Page 54 of Dirty Big Sins

“You can’t keep me out of this. We’re in this together.”

“No. We’re not. We both knew if those pictures came out, they would destroy me without a blip to your career. You’re a badass fighter who lives on the edge and thrives on a sometimes seedy reputation. It’s all part of the game. I get that. But my world is not like that. I have to deal with real consequences, half of which you can’t even comprehend. So don’t give me thistogetherbullshit. I knew this was going to be a huge mistake and it looks like I was right.”

Fuck.

As much as I wanted to pull her over my lap right now and spank the bullshit out of her head, now was definitely not the time. If I had to guess, she was already beyond shutdown and was over halfway to full-on meltdown.

“Don’t do that.” I stepped into her path and halted her from leaving the bedroom. “I don’t care about my career, at least not like you seem to think. But I do care about what happens to you. Especially when it comes to our relationship.”

She narrowed her eyes and the storm there exploded. “No. I am not doing this with you right now. Nor do I have time to placate your need to be in charge over me. Damage control can’t wait for your power trip.”

The muscles in my jaw clenched as I fought to bite back any words I might regret later. This situation had pretty much derailed in the worst possible way and she had every right to be upset.

“You don’t want to go down there right now. Nina said the lobby is a circus. The press has scented fresh blood and they are circling the situation. If they see you, they will attack.”

Her already pale face blanched further. She wasn’t wrong about my need to take charge of this situation and do everything in my power to fix this for her. Although it had nothing to do with a power trip and everything to do with the fact that I needed to take care of her. If this situation was in my power to fix it, then I had to do something.

“I have to go to the restaurant. There are a million things to get done today and I need to talk to Nina and Gabe in the hopes that I still have a restaurant to open.”

“Why the hell wouldn’t you? They don’t give a shit about those pictures. They live the lifestyle. Hell, The Sinclair often caters to it. They would never pass judgement against you for our sexual choices.”

Zia scrubbed a hand over her face, her exasperation clearly evident. “You don’t get it. Not at all. This isn’t a situation that you or they can simply brush under the rug. I’m going to be put on trial in the court of public opinion, which is always brutal, and it’s going to affect every single thing I do. I barely got through the scandal of divorce. That might sound trivial to you, but my show is on a very conservative family network. Which means a lot of my fans that we are relying on for a successful show and restaurant launch are going to want to burn me alive. Cancel culture is real and it doesn’t matter if we did anything really wrong or not.”

“That’s why I have the best fucking public relations team on my payroll and they will be on this momentarily. Trust me that they will come up with a solution for us and I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

“Stop saying that.” Her face fell and her shoulders sagged. “There can’t be anus. It’s time to admit our timing is too off. I don’t have the resources for a publicity team. The best I can do is march downstairs and fall at the feet of the sharks as you put it. I will have to take the public flogging and then move on from there. I only hope when the dust settles, I have something left.”

“That’s absurd. I have the resources to fix this. The idea that you were fired without so much as a word to you is legally actionable at the least. My lawyers will never let that stand. You really think a little kink doesn’t cross all cultural cross sections of the population? Those assholes won’t know what hit them by the time we’re done with them. You’ll own them.” Already an idea was beginning to percolate in my mind and I would soon be making a few phone calls to put a plan into action.

“Vincent, no! This isn’t something you can fight your way through either. Violence is absolutely not going to help. You need to stay out of it and stay away. At least until this blows over. Please tell me you will let me handle this my way. I can’t deal with you trying to steamroll over this mess. It’s a delicate situation, especially for a woman fresh out of a hostile divorce.” The desperate tone of her words were not lost on me. I understood—to an extent.

“I get it. I really do. But going directly to the press is not the answer either. At least let my team weigh in on the situation. If you don’t like what they have to say then we’ll regroup and brainstorm together.”

She was shaking her head and moving around me. “I can’t do this with you anymore. I can let the press wait for now, but I’ve got to get on the phone with the network and see if there is anything left to salvage. Then there is the restaurant. I have to meet with Gabe and Nina…”

Her voice trailed off as she made her way through my suite and toward the door. It wasn’t easy, but I let her go. For now. I did trust that she could handle what needed done. She’d done nothing but show the world what a capable entrepreneur she could be. I’d not met a more reliable or resilient woman. But if the network didn’t do right by her, then I would step in.

In fact…

I reached across the bed and picked up my phone. Time to get the proper people working on the details of my plan. I believed in being prepared, which meant a backup to the backup so that all potential outcomes were covered. I’d give Zia the chance to take care of her own business, but I’d be there to back her up if and when she needed it.

There was also the matter of the pictures. I had a nagging sense at the back of my mind about who might be responsible and if I was right, then this whole situation was about me to begin with. Time to confront the fucker and find out once and for all what the fuck he was up to.

Chapter Twenty-Four

ZIA

Julie endedher call and slammed her fist down on the kitchen counter before letting loose with a string of curses that would make a seasoned sailor blush.

Uh oh. I knew what that meant. “Another one?”

My assistant nodded as I felt the knots in my stomach tighten. Since the moment I’d snuck into the restaurant, the day had gone downhill at breakneck speed.

“How many does that make?”

Julie hesitated and I knew she didn’t want to say it out loud. The damned sky was falling and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it.

“Just spit it out. I can’t deal with what I don’t know. So how many does that make?” I repeated.

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