MORE SUMMER HEAT... lots of it (Part 162dd)

MORE SUMMER HEAT… lots of it (Part 162dd)

With that out of the way my thoughts turned to where Jerry was “being talked to” and who was talking to him. Since Hobie was in his area, alone, I headed up the stairs to check to see if Bert was talking to him. It didn’t look good when I got there because his door was closed. I asked Lena, his secretary, if he was in, ‘fishing’ to find out who was in with him. Her answer surprised me when she said he was talking with J J. I’d walked right past his office and didn’t bother to look in. Hearing J J be mentioned reminded me to follow up on weather he’d made a choice for Joanie’s replacement. But, the question remained… where was Jerry? Returning to my desk I proceeded to call Betsy asking if Jerry was in. When she said he was in his office I asked who was with him thinking it might be whoever it was that was going to talk to him. When she said no one I then asked if anyone had come in to see him that morning. Her answer was “No…” but she did add that he’d been on the phone with his door closed all morning. I found that interesting but I still didn’t have an answer to my question.

It wasn’t five minutes later when Betsy called me back. She wanted to know just who Morris was and why was he asking all kids of questions. Before I gave her an answer I asked if Jerry was still on the phone and when told he was I told her to go to his door and tell him to call me. She’d put the phone down on the counter and I could hear the voice of Morris in the background. When Betsy returned she reported that Jerry told her he couldn’t. I had to catch myself from blowing up, yet again. Then, as calmly as I could I explained that the guy, Morris, was a paid consultant for the bank and was there to get important information from Jerry. Then I asked to speak to Morris. I wasn’t sure he remembered me because I’d seen him struggle with that in the past. I took a few minutes to refresh his memory as to just who I was and was assured that he knew. I then tried to explain that Jerry was unavailable and he could try asking me his questions. I’d wanted to be involved when it came time for Morris to visit the branch but couldn’t figure a way to do it. So, here I was… involved… and couldn’t be criticized for it.

I spent about a half hour answering questions and closed with the request that he not waste any time talking with Jerry. In spite of the advice Gee had given me earlier to “back off” on Jerry I explained that he was a “problem” and was a really out of his element as a branch manager. He assured me he understood and that he’d find a way to avoid him. He told me the rest of his time would be spent riding around the area to confirm, first hand, what his ‘demographics’ had already told him. Taking a big chance I asked him if it would be possible for him to copy me with his report to the branch committee. All I heard was silence and figured “No way”. Then I heard him say something totally unexpected like “you’re a good guy so I’ll do it…but by phone". What could I say?

On top of everything else that day there was a mortgage committee meeting scheduled for that afternoon. I had no idea which Trustees knew of my meeting with Gee and what that might mean. There was always “Polack Joe” and the one who was a member of my church who were always questioning the job I was doing. There were couple of others that I wasn’t sure of but, regardless, the idea of seeing up to seven of them that afternoon didn’t make for a lot of comfort. It took J J to get my mind off of that. I’d wanted him to make a selection to replace Joanie quickly so Trish could move into her new position but had a feeling he’d drag it out just to show that he was upset with loosing Joanie. Since the decision he’d avoided both Bret and I but at lunch time I saw him hand Trish some paperwork as he was leaving. As soon as he was out of sight I was at her desk. Right on top was an application from a girl who’d worked for the bank for a few months right after I’d been hired but left after a short time. I didn’t really know her and couldn’t even remember what she looked like. I asked Trish where the application came from and she smiled and said that she’d called her to see if she was interested in coming back to work even though she hadn’t worked in two years. Bea(trice) was her name and I could see she’d made a comment on the form that she was presently taking a secretarial course on her own. I asked why she’d left and Trish hesitated a few seconds before she told me it was to have a baby. The only thing she could add was that the girl had worked in the mortgage department and J J was familiar with her. That made sense although I couldn’t wait to see what she looked like knowing J J’s penchant for good looking females. Since the debacle of Jerry’s interviewing for the branch employees it was decided that I, as the personnel officer, would handle the actual hiring of all non officer employees. I asked Trish to contact her and to get her in as soon as possible. I also told her I wanted her to sit in when I talked with her. I could see her try to stifle a smile. I knew she’d be pleased.

Needing a break from the bank I headed for the the brokerage office to see how my new purchase was doing. I knew two days wasn’t enough time to get a ‘feel’ for what the stock might do but being new to the whole process I was a bit apprehensive and just wanted to see if it was heading upwards. I was, of course, hoping Lynda would be there but it was just Stan and Ruthe. Stan was with a customer so Ruthe asked if she could help me. I gave her the stock symbol and had to wait for her to give me a price. (It just seems crazy that I can buy, sell, get a quote today in seconds… not minutes, like back then.) While she was waiting I took the time to study her. All business and the exact opposite of Lynda it was hard for me to reconcile the two of them working together. I remember thinking that it would be a cold day in hell before I’d ever get anything (peek or VPL) from her. The stock was up but not by much so that made me happy. Nothing worse than buying a stock and watching it immediately go down. By then Stan was off the phone and asked if I wanted a couple of tickets to the Chamber of Commerce/Rotary Club picnic that was coming up. I had to laugh because the bank was one of the sponsors as was the brokerage firm. It did remind me that I’d have to put in my time the following Friday helping to set up for it. I waited for a few more minutes hoping that Lynda would appear… but she didn’t.

Trish had good news for me when I returned. Bea, the girl J J had selected, would be in at 3pm. Trish selected the time knowing we wouldn’t be interrupted by bank customers after 3pm. That was another indication that she was using her brain. Right at 3pm there was young woman standing by the gate to the platform. Honestly, I didn’t recognize her. It had been two years since the last time she’d been employed. At the timeI was still new and getting settled into the banking area and I’d not really taken notice of her since she was just a clerk upstairs in the mortgage department. Trying to be fair I’m going to say she had an attractiveness about her but, from J J’s perspective, it was probably her breasts that made the impression. Just a teen when she’d started with the bank she was now a confident young lady and since she already knew some of the employees I felt she’d fit right in. When I asked when she could start she, with a BIG smile answered “Now!” We agreed on Monday and, after she left I suggested that with her prior experience in a somewhat similar position at the bank we might get Joanie downstairs the following week. It was a plan!

To be continued…