My dad, Reagan thought. I’ll let you know.

She pocketed her phone, glancing again at the closed doors leading to the emergency room. She turned and found her mother sitting in a chair, staring blankly at the floor. Reagan plopped down in the chair next to her, cradling her mom’s hand in her lap. All they could do now was wait.

Jill stared at her computer screen, going through email after email. She was looking forward to her four o’clock meeting with Reagan, definitely not because she’d be seeing Reagan. Nope. Not one little bit. She just wanted a break from the monotony of dealing with Harrison and his constant emails. Normally he didn’t check in much during the planning phase of projects. She didn’t understand what it was about this project that made him become so involved.

As she finished a reply to her design team, a knock on her door drew her attention away from her screen. She looked up to find Ash standing there and Gwen a few feet behind them. She glanced at the corner of her screen just as the clock changed to four on the dot.

“Ms. Taylor is here to see you.”

Taylor? Why’s Gwen here? Where’s Reagan? A sense of disappointment hit her square in the chest. So much for looking forward to the meeting. Jill stood and nodded to Ash. They stepped aside to let Gwen walk through the door—and she didn’t look good. Her eyes seemed a little wild and red, and her breathing was too fast for attending a meeting about table settings. If she didn’t know any better, Jill would have assumed Gwen had run up the five flights of stairs to her office.

“Ms. Taylor. Have a seat,” Jill said as she gestured to a chair in front of her desk.

“Thank you.” Gwen sat and rubbed her hands on her pants. She took several deep breaths which calmed her breathing some.

“May I ask why you’re here? I’m supposed to be meeting with R…Ms. Murphy.”

“She had a last-minute conflict and asked me to cover for her.”

Jill sighed. “Fine. What do we need to go over today?”

Gwen wiped her hands on her pants again. “To be honest, Ms. Jacobs, I’m not exactly sure where Reagan was in the planning. I felt it’d be better to come here in person and apologize for the late notice. I know th—”