Chloe called when we were five minutes from the building.
“Don’t worry. I won’t be late,” I told her as I picked up.
“Jack, have Jason pull over,” she said, her voice holding a sadness.
Oh, God.
“Pull over,” I told Jason.
“What happened?” My heart fluttered in my chest. Was someone hurt?
“I’m sorry, but you can’t go to the fundraiser anymore,” she said.
I frowned. “Why can’t we go to the fundraiser?” I put the phone on speaker so Jason could hear.
She sighed. “Jack, the principal just called. He ran routine background checks on you both and…they have a policy about people with felony convictions being around children.”
The wordsfelony convictionhung in the air like a poison until it was choking me. Shame washed over me so hard, and I wanted to disappear. It wasn’t lost on me that I’d just run a background check on Luke to make sure he was safe for Hannah, and meanwhile, I should have been looking in the mirror.
“I understand. Thank you, Chloe,” I told her and hung up.
“Oh, Jack, I’m so sorry.” Jason reached for my shoulder.
But I shrugged him off and opened the door of his car.
“Whoa, hey. What are you doing?” he asked as cars zoomed past us.
I peered down the freeway exit to the gas station. “I’m gonna walk to the gas station and call a ride. You can still make it and do the ten-grand-per-hoop thing. The kids will love it.” I felt the weight of depression trying to draw me under.
“Jack, get in the dang car,” Jason growled.
I went to lift myself out of the seat, feeling emotion clog my throat, but Jason grabbed hold of my elbow, yanking me back down.
I slammed my butt on his seat and glared at him.
“I can drive you to the gas station, you overdramatic fool,” he told me.
I chuckled at that. Jason always had a way with words.
I shut the door, and he got back on the highway, taking the first exit.
“Or I could just write them a check and we could go grab dinner,” he added, peering over at me with pity.
I shook my head. “You don’t break promises to kids, Jason. They are expecting a cool tech billionaire to inspire them and tell them they have a shot at an amazing future. But I guess you will have to do,” I told him.
He chuckled at my joke. “You’re certainly the better half of our business.”
I frowned as he pulled into the gas station. “No, I’m not.”
He put the car in park and faced me. “Yes, you are, Jack. If you weren’t constantly throwing money at good causes, I wouldn’t feel so inclined to do it myself. I’d be hoarding my money on a yacht in Italy, but you have inspired me to make a difference in other people’s lives.”
I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the praise. Jason and I normally didn’t go too deep in our conversations, and that’s the way I liked it. If I wanted this, I could get it from Chloe.
“I only do it to try to make amends for what I’ve done.” I told him. He knew that.
Jason grasped my shoulder, his eyes going misty. “That’s not how it works, buddy. At some point, you’re going to have to forgive yourself and move on.”
It felt like he’d shaken up a deeply wounded part of me with those words. I had to bite down on my lip to keep from getting emotional.
