Page 39 of Home Coming

“I know. I’m sorry,” she whispered. “How much trouble am I in?”

“You tell me. There are copies people grabbed before you took it down everywhere, including a heavily censored one that aired on TMZ. I think we can expect some sort of response.”

“A legal response?” Bailey asked.

All her scrimping to save money, build herself a nest egg, and it could all go away if Axel sued her. Even if she won, the legal fees alone could bankrupt her.

Xander bobbed his head. “Maybe. And other…”

“Other?” Quinn asked.

Xander pressed his lips together. “I have to ask you. Bailey, does Axel have anything on you?”

“Like what?” she asked.

Quinn drew in a breath, his gaze on her. “He’s asking if there’s any chance you two might have...made a sex tape.”

Her eyes flew wide. “No.”

“What about texting nude photos?” Xander added.

She felt the blood drain from her face.

Her breath came fast and shallow when a memory surfaced. Light headed, she swayed.

Quinn reached out to support her just as Xander said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Mortified, she finally forced herself to meet Quinn’s concerned gaze before she dragged her focus back to her manager as she whispered, “Yes.”

Xander let out a sigh. “I’ll call the team and tell them we’re working today.”

On a Sunday. The team was going to hate her. She forced her gaze back to Xander. “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll spin it. Not my first celebrity nudes and I’m sure they won’t be the last. Keep your cell on.”

Xander disconnected without saying goodbye, which left Bailey alone with Quinn and her shame.

“You all right?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“It’ll be okay,” he said.

“Will it?”

“Xander says it will. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to lie to spare your feelings.” Quinn’s crooked, dimple-filled smile appeared. “So, you caught Asshole Axel in the act on camera?”

“Yeah… He…” She swallowed. “He fell while chasing me and from the screaming I think he kind of really hurt his… dick.”

Quinn bit his lip to control, albeit badly, a smile. “You still have that video?” he asked.

“I made it private but yeah, it’s still in my TikTok.”

“I might need to see that one day.”

“Why?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Besides the fact I’m betting him falling and breaking his dick is hilarious, it’s the perfect Karmic payback for his cheating on you. Since I’ve made it my career to make sure bad people get their due, I’m always looking for a good dose of bad Karma.”

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