Clara looked at him for a long moment.
“Why would you do all that for me?”
“Because if someone used my company to steal money and punish an employee for noticing, I need to know.”
He paused.
“And because you deserve a fair chance to tell your side of the story.”
She lowered her eyes.
For the first time in months, someone had acknowledged that she might not be the problem.
Ethan reached into his coat pocket and took out his checkbook.
Clara watched him write.
When he finished, he placed the check on the table.
She looked down.
Forty thousand dollars.
For several seconds, she couldn’t make sense of the number.
Then she pushed the check back toward him.
“No.”
Ethan looked up.
“Clara—”
“No, I can’t take that.”
“It would help you stabilize your situation.”
“I asked for fifty dollars to feed my baby. You brought formula, groceries, and diapers. That was already more than I expected. But forty thousand dollars? I can’t accept that.”
