BACK TO WORK... surprises & changes (Part 137h)

BACK AT WORK... surprises & changes (Part 137h)

The only thing that came to me while driving was that I needed to talk to Bret before he got to work. As excited as he was the night before I knew he’d be talking to some of the tellers about it as soon as he got there. I decided the safest way to do it was to go right to his house. It was almost 8am when I pulled into his driveway. Unfortunately, all the panties were gone from both the clothes lines I’d observed the night before.

There was a half curtain that blocked the lower part of the window in the back door. I could see Bret moving around in the kitchen so knocked. It was obvious that I’d startled him because the first thing he did was to put both his hands over his groin area. He looked up at me and then headed for the door. He was wearing boxer shorts and nothing else as he opened it. Looking more puzzled than embarrassed he asked what was wrong. I started to explain when I saw something moving behind him. It was Jan, his wife and she took a few steps into the kitchen before realizing I was there. I could see she was wearing the top of a baby doll pajama set but Bret blocked the rest of my view. When she realized that Bret was talking to someone she let out a bit of  a cry and then retreated.

By then I’d gotten across to him that I didn’t want him saying anything to anybody at the bank about the changes that were coming. Then I heard Jan tell him to let me in and I saw that she had something that covered her better as she walked back towards us. Once inside I could see it was like a beach cover-up but still somewhat transparent. She went about making coffee while I continued on with Bret. When I told him what the real problem was (Lorrie and Jaz would be out of a job and that neither Hobie nor I had factored that in) he agreed. Lorrie as well as Trish had been high school classmates with him and they were all friends. I asked if he had any ideas as to what they could do after the switch and all I saw was a blank stare.

I wanted to be at the bank when Hobie arrived so I left Bret’s house before he did. On my way there I did a little reminiscing about my panty history with Jan. I felt sure she’d never tell Bret and remember smiling about it. Walking across the lobby floor I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Bette sitting in Hobie’s side chair. The incident with the interview was so minor in comparison to not having factored Lorrie and Jaz into our future plans that I just shook my head. Bette saw me but gave no sign of recognition. I could’ve gotten up and gone to the back door to intercept Hobie but I wasn’t going to be that petty. When Hobie walked up to his desk I heard Bette tell him that it was important that she speak to him immediately. If he answered I didn’t hear him but I watched as the two of them headed for the back stairs and the Board room, the only place for privacy in the whole building.

I figured, for sure, that Hobie would want to speak to me upon his return... but he didn’t. It was me who spoke first and it was about the Lorrie/Jaz situation. It was somewhat amusing to watch his expression as the enormity of the problem hit him. It had been obvious to me (and some others) that he had special feelings towards Lorrie.  In thinking of that I knew she was ‘safe’ but didn’t have even a hint of an idea what position she would fill. I’d gotten the idea that Jaz could, if she was willing, become a teller. The pay was similar but Jaz was pretty much a private person and I wondered how she’d relate to the banking public. I waited for some sort of response from Hobie but he just sat there looking down the teller line. Finally he spoke and I don’t know how to describe the feeling I had when he did. It was to suggest that she could be the one to fill the chief clerk position that I’d proposed to him. It might’ve been shock or even disbelief. With so much other stuff going on I really hadn’t thought about the position since Hobie had put down the idea of Gina being the one to fill it. But, with him bringing it up and by suggesting Lorrie to fill it there wasn’t much I could say. It solved one problem and created another. When I’d approached Gina about the possibility of it I hadn’t given her a date since I had to get permission to create the position. But if we announced that Lorrie was going to fill the non existent position I knew she’d be really upset.

As all of those thoughts were whirling about in my mind I knew I had to say something. I remember taking a deep breath before agreeing to Hobie’s suggestion. Because it wouldn’t be fair to give Lorrie a new position without offering something to Jaz I put forth the only thought I had about her... and he didn’t disagree. I also told him that it would be a good idea to tell them about the switch over before making the announcement to the others. I will tell you I had some serious doubts about Lorrie getting involved in overseeing all the tellers since the only person she'd managed was Jaz. By then it was out of my hands.

Both women pretty much knew a change was in the offing since they were in contact with Robbie, the service technician, at least weekly. They both were aware that the bookkeeping machine (computer?) was at the end of it’s serviceable life. However, when Hobie and I told them what was planned for them they didn’t respond all that favorably. I reminded them that it was at least five months until the switch which seemed to ease their concerns. Hobie threw in that they could start their training on slow days.

The announcement to the rest of the banking floor crew elicited more questions than anything else with most of them unanswerable. Basically, it was a positive reaction and I was encouraged by it. It also served as a reminder that the bank would have to do a lot of training before we could go live. More work for me.

I waited all day for ‘the other shoe to drop’ on the interview matter with Bette. It never happened and I wasn’t going to bring it up. Going home I wondered just how the real interview would go and if Bette would be civil to me. As I approached my driveway I saw something new along side the road at the house next door. It was a ‘For Sale’ sign. Rather than pull up my drive I kept on going just to see who the realtor was. I didn’t recognize the name on the sign and as I pulled in that driveway to turn around I almost hit a car coming down the hill. Before I knew it the driver was at my window thinking I was a prospective buyer. I laughed and chatted with him a for a few minutes. Of course my interest was in just how much was being asked for the house. The guy sort of laughed and said ”Too much!“ and quoted a price of almost $35,000. That took my breath away. The guy went on that the owner (Sabrina’s father) was willing to rent the house with an option to buy. The fact that it was officially on the market was ‘food for thought’ as to just what our next door neighbor would be like and if they had kids. It also meant there would be the opportunity to see more clothes line panties.

To be continued...