Then she saw me.
Her sentence stopped in the middle.
Across the room, Chloe noticed me too.
Her glass tilted slightly in her hand.
Howard followed their gaze and became completely still.
I crossed the room.
Eleanor recovered quickly.
She had spent a lifetime learning how to control her expression.
“What are you doing here, Audrey?”
She kept her voice low.
Then her eyes traveled over my dress.
“Who did you trick into paying for that?”
For six months, I had imagined this moment.
I had prepared cruel answers.
Clever answers.
Cold answers.
Standing there, I suddenly didn’t need any of them.
“I came to tell you about the Robert Terrence Washington Memorial Fund.”
Eleanor’s face changed.
“I’m establishing it through the holding company Terrence built.”
I paused.
“In its first year, its funding will exceed the annual operating budget of this foundation.”
The room around us became quiet.
“I thought you deserved to hear that from me before you read about it tomorrow.”
Eleanor stared at me.
“What are you talking about?”
“Terrence built something separate from all of you.”
I kept my voice calm.
