Page 43 of Coffee Shop Girl
“A frolicker?”
We moved inside, and he flicked on the light. At least some of the electricity was working, then.
“A total dork. You’d never know he was a colonel when you met him outside of work.”
He perked up like a cat. “Army, huh?”
“You too?”
He winked. “Something like that.”
His laptop sat at a kitchen island complete with brand-new counters that still had a protective layer across the top. He headed to the fridge first. I watched him go, wondering if he was being evasive on purpose.
“No beer,” he said over his shoulder, “but I have water. Want one?”
“Sounds good.”
Seconds later, he stood next to me, his arm brushing mine. The brief contact sent a dizzy thrill all the way into the pit of my stomach. I breathed through my mouth to avoid the scent of pine while he navigated his computer. There wasn’t even a document on his desktop. No sign of clutter there, either, as he pulled up several spreadsheets. His arm didn’t move.
I didn’t retreat, either.
The first spreadsheet displayed an array of numbers and calculations that made my head spin. “Please tell me you’re going to explain that.”
“My pleasure. This is a complexity I love. Believe it or not, numbers are minimalists.”
He leaned over the counter, the muscles of his back pulling. I kept my gaze trained on the friendly glow of the computer screen. He ran through a couple of phrases that went in and out of my head.Lacking key performance indicatorsandinefficient lead systems.
Finally, I put my hand on his shoulder. He immediately stopped talking. I pulled back, unable to tell what the blank expression on his face meant. Perhaps I shouldn’t have done that. Maverick was nothing if not professional, and I’d broken some kind of boundary.
“Can you just tell me the bottom line?” I asked, leaning back to put a little space between us. “All of this is too much for me to track right now while I’m worried about what you’re going to say. I don’t know those terms or what they mean. I just want to know.”
He looked at me. “Too much information?”
I nodded.
“That’s good to know, thanks. I’ll need your help telling me what part of this process does or doesn’t work. Bottom line? You have two months before you’ll be forced out.”
The words took the wind right out of me. I stood there, staring at him. In my head, I could only see Lizbeth and Ellie marching away from me with a social worker from the state. Dad’s dreams burnt to cinders.
And me, alone in the wreckage.
The Frolicking Moose and my sisters were officially all I had left. If I lost one, I’d lose the other. I forced myself to stare the monster right in the face.
“That bad?” I whispered, strangled.
“Unfortunately,” he said slowly, “yes, it is. But that isn’t the same thing as hopeless. Bethany, I think we have a chance at salvaging this. I just don’t know if it will be in time. We don’t know what could happen with their father and ... it’s a variable I’m not sure how to consider.”
Concern haunted his eyes. I forced myself to take a deep breath.
“But there’s a chance?”
“Yes.”
“Then what do I do, besides what we’re already doing now?”
He stared at me for a moment, then motioned to the computer with a little nod. “First, you speak to your representative at the bank. We may buy you a few more months if we can show him what you’re doing.”
“Steven.” I sighed. “Great. Well . . . now’s a good time to take up religion, if you haven’t already. We’re going to need it.”
