I'm Not Charlotte Lucas(69)
When I stepped into the bank and felt the air shift around me, I locked eyes with a woman in a power suit and a sleek, low ponytail speaking with Todd behind his desk. Fernando sidled up beside me, and I raised my eyebrows at him.
“They’ve been trying to call you all morning.”
I felt my back pocket and pulled out my phone, but it was dead. “What’s going on?”
“Apparently Marissa and Todd have been living together.”
Whoa, what? I knew they’d been dating . . . but that was more than she’d even told me. I gestured to the woman who looked like she’d stepped from a Macy’s catalog. “Who’s that?”
“Sharon, from HR. She’s here to start the investigation. You’d better get over there.”
I didn’t have time to appreciate that Fernando was talking to me like he hadn’t asked me out the day before and received a rejection. Todd was filling a file box with his things, and Sharon was staring at me, her lips turned down at the ends in displeasure.
Crud. Did she know that I knew about the relationship? I hadn’t known the extent of it. Swallowing, I made my way across the bank and toward my reckoning.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I sat at the Formica breakroom table, my purse still over my shoulder and my dead phone in my back pocket digging into my bum. Sharon, from HR, had come over from Sacramento to deal with the situation, and her beady eyes were searching my soul. I wouldn’t lie—I had that deep integrity vein running through my system. If the woman asked if I knew, I would tell her what I’d known.
I just hoped she wouldn’t ask.
She closed the door behind her and crossed the room, pausing behind the chair opposite me. “You’re shorthanded today, but can you shift the schedule by Monday to have the bank covered?”
“Which positions do I need to get covered?” I asked. “I’m sure we can make it work.”
“Marissa Stanton and Todd Hubert won’t be returning until their investigation has been completed. You’re looking at a week of their absence, at the very least. Are you familiar with Barry Grant?”
“Yes, I know who he is.” I’d worked with the regional manager a few times but didn’t know him well.
“He’ll have more options for you on Monday. There might be a floater in Santa Rosa we can pull in to help with the teller stations for the week.”
“Great.” I smiled broadly. This wasn’t ideal, but it was doable. I just really wanted this interview to end before I blurted my awareness of the relationship. Although, to be fair, I only knew that they were talking outside of work. Dating, most likely. But living together? No one told me that. I felt duped.
“Barry is out of town today, but I’ll apprise him of the situation, and he’ll tell you how he’d like you to proceed. I’m sure we can all work together to make this a smooth transition.” Sharon rubbed her eyes, then pulled out the chair and took a seat. “I haven’t had to deal with something like this in a while. Are you able and willing to step in as interim manager until it’s sorted? I’m really hoping to be done with the investigation by next Friday.”
“I can do that,” I said. I’d worked at the bank long enough to be familiar with the job requirements, and I could handle it for a week. “What else do you need from me right now?”
She slouched in her chair the slightest bit and puffed out her cheeks, sighing. “That’s it, I think. Do you have your phone? We couldn’t reach you this morning.”
My cheeks warmed. “Yeah, but it’s dead. I’ll go plug it in now.”
She waved her hand, and I could see how tired she was in the lag of her wave. “I can call the branch today if I need you, but make sure your phone is on tomorrow. I’m sure Barry will want to contact you prior to opening Monday.”
Nodding, I stood. “Will do.”
Sharon nodded at me, and I left the breakroom. This was going to be a long week.
***
By the time I returned home, it was close to six o’clock, and I hadn’t had a chance to sit down and breathe since arriving at work. The bank was swamped all day, we were understaffed, and then finagling the schedule to allow for the absence of two full-time employees was a Tetris puzzle I had not been prepared for—despite my hours spent dedicated to the game.
I opened the front door and wanted to fall on my sofa and not move from that spot, while stuffing my face with whatever my mom had made for dinner tonight. But apparently, life had other plans for me.
Beth sat at the kitchen table with my parents and Mariah, eating what looked like stir-fry and chatting happily. I dropped my purse on the steps leading up to my attic room and pulled out the chair beside Beth.
“Oh good, you’re home!” Mom said, jumping up. “Let me get you a plate. We expected you a while ago.”
“Work was crazy today.”
“All those people getting their weekend errands done,” Mom said, nodding along. She started pulling over the rice and stir-fry bowls, and I filled up my plate.
“So I was saying,” Beth said, flashing me a smile, “that my last appointment yesterday was the cutest old man, and the whole time I was cutting his hair, he was telling me all about his new girlfriend.”
Mariah grinned. “It’s refreshing to know that some people can find love even if they’re old.”