ANOTHER YEAR... more new adventures (Part 151n)

ANOTHER YEAR... more new adventures (Part 151n)

The information shared by Don really fired me up. I didn’t hesitate even a bit as I headed up the stairs and made straight for Bert’s office. Lena, his secretary saw that I was obviously upset and jumped up to cut me off from charging right into his office. I don’t remember what was said but she did convince me to let her go in and let Bert know I wanted to see him. Again, I have no idea how long it took before I entered through the door. As soon as I did I closed it behind me and walked right up to the front of his desk.

Bert was approaching 60 years of age but looked older. He had always appeared to be in control and he was leaning back in his chair as he looked at me. I remember the look he gave me... calm and cool... and it disarmed me for a few seconds. Since my appearance was unplanned I didn’t know what I was going to say... and, to be absolutely truthful, the only thing I remember clearly was that i was throwing words at him as fast as my mouth could get them out. He let me go for a bit before he, still leaning back in his chair put up one of his hands but didn’t say anything. I stopped talking and waited for him to speak. When he finally did I remember him saying that he got the gist of what I was complaining about but I would have to calm down if I wanted to continue to talk with him. He pointed to a chair and motioned for me to sit, something I really didn’t want to do.

Because my adrenaline was running so high I had a hard time understanding what Bert was saying. I remember him telling me to take a few deep breaths along with some other things. Then he leaned forward, towards me, and told me to start over again but to take my time. I still didn’t have a sequence of the things I wanted to say/ask but I knew I had to say something. I’m almost sure I started with the fact that ”the new guy“ (I couldn’t remember his name) was hired as an assistant vice president. Before I could go any further Bert interjected that the man had eighteen years of bank experience. That served to add fuel to my now simmering fire. I remember leaning forward towards him as I almost shouted that none of it was as an officer. I caught the frown that quickly appeared on his brow. He sharply asked how I knew that. I immediately thought that I’d blown my advantage. When I didn’t answer Bert, again, asked how I knew. Reluctantly, I told him of my friend Don, and our conversation. He leaned back again before speaking... ”He was an assistant manager for four years.“ I immediately shot back ”But that’s not an officer position!“. I remember him shaking his head from side to side as if to tell me that I was wrong. I did the same but, thankfully, didn’t say anything.

At this point in time I didn’t know what was going to happen. Bert was the first to speak and I heard words that I thought might work to my advantage. He said the chairman of the branch sub-committee had told the Board that the man was an officer. I sat there shaking my head again. Bert was definitely not an argumentative person and then, calmly, asked what else I’d gotten from my contact. I’d definitely calmed down a bit by then and, as slowly as I could, repeated as best I could, Don’s appraisal of the man, stressing that he’d been specifically assigned to the smallest branch in their system because of marginal performance. Again, I was not that aware of 'body language' at that time but I did notice that Bert seemed a bit troubled when he asked me to have a little patience as he did some ”research“. Basically, he was telling me that our meeting was over. I stood up and was somewhat disappointed. I’d not brought out the disparity in salary nor the difference in responsibility between what he’d have in the branch as compared to what I had.(46)

As the day progressed I began worrying about how Hobie, upon his return, would take the fact that I’d gone over his head. Even worse was worrying about what Bert thought of me for going outside the bank in talking to Don. And... even more than that was what the Board of Trustees would think of me. Based upon what Bert had shared about what the full Board had been told by the branch committee chairman I wondered if I hadn’t put myself in jeopardy when by pursuing the matter. The worst part of it all was that I had to just wait it out. That could be days or more. By the time I left for home I had an incredible headache.

Hobie returned on Wednesday and hadn’t been at his desk for more than a minute when Trish told him that Bert wanted to see him. My blood pressure went straight up upon hearing that. Bert had not said anything to me since I’d left his office and I can tell you I was holding my breath. I didn’t know if I was going to be called upstairs or would have to wait for Hobie to return to get any indication of what was happening. As it turned out, nothing happened... until much later in the day. Wednesday was the regular day for the mortgage committee to meet. The only thing was that I watched more than just the mortgage committee walking across the lobby. I pretty much sensed that the reason was to consider what I’d disclosed to Bert.

I was going to stay to see what happened (and my fate) but chickened out. At home I got a call from Bert. It was about 6:30pm and I stood in the hallway with the phone in my hand holding my breath. All he said was to be in his office at 8:30am. It was a no sleep night.

To be continued...