looked at him as he led me down a semi-dark hallway filled with sultry tones of soft music. “You’ve been here before?”
Trent poured heaps of himself into a sexy smile. “Not in today’s capacity.”
I frowned when he didn’t elaborate but had no time to question him. We reached the end of the hallway. Another young woman greeted us and pointed to an elevator. A tight black dress I would’ve probably called slutty on me gave her a very sexy but classy look. I glimpsed a club setting behind her before Trent directed me toward the elevator.
“Still not telling me what we’re doing here?” I asked as he hit the only button on the chrome wall. “Is this some fancy dine-in-the-dark restaurant?” I persisted when he still didn’t answer. “Are we having dinner?”
“Are you hungry, Ash?”
“No,” I snapped, suddenly irritated that he wouldn’t give me answers. However, when the elevator doors opened, I gawked, my gaze darting all over the place. “Whose...what is...” I trailed off, taking in the dark space.
