Page 49 of Lady of Providence
And then there was the issue of Henry. Elizabeth was still unsure of how to best approach his removal. If she gave no reason for it, then it would seem there was discord within the Clarke family, which would be unsettling for the reassurance of the bank’s partners and clients. But she refused to provide the reason for Henry’s manipulation of Mr. Mortimer, for she had given her word to his family that she wouldn’t share his current struggles.
She sighed, reviewing the remainder of the agenda next to her, which included salaries as well as client accounts. She wasn’t looking forward to sharing the loss of a few of their key clients, nor did she have any new additions to provide as of yet.
And then there was Gabriel. Elizabeth thought of the ring he had left her. It was beautiful, of course. But more than that, she remembered seeing his mother wearing it years ago and knew the significance of him bringing it to give to her. Elizabeth hadn’t been able to help trying it on after he left. Once she had blinked away the flood of tears that threatened, she could see that it fit her perfectly, the firelight reflecting off the diamonds to shine around the room. She had admired it for a moment or two until she had to remove it in order to regain her wits and not make a decision based solely on emotion.
She wondered if Gabriel would attend today as she strode down the hallway, her head held high as she vowed to keep control of the meeting, no matter what Henry would challenge her on.
Elizabeth attempted to maintain some positivity when the partners arrived and the meeting finally commenced. The partners, at least, still looked to her as their leader, which she determined was promising.
Henry wasn’t in attendance, for which Elizabeth was both surprised and relieved. Nor, however, was Gabriel.
He wasn’t, that is, until ten minutes into the meeting.
Elizabeth halted mid-sentence as the door opened, emitting his imposing frame.
“My apologies,” he said, his eyes meeting each of the partners at the table before settling on her, a strange look within them. “I was tied up with other business.”
“Ah, I’m surprised you made it here at all, Clarence!” one of the partners, Mr. Donahue, said with a bit of a cackle. “A man like you has many important matters to which to attend.”
“Clarke & Co. remains one of those matters,” he said, taking a seat. “I can assure you of that.”
And just then, Henry strode through the doors, greeting them all as if he had arrived on time, taking a seat across from Elizabeth at the other end of the table.
“Lovely to see you all!” he said as though he were the one hosting, and Elizabeth gripped her pen so hard it nearly snapped. She was losing control, all thanks to these two men who had seemingly taken hold of her life, and she was not at all happy about it.
“Now that we are all here,” she said, her tone admonishing them without being overly critical — at least she hoped not, “Perhaps we can get on with business?”
“Of course, Elizabeth,” Henry said with his sly smile. “Is that not why we are all present today?”
She ignored him, continuing on with the discussion that would lead to her suggestion of new partners.
“I would like us to review the salaries of some of our key employees,” she said. “You have each been given copies of what they are currently making. I would suggest, in order to provide both rewards and incentives, that we slightly increase those who have been showing exemplary performance.”
A few heads began to nod around the table until Henry began to speak.
“And just where would these additional funds come from?” he asked.
“The bank has seen some growth in profits in the recent years,” she responded.
“Perhaps the partners would like the rewards of these profits for themselves instead of giving them to employees!” he exclaimed, and then the heads that had been nodding at Elizabeth’s previous words began to pause as the partners contemplated what Henry said.
“We will all see increased profits, Henry, if our employees are content and working to increase the fortunes of the bank,” she said through gritted teeth, and she noted that the partners’ heads were turning back and forth between the two of them, awaiting each of their responses.
“That may be so, but they are already making a healthy sum compared with some of our competitors,” he countered.
“I would suggest that we stay ahead of our competitors instead of matching them,” Elizabeth bit back.
The two of them stared at one another, their gazes locked, until finally Henry smiled and waved a hand to her as if conceding.
“You are the senior partner, Elizabeth, so I suppose what you say will have to go anyway.”
Elizabeth didn’t miss some of the disgruntled looks around the table, and she knew what Henry was doing, making it look as though she were making poor decisions to which the rest of them would have to agree.
“This may be the case; however, I would like to have the support of the partners,” she said, her smile brittle. “Perhaps we should put it to a vote?”
Elizabeth’s suggestion narrowly passed, and she moved onto the next issue, after she had asked Mr. Bates to leave the room for a moment.
“As you are all aware, Mr. Larkin and Mr. Bates have been with Clarke & Co. for over twenty years now. They began in small roles, but have been promoted through the years and have proven both their loyalty as well as their competence. I would like to suggest that they are made partners in the bank, as it could only help grow the company.”
