I didn’t give the polished, MBA-approved answer. I was too tired, too cold, and too angry for corporate theater.

I told him about Milo. About the VA hospital, the medical bills, and leaving my logistics command to work twelve-hour night shifts at a civilian grocery warehouse just to survive.

And I told him about the day I was fired.

“I was terminated for refusing to falsify temperature logs that hid massive safety violations,” I said flatly.

Cassandra’s fake smile vanished. “You were fired for whistleblowing?”

“No,” I corrected her. “I was fired for insubordination. That’s the official paperwork.”