King of Sloth (Kings of Sin #4) by Ana Huang

She kissed him on the cheek and wandered off. Kai’s gaze followed her affectionately for a second before it returned to me.

“Between this and Xavier’s club, you know how to sell a pitch,” he said.

“That’s my job.” I inclined my head. “Thank you for helping him, by the way. Your list has been incredibly helpful.”

“I merely gave him my contacts. It was up to him to close the deals, which he did. Securing Vuk Markovic as a business partner is no small feat.” A smile flickered over Kai’s mouth. “I should’ve known not to underestimate him after Spain.”

My senses went on high alert. “What do you mean?”

“The blog post about you in Spain,” he said. “He reached out after it was posted and asked if I could throttle its reach. I didn’t know him well, but he was quite insistent. Obviously, I couldn’t guarantee anything since the Young Corporation doesn’t own Perry’s blog, but I could stop our outlets from picking up individual posts.”

What he didn’t say was that his company owned almost every major news website and media outlet. By suppressing pickup, he’d effectively killed the post. People could share it on social media, of course, but the story hadn’t been juicy enough for that. Without oxygen, the embers died a quiet death.

Xavier hadn’t said a thing about it. I’d assumed people weren’t interested in the personal lives of publicists, even if Xavier was involved. Maybe that was true, or maybe it had become a nonstory because of what he’d done before we even started dating.

Emotions swelled in my chest, and I fought to marshal them into some semblance of order.

“As for your proposal, it’s an intriguing one, but I can’t commit to it quite yet,” Kai said, oblivious to the chaos his casual statement had incited. “I’ll have to discuss it with my team.”

That was what I’d expected, and it was better than an outright no. I was confident his team would see things my way after they weighed the pros and cons because the pros far outweighed the cons.

After Kai left to find Isabella, I ordered a double shot of whiskey and let it burn away the tingly lightheadedness that accompanied any thoughts of Xavier.

Now was not the time to blush and swoon over him. I had a revenge plan to finish enacting.

Armed with fresh determination and a stomach full of hard liquor, I sauntered over to the gift table where Tilly Denman and her friends were giggling over something. I’d bet my color-coordinated closet that Tilly had already swiped one of the gifts, but I wasn’t here to police her kleptomaniac tendencies.

In our world, Tilly and Co. spread gossip faster than a wildfire through dry brush, and I was counting on them to do exactly that when I turned my back to them and pretended to take a call.

“Hi, Soraya…what’s wrong?” I paused for dramatic effect. “Calm down. Tell me what’s wrong.”

The giggles behind me immediately dwindled to silence.

Soraya (one name only) was one of the biggest influencers on the planet. Famous for her chatty vlogs, sexy outfits, and striking good looks, she had over 150 million followers across her platforms, and they were rabid. As in, someone once paid two thousand dollars for a napkin she’d used at the Met Gala.

Anything she did was news, and any scandal she was involved in was big news.

“No, listen to me. You can’t go to his house. He’s married.” I lowered my voice enough to make eavesdroppers think I was discussing confidential matters but not enough that they couldn’t hear me. “If people find out you and Bryce…” I walked away, suppressing a smile at the cliff-hanger I’d dangled in front of Tilly and Co.

Bryce was another influencer with a rabid fanbase. He’d recently gotten married in a splashy wedding, every second of which was documented on his YouTube channel, but there’d been rumors about him and Soraya for years.

My friends had stoked those rumors through various channels leading back to Perry, and it was only a matter of minutes before “confirmation” of Bryce’s alleged affair with Soraya reached the blogger’s ears.

A rational person would ask why an experienced publicist would discuss sensitive client matters in the middle of the season’s biggest party, but Tilly and her friends didn’t care about logic. They simply wanted drama and gossip.

I’d done my part. Now I just had to sit back and watch Perry take the bait.

Since my work for the night was finished, I did a quick lap around the room to say hi to clients and important players before meeting up with Vivian. Xavier and I had agreed to reconvene at the bar when we were done with our tasks; since he wasn’t there, I assumed he was still talking to Dante.

“Great party, as usual,” I said, handing Vivian a glass of champagne. She was the city’s most coveted luxury-event planner, so I hadn’t expected anything less. “You outdid yourself.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, faint lines of exhaustion fanning across her face. Nevertheless, she glowed in a red gown and jewels that would make the late queen of England jealous. “I’m just glad the planning is over and done with. Remind me never to host a gala months after giving birth again. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Vivian and Dante could afford plenty of help with Josie, but they preferred to be more hands-on with the parenting. I didn’t understand it, but I didn’t have a kid, so what did I know?