Lila's voice came chasing after me, thick with tears: "Hope… I'm sorry… it's all my fault…"
I reached for the driver's side door.
"Hope." Les caught up, planting himself between me and the door.
"Give me the keys." My voice was shaking. My grandmother was in critical condition—I needed to see her one last time.
"I'll have someone handle Grandma's situation," he said, pausing for a beat. "The best specialists. They can be there tonight."
I stared at him.
Lila trailed over too, eyes red, voice small and cautious: "Hope, please don't blame Les… it was me… I seduced him…"
Her voice cracked as she spoke, her shoulders hunching inward, shrinking into herself like something small and cornered.
Les glanced at her, then back at me.
"Look at her." His gaze went soft on Lila. "She's already like this. How far do you have to push her before you're satisfied?"
Lila kept her head down, shoulders trembling, tears dropping one by one onto the asphalt.
And just like that I remembered her first day at the company—hovering timidly in my office doorway, holding out a cup of milk tea: "Hope, my treat."
I hadn't drunk it. Les said he had. Said the girl was thoughtful.