“You’re telling me Neal is a member of Club Sanctorum?” Jessica announced to everyone in Chubby’s Diner. Luckily, the place was quiet for a Tuesday. We were sitting in our regular spot at the back of the restaurant. We’d been going there for years, and the owner had changed nothing in a decade.

I had my usual hot chocolate with a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup cake. Jessica was drinking some cappuccino latte low-fat crap. Bridget was drinking decaf coffee. Since she was pregnant, she could not drink regular coffee. CJ had a fresh iced coffee in his hand. Sophie had agreed to stay at work so CJ and Bridget could find out more information. They promised to bring her back a dozen cupcakes, some coffee, and information. They also said she would be stopping at my house later if I didn’t call and tell her what was going on.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to be announcing club members’ information. Last time I checked, that was a rule, and you could get punished,” CJ whispered.

“Well, as long as nobody says anything. I had my first punishment last night. My butt still hurts, and I’m not planning to repeat that punishment anytime soon. I’m taking the straight-and-narrow path from now on,” I told the table with a straight face.

“You had anal last night? You talked to Sam for the first time last night,” Jessica once again announced to the diner.

“No, he spanked me with a paddle for disrespecting Neal. At least I wasn’t disciplined by Neal. I don’t think I could ever look him in the eye,” I said quietly, hoping the diner wasn’t listening to our conversation.

“What happened after he spanked you? Did you like it? Did you sleep together?” Bridget fired off questions so fast, it was hard to keep up. I wasn’t sure they’d actually given her decaf.

“After he disciplined me, he held me in his arms on the couch, and we watched other scenes being performed. We talked about what was going on in each scene. We didn’t sleep together. He gave me a goodnight kiss and asked me to research the BDSM lifestyle this week. Sam will call me in a week so we can discuss what I’ve learned.”

“Did you know for every ‘normal’ webpage, there are five porn pages? You shouldn’t have any problem finding research,” Jessica said with a straight face.

“Jessica, how the fuck do you know this much random shit and still have room in that head for all the numbers you crunch?” When we were kids, Jessica put her head in books to read, but not typical kids’ books. She liked numbers and facts.

“I would let Neal punish me if I weren’t in a committed relationship with Asher,” CJ stated while looking off into space.

“That is disgusting to think about. Neal is a brother to me, and thinking about him intimately is disturbing,” I choked out.

“Neal is your brother?” Bridget and CJ asked at the same time.

“No, Neal is not our brother. I met Neal when I was at MIT, and we hit it off. He had no family, so he stayed with Jessica and me. I paid for his housing, and we lived together during school. He’s been like my brother ever since. So it was kind of disturbing to see him at a BDSM club.”

“Let’s stop talking about the sex club. I want to hear more about your life and what you’ve been hiding from us,” Bridget demanded.

It was so strange that I was about to talk to CJ and Bridget about my life. I hadn’t told anybody about anything before they signed a nondisclosure agreement. We spent the next couple hours talking about Shialia. I also explained that I was the oldest, and one of our three brothers would most likely take over the crown.

I left out the story about why Jessica didn’t want to take over when our father passed down the crown. Jessica had been kidnapped about ten years ago, and the kidnappers had been after me, not Jessica. When they figured out they had the wrong heir, they tortured Jessica to get my father to hand me over. She had been with the radical group for five days before Dad was able to rescue her. The group had wanted me to marry the leader so they would have access to all the rare gems in the mines of Shialia. If she wanted anyone to know what had happened, it was her place to tell the story.

Since the kidnapping, my three brothers had become more protective of Jessica and me. Their overprotectiveness was getting on Jessica’s nerves, though. When she met Doug, she kept it from our father and brothers until she was engaged. The family never liked Doug, but we all wanted her to be happy after what she’d gone through. I’d always been close with my three brothers, and they came to visit at least five times a year. I was curious to see what they would think about Sam.

“Okay, I know you said you stayed here with your mom during the winter. Does she still live here?” Bridget asked.

“We lost our mom a few years ago to cancer,” Jessica replied with a shrug.

CJ changed the subject. “I don’t get why you don’t work with Neal and act like a regular employee.”

“I could work there every day and act like a regular employee and have him telling me what to do. I was worried the information would eventually come out. Instead, I come home each night and look at the reports he sends me. We have conference calls and discuss what’s being worked on. Since he lives below me, he comes up to my penthouse once a week. We have dinner and discuss anything I need to know.”

The waitress walked over and filled up Bridget’s coffee. She asked if we needed anything else. I was pretty sure we were getting close to being done with our conversation. I forwent the second round of cake.

“Are you ever going to admit who you are and take over the everyday parts of the company?” CJ asked before taking the last bite of his muffin.

“Maybe someday I’ll take over. Right now, Neal does an excellent job running the everyday operations. I would like to expand our business. If I go back, it will be more to work on research and development and let Neal continue to run the other side of the company.”

Bridget seemed to be more interested in our heritage than work. “Do you think one day either of you will take over Shialia?”

“No,” Jessica and I both replied at the same time.

“I still can’t believe Doug was going to that club. I can’t believe you didn’t recognize him.” Jessica said to CJ. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. She hadn’t applied any makeup and was wearing a pair of black yoga pants with a white T-shirt.

“I met him for a second and didn’t place him when I saw him at the club. I’ve never been that close with Doug Barron. I don’t think Sam paid attention to him either. If I had figured it out, I would’ve told you.” CJ looked disappointed in himself for not putting two and two together.

The remaining time at lunch was great. We talked about Jessica and me and how we grew up.

Jessica and I hugged Bridget and CJ goodbye outside the diner. While Jessica and I walked toward the law office, there was significant tension between us. My stomach felt like it was in knots when Jessica and I weren’t getting along.

“Why did you put your nose where I didn’t want it?” Jessica asked while we were heading down the street.

She might have been mad at me, but I was also hurt that she’d been keeping this a secret from me. “I was pretty sure Doug was doing something wrong and wanted to make sure before letting you know. It hurts me you didn’t feel you could confide in me. I thought we look out for each other.”

“I didn’t want you to see how I failed at my marriage when you seem to succeed at everything,” Jessica whispered.

Not sure where she got that information from. I was the one always getting us into trouble or messing everything up, which was evident last night. “Jessica, when do I not mess things up? We help each other. You helped me last night, and I will always be there for you.”

We were walking toward the lawyer’s office. I could tell something was going on in Jessica’s head, but I was lost in the hum of the city. Everyone was buzzing around, running errands.

“Are you still mad at me for what I did, or are you lost in thought?” I was hoping she was lost in thought. I didn’t like fighting with Jessica.

“Just thinking. I should’ve known we would get a divorce. Did you know if one partner in a marriage smokes, there is a seventy-five percent chance the marriage will end in divorce?”

I never had any idea where she pulled numbers from. “I think you married Doug to escape what happened ten years ago. Not because you loved him.” The statement might hurt her, but it was the truth. She’d never loved Doug.

The rest of the walk to Richardson’s law firm was quiet. We had been using Richardson’s law firm for the last ten years. It was known for being one of the top law firms and one of the most ruthless out there. The owner was also a friend of Dad’s, which was going to make things a little bit trickier. Could we ask him to keep it from Father until he came for a visit? We didn’t want Dad sending an army of people to kill Doug.

The receptionist at the front desk already knew who we were, which wasn’t surprising, because we’re Richardson’s top clients, and he has photos of us in his office with our father. She was a new blond supermodel-looking bimbo who probably didn’t even know what she was doing. Richardson liked the receptionists young. She told us to head into his office.

“Hello, ladies! If it isn’t my favorite twins.” Richardson’s voice echoed in his office. He walked over and engulfed each of us in a fatherly hug.

“We’re your favorites because you know our money’s good, and you can make a lot of it off of us,” I replied with a chuckle.

“Semantics. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asked, sitting back down in his wingback leather chair. His office was dark with deep-red wallpaper. The furniture was a rich oak. The desk that sat between Richardson and us was double the size of a traditional desk.

I sat back and kept my mouth shut. Jessica needed to handle the meeting. I was there for support.

“I need your help with something,” Jessica said. “But before we discuss it, I want client privilege, and this cannot be discussed with my father until I feel the time is right. I will tell him.

“Damn, what did you girls do?”

“Promise you won’t tell him first.”

“I’ll give you three months to tell him. If you don’t, I will let him know what is going on.” Richardson left no room for error.

“Fine. I need a divorce from Doug. I caught him cheating on me.”

“No problem. Do you want to stand by the prenup or take Doug to the cleaners? I never cared for him, so the latter meets my needs.”

Richardson typed away on his computer, bringing up Jessica’s prenup.

“No, I will stand by the prenup. I want this completed quickly.” I could tell by the way Jessica’s shoulders were slumped that she blamed herself for the divorce. Over time, she would understand Doug was a scumbag.

I think he made out pretty good with cheating on his wife, and she’s not even going to go after him for money. As we were getting ready to go, Jessica chimed in with another one of her statistics: “Thank you for your help, Mr. Richardson. I think my next marriage will be a mail-order marriage. Mail-order marriages are less likely to end in divorce than people who marry for love in the US.”

“You can’t live your life by statistics, surveys, and studies. You need to live. Next time, you need to marry for love, not to escape your father.” Richardson leaned back in his chair. “Doug will likely sign the divorce papers as soon they are delivered. He’s probably under the impression you won’t give him anything since he cheated. When he sees you standing by the original agreement, he’ll sign.”

We said our goodbyes and headed out. Richardson let us know it would only take a few weeks. Once we were out on the street, I hugged Jessica and told her goodbye. We agreed to meet again in a couple days.

I needed to head home and start my research on all things BDSM lifestyle. I was hoping it still interested me because I really wanted to be with Sam. I wasn’t going to put myself in anything where it made me feel uncomfortable. So bring on the porn.