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“Look,” she said. “I know it’s none of my business. But I know this is the third night you’ve slept here. Is something going on? Something I can do?”

Lord, I thought. Sweet as she was, if I’d gotten to the point I needed help from the likes of Ashley, I was in bigger trouble than I thought.

“No,” I said. “I’ve just been immersed in trial prep. I guess I lost track of time.”

An absurd lie that even Ashley could see right through. I had my overnight bag tucked in the corner. When I checked into the Bayview, I’d packed enough for four days, which would get me through until tomorrow.

“Well,” she said. “Mark says he’s been trying to get ahold of you since last night. He wants you to meet at his office at eight thirty. He said he’s on his way and that I’m supposed to tell him the second you get in. Again, don’t wanna pry into your business, but I get the impression you don’t want him to know you’ve been sleeping here.”

“What? I don’t… I’m not asking you to lie for me.”

“No. I know. It’s just… Mina… something’s wrong. We all see it.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” I lied. I walked over to the other side of the room. I had a small mirror on the wall next to my coat rack. I looked awful. My hair was matted in the back. Smudged mascara made me look like a raccoon. If Mark was on his way, I didn’t have much time to pull myself together.

“There’s a leak in the women’s restroom,” Ashley said. “That’s actually why I came in a little early. The maintenance guy, Connor, told me he’d be here any minute. Not ashamed to admit I’m kinda hoping to catch his attention.”

I noticed Ashley’s outfit. She wore a tight leather skirt and a fitted red knit shirt with a plunging neckline.

“Don’t worry,” she inserted just before my panic set in. “Why don’t you use the men’s room? I’ll stand guard. If Mark walks in before you’re out of there, I can distract him.”

“I don’t know if all that’s necessary,” I said.

“Just go.” She picked up my overnight bag and handed it to me. I had a strong urge to hug her. Instead, I hurried to the private men’s room and did the best I could to pull myself together.

Five minutes later, with my hair neatly pulled back and wearing a fresh linen dress, I was presentable. As I opened the bathroom door, I could hear Ashley overexaggerating her words, making sure to alert me that Mark had arrived. I had just enough time to toss my overnight bag into my office before he spotted me.

“Oh,” he said. “You’re already here. That’s good. Can you give me five minutes, then meet me in my office?”

He punched a number into his phone and turned his back on me. Ashley shrugged, indicating she had no new insight as to Mark’s agenda. She rushed over, carrying a steaming cup of coffee, and put it into my hand.

“Thank you,” I said. “You didn’t have to do any of this.”

“Mina,” she said. “Yes, I did. I get you don’t want to tell me why, and that’s cool. But you’re hanging on by a thread. Look, it happens to the best of us. I’ve got you.” I thanked her and walked down the hall to Mark’s office.

He stood at his window, overlooking downtown. “Have a seat,” Mark said, his tone grave. He gestured to the couch against the wall rather than one of his desk chairs. Whatever was going on, it meant this wasn’t going to be a short meeting.

“Am I going to need to take notes for this?” I asked.

He didn’t answer. Instead, Roy showed up. His expression was just as dour as Mark’s. They exchanged a knowing look.

“Palicki,” I said. “Please don’t tell me something fell apart. If I⁠—”

“This isn’t about Palicki,” Mark said. He perched himself on the edge of his desk. Roy took one of the desk chairs and turned it so he was facing me on the couch.

Mark jerked his chin at Roy, urging him to start. Roy rubbed his temple. It didn’t look like he’d gotten much more sleep than I had.

“Mina,” he said. “I’m going to get right into this.”

“Roy called me last night,” Mark interrupted. “I thought it would be best if we talked to you together. I tried to get a hold of you beforehand; you weren’t picking up.”

“I turned my phone off,” I said. “I generally do when I’m trying to sleep.”

He waved me off. “Go ahead, Roy.”

Roy cleared his throat. “I know you’ve been under some stress. None of this is easy for me. And I’ve tried to do my due diligence. I wanted to talk to you by myself. I would have, but Mark reached out to me and between the two of us⁠—”

“What is going on?” I asked. “I know the two of you well enough to read the looks on your faces. What happened?”