APRIL... More of the same (Part 128e)

APRIL... More of the same (Part 128e)

While all this was going on I noticed that Donna kept looking my way. It was almost a ”which came first, the chicken or the egg?“ situation. I couldn’t make up my mind weather to first ask if Donna had made a decision on the move or to just tell her that was the way it was going to be. Before I could decide Trish told me that Gina was on the phone wanting to know when to come in.  I told her to have her come in at 1pm and that way if I decided to hire Gina then Donna would have the choice of making the move or leaving.

Bret had heard Trish tell me about Gina’s call and immediately turned to me. I knew from the call the night before what he was looking for so decided to have a little fun with him. I asked if he knew her from the past and he blushed straight away. I didn’t let up and asked if he and his wife were having problems. He fell all over his tongue telling me there wasn’t. It was fun seeing straight laced Bret ”turning in the wind”. He finally blurted out that he thought she was the best looking girl he’d seen in a very long time. I couldn’t disagree and finished up our conversation by asking him if I should start hiring by looks alone. He laughed and turned back towards his desk.

Normally, Donna would go to lunch by leaving from the back door but on this day she made a very slow and deliberate stroll up through the platform area and past my desk. I decided to challenge her a bit and boldly and with a big smile on my face told her to have a good lunch. That caught her by surprise and she then moved towards the door at a much quicker pace.

I’ll admit I was nervous as Gina sat down next to my desk. She was very calm and yet “bubbly” at the same time. Wearing what could loosely have been described as business attire... a long sleeved white blouse and a navy blue skirt that was just above her knees, she sat back in the side chair and crossed her legs much like she might’ve done in a waiting room to keep an appointment. I didn’t waste time so, point blank, asked why she wanted to work at the bank. I added that she had to know that a teller’s salary couldn’t compete with the wages paid by the County. Still “bubbly” she said she just wanted to be able to deal with people. To me that was admirable but unrealistic so I asked her why she’d left the job at the County Treasurer’s office. I thought that might change her demeanor but it didn’t. Her first words were “It was just time” and that was when she finally leaned forward. With a more serious look on her face she quietly said that she’d had a baby. That caught me by surprise and I wasn’t prepared for it. I know I must’ve mumbled something inane at that point. I do remember asking who was taking care of it and she said her mother was and quickly added that she’d continue to do so when she got back to work. I was the one who was now sweating.

We “danced” around that for a minute or two but Gina got us back on track when she asked that if she was hired wasn’t there some way she could get credit for her years of experience handling money. I definitely remember shaking my head from side to side. At that point she leaned back and sort of looked up at the ceiling. That gave me a chance to ask if she’d applied to any other banks and that’s when I got my next surprise. Slowly, she stated that she’d wanted to get the job on her own... by just walking in and being accepted. Then she went on to say that one of her grandfather’s had been a Trustee and that her father had told her to apply. Talk about a blindside!

At that point I knew what the ultimate outcome was going to be but wanted to take as much control of the situation as I could. As I looked at her she almost looked apologetic as if to say she understood the situation she’d put me in. I had a whole bunch of thoughts spinning around in my head and the only one I could verbalize was to ask/plead with her not to tell anyone about her grandfather’s relationship to the bank. That got her to the edge of the chair and when she answered it was the first time I saw a really serious side to her. She promised that it would be a secret between the two of us and went on to say that I wouldn’t be sorry for hiring her. I definitely remember taking a deep breath at that time. I went on to explain the situation with Donna to her and that I’d need a day or two to get it sorted out. I was fairly confident that by the close of business the next day it would be resolved. By then Gina was back to the “bubbly” person who’d walked in at 1pm.

She was barely out of the door when Bret turned to me and asked if I’d hired her. I nodded affirmatively and then he asked what she was going to be doing. As far a I knew the only person to know about the situation with Donna was J J. Since it hadn’t been resolved up to then I jokingly told him that she was going to replace him. You would have to have known Bret... he took everything seriously. I couldn’t keep a straight face so told him I would certainly find a place for her and that brought a big smile to his face.

As I’ve mentioned before, Donna was very smart and also very aware of what went on around her. When I went to her and told her to meet me upstairs she pretty much knew her fate. I got J J and we all went into the Board room. J J was as cocky and happy as a pig in s__t. His Irish blarney was what actually saved the day because he had a “sales pitch” prepared for Donna. As I listened I was mentally shaking my head at just what a BSer he was. The meeting took less than 15 minutes and when we walked out the door Donna was designated as the new mortgage satisfaction clerk and had a raise to boot. The Cheshire cat grin on her face could be seen a mile away and I knew that she, in some perverse way, felt that she’d won.

I’m going move forward to Wednesday when Gina showed up for work. As luck would have it J J showed up right after she’d taken her coat off at my desk. I saw him stop and do a “double take” as he looked at her. I’ll bet he stood there in the middle of the lobby for well over 30 seconds with his eyes never leaving her. Then, it was only a few minutes later when my phone rang and it was J J saying that I’d just pulled a “fast one” on him. It was so typical of him! I'd joked with Bret about hiring based on looks but if J J were in charge that would've been the norm.

To be continued...