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I snapped out of my thoughts when Karina said, “May that bastard rest in hell. I hope that poison made his last moments in life as painful as possible.”
“If I had a drink. I’d toast to that.”
“That man caused so many women so much pain.” The way Karina clenched her jaw told me the scars he’d left on her had yet to heal.
After my acquittal of Keith’s murder and the very publicized investigation into Randolph Senior’s bribery and coverup scandal, dozens of Keith’s victims came out to tell their stories. That horrible man had used his father’s affluence and money to cover up decades of assaults and rapes. Both father and son had ruined so many lives with blackmail and career defamation.
Even Henrietta Stanford, the bitch who framed me for killing Keith, was his victim. He was her business partner in a textile design endeavor and then stole her work out from under her and passed it off as his. He took the credit and profit for all of Henrietta’s work, leaving her out in the cold.
“Is it wrong that I feel compassion for that horrible woman who pinned Keith’s murder on me?” I stared straight ahead of me, not really seeing anything, just letting my eyesight blur for a moment. “It isn’t as if I forgive her, but in a twisted sort of way, I get why she did it.”
“No. Keith victimized her, and his father covered up his predatory behavior. What she did to you was fucked up in so many ways, but in the end, her desperation caused her to use Keith’s obsession with you as her escape plan.”
“Some people still think I offed him.” I shook my head at the continued rumors swirling around the fashion industry about me.
“She confessed in great detail how she did it. What more do the idiots want?”
I glared at her. “They think my family paid her off to take the fall for me.”
“If people are stupid enough to believe a successful entrepreneur would take the wrap for you, which includes a plea deal and a ten-year stint in prison while her business flounders, then more power to them.”
“I suppose you’re right. I’m just exhausted from everything. After what I’ve gone through over the last few months, my circle of trust is very limited.”
“And your man, where is he in this equation?” Karina strode to a form holding the completed ensemble design I’d named the Pet and fingered the leather collar. “Don’t you trust him? After all, he is the one who gave you the deep dive into the world of kink.”
Acid burned the back of my throat as I watched Karina finger the leash-like boa attached to the collar of the gown and then trail her fingers down the faux fur mix collar of the robe, hanging on a rack near it.
After a few heartbeats, I said, “We aren’t together anymore.”
Even now, after so many days of shedding tears and working through the roller coaster of everything that had happened between Damon and me, it felt as if it was only yesterday that he’d thrown what we’d had away.
“No, I don’t believe it. It makes no sense. I saw the two of you together. Your chemistry was off the charts and intense.”
“Believe it.” I swallowed down the pain filling my chest. “He chose this, not me.”
Karina wrapped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed me to her. “Men are idiots. He’s going to regret it.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not waiting around for that day. I have too many things to accomplish. I refuse to let anything hold me back any longer.”
“That’s my girl. Channel it all into your career.”
“Spoken like a true workaholic.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I won’t deny it.”
“Hey, I have an idea.” I touched my lip with my index finger.
Karina narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure I’m going to like this.”
“Of course, you are, since it will make you money.”
“Okay, I’m listening.”
“How about letting me use some of your jewelry as accent pieces in my collection? This way, it ratchets up the show’s ambiance a notch.”
“Oh, like a preview for my collection to draw people to my show.”
“Exactly.”
