re: How does the $20k fit in the equation?

The money went to a love shack were the two could hook up, if she was to have continued as his lover under his employ, Petrino would have found a way to get her a loaner vechile to drive thru a car dealer that is a friend of the program.

The money was not a gift or an unselfish act on Petrino's part, there was something in it for him