Page 13 of Protected By West
They were already looking forward to a liquid lunch or something like that. They would definitely be the ones heading for the bar later on for the networking reception.
They seemed to work on the misconception that the drunker and louder they were the more than were doing.
It was their badge of honor.
They'd spend a small fortune on alcohol and find a way to write it off but spend most of their time eyeing the women at the reception or talking about how much money they had, the kinds of cars they drove.
West didn't have much patience for men like that.
Men more interest in show instead of working hard.
Looking up, West found the faces that were still directed in his direction and smiled. He gestured at a man in the second row of tables. "Sir? What institute do you represent?"
He answered and West filed the information away in his head. He'd make sure to find the nearest Ranger office to the man's credit union and send someone over to check on their safety measures. "You're near to Wayland Savings in Houston, right?"
The man smiled. "That's us."
West nodded. "Recently, Wayland had a break in."
More faces in the crowd turned to listen in.
"The moveable panels in the ceiling were used. Two men went into the restroom and climbed up into the ceiling and waited until the staff had gone home." West shook his head. "There were a number of things that went right for the institution. Most importantly the ceiling panels held. Those panels are made to hide the pipes and ducts from public view but they're not strong enough to hold two adult male bodies for extended periods of time.If they’d fallen through the ceiling tiles while the bank was operating they might have decided to ‘wing it.’ When plans go awry in a robbery like that, they do desperate things.
"Later, when the staff left, they climbed down into the lobby of the bank and made their way to the safe. We later found out that they had an inside source. Someone who had been let go from the bank. They found the code written down in the bank manager's office."
There were noises in the room that said people were listening to his words.
"They hadn't anticipated that changing the code when an employee left was their policy."
He put his hands on the podium they had placed in the center of the raised stage at the front of the room.
"I'd like to suggest that leaving the code written downanywhereis a bad idea."
There were a few murmurs of agreement and a couple of laughs.
He looked up and saw Tracy at her table shaking her head and smiling.
"It's never a good idea to leave that kind of information written down anywhere."
"It feels like you should be preaching to the choir on that one."
There she was. That kind of dry humor had made him laugh more than once the night before.
Still, there seemed to be a kind of wall between them.
He wasn't quite sure how it happened, or maybe she didn't want to show him any familiarity in front of other professionals in her field.
He already knew the kinds of things the bankers had to say about people in credit unions, laughing and their 'quaint' businesses and their lower salaries. He'd also heard what most of the men said about their women counterparts. That is, when they had any.
She was likely trying to protect herself from anything like that being pointed in her direction.
West nodded at her words. "You'd think so, but there are a lot of people, some of the staffers with the most seniority who make the mistake of becoming the most lax with their safety. Once you start thinking that you've got things down to a science-"
"Hardly good policy."
The man who spoke was in the front seat, his three-piece suit open and his posture one that begged people to look at him.
West managed a nod and what he hoped wasn't a sour look on his face. Sometimes the beard and mustache helped to hide his actual thoughts. "True, but over confidence comes with itsown set of problems. Just when you think you know everything, the universe likes to show you just how much..." He paused, not sure what kind of language they would tolerate.
