Page 59

“There have been a few memorable funny calls,” I admitted. “We have the occasional drunk dialer to entertain us. My most recent called to complain when the local tittie bar, Dream Girls, wouldn’t admit him with his pet kitten. But he phrased it a little differently. According to him, ‘they won’t let my pussy in.’”

Snickering, Andi shook her head. “And I bet you wererealmature throughout that conversation.”

“We had to watch the classic SNL skit ‘NPR’s Delicious Dish’ as training for the call center.” I said with a straight face.

“You didnot. The ‘no one can resist my Schweddy balls’ radio show? As training?” her eyes twinkled with mirth, and she seemed on the edge of believing me.

“They don’t include it in our onboarding, but they should,” I admitted with a sheepish grin. “That parody is a master class in remaining calm in the face of ridiculousness.”

“And the calls from kids can be hilarious. I had a six-year-old call to complain that her big brother was pinching her.”

“What happened?” Andi asked, eyes wide.

“I had her pass the phone to her brother, and it turned out she’d been cheating at Go Fish.”

She chuckled. “Been there.”

She looked hesitant for a moment. “What about Hernandez? Any more prank calls from his address? Or have you heard any prosecution rumors after our trial?”

“No calls and no rumors. However, I saw in the sports section of the paper that Hernandez is getting traded again. It’ll be interesting to see how his new team feels about his potential involvement with Shepherd, if and when it comes to light.”

Her brow wrinkled, and I touched my pinky to hers where it lay on the table, stroking it gently.

“We did the right thing,” I reassured.

She looked up, expression clearing. “You think so? I wondered how you’d feel about our jury experience together.”

My lip tilted up. “Like I finally got to see your persuasive magic in action, and how it worked on me.” Her fingers relaxed against the table, and I squeezed them briefly before releasing them. “What about you, how has work been since jury duty?” I asked.

Her expression soured and I regretted my question.

She traced a pattern on the table. “Just okay. I have a new boss, and he’s … learning. I could handle losing out on the director job if it had gone to someone competent. But I’ve spent all week cleaning up his messes.”

Seeing her struggle didn’t sit well, but supporting her behind-the-scenes seemed to be what she wanted. And I trusted Andi to ask for help if she needed it.

“That stinks.”

Her lip tilted up at the corner. “Yeah, it does. I’m just sotired. I’ve worked too hard to stagnate now. Mark is making noises about a promotion for me, but I’m not sure it’s going to go through.”

“If it doesn’t, are you going to move on? Find something else?”

She went back to tracing designs on the table, and I held my breath. If she took a new job, would she move away?

“I’m thinking about it,” she admitted. “But I haven’t started seriously looking.”

“Oh.” I shook myself, trying to snap out of a selfish perspective. This was about Andi. Her happiness. All I could do was be supportive.

“You are a badass, and you deserve to work where you’re appreciated. Does this mean you might move away?”

Her quick head shake dissolved the tangle in my gut. The question had escaped before I could call it back. I had no say in her decisions. Yet. Hearing she didn’t plan to relocate soothed some of my fears about the future.

“Unlikely. I don’t want to move far from Jimmy.” Her gaze met mine across the table. “There are too many good things here.”

Hoping I was reading the silent message there correctly, I put it to a test, unable to resist the urge to tease and lighten the mood.

“Do those good things include me?” I asked, letting a smile flirt with my lips.

“If you want it to.”