The Private Club 3 (2 page)

Chapter 2

Greyson

24 Years Ago

Two girls stared at me from across the room. One smiled at me with wide, eager eyes. The other one tried the seductive approach. They both played with their hair
, and I knew that I could have either of them. I turned away from them and waited for Brandon to enter the room. I was disgusted with their behavior. Not because they weren’t allowed to flirt with me. I didn’t care about that. They were both fairly attractive. I was disgusted because I knew they were best friends. I saw them everywhere together, giggling and whispering and doing whatever else girls did. Yet they were both trying to attract my attention. Didn’t they care that one of them would get hurt if I hooked up with the other one?

“Brandon, here!” I called him over, grinning at him and the box of pizza he had in his hand. “I hope you got
pepperoni.”

He grinned back at me and slid into the seat next to mine.
“Who said you’re getting any?”

“Hurry up
. I want a slice before Professor Carter gets here.”

“You know he’ll be ten minutes late as usual.” He laughed and handed me a slice. It was deep dish and pepperoni. I grinned as I stuffed a mouthful of pizza into my mouth.

Now this was more like it. Brandon had been my best friend for the last four years, the person I was closest to in the world. I’d never do anything to jeopardize our friendship. I’d definitely never date a girl he was interested in. That’s one of the reasons why men were better than women. We cared more about the bro code and keeping our friendships strong. I’d never let sex come between me and Brandon. We were brothers for life.

“You’re such a pig.” Brandon laughed at me as I grabbed a second slice and chewed it down quickly.

“I was hungry.”

“Why didn’t you eat before class?”

“Dude, I was too busy planning out the club.”

“You’re still thinking about starting a club?” Brandon sighed
.

I ignored the expression on his face.
“It’s going to be epic. We’re going to have our own world.”

“We don’t need our own world. This one is hard enough as it is.” Brandon pulled out the textbook and started reading. “Now,
shh. I need to read real quick.”

“What’s our motto going to be?”

“Motto? What are we, Boy Scouts?”

“Idiot.” I glared at him. “Let me think
. What about ‘Two boys, one world.’”

“Nope.” He shook his head. “Two men, one exam in three hours, which one man is going to fail.”

“I studied last night.” I winked at him. “But I do like the idea of two men. Two men, one club.”

“What about just two men?” Brandon looked up at me thoughtfully. “It’s always just going to be us.”

“No, it’s not.” I shook my head.

“I don’t mean just us at the club, but just us in charge of the club.”

“That’s true. Doesn’t that sound gay though? Two men?” I made a face. “You know I love you, but I don’t want you, bro.”

“You’re breaking my heart.” Brandon clutched his heart and laughed. “You’re full of shit, Greyson. As if you could get a guy like me.”

“Eww, you’re making me sick.” I laughed. “Let’s do this again. Two men, one club, infinite women.”

“Now that’s hot.” He grinned. “Infinite women is always nice.”

“I thought you were a one-woman man?” I raised an eyebrow at him.

“That was when I was young and dumb.”

“That was last year.”

“Things have changed.” He shrugged and I let it go. Both Brandon and I had changed since high school. Both of our worlds were different now. We never spoke about it, but we both knew we were brothers for life. The only people we could both count on were each other. It was as simple as that.

“Yeah, who needs one woman when you look like us? We’ll have women begging to be with us.”

“They can beg all they want
,” Brandon laughed. “They’ll be lucky to have one night with me.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

“One night with the Italian stallion and they won’t know what hit them.”

“You’re not Italian, Brandon.”

“I’ll be anything I want to be.”

“Well, I’m hung like an African.” I grinned
.

Brandon shook his head at me.
“That’s so racist.”

“It’s not racist if it’s true.”

“Greyson, I’d shut my mouth if I were you. People already think you’re a cocky asshole.”

“Well, they wouldn’t be lying.” I jumped up. “I’m the fucking
king. I run this shit.”

“You’re a rap star now?”

“I’m king of the world. We both are—or we could be. Once we start this club, we’ll be loved and worshipped. It’ll be the most exclusive club in the world.”

“You think so?”

“We’ll make it that.” I paused. “And no one but us will know exactly what’s going on.”

“How’s that possible?”

“We’ll think of a way.” I sat back down again and thought for a minute before looking at him seriously. “We can’t trust anyone, Brandon. This is between us.”

“I know.” He nodded back at me and smiled. “No matter what happens, it’s between us.”

“Hey, Greyson. Hey Brandon.” The two girls finally made their way over to us.

“Hey.” I nodded without smiling.

“What you guys up to tonight?”

“Fucking one of you?” I looked at them as they giggled
and thought I was joking. “Or would you prefer it to be both of you?”

“You’re so funny, Greyson!” The blonde giggled again and pushed her chest out. Her blue eyes twinkled as she
slowly licked her lips. She was letting me know that she wanted to be the one who got the prize.

“I’ve heard that before.” I nodded in agreement and grinned at Brandon, who was sitting there with big dopey eyes. I wanted to laugh out loud.

He was such a dope. He could talk the talk now, but he’d never really walked the walk, aside from a one-night stand he’d had the day his father had married yet another woman a few months ago.

“You guys can come over tonight if you want
. We can have a study date.”

“I don’t study with girls.” I stared at the redhead. “I fuck.”

“We try to be accommodating.” She grinned at me eagerly and then looked at her friend. I could so fuck both of them. I knew it as surely as I knew that I could get the blonde to go into the men’s room and suck me off at that very moment.

“Brandon and I have laundry to do tonight.” I yawned and sat back. I could see the surprised look on his face as I blew the girls off.

“Maybe we can help.”

“Maybe not.” My voice was sharp with irritation. “I’m not interested.” I spelled it out to them clearly. Blondie’s face fell and the redhead had an evil glint in her eyes as they realized they’d been dismissed, but I didn’t care. “So, Brandon
, wanna catch a movie later? I’ll pay.” I heard the girls’ sharp inhalations as they walked away and I grinned.

“You just told them you were going to do laundry tonight.” Brandon shook his head. “And then you slipped up and asked me to a movie. They most probably think you’re a jerk now.”

“That wasn’t a slip-up.” I gave him my ‘who do you think you’re with’ glance. “That was my don’t-swim-in-the-ocean-if-you-don’t-like-sharks lesson to them.”

“You didn’t have to be mean.”

“I wasn’t being mean. I was being real. They’re sluts.”

“Greyson!” Brandon
hurriedly looked around the room to see if anyone was listening.

“Come on now
. We could have had a foursome tonight and they don’t even really know us.”

“I’d rather a threesome and you stay in your room.” Brandon grinned and I laughed.

“You know it’s true.”

“Well, they were a bit obvious.”

“I don’t want those types of girls at the club. Women should know their place.”

“What do you mean?”

“All women do is bring men down. Men lose their shit over women. And for what? For some pussy? Gimme a break.”

“You’ve heard of the power of the pussy, bro.”

“Only because we give it to them. Everyone knows men run the world. But that’s strong men only—weak men crumble.” My mind fell to my brother. “Women try to make you love them and then they leave with either your money or your heart.”

“Not all women.”

“What women do you know who give a shit about you?”

“I dunno.” Brandon shrugged
, and I slammed my hands on the table.

“Exactly. There’s no point trying to lie to ourselves or even go down that road. We can get what we want from women who know the deal.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, as long as we keep our hearts out of our pants, we’re cool.”

“So we’re going to have girls at the club then?” Brandon said after a few minutes. “What will the girls be doing?”

“Whatever we want them to do.” I raised an eyebrow. “There will be
no request too big or small.”

“So it’ll be like a private, no
-questions-asked strip club?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Strip clubs are sleazy.”

“Sex club?” Brandon’s eyes widened.

“There will be sex. And plenty of it. But no. It’s not just about being a sex club either. It’s not anything we have to define. It’s what we want it to be. It’s just the private club. No one will really know what goes on there
. That will be part of the allure.”

“So we’re just going to call it the private club?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “And only you and I will know what’s going on.”

“You’re fucked up, you know that, Greyson?” Brandon shook his head at me and grabbed his books as the professor came into the room.

“Every single day of my life,” I whispered as I pulled out my pen.

I saw the blond girl walk back into the room with a tissue in her hands. She was rubbing the corners of her eyes
, and I could see she’d been crying. She avoided eye contact with me, and I stared at the front of the room, trying to ignore the guilt in my heart.
I’m preparing her for the real wolves out there
, I told myself. Better to learn the harsh realities about men now.

The professor started talking, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying above the throbbing in my ears. As averse as I was to love, I still didn’t want to hurt anyone. That wasn’t my goal.

I stared down at my desk and thought back to my life before my mom had died. I thought back to the joy and the laughter and I missed it. But then I remembered the man my father had become since her death and I knew that I couldn’t break my vow to myself. I was never going to allow a woman to break me down like my father had been broken.

Chapter 3

Meg

Present Day

“Brandon is not to blame for anything.” Greyson’s voice was firm. “I was the one who is responsible for what happened and what continues to happen. Ultimately, I make all of the decisions at the club.”

“So you’re saying that all the shit that goes on here is you?” Katie’s face was void of emotion, but I could tell she was hopeful.

“Everything that’s gone on here is all me. Brandon didn’t even know about it until it was too late.”

“Greyson
,” Brandon spoke, and Greyson shook his head.

“You’re right, Brandon. You
have a new life now. Leave.”

“Let’s go, Meg.” Katie looked at me. “Let’s just go.”

“I don’t know.” I hesitated. “I don’t think I should go.”

“You don’t need this job. Brandon got you fired.” She glared at him. “And he’ll help you get your job back.”

“I don’t want my job back.”

“Then he’ll help you get a job at a new firm.”

“I don’t want that.” I looked at the confusion in her eyes. “I need to see this through.”

“See what through?” She sounded mad. “Please, just leave with me.”

I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”

“You should go, Meg.” Greyson joined the discussion
, and I looked at him with hurt eyes.

“I’m not going anywhere until I find out what happened to Nancy and exactly what’s going on here.”

“You think you’re going to save all these girls?” Greyson’s tone sent a chill down my spine. “You think you can—”

“Just tell her, Greyson
,” Brandon pleaded. “Please, let’s just get it out in the open.”

“I don’t think so.” Greyson sat back
down. “I want you to leave now.”

“You think that I’m just going to leave and
—”

“Brandon.” Greyson’s voice was cold. “This isn’t your problem. You and Katie need to leave.”

I stood there as a warm feeling spread through me. He hadn’t asked for me to leave this time.

“I’m not going without Meg.” Katie stood her ground. “There’s no way I’m leaving her with this maniac in this place.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Meg.” It was Greyson’s turn to speak up. “I’ve told you before that I’m no angel.”

“I haven’t been burned yet.”

“You haven’t been close enough to the flame.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“Meg!” Katie chided me. “I get it
. He’s cute. But please… He is not worth it. I can tell from one glance that he’s not a good guy. Please, Meg. Let’s go.”

“Listen to your friend, little Meggie
,” Greyson laughed. “She knows what she’s talking about.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She glared at him.

“I’m just saying that you should know what it’s like to date a dirty dog.” He smiled at her sweetly. “Now leave.”

“Brandon
.” Katie frowned. “I want to go now.”

“Katie, I’m sorry
,” Brandon sighed.

“We’re not going to talk about this here.” Katie gave me one last glance. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to leave?”

I shook my head wordlessly.

“Please don’t let sex make you think he likes you, Meg. Sex is nothing for men like him.”

I stared at her and felt tears pricking my eyes as she spoke. I knew she was right, of course. But that didn’t stop me from hoping that something else would happen.

I stood there wondering why I didn’t run out as fast as I could. And then it struck me. I couldn’t. My body wouldn’t let me leave. A part of me started to understand why women stayed with men they knew were inherently bad. When you were bitten by the love bug, it was hard to do anything but hope and pray that somehow it could work out.

There was silence in the room as we all stood there. Finally, Katie shook her head and walked through the door, Brandon following behind her. He stopped at the door and turned back to face us before looking at Greyson one last time.

“It doesn’t have to be this way, Greyson. You don’t have to be this way.”

“It always had to be this way.” Greyson’s voice was bleak.

“This isn’t over, Greyson. We’re not in college any more.”

“Just leave, Brandon. Go explain to your woman why you’re not the spawn of the devil before it’s too late.”

“Call us, Meg. If anything happens, call us.” Brandon glanced at me and left the room.

I stood there staring at the ground, feeling confused and worried.

Greyson finally spoke up.
“I don’t know why you didn’t leave with your friends.”

“I want to know what happened to Nancy.”

“I don’t know what happened.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care what you believe, Meg. You should have listened to your friend. What we had was about nothing more than sex.”

“I don’t care.” I bit my lip as I lied. His words had cut me to the core. I’d really thought we were beyond that stage.

“If you’re staying, you better get back outside. The tests will be starting soon.”

“Okay.” I nodded and glanced at him. He was surveying me with an odd light in his eyes.

He sighed. “You shouldn’t have stayed, Meg.”

“I couldn’t leave
,” I whispered, and he nodded back at me.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

***

I didn’t go back outside right away. I couldn’t face the others and the questions in their eyes. I needed to compose myself
, and I wanted to check to see if Nancy was back in the room. Part of me knew that she wouldn’t be there, but I was hoping beyond hope that she would have shown back up.

I
quickly walked into our room and looked around. I stopped as I looked at my bed and the messy sheets. I was pretty confident that I had made my bed in the morning, like I always did. My breathing slowed as I looked around the room again to see if anything else looked askew. Nothing else seemed off, so I walked over to the bed and pulled off the duvet and the sheets to see if someone had left a note for me, but there was nothing there.

I threw the bedding back onto the bed and was about to walk back out of the room when I saw something shiny glittering underneath Nancy’s bed. I ran back and
quickly pulled it out, and I was surprised to see a diary. I opened it slowly, feeling bad for invading Nancy’s privacy, but I needed to see what she had written in case there were any clues inside.

The diary appeared to have been started a long time ago
, as the first entries were about some guy named Hunter who she appeared to have been in love with while in school. There was a lot of angst and emotion, and it seemed like Nancy had really had the bug for him. I flicked through the pages quickly, not wanting to read about her obviously unrequited and painful school crush. I flipped back a few pages, when I realized that my eyes had flickered over an entry about Maria.

“
Maria is bringing her new boyfriend home this weekend. Mom and Dad are excited that she’s coming home, but that’s because they don’t know the truth. I can’t believe that Maria is stripping now. I hope Ryan doesn’t find out she’s coming home. He’s going to flip a switch. It’s so unfair that Maria has two guys and I have none. I wish that Hunter would notice me...
”

I stopped reading then, as it seemed that the writing had changed pretty quickly back to her crush on Hunter. I sat on her bed and thought for a moment about what I had just read. I assumed that Maria’s boyfriend was Brandon. But what did she mean about the stripping? Had Maria been a stripper? And if so, did that mean that the club really was a strip joint? But who was Ryan? And why had Nancy been worried that he would find out about her new boyfriend? I flipped through again, more carefully this time, to see what else I could find. I paused on the next page as I saw another entry.

“
Maria’s boyfriend Brandon is gorgeous. One of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen. He makes Hunter look like a little boy. Maria told me that he’s the best sex she’s ever had. I tried not to show her how uneasy she made me feel as she went into detail. I don’t think she knows I’m still a virgin. I don’t...
”

I sat up straight as something hit me. Nancy was eighteen. And supposedly, Maria had dated Brandon ten years ago, Nancy would have been eight when all of this had gone down. Why would she have been writing about a boy she had a crush on at eight? And the sex thing? It didn’t make sense. There was no way that an eight-year-old had written this diary.

So that meant one of two things: this was someone else’s diary or this was written at a later date. Either way, this diary had been left here for a purpose. This wasn’t a case of Nancy accidentally leaving her diary in the room. Whoever had left the diary in the room wanted me to see it.

I wanted to feel like Nancy had left this for me to see, but I didn’t understand why she would have written so much about her high school crush Hunter if she’d wanted to give me clues about Maria. Who cared how she’f felt about Hunter? That wasn’t going to help me now. I closed my eyes and tried to think carefully. Maybe there were clues in what she had written about Hunter? Maybe the whole diary was a clue.

My eyes popped open as I heard a noise outside the door. I stood up slowly and walked to the spot behind the door. I held my breath as the door slowly opened with me behind it. I clutched the diary to me in fear. Who was about to walk through the door?

I felt and heard two footsteps, but whoever was there didn’t bother coming all the way into the room and the door closed again within seconds. I stayed where I was for about another minute, trying to control my breathing.

I looked at the time and realized that I needed to get back outside if I wanted to continue on at the club. Part of me didn’t really understand why Greyson was letting me stay. He had to know that I was going to continue to investigate while I was here. His secret was nearly out. He had to know that I would expose his sex trafficking to the world.

I didn’t understand why he hadn’t made me leave with Brandon and Katie. He probably wanted a few more nights with me before he got rid of me. I was angry at myself for how excited I felt about spending more nights with Greyson. It wasn’t even about the sex, though that was mind-numbingly brilliant. It was about just being with him and getting to know him, snippet by snippet.

I walked out of the room and to the bathroom quickly. As I entered, I grabbed a plastic bag I saw on the ground and walked into one of the restrooms. I placed the diary into the plastic bag and tied it carefully and tightly, making sure that there were no small holes at the top of the bag.
 I opened the top of the toilet and peered inside; the water made me pause, but I knew there was nowhere else I could hide the diary. I dropped it in and moved the top back in place before slowly opening the door and walking out of the bathroom again.

“There you are, Meg.” Patsy nodded at me as I walked back into the courtyard. “Decided to rejoin us
?”

“Sorry, I, uh, wanted to check on Nancy.”

“She’s gone.” Her eyes expressed concern as she spoke.

“I guess so.”

“Is everyone ready for their tests today?” she continued, and I stood to the side.

I could see both David and Elizabeth trying to make eye contact with me. I looked around the group of girls and I realized that at least five of the girls were gone.

“Yes, Meg?” Patsy looked at me.

“Did some of the girls drop out? I see some are missing.”

“No, they’ve been moved.” Her eyes flashed at me.

“Can I ask where they’ve been moved to?”

“No.” Her voice was harsh. “I wouldn’t push it if I were you, Meg.”

David gave me a look then. I could tell from his eyes that he was worried. I bit my lip as I stood there. David didn’t know what had happened to Nancy. That meant that
Nancy hadn’t told him she was leaving or she hadn’t left because she’d wanted to. I shivered even though it wasn’t very cold.

I needed to go back and read more of the diary. I need
ed to know what else Nancy was trying to tell me. Or at least what someone else wanted me to think she was trying to tell me.

Patsy
silently escorted me to my first room. I wanted to ask her if she knew what was really going on at the club, but I knew she wouldn’t answer me. She was loyal to a fault.

“Are you coming in with me?” I turned towards Patsy as we arrived at the door.

“No.” She stood there and pursed her lips. “I just wanted to make sure you made it here and didn’t get lost.”

“Excuse me
?”

“I wouldn’t make a habit of wandering around the club. You may find that you get lost
, and you know what happens to people when they get lost once too often.”