Page 18 of Outcast
Dad patted my shoulder. “Good to know you’re not too distracted to pick up some slack for me.”
“Not distracted…right.”
I was nothingbutdistracted and had been ever since the kiss that blew my mind. But at least I’d had the weekend to daydream and hide my busted lip from my family. I was mostly back to normal Emory.
Almost.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever be the Emory they all thought they knew and loved.
“Wait,” I said. “What do you mean, pick up some slack? I’ve got a full load today with the re-fi for Sue Rogers and a home equity application for Frank and Nora Young.”
Grandpa poked his head into the room, his silvery hair slicked back in an old-fashioned pompadour. “What’s that old geezer up to now?”
“Who, Frank? He wants to build a shop out on his land.”
Grandpa scoffed. “What, his garage wasn’t enough space for all his tinkering? That man and his knife-crafting. Odd hobby. Maybe he’s secretly a killer.”
My father sighed and shook his head. “You think everyone’s up to no good.”
“Because they usually are,” Grandpa said with a wink. “When you’re done harassing Emory, come find me. I can’t find the Wong file, and we’ve got a meeting about retirement planning in an hour.”
My father groaned. “Dad, I’ve shown you how the filing system works a hundred times.”
“Well, if you didn’t want to deal with me asking, you shouldn’t have changed it. It worked just fine for thirty dang years, but what do I know? I only ran this place when you were in diapers.”
He shuffled off with a harumph.
“It’s so much fun working for your dad, huh?” I joked.
“Tell me about it.” Dad blinked when he caught on to my sarcasm. “I see what you did there.”
I laughed. “Well, I better get back to this Young paperwork…”
Dad patted the stack of files he’d dropped on my desk. “Do these first.”
“But—”
“These are urgent,” he said sternly. “I’ve had something come up that’s going to occupy me all day, and these people deserve a chance to plan for what’s coming.”
Dread filled me. “What were these regarding again?”
“Delinquencies. One’s a home foreclosure. A couple others are business loans in arrears. I hate to say it, but we’re going to have to re-evaluate our extension policy. It’s just not changing the outcome for most folks.”
“Does it have to be today?” I asked.
“The initial calls, at least. We need to get them all scheduled for consultations. I doubt there’s much to be done in any of these cases, but I don’t want anyone saying we didn’t do our due diligence.”
“Okay,” I said glumly.
He sighed. “I know you don’t like this side of the business, but thisisa business, not a charity.”
“I know.”
“We go the extra mile to help people. But sometimes it just doesn’t work out. We have to protect our investments.”
“Dad, Iknow.”
“Then stop giving me kicked-puppy-dog eyes,” he snapped. “You know I don’t enjoy it either.”
