Jill stepped inside and closed the door. “I’m so sorry. You know I wanted to be there more than anything. I—”

“If that were true, you would have been there.”

“I had every intention of being there. I was so close to leaving for the day, and then fucking Harrison came at me with this bullshit dinner meeting!”

Reagan turned and crossed her arms. “Why didn’t you just tell him no?”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why not? Would he have fired you?”

Jill opened her mouth to speak but closed it just as quickly.

“That’s what I thought.”

“It was a mistake. I see that now. He threatened to withhold my promotion, and I just felt so powerless. I’ve worked so hard to get where I am, and the flashing thought that it would be all for nothing scared me.”

Reagan pinched the bridge of her nose. She deserved better and Jill needed to know that. “Look. I know how important your job is, Jill. You’re gunning for this promotion, and I support that. And I knew there would be times where work would need to take priority. But tonight…Tonight I wanted to be the priority. Tonight was important to me. Then for you to throw money at me, like that would make it all better…” Reagan paused and took a shuddering breath. “It made everything ten times worse. You, of all people, should know that throwing money at an issue never fixes it.”

Tears filled Jill’s eyes. “I wasn’t trying to throw money at you. That wasn’t my intention.”

“It wasn’t? Then what was it, Jill? Because that’s exactly what it felt like! Did you even think for one second about how it would feel to receive that? A ton of cash and a fucking lame-ass apology delivered by your assistant? I felt like I wasn’t worth your time or attention. You treated me exactly the way your mother and stepfather treat people.”

Jill’s eyes flashed and she clenched her fists at her sides. “But you’re still going to cash that check, aren’t you?” Jill asked, her words as icy as the steps outside.

“You’re damn right I am. Just because you wrote it to make yourself feel better, doesn’t mean it’s not going to a good cause. If it could keep one more dad around a little longer for his kids, then it’ll be worth it. Even if you’re not.” Reagan bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.

“Wow,” Jill whispered, her shoulders sagging. Her nostrils flared with sharp inhales and she audibly swallowed.

“We both knew this,” Reagan gestured between them, “was a long shot. Let’s just end it now before we get any deeper.”

“You can’t mean that.” Jill took a step forward, reaching for Reagan, but Reagan stepped back and held up her hand.

“You should leave.”