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He had the decency to look embarrassed. And here I was, worrying about his feelings coming up here alone.

“That wasn’t what you think,” he said.

I tilted my head to the side. “What, are you going to tell me you were just taking her temperature? You tripped and both your pants fell off? Look, how you live your personal life is your business. But here? In Lock’s office?”

“Please don’t tell him.” Eli looked scared. He could be his own worst enemy sometimes. I knew he resented feeling like Lock always had to bail him out. But here he was, self-sabotaging.

I threw my hands up. “Who is that?” I asked. “Is that the event planner?”

I peered around Eli. He was almost as tall as Lock. I saw a woman with blonde hair standing in the waiting area, adjusting her skirt. All color drained from her face.

“Mrs. Manning, I⁠—”

“You don’t have to say a word, Anne,” Eli said. He quickly walked around me and shut the door on her.

“Eli, I don’t even know where to start. Do you realize the liability you just exposed us to? What if she claims you harassed her? She’s not an employee, but it’s still a problem.”

“Mina, please. I’d never do anything to hurt Lock. What are you even doing here?”

“I told you, we’re supposed to be meeting with her!” I pointed to the closed door.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” he said.

“Obviously.”

“Lock didn’t tell me he was planning on crashing my meeting.”

“I’m pretty sure he did,” I said. “But it doesn’t make any difference.”

“Well, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell him what you saw.”

He was taking advantage of Lock’s kindness. Abusing his position here at the foundation. Not to mention betraying his wife. I always suspected Eli cheated. I just hadn’t expected to get a front-row seat to it. It made me feel sorry for Piper, despite the fact that we weren’t exactly close. Though all these things were true, I saw true panic in his eyes. In spite of my anger, I also felt sorry for Eli.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “It won’t happen again. Not here.”

“This is an important year,” I said, trying to pivot to the matter at hand. Where was Lock? “Ten years is an important achievement.”

Eli looked puzzled. “Ten years? That’s not the significance.”

He walked toward the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf Lock had built into the opposite wall. One shelf contained framed photos of prior galas. Lock had pictures of himself with three past governors, two presidents, and a couple of A-list actors. But he also kept more personal, poignant photos here. One of the few I’d ever seen of him with his brother sat in a silver frame.

I walked over to it. Lock was just twelve when it was taken. His brother Bennett was only six. They sat on a dock together, dangling their bare feet in the water. Well, Lock’s feet anyway. Bennett’s legs were too short to reach. The younger boy looked up at his brother with such awe. Lock had been trying to teach Bennett how to bait a hook.

“It’s twenty-five years, Mina.”

“Twenty-five years,” I repeated.

Eli picked up the photo of Lock and Bennett. “Twenty-five years since he died. To the day. That’s the date this year’s funder falls on.”

I felt like he’d just pierced a knife through my heart. How had I not realized? I was right to call Eli out on his behavior today, but here he was, still looking out for Lock. I didn’t like myself for having a quick flash of jealousy. One more detail in Lock’s past I didn’t have.

Eli had been Lock’s freshman roommate. Thrown into a two-person dorm together by a computer program. Eli had grown up in a small suburb of Flint. Piper started dating Eli in their sophomore year and the three of them had maintained their friendship for twenty years now. It was the longest continuous relationship Lock had.

“Has he ever told you what happened?” Eli asked.

“Of course he has,” I said.

“He had nightmares all through college. He went into that water ten times. Almost drowned himself trying to get Bennett out of that car. He was strapped in. Lock couldn’t open the door. His father made him come to the morgue and see him like that. Bloated. Dead.”