Page 82 of Savage Bosses

“You’ve been so good, fatenah” he whispered.

His approval was all the reward I received lately which was frustrating.

The phone stopped ringing and my heart lurched but I didn’t dare check the caller ID. Anik shouldn’t know I was still at the office. Being alone at work had become my prison and my refuge lately.

I waited. Taking uneven breaths, as my pulse thundered in my ears.

The phone rang again and I swore it was louder in the empty space. I snatched the phone off its receiver. “Pentiko, Zoe speaking, how may I assist you?”

“You’re still there.” His voice was hypnotic.

I pressed my lips in a firm line. Where else would I be? My romantic life was almost non-existent and there was nothing waiting in my apartment but quiet. I would rather work.

“Are you ready for your reward?”

I almost sobbed. Anik hadn’t touched me since our time in his office. I was beginning to think that nothing beyond a professional relationship would happen between us.

“Yes!” I almost purr into the phone but I wouldn’t reveal just how desperate I was. Not yet anyway.

“There’s a car waiting for you downstairs.” The call ended.

The car turned out to be a slick black limo. “Where are we going?” I asked the driver once we were on our way.

“Mr. Hijra is waiting for you at the Filth Den.”

Excitement prickled my skin. The Den held special memories for me. Wicked memories that always made me burn. These days I hardly remembered Dax being in the room that night. Barely remembered him at all. Or that it was my ex who’d insisted I celebrate my new job with a trip to the Den.

Dax had set me on this path and there was no turning back.

But my glee turned to trepidation when I considered the other possibilities of our meeting place. What if visiting the Den with me now held a different meaning for Anik? The last time we were there together, he’d been hurt and lost his memory. And I had played a part. What if he hadn’t…couldn’t, forgive me?

Thirty minutes felt like five as we pulled up to the main entrance. The establishment was well lit. On the outside, set against the night sky, the building was forged in dark grayish stone. The inside was just as elegant as I remembered. Dark lighting, black leather lounge chairs, and carpeted hallways led to rooms offering forbidden pleasures.

Anik was waiting at the bar in the lounge. A drink in one hand. The other was deep in his pocket. His pose was one of patience but the way he swallowed his liquor said he was anything but.

“What can I get for you, ma’am?” the bartender asked.

“I’ll have what he’s having.” If Anik intended to call the police, I didn’t want to be hauled to jail sober.

Anik noded and I was slightly irritated that the man sought Anik’s permission before serving me my drink.

“What am I doing here, Anik?”

“First things first. Now that you’ve returned to the Den, we need to establish some rules. In the Den you will address me as Sir. Ask me your question again.”

His demand took me aback, but I realized his demands were part of this world. “What am I doing here, Sir?”

He regarded me for a long moment. “I thought about what you said about starting over.”

“I didn’t think—” I shook my head. I was willing to accept his anger until he forgave me. Old habits I’d allowed with Dax. But I couldn’t be that woman anymore. “It won’t work if you can’t forgive me.”

“It won’t work if I can’t forgive myself either.”

I frowned.

“I’m sure you know I was once married to my college sweetheart. She was a woman I thought represented what love meant. I devoted myself to her and when I let my guard down, she betrayed me. I won’t let that happen again.”

“I had no part in Dax hitting you.”

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