She shook her head. “No. It wasn’t for me. Now, I clean houses.”
“Really?”
She sipped her white wine and nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been at it for almost four years now.”
“You like it?” Brian asked.
“Yeah. Rita’s an awesome boss. It’s hard to beat that.”
Brian gave a half nod. “True, unless you can work for yourself.”
Punc caught his buddy’s gaze and said in a warning tone, “Brian.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “What? She’s smart. I bet she could run her own cleaning company.”
“I can’t do that. Math was never my strong suit in school, but it’s sweet of you to say,” Savannah said, her tone dismissive of the idea.
Brian leaned forward. “That’s an excuse. They have software that does the accounting. Focus on learning how to use a spreadsheet.”
She laughed.
Brian continued. “I’m not joking, Excel is a big calculator. Doing that job for four years, I bet you know what it takes to make the business work.”
The more Punc listened to Brian, the more he thought his friend was on to something. He turned to her. “How old is Rita? Is she close to retirement age?”
Savannah grabbed a loaded potato skin. “How did this become about me?”
Brian tipped his pint glass toward her. “You got potential, and I hate seeing anyone squander that.”
Her lips twisted and she gave him a disbelieving look. “You hardly know me, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Your sister had plenty of high praise for you.”
Punc let out a growly sigh. “How fuckin’ long did you chat with her?”
“Wasn’t like that, bro. She’s a good egg. I thought she was nervous and that was why she was so chatty.”
“And chatting with her was something Darla didn’t like,” Punc muttered.
Brian shook his head. “I know what you’re driving at, man, but I didn’t sabotage myself this time. She broke my trust.”
Punc lifted his chin. “You should hit our next cookout.”
“I might do that, but I’m still not joining.”
“Never say never, brother.”
Savannah tapped the table with her finger to get Brian’s attention. “Before I forget, thank you for keeping Catalina safe. I appreciate that more than you’ll ever know.”
Brian’s face softened with his smile. “You’re welcome. I hesitate to say this in front of Chisholm, but he’s saved my ass more than once while we were deployed and there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for him.”
Savannah nodded. “Yeah, he’s pretty great. Still, I’m grateful to you.”
Brian raised his pint glass toward her. “You’re still welcome. And if you feel indebted, and you’re not willing to start your own company - at least ask your boss for a promotion. Maybe she could show you the ropes if you wanted to branch out later.”
After they got back from Rounder’s, they found Catalina lounging on the sofa in a marathon text session with a friend.
She set her phone aside and sat up with a huge smile. “Muriel is freaking awesome! She hooked me up with all kinds of people in the cardiology department, and I’ve got an interview for a volunteer position with the pediatric unit.”
