Page 57 of Dirty Big Sins

“My ideas are marinating. In fact, I was about to go to the kitchen and start cooking. That’s where I do my best work and that includes sussing out solutions to problems as they arise.”

Nina laughed as she too sat down next to me. “That’s girl code for I don’t have a fucking clue what to do.”

Gabe nodded. “Yeah, I gathered that. So have a seat, Julie. I think it’s time we discuss all possibilities and if you have one that you are confident could work, we need to listen and take it seriously.” He then turned to me. “Also, you should know. No one here thinks you are replaceable. Those New York fuckers can suck a bag of dicks. Provided Vincent lets them live after what they said to you.”

I blinked, my eyes going wide. He’d caught me totally off guard and I’d been about to cry over his support. Hell, I still might. But his joke about Vincent hit a little too close to home. It also reminded me that Vincent had a dark side I wasn’t sure I could handle.

“Stop it,” Nina chided her husband. “You’re going to scare her away and then where will we be? Julie, go ahead and tell us your burning idea so we can all consider whether it might work.”

“Okay. It has to do with this.”

She turned her iPad around and bared the screen that currently showcased a photo of me and Vincent at Club Berserker the other night. I’d never seen this image or even known it had been taken. It was so beautiful it nearly took my breath away. Vincent was looking down at me and I don’t know, there was something about the way he stared, it gut punched me with its intensity. The camera had captured something different. Something emotional.

I didn’t remember Vincent ever looking at me like that. What did it mean?

“I don’t get it. How is a picture of Vincent and Zia going to help us get reservations?”

“Simple. We’re going to make it go viral.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

VINCENT

“You want us to do what?”I wasn’t sure I’d heard my publicist correctly. If I did, she might be fucking crazy.

“A public appearance. You’ll take Zia out for a brief, but romantic night out on the town. You’ll pose for the press. Talk about love at first sight and generally convince the public you are madly in love.”

“And Zia has agreed to this?”

“Actually, the idea came from her team. They’ve begun a social media campaign that, with the right push from us, could sweep the nation and turn the tide on this situation. Or at the very least find the right people in this country who will support you both.”

“I thought you said this wouldn’t be more than a ripple?”

“For you. For her it’s a completely different story. When the news breaks that she has been fired from her television show due to a morality clause in her contract, things are going to go from bad to worse. But…if we can convince the world this is a classic star-struck love story between the ultimate bad boy and a sweetheart chef, we have a chance of at least saving her restaurant opening. Although admittedly we don’t have much time so we’re going to have to act fast. Which is why you need to do this tonight. Our window of opportunity is already starting too close.”

Holy hell. No pressure. “So the bastards at the network really fired her?”

“From what I’m hearing, they not only fired her, but they treated her like shit on the way out.”

My muscles tensed at that tidbit. Adrenaline already coursing through my body from training didn’t help the situation either. “What the hell does that mean? What did they do?”

“I am not privy to the exact conversation, but as it was relayed to me it sounded like classic slut-shaming. A trend people can’t seem to let go of. They always like to put the heat on the women. You tie up and spank a woman, you’re bad, but not too bad considering you’re a man with a rough reputation. It works well for you and your career actually. But a woman letting a man tie her up and having the gall to enjoy it. Yeah, people love to hate on that. Consensual or not it doesn’t seem to matter.”

A sudden spike of anger flashed through me, my protective instincts roaring to life. The idea that anyone had treated Zia with anything but the utmost respect boiled my blood. That woman worked harder than anyone else I knew. Sometimes too hard and she often seemed to pay for that kind of stress physically. Despite my having just put myself through a rigorous physical training session, I suddenly needed to hit something again. And again.

My original plan was looking a hell of a lot better every second this call continued. If I couldn’t beat the hell out of the men who’d hurt her, I could certainly still get to them where it would hurt. Screw it. As soon as this call ended, I’d be making another. Time to finalize the plan I’d already put into action.

“We are sending over a list of suitable events where you and Zia could make an appearance. Let us know which one you are interested in and we’ll get the ball rolling. We’ve got some favors we can pull in and arrange for the right press coverage. In the meantime, go and check out Zia’s IG page. Her assistant posted a picture of the two of you and it’s blowing up. I think we should do something for you to coordinate. This plan really is going to take all hands on deck.”

“Do whatever you think is best. If it helps Zia, then I’m all for it. Helping her is the least I can do.” Considering I still believed Romeo was behind this entire stunt, I’d brought this into her life in more ways than one. Although conveniently that bastard had dodged all my calls since the pictures had been released. He was up to something, I just hadn’t quite figured out his end game yet. I would though. It was only a matter of time.

“All right. Check your email now and get back to me. If you don’t have any more questions, then I’m going to get back to work. There’s a lot to be done in a short amount of time.”

“I’m good.”

She said something else before she hung up, but I’d already tuned out the conversation. I was searching for Zia’s social media account so I could see what was going on. I had expected I’d have to force my way into her kitchen tonight if I wanted to talk to her. This turn of events, while convenient for me, had turned out rather surprising.

When the account opened, I saw it. A picture of us together. Well, fuck me.

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