Tonya exited Kelner’s office not feeling much better than when she’d first walked in. Though she would be nearly four hundred thousand dollars richer in a year, she was near destitute at the moment. Supposedly, her unemployment check was in the mail, but it wouldn’t be much when it arrived, and she had little prospect of padding it with extra work. Her industry had been decimated, and it was doubtful that Philip would shell out for her cleaning services once she could pay rent. Most likely, he’d ask the line cooks to wipe down their individual stations and mop the floor on rotation.

Tonya strode through the law firm lobby, leaving Rick and Kelner to discuss other matters likely related to Rick’s misdeeds. She walked as if someone was following her. Her new sensitivity to germs added to the vulnerability she already felt being in Rick’s lawyer’s office. She needed to get outside.

Tonya exited through etched glass doors into an elevator bank. She pressed the call button and then scrolled through her missed messages, checking to see if any were from Layla. Her daughter hadn’t left a voice mail, she realized. However, there was a text from an unknown number.

Tonya clicked on it. “Hello, it’s Imani,” she read. “Please let me know when you return. I would like to discuss something with you.”

The message was the sort left by principals for the parents of misbehaving students or, perhaps, therapists unhappy with a patient’s progress. Maybe landlords wanting to know why the rent was overdue or what the funny smell was in the laundry machine. There was little chance Imani wanted to “discuss” something pleasant.

Before she could type her ETA, the arriving elevator dinged.

“Hey, Tonya. Hold it for me?”

Tonya wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard the man behind her. Unfortunately, Rick was at her side before the doors fully retracted. He entered as she passed through the doors.

Immediately, Tonya retreated to the far corner of the elevator. To Rick, it probably seemed that she was socially distancing in the tight space. Really, she was moving out of striking range. Acquiescing to giving her money didn’t mean that Rick was happy about it. Tonya didn’t think he’d hit her. But she couldn’t put anything past a man she already knew to be a liar, a cheat, and deadbeat dad.

“Does she really want to meet me?”

There was a whiny quality to Rick’s tone. What did he care? Tonya wondered. He’d made clear enough that he had no interest. Was it an ego thing? Did he like the thought of his daughter out there, pining for him?

“She’s an eleven-year-old girl coming into her own and learning about herself,” Tonya said. “She wants to understand her background. That’s all. It’s not about you specifically.”