Page 48 of The Omega Switch: Part 2

Of course there was.

"If you continue selling products covered by the disputed patents, and the court rules in your family's favor, you could owe damages for every sale made after you were notified."

I stared down at my glass. "So every lotion and spray.”

"Yes." He nodded. “But you can sell other products. The patents don’t cover the clothing, blankets, sweets, anything like that. And the products are only in dispute until it’s resolved. And Ivy,” Hunter said, pointing his finger at the paperwork on the table. “You made those products.”

I let out the breath I’d been holding.

"So..." I looked around the table. "I'll stop selling everything they're claiming and focus on other products." Ronan’s face darkened immediately.

"That’s ridiculous. She shouldn’t have to stop her business due to a bullshit claim!” He said, a low growl in his voice.

"No," I said. “It isn’t fair. But they can’t make me stop selling everything."

My own words surprised me. My mind spun as I started thinking of new products and new business decisions. I started taking my emotions out of it and thinking about what I could do.

"I still have plenty of things they can't touch. The clothing, my teas, the candles, the robes.” I looked up again. "And maybe it's time I stopped looking backward."

Elias shifted toward me.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I've spent years improving products I already created." A strange excitement stirred beneath the anxiety. "What if I create new products? Things no one's ever seen before? I can make my own products and patent them.”

Hunter was the first to smile. "That’s a great idea. They won’t be able to steal anything new.” Elias nodded, looking excited.

“Anything you need, let me know. I’ll make sure you have access to a lab.” He said, his excitement palpable.

“Yeah. I’m not going to stop making my products. They can’t steal everything.” I said, already feeling way more confident. I wasn’t going to let them scare me away from my own success.

Hunter looked at his packmates. "There's also the issue of Arabella," he said hesitantly.

I already knew what he meant. "Her videos." I sighed. I’d seen how she tried to insinuate Pack Vale cheated with me, and that she left them because of it. When I first saw it, I was appalled. I guess it had been so long since she’d been seen with Pack Vale that people were starting to wonder what happened. She’d been their brand ambassador and their supposed match up until the truth came out. But Pack Vale had kept the legal proceedings hushed up, for everyone’s sake. Now she was back to lying, as always, and placing the blame on anyone else. At this point, people thought that Pack Vale was messing around with me the whole time, and she dumped them when she found out.

"How do you want to handle everyone thinking you cheated on her?" I asked. Hunter leaned back, adjusting his tie.

"We aren't. We have nothing to hide." He said, his voice confident.

Elias nodded.Anything we say publicly right now turns this into a media battle. The courts deal in evidence."

I thought about their strategy.

"So… you’re just going to let people believe it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Elias nodded. “If we come out and expose what she did, it becomes a huge story. If we call her a liar, it ruins both her reputation and ours. Right now, our focus is breaking all ties with them.” He said. “And making sure that they back off of you.”

"You don’t care that it makes you look bad?” I asked dubiously.

Hunter shrugged. “It’s not ideal. But protecting you matters more than winning a public relations contest. The truth will come out eventually." He said, his voice calm. I wasn’t sure how that would happen. I looked down at the table.

"This is so embarrassing. I don't want people thinking I took something that wasn't mine." The words slipped out before I realized what I said. Silence filled the room. When I looked up again, each member of the pack looked crestfallen. Even Elias lost his usual charming smile. He cleared his throat.

“To be clear, we were always yours.” He said softly. “We messed it up.”

Ronan nodded, and I felt my face heat. “The biggest mistake of our lives was losing you.” He said, and I took a deep breath to calm myself. I wasn’t sure what to say, so I fiddled with the menu for a moment.

“Well, I’ll probably need to take you up on the offer for a lab,” I said, glancing toward Elias. He nodded, and Ronan seemed to relax slightly.