“Or, you can bring Ryan and his crew into Jewel and I’ll forget I ever saw it.”
“Where’d you get that?” Her face paled as she squinted at the image on Layla’s phone. Starting to reach for it, when Layla yanked it away.
“Doesn’t matter where I got it. Question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“This is blackmail.” Aster’s lips thinned into a tight, grim line.
Layla shrugged, watched as a group of tourists with a selfie stick posed with some old dude impersonating Marilyn Monroe in a swingy white dress.
“And blackmail is illegal.”
Layla grinned. “So sue me.”
Aster rubbed her lips together, glanced longingly toward the door.
“You are a terrible person, you know that?”
Layla made for the door as Aster grabbed hold of her arm.
“Fine. I’ll do what I can. But there’s no guarantee.”
“For your sake, there better be.” Layla left the threat to dangle as she went inside and parked herself in the Vault next to Karly. She was relieved that Aster had fallen for the threat. Taking Madison down was one thing—she deserved it. And while Aster undoubtedly deserved it too, Layla felt queasy at the thought of going through with it.
Everyone was spread out among the white leather sofas, either napping or on their phones, though they all shared the same tired, stressed look. Two weeks into the competition and it was already taking a toll.
“Where’s Ira?” Sydney got up from her seat and looked all around. “This is bullshit keeping us waiting.”
“Shhh!” Brittney grimaced, as though Ira was listening, while Tommy remained with his eyes closed, catching some z’s.
Annoyed, paranoid, and exhausted—Layla could relate to all three.
A moment later, when everyone’s phones started to beep, Jin was the first to say, “It’s Ira. He sent a video link.”
“So now he fires us by video?” Sydney rolled her eyes.
“Fires you, not me.” Karly smirked and hit Play the same time as Layla, watching Ira’s face fill up the screen.
“I warned you I like to mix it up, which means today, two of you will get cut.”
“But that’ll cut the competition short!” Zion shouted, leaving Layla to wonder if he realized the video was prerecorded.
“If you impress me next week, then maybe I’ll make up for it by not firing anyone. Or maybe I’ll fire three. Up to you whether or not you decide to impress me.”
“Is he on a yacht?” Taylor brought her phone closer to her face, as Aster stared at her screen with a conflicted expression.
“I’m in a hurry, so let’s make this quick,” Ira said, his sunglasses reflecting a bikini-clad girl wielding the camera. “Vesper, you’re in first place.”
The Vesper crowd started to cheer, but they were quickly shut down by everyone else who wanted to hear.
“Night for Night second, which makes Jewel last. Again.” He shook his head and frowned.
“No thanks to you,” Karly muttered under her breath, glaring at Layla.
“Hey, I brought in Heather Rollins and her crew,” Layla said in her defense.
“Did you bring her in, or hang by the door so you could claim her as yours?”
Layla rolled her eyes and focused on the video. “Diego, yo