“I’ll walk you out,” Lila said.

To Lila, Andi said, “I’d like you to stay for a minute.” There was something cold and empty in her tone that filled Lila with dread.

“I can find my way out,” Sadie said, giving Lila another small smile, this one to say goodbye.

After Sadie left the room, Andi turned to Lila and said, “What’s going on? That’s twice now that you’ve disappeared on me. Do I need to be concerned?”

Lila had disappeared. But Lila couldn’t tell that to Andi. So instead, she pulled the letter from the Board of Law Examiners out of her pocket.

“I’m fine…but…”

“But what?”

She handed the letter to Andi. “Frank Dovey’s coming after me.”

Andi read the letter, glancing up at Lila about where suicide was mentioned. She finished reading and handed the paper back to Lila.

“I was hoping,” Lila said, “that you might write that reference for me.”

“I can’t,” Andi said. “Frank ordered me to run everything through him.” She pointed at the piece of paper in Lila’s hand. “That, I assume, is why. I may not like it, but he’s the head of the division. My hands are tied.”

Lila sank into a chair, the sense of powerlessness rising around her. “If I can just hold out until Beth comes back.”

Andi walked to the conference room door and closed it. When she returned to Lila, Andi chewed on the inside of her cheek as if contemplating something, her eyes serious. “Lila, I’m going to tell you something, but it’s confidential. You understand?”

“Sure,” Lila said.

“I visited Beth in the hospital on Wednesday.” Andi paused as if rethinking her decision, then said, “She’s retiring. I don’t know if she told Mr. Nelson yet, but if she hasn’t, she will soon.”

The words blindsided Lila. Within the chaos of her thoughts, one unavoidable truth rang out—she would be out of a job soon. “What should I do?”

“Don’t quit.” Andi sat down next to Lila. “If you let him win, you’ll carry that regret with you forever. If that’s where Dovey’s going, make him own his decision.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“Not as easy as you may think.” Andi slid a hand toward Lila in a gesture that had all the makings of an offer of comfort, but she stopped short of touching Lila’s arm.

“My first job out of law school was at one of the big firms. A dream job. About a year in, I caught the eye of one of the partners, but not for my talents as a lawyer. He was a married man, and, like Frank Dovey, a conniving prick. He was careful in how he tested me, and when I refused his advances, I started getting poor performance evaluations. He never left his fingerprint on anything, but after a while, it was clear my days were numbered. Just like you, I was faced with saving my dignity or saving my résumé. I left. That was twenty years ago and I regret quitting to this day.”