Page 64 of Enchant Me

I have information about the Masque video. Give me a call.

He started to dial, then hesitated, his attention returning to Ashton. “I told you about the other texts we’ve received. The ones I assumed were from you.”

His son’s face tightened with anger. “Did someone just send another one?”

“No. It’s from a friend who may have information about a particular video.” He glanced sideways at Nikki, who nodded almost imperceptibly, but he knew she understood and agreed. “I didn’t specifically tell you about one of them. A rather racy video of Nikki and me at a club called Masque. Are you familiar with it?”

Ashton’s mouth curved into a grin. “Gee, Dad, should you be telling me this kind of thing?”

Beside him, he heard Nikki laugh, and Damien bit back his own smile.

“If you’re familiar with the club, you’re probably also familiar with the policies. No cameras, the client list is secret, and privacy is the name of the game.”

“Of course,” Ashton said. “What happened?”

“As I told you, we were sent a video. It said some not-so-nice things about me, about Nikki. About how I treated her and other members of my family.”

“That was supposedly from me?”

“It wasn’t signed, if that’s what you mean, but under the circumstances, I believe whoever sent it wanted us to think that.”

“He saw Ashton’s hands tighten around the arms of his chair. “I swear, if I ever find the son of a bitch who’s pretending to be me, I’ll—”

“Believe me, I understand. I’ll even help you. The fact is, we might have an answer now. I’m friends with Matthew Holt, who owns the club. I asked him to investigate, and he agreed. He’s just sent a text, asking me to call him. I’d like to take the call, and I’d like you to be on the line. Assuming Holt has no objections.”

“Why?”

“I told you a few minutes ago. Truth. Whoever took that video was pretending to be you. At least as far as we know. I think you deserve to know why as much as I do.”

Ashton nodded. “Go ahead.”

Damien glanced at Nikki, who nodded as well. Then he dialed Holt, who answered on the first ring. “Before you say anything, I want you to know you’re on speaker. And I have Ashton Stone sitting beside me.”

“A little family bonding moment?” Holt asked, and Damien had to chuckle. “Something like that.”

“Well, what I have is confidential information. Can you vouch for Ashton?”

Damien looked his son in the eyes. “I can.”

“All right, then. I’m bending the club’s rules almost to breaking. Or no, that’s a lie. I’ve bent the rules, turned them into knots, and sliced right through them with a chainsaw. I need your word this won’t get out.”

“You have mine,” Damien said.

“And mine, too,” Ashton added.

“That’s good enough for me,” Holt said. “I started with clients, as I trust my staff. So I went back and looked at the list. As you know, I’m the only one who has access to the list. I thought I’d give it a quick once-over to see if anyone stood out who I knew had a grudge against you. Surprisingly I only found one.”

“Surprisingly?” Damien asked.

“What can I say? I thought you’d have more enemies.”

Ashton laughed, then lifted his hand in a sorry gesture.

“Who was it?”

“Carl Rosenfeld. Wasn’t there bad blood about the time you commissioned Nikki’s portrait?”

“There was.”