“Don’t get mad at me,” he said quietly, “but maybe we should at least think about it.”
I turned and stared at him.
“Just hear me out,” he went on. “We know the truth. She knows the truth. Anyone who matters knows the truth. Why risk your entire business over an apology no sensible person would even believe?”
“Because if we give in,” I said, “she learns she can hurt us until we say whatever she wants. And she’ll do it again.”
“And if we don’t, you could lose six years of work, Claire. Six years.”
Neither of us was being ridiculous. That was the worst part. We were both right, and both terrified, and standing on opposite sides of the same problem.
We went to bed without settling anything. Neither of us slept.
The next morning, we found out exactly how serious Vanessa had been about her deadline.
