Page 98 of Cowboys at Coconuts

Still jetlagged, Alex gathered the folders Hannah had compiled for the annual Show-Me Bank board meeting and made her way to the conference room.

This meeting was one of her most dreaded events. Most of the members were pleasant, some slept through the meeting, but others asked pointed questions. Alex never knew what to expect and always over prepared. Constantly on her game—until now due to vacation—Alex felt uneasy about relying on Hannah to compile the data. Normally, she would have combed through it beforehand, but Tony and Sean had distracted her. She told herself it would be fine since Hannah reminded her weekly about her master’s degree. Compiling a board report should be a piece of cake for the higher ed genius.

Taking a deep breath, Alex entered the conference room with her head held high, faking confidence she didn’t feel. The bank president sat on one end. Mrs. Timmons, the board president, sat beside him. A few executive vice presidents and other board members were interspersed around the table.

After greetings, Alex distributed the report. While standing at the far end of the rectangular table, she presented branding campaign ideas for the upcoming year, discussed the popularity of the bank’s booth at a recent trade show, reviewed the annual report, gave a community relations update, covered media relations for the past quarter, and mentioned several plans for the upcoming year. As she flipped through her copy, she stopped mid-sentence when she noticed four pages were out of order. Hoping the error was in her packet only, she continued without missing a beat.

Pursing her lips, Mrs. Timmons asked, “Where’s page eight?”

“Um.” Alex thumbed through her copy. “It appears that pages eight and ten are mixed up.” She glanced at her boss whose brows were furrowed. Wanting to throw her intern some shade, Alex decided to take the heat since she was in charge of marketing, plus Hannah was his damn daughter. Persevering, she felt her neck get blotchy from nerves. “Let’s discuss the marketing budget. We do our best to work within the constraints of a small budget, and I’m pleased to report we’ve accomplished a great deal this year. We’ve created a dozen different television commercials alone and—”

“Is this everything?” Mrs. Timmons melodramatically flipped pages from the front to the back of the report. “I don’t see any budgetary totals. What are your projected expenses? How much do you plan to spend in marketing next year?”

Sneaking another glance toward her boss, Alex hoped he’d chime in since they met weekly to discuss marketing, but he let her walk the gangplank—alone. She wanted to shout that his darling daughter had screwed up the freaking report while she was on vacation.

Clearing her throat, Alex squinted at the budget. “You’re right, Mrs. Timmons. I don’t see line items for television, radio, and billboard advertising. I worked on my budget before my vacation and relied on—” Stopping herself, she decided to wing it. Even the older board members who normally slept through her presentation were at full attention. All eyes on her, Alex’s mouth went dry.What were the damn totals? Her mind raced. Between Gage and Tony, my mind is a freaking blank.

Hesitating a half second, Mrs. Timmons continued peppering her with questions. Rattled, Alex felt her face get hot as every board member and bank executive swiveled toward her. Going by memory, she blurted out the totals for paid advertising. The board unanimously, and quickly, voted to approve the marketing budget for the following year.

The minute her presentation was over, Alex stepped into her office to confront Hannah, but she had already left for the day.Probably getting another fucking massage.Heart pounding, she opened the marketing budget file on her computer and immediately saw her error.Dammit. I was off by fifteen thousand dollars.Now we’ll have to manage with a much smaller budget. Shit.

Furious and beyond embarrassed, Alex stomped out of the bank without saying a word to anyone. She didn’t leave a note, nor update her voicemail—something the bank president was obsessive about. Too upset to call her intern for fear she’d tell Daddy’s daughter where to shove it and get fired, she drove to Coconuts and ordered a chardonnay.Who the hell cares if it isn’t 5 o’clock?

~ ~ ~

As Gus brought wine, along with chips, salsa, and a Diet Coke, Alex’s anger did the opposite of subside. Usually wine relaxed her but not today.That little bitch did this on purpose. She wanted me to fall flat on my face in front of the board. She’s gunning for my job.Before she lost her nerve, Alex picked up her cell to shoot off an email to Hannah.

I can’t believe you screwed up my board report. Pages were out of order, and you forgot to include the budgetary line items. Mrs. Timmons chewed my ass out. That cranky old witch needs to retire. She’s been on the board for far too long. Show-Me Bank needs some young blood.

Thanks for nothing, Hannah. I know you did this on purpose. You think since you’re daddy’s little girl you can get away with these stunts. I’m your boss and don’t forget it.

Finger pausing over the send button, Alex swallowed.I can’t send this. What if she shows her dad? I could get fired. I’m a bank vice president. I’ve got to rise above the fiasco. By next week, it’ll all be forgotten.Feeling at peace with her decision, Alexset her cell on the table, leaned over, reached for another chip, and accidentally pressed the send button.Shit. Shit. Shit.

Clapping her hand over her mouth, she said, “Oh, my God” to no one. As Gus refilled her soda, her phone pinged.That was fast.

Unable to stand it one second longer, Alex picked up her phone and rolled her eyes as she read Hannah’s response:

Hi Alex! I’m confused by your email. I really like Mrs. Timmons. She’s young at heart, is an incredible leader, and loves to hear every aspect of marketing. She always has Show-Me Bank’s best interests at heart. Maybe you should have taken a longer vacation, boss. I don’t think it did you much good. Cheers, Hannah.

That suck up. That bitch. I hate her.Wishing she could choke her intern through the tiny screen, Alex reread Hannah’s reply and dropped a salsa-covered chip to the floor. Bile rose in her throat when she realized Hannah had added the bank president’s email, as well as every Show-Me Bank officer and board member, and had hitreply all. Both of their emails went to every freaking one of them.Oh, my God. That bitch did this on purpose too. I’ll probably be fired.

Chapter 91

Alex waved to Gus for a second glass of chardonnay.

“Are you here alone?” Gus glanced at a clock near the bar, but like every good server, didn’t mention the time.

Running her fingers through her hair, she said, “Let’s just say I’ve had a few bad weeks, as in really bad.”

The friendly flip-flop-wearing server said, “I understand. In that case, the next glass is on the house.”

“Thanks, Gus. That’s sweet.” Setting her phone down, Alex jumped as a shadow appeared across the table.

A cute cowboy wearing tight jeans and dusty boots tipped his big western hat. “Howdy.”

Taken aback, she said, “Hi.”

Extending his hand, the cowboy said, “I’m Cole Cash. Aren’t you friends with New York?”

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