"That wasn’t meant in a mean way," she said, "so please don’t take it that way. This is just something I’ve got to see through myself." She pushed herself to her feet and gathered her plate and glass and the remnant of the French bread. "Take the apology. I’m going to see this run to the end, and you can rely on me to be every bit as pro as I’ve ever been. I just felt you deserved to know that."