Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“What’s this say?” I asked, tucking my hands together between my thighs, waiting for either man to explain what I needed to know.
Dash started to speak, but Tommy had gotten a good dose of the country life, at least my life, and he spoke in terms I understood. “The Dunn family doesn’t want the sordid details out in the world. They’re willing to give you a public apology for not working harder to find the truth. It won’t showcase how far they went to hide the truth but it will give you the redress you deserve.”
“Good,” I said, nodding. I was happy my neighbors, the people who knew and believed in me, could now know my truth.
“There’s more. In addition to the apology, they’ve agreed to a lump-sum payout in exchange for you dropping the lawsuit. That figure is two million dollars—” Dash said. I instantly cut him off, shooting to my feet, the chair legs scraping until it thumped over.
“Two million dollars?” I asked, stunned…maybe thrilled…mostly blindsided by the settlement offer. When Dash had asked to take on this case, I just wanted people to know the truth. To know who really caused that accident.
“No, hang on,” Tommy said to me, still seated but twisting to collect my chair, and pat me back down to it. “It’s earmarked as a donation to the sanctuary. That sounds like they’re twisting this so they benefit.”
Dash waived a hand. “They can call it what they want, but you’ll receive the tax break, not them. I think it’s a good deal that can wrap this up quickly without any added drama for you or your family.”
I took the seat again. Two million dollars. I had loads of expenses, absolutely, but two million would last a long time. Wow. “How much does the sanctuary actually get of that? One million?” That was still a lot of funding. I could work with that. I wouldn’t have had any of it without Dash…or that public apology.
“Good question,” Dash said, a little smirk showing before he continued. “You’ll receive the complete total. They’ve also agreed to pay my standard legal fees. So I accepted that in lieu of the contingency agreement we set up. Remember, I’m not cheap.” That smirk turned into a toothy grin, showing his pride in his payday.
“And what do I have to do in return?” There was always a catch. If it looked too good, it probably was.
Dash laughed. “Not a damn thing other than drop the suit. Their attorney should have asked for some sort of non-disclosure, but they didn’t. So the agreement’s heavily weighted to your benefit.” He looked particularly smug about that.
“Thank you.” The appreciation popped out of my mouth in an unexpected whoosh of air and words. He was truly blowing my mind. To think I could’ve done this years ago…
No, this was all Slade and his influence.
A pang of sadness had me dropping my hands in my lap again, vulnerability surging forward. Why wasn’t my guy here with me to celebrate?
“I’m going to assume you agree with the deal,” Dash said, grabbing a pen off the desk in front of him.
“I believe he’d like to approve the apology first before it posts,” Tommy said. That was a good add, and I nodded again.
“Already covered,” Dash said, jotting notes. “My family’s waiting on me. We have birthdays to celebrate. I’ll keep you informed. Congratulations. This is deserved.”
Dash didn’t wait for a goodbye as he reached to end the call.
My gaze collided with Tommy’s. His grin was huge, but I couldn’t see to muster the same in return.
“How does it feel to be vindicated?” he asked.
“It’ll be nice to have the apology. I thought we’d be lucky to get that,” I said. How did I even secure that kind of money? Did checking accounts allow for those sums?
“Then I better text Slade and tell him. Maybe it’ll help him out of the funk,” Tommy suggested.
“Don’t tell him, I will, but I want it to be face-to-face.”
That dented the happiness staring at me.
“Mace, it’s going to take him time to get out of his headspace. We could maybe spur that on faster if we tell him now.”
“Let me think about it.” I reached for my phone in my back pocket, handing it to Tommy. “All the videos I took today are on the card you gave me. We’re gettin' lots of traffic on social media right now. We’re at a hundred thousand subscribers on the YouTube channel. Our donations are crazy high. I was thinkin’ about makin’ a longer video on the days the auction trailer arrives. Doc Kylie says she’s into talkin’ about her process of checkin’ their health. I’m also goin’ to ask Kitt to talk about the proper procedures of dealin’ with the animals when they arrive and once they’ve had their medical exams.”