Read Online Unforgettable You by Deanndra Hall - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Deanndra Hall
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“Like last week when a teller put the proceeds of a home loan in the wrong account. We’re still trying to figure out how she managed that. The numbers and names weren’t even similar. Anyway, by the time we found it, the person who owned the account had spent about twenty-seven thousand dollars that wasn’t his to spend.”
Her eyebrows pop up. “Oh my god! How do you fix that?”
“Well, first, we have to cover it since it was our mistake. Second, we had to call the man who spent the money and talk to him. And when he basically told me to go screw myself because it was our mistake, I had to call the police.”
“Oh no!”
“Oh yeah. It’s a mess. I’ve spent almost two weeks now trying to fix this.”
“And the teller?”
“If you’re asking if she was fired, the answer is no. Everyone makes mistakes. She’s been with us four years and we’d never had a problem with her. I sat down with her and found out they just diagnosed her little boy with leukemia, but she hadn’t told a soul at work. We found her a job that’s less stressful and she’s staying with us. It should’ve been a pay cut, but I refused to cut her pay. Hell, if anything, she needs the money more now than she did before. I told them it was a temporary move so they should just leave her salary where it is.”
Her eyes are steady. “And they listened?”
“Yes. I told them I had my reasons. The president of the bank called me, and I told him the same thing. He asked what was going on with her, and when I told him, he agreed with me. I would’ve been justified in firing her outright, but I didn’t want to do that.”
She looks like she’s going to cry, and I’m shocked. This woman is far more tender-hearted than I imagined, and I find that incredibly sexy. Emotionless bitches do nothing for me and, trust me, I’ve had my share of experience with those. “That was absolutely, positively the right thing to do. You’re very kind. A lot of bosses wouldn’t have cared.”
“Well, I’m not a lot of bosses. But I can tell you this: When I go to bed at night, I sleep well. I don’t have a lot of regret. I try to treat my employees the way I’d want to be treated, and it’s paid off. I have the lowest employee turnover in the whole of United Independent. I have a reputation for being a good person to work for, and I’m proud of that.”
She nods. “And you should be. I bet your parents are proud.”
“My mom is. My dad died about five years ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
“Yeah, sudden heart attack. So I watch what I eat very, very carefully and I make sure to get plenty of exercise in.”
Apparently the kabobs are good because she’s just about devoured them. “Siblings?”
“Yeah, a sister who lives in Missouri, Cecilia. She’s a teacher and her husband’s a journalist.”
“Older?”
“No, younger. Your siblings?”
“Three. Two older brothers and a younger sister. Robert’s an attorney, Kenny’s a surgeon, and my little sister, Maggie, is a dentist.”
I shake my head. “A whole family of over-achievers!”
She laughs again – god, that’s a beautiful sound. “Yeah! I guess we are.” There’s a pause, and she says, “Steffen, I’m having a really good time.”
“Good, because I am too.” My steak is beyond excellent. I can’t remember red meat ever tasting this good before.
Once I’ve paid the server and we’re outside, I turn toward the pier. “Want to walk?”
“Sure!” We head down and walk around hand in hand, watch the sun set, and get an ice cream cone apiece. On our walk back from the pier, I slip my arm around her waist and pull her close to me, and she does the same to me. We chatter all the way back to her house and when I pull in, she sits in the car for a minute without getting out.
“You okay?”
She nods. “Yeah. I’m fine.” When she turns to me, I see all the emotion on her face and it blows me away. “Steffen, do you want to stay? Because I’d
“Like last week when a teller put the proceeds of a home loan in the wrong account. We’re still trying to figure out how she managed that. The numbers and names weren’t even similar. Anyway, by the time we found it, the person who owned the account had spent about twenty-seven thousand dollars that wasn’t his to spend.”
Her eyebrows pop up. “Oh my god! How do you fix that?”
“Well, first, we have to cover it since it was our mistake. Second, we had to call the man who spent the money and talk to him. And when he basically told me to go screw myself because it was our mistake, I had to call the police.”
“Oh no!”
“Oh yeah. It’s a mess. I’ve spent almost two weeks now trying to fix this.”
“And the teller?”
“If you’re asking if she was fired, the answer is no. Everyone makes mistakes. She’s been with us four years and we’d never had a problem with her. I sat down with her and found out they just diagnosed her little boy with leukemia, but she hadn’t told a soul at work. We found her a job that’s less stressful and she’s staying with us. It should’ve been a pay cut, but I refused to cut her pay. Hell, if anything, she needs the money more now than she did before. I told them it was a temporary move so they should just leave her salary where it is.”
Her eyes are steady. “And they listened?”
“Yes. I told them I had my reasons. The president of the bank called me, and I told him the same thing. He asked what was going on with her, and when I told him, he agreed with me. I would’ve been justified in firing her outright, but I didn’t want to do that.”
She looks like she’s going to cry, and I’m shocked. This woman is far more tender-hearted than I imagined, and I find that incredibly sexy. Emotionless bitches do nothing for me and, trust me, I’ve had my share of experience with those. “That was absolutely, positively the right thing to do. You’re very kind. A lot of bosses wouldn’t have cared.”
“Well, I’m not a lot of bosses. But I can tell you this: When I go to bed at night, I sleep well. I don’t have a lot of regret. I try to treat my employees the way I’d want to be treated, and it’s paid off. I have the lowest employee turnover in the whole of United Independent. I have a reputation for being a good person to work for, and I’m proud of that.”
She nods. “And you should be. I bet your parents are proud.”
“My mom is. My dad died about five years ago.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry!”
“Yeah, sudden heart attack. So I watch what I eat very, very carefully and I make sure to get plenty of exercise in.”
Apparently the kabobs are good because she’s just about devoured them. “Siblings?”
“Yeah, a sister who lives in Missouri, Cecilia. She’s a teacher and her husband’s a journalist.”
“Older?”
“No, younger. Your siblings?”
“Three. Two older brothers and a younger sister. Robert’s an attorney, Kenny’s a surgeon, and my little sister, Maggie, is a dentist.”
I shake my head. “A whole family of over-achievers!”
She laughs again – god, that’s a beautiful sound. “Yeah! I guess we are.” There’s a pause, and she says, “Steffen, I’m having a really good time.”
“Good, because I am too.” My steak is beyond excellent. I can’t remember red meat ever tasting this good before.
Once I’ve paid the server and we’re outside, I turn toward the pier. “Want to walk?”
“Sure!” We head down and walk around hand in hand, watch the sun set, and get an ice cream cone apiece. On our walk back from the pier, I slip my arm around her waist and pull her close to me, and she does the same to me. We chatter all the way back to her house and when I pull in, she sits in the car for a minute without getting out.
“You okay?”
She nods. “Yeah. I’m fine.” When she turns to me, I see all the emotion on her face and it blows me away. “Steffen, do you want to stay? Because I’d
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