Chapter 78
Still unsteady after nearly being run over by Nikki, Alex shifted her phone to her other ear, leaned against someone’s car, and tried to concentrate on what her boss said on the other line. Jim droned on and on about a recent board meeting while unknowing grocery customers pushed carts laden with food across the lot.
The bank president eventually got to the point. “Enough about the meeting. How soon can you pack your bags?”
“Pack? For what?”
“Our newest board member, Mrs. Timmons, recommended you go to a branding conference. Do you know what that is?”
“Of course, I know what branding is. I’m head of marketing, remember? Besides, I created a ‘Bank Locally’ branding campaign last year.” Geeze. Alex knew her tone was sharp. She needed her job. Attempting to lighten up, she asked, “Where’s the conference?”
“Louisville, Kentucky. It’s a four-day conference. Registration is tomorrow evening. Sorry for the short notice but Mrs. Timmons thought it would be helpful and I agree.”
Good ol’ Mrs. Timmons. “So, I’ll be back at work in a few days?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Jim’s tone grew louder and more animated, clearly eager about whatever he was about to tell her.
“That’s the other exciting news. We’ve had several extended back-and-forth discussions at previous board meetings and unanimously came to the conclusion that we’d like to acquire several community banks. In fact, the board and I have already submitted offers to purchase said banks.” He paused, evidently waiting for a response, but Alex was too stunned to speak.
Jim continued, “We eventually plan to acquire and rename a consortium of Show-Me Banks in a four-state region. I should hear from the commercial broker later today whether our offers have been accepted. I have a good feeling they will be.”
Alex’s shoulders drooped. She stared at the endless, blue sky wishing she were a bird and could fly away. “That is some news.”
“You don’t sound very excited,” Jim said.
“Sorry. I’ve had an eventful twenty-four hours.” If he only knew . . .
“Everything okay?” The bank president’s inflection changed.
“Everything’s fine.” Alex cradled the phone to her ear as she crossed the lot and climbed inside her car. After starting the engine, she turned the air on full blast since she had suddenly broken out in a full-body sweat.
Leaning against the headrest, she asked, “What about my job? I have several television and radio deadlines. I’ve signed media contracts. I need to finalize scripts and do a practice run with the lenders who are featured in the commercials.” Barely taking a breath, she added, “There’s also a Home Builders’ Association trade show coming up, not to mention the ground breaking for the new bank that we sorely need to dis—”
Her boss interrupted her soliloquy. “Our ground breaking is on the back burner. In fact, if we acquire the other banks, we won’t break ground this year. We’ll just retain the land for future use.”
“And what about my deadlines?”
“Hannah can handle them, I’m sure. You’ve trained her well.”
Alex sneered into the phone, thankful her boss couldn’t see her. Hannah the Horrible, Daddy’s precious daughter, taking over even more of my job. That’s just icing on the damn cake.
She sighed. “Should I come to the office today? I need to bring Hannah up to speed on several projects.”
“No need. I’ll tell her. Pack. My administrative assistant is booking your plane ticket now. She’ll email it to you later today. I told Rexanna to get you on the first flight out tomorrow morning.”
Alex winced. Damn morning people. I’ll have to leave my house in the middle of the freaking night. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you when I see you. I’ll email Hannah later and tell her my most pressing deadlines.”
“If the offers go through, I’ll let you know which bank you’ll travel to first after the branding conference. You’ll have to rent a car, of course.”
“What exactly will I be doing?” Alex turned the air down from Mach 5.
“Your assignment will be to train their marketing execs, some of whom will likely be the branch manager or an administrative assistant since several of these small-town banks won’t have much of a marketing budget. They certainly don’t have a large budget to hire someone of your expertise. That’s where you come in. That was part of our proposal to the community banks, in fact.”
Would have been nice if I had known about these discussions. Damn confidentiality agreements. Alex ran her fingers through her hair and managed a meager, “Thanks for your confidence. Bye.”
After she hung up, Alex threw her phone on the seat. She couldn’t even remember why she was at the grocery store. It didn’t matter now. She had to race home, do laundry, and pack. The near-miss, hit-and-run conversation with Tony’s insane ex would have to wait. He probably wouldn’t believe her anyway.