Page 65 of One Last Run

Pete took a deep breath, attempting to steady herself, and walked back into the main room to find Izzy still on the couch, scrolling on her phone. She'd tucked herself into a ball, her thick socks pulled up over leggings, nearly eclipsed by a massive fleece jacket that made her look like a teddy bear. Izzy glanced up as Pete walked back into the room and sat beside her on the couch.

"Did you know that crocodiles can regenerate their teeth if they lose one?" Izzy asked after a beat of silence.

Pete let her head fall to the back of the couch. "Huh. That's convenient."

"They can have up to 4,000 teeth in their lifetime," Izzy continued.

Pete's eyes closed and she took a deep cleansing breath. "How many do they have at one time?"

"Looks like anywhere from sixty to over a hundred," Izzy answered.

Pete let her head loll to the side to look at Izzy. "That's a lot of teeth."

"They have the strongest bite of any animal in the world," Izzy continued.

Pete frowned. "Are you doing like, a metaphor thing?"

Izzy's eyes flicked up to Pete's and she gave a half-smile. "You think I'm trying to make a metaphor for your feelings with crocodile teeth?"

Pete scrutinized her friend. "Are you?"

Izzy shrugged. "I just think crocodiles are cool."

"I think I wouldn't mind my head inside of a crocodile's mouth right now," Pete said, rubbing at her face.

"Their bite is ten times stronger than a great white shark," Izzy said casually.

Pete couldn't help but grin. "Did you know they eat rocks to help them sink to the bottom?"

Izzy's eyes widened with delight and her thumbs flew across her phone screen. "Apparently that's true. How'd you know that?"

Pete was grateful for the distraction. "I had an unfortunate run-in with one in the Philippines once. It didn't attack or anything, but it was a closer call than I'd have preferred. I did some research after and that one fact really stuck in my brain, because what kind of animal eats rocks for a good reason?"

Izzy furrowed her brow. "I'm so jealous that you've been to all of these incredible places. Hire me so I can travel, too." Her tone was joking, but it gave Pete an idea.

Pete brightened. "Alright."

Izzy snorted in amusement. "I was kidding."

"I'm not," Pete said, lifting her head to look at Izzy. "If bartending long term isn’t your dream, and you want a job with the foundation, you've got it."

"Don't you have like, a board or something?" Izzy asked.

"No," Pete said. "Though lately I've been thinking I should. Want to be on the board?"

Izzy laughed. "No. That sounds awful."

"It does, doesn't it?" Pete agreed. "But I am serious. If I want to continue to grow Second Star, I need to be able to have people I can trust by my side. And I trust you more than anyone."

"I have no experience," Izzy said, looking slightly flustered.

"You're a good person. You can learn the rest," Pete said. "I'll talk to my lawyer when I get back to Seattle. I can call you and we can talk about options."

"Are you being rash because feelings are a little heightened?" Izzy asked, her tone soft.

"I mean, maybe, but I've been considering it for a while." Pete knew Izzy had been struggling with work, but she was sharp and personable. Pete had no doubt Izzy would be a great fit for Second Star.

"And you're not just saying this because Danica clearly did something to upset you?" Izzy asked, and Pete questioned for a moment if Izzy could read her mind. “You had that look when you came back from your embarrassingly conspicuous spy mission.”

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