I scoff and down the rest of the wine. “It wasn’t real.”

We were fake.

Fake.

Fake.

Fake.

“Well, whatever it was, I had no right to kiss him,” she says. “I’m the one that blindsided him in his office. He didn’t initiate anything, so you shouldn’t be upset with him.”

“And who should I be upset with, Bree?” I ask. “You? The girl I’ve worked with for a year? The girl I thought was some weird version of a friend? The girl who kissed the guy that I may have had a thing with because she was what? Jealous? Lonely? Because she needed validation from a man? Is that who I should be upset with?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly who you should be upset with,” she says. “I’m sorry, Olivia.”

Bree walks over to the circular table in the center of the room where all the gifts are. She places a box on it that’s wrapped in metallic red paper adorned with a gold bow, and then she forces a smile at Alba before she walks over to the elevators.

The jealous twinge I felt when I saw her kissing Asher is replaced with guilt. I always thought Bree was sad, but I’ve never been able to place why. I’ve also never understood why I was always her target. What do I have that she doesn’t?

“You’re a good person, Olivia,” Asher told me at the children’s hospital. “Money can’t buy that.”

And sure, I get that. But it still doesn’t explain why she resents me so much. All I ever wanted was to be her friend.

“Everything okay?”

Ana’s voice cuts through my thoughts, and when I look over at her, she’s reaching for the last mini grilled cheese. It’s a devastating sight, but it’s not like I can wrestle it out of a pregnant woman’s hand. I haven’t completely lost my mind.

“Did you offer Bree a job?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“She did good work.”

“She did.”

“Then why not hire her?”

Ana takes a deep breath. “Because there comes a point when you have to put a person before a business. And as a mother, I couldn’t put Bree in the line of fire when I know she has deep-rooted self-worth issues that she needs to address.”

“River took advantage of her.” I frown.

“There have been a lot of Rivers in Bree’s life,” Ana says. “But she’s taking a timeout for a while, which I think will be good for her. And once she’s ready, I told her she’ll have a place at WLS.”

“That’s really nice of you,” I tell her.

“What can I say?” She smiles. “I love a good redemption story.”