There was silence.
Because every motherfucker around that table knew I was right.
“Do you have anything else to say?” I inquired. “Any other apologies you’d like to offer while we’re still on the line?”
Shane took a couple of minutes to say a few words to Kendall, but I didn’t listen—none of what he was saying was important.
What I thought about were ways I could milk the settlement because money wasn’t what Kendall was after. She needed to be coddled, for the world to know this wasn’t her fault and she was not the girl the Celebrity Alert had portrayed her as.
“Dominick,” Ted said once Shane finished, “we’ll be anticipating your correspondence. Thank you both for taking the time to speak with us.”
Kendall thanked him, and I disconnected the call.
“How do you feel?” I asked as I turned to her.
She shrugged, shaking her head. “I honestly don’t know. They took responsibility—that’s all I can really ask for, I guess.”
“No, baby, you can ask for a hell of a lot more than that.”
“But they’ve already done more than my sister has.”
Her tone fucking broke me, and I lifted her out of her chair and set her on my lap. I put my hand on the back of her head, staring into those gorgeous, big light-blue eyes. “Talk to me.”
“I’m just angry.” She paused. “And I’m so upset. I’ll never understand her motives or how someone could hurt me the way Mark did.” Her voice softened. “I just need some time to get over this.”
I brushed my hand across her cheek. “They’re going to send over the settlement. We’ll review it today, we’ll sleep on it, and I’ll respond tomorrow. Does that sound all right?”
She nodded, slowly falling against my chest.
As I rubbed her back, holding her as close as I could get her, an idea began to brew.
I couldn’t make this completely disappear, but my plan could take away some of her pain.