Page 14 of Protected By West
Around his team they could say pretty much everything. Language wasn't an issue.
But this was different, and he knew he had to hold back on using certain words.
"Well, the universe likes to humble people."
"And the men that broke into the bank?"
Weston turned to look into the crowd and saw the women sitting beside Tracy lean her forearms on the table. She'd been the one to ask the question.
"They hadn't planned on a new combination being used and the quick in and out theft of the several hundred thousand in small bills in the safe was stopped before it could have really started. They went back up into the ceiling before the morning staff came in and exited around the lunchtime rush, but the security monitoring company was sharp. And even though they wore masks when they were trying to break into the safe, they didn't as they came and went out of the building.
"The security monitoring company isolated the faces of the people going in the day before and the people leaving the day of the break-in. Even though they lowered their faces and hid the bulk of the features from the camera. We were able to access cameras up and down the street to find out which car was theirs. It took a few hours of fast forwarding through videos, but they had the car's license plate. From there it was putting the evidence together to get the two responsible for the break-in and after they had statements from those two, the former employee of the bank was also brought in. The case is currently working its way through the court system. I've read the case file from start to finish and gone through the evidence. If the defense attorneys are smart, they'll get their clients to plead to a lesser charge."
The rest of his talk was okay. The same people who didn't seem to care tuned in and out at will, but those in the crowd that were interested in smart safety and more recent safety innovations were actively listening and asking questions.
It helped to pass the time and kept his mind from drifting back to the woman in the third row.
When he was done, he walked down the aisle created between the first row on his left and the second one.
West smiled as he walked up to Tracy's table.
The woman sitting beside her gave Tracy a wide-eyed stare and came just shy of elbowing her to get her to turn her head in his direction.
When she didn't, Tracy's friend gave him a wincing smile and mouthed the word SORRY at him.
He put out his hand and smiled. "I'm Weston Cooper."
She nodded and took his hand, shaking it. "Jaime Wells. I'm the Customer Service Manager for Military City Credit Union. Nice to meet you."
When she took her hand back, she gestured at Tracy. "Our president, Tracy Fagan is here with me."
West nodded and smiled.
He could tell by the tone of Jaime's voice that she knew there was something between them. There was a hint of humor in her tone, but it was tempered by affection.
He reached across toward Tracy, and he saw the way Tracy's shoulders tightened in reaction.
When she didn't take his hand in hers, he hesitated before lowering his hand back down to his side.
"I was wondering... Tracy."
There were little changes in her face that he watched carefully. Looking for an indication of what had gone wrong.
Nothing he could see.
Nothing he could remember.
"Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"
He almost expected her to continue with the silent treatment.
Instead, she gestured up at the podium. "Sorry, the next speaker is going to start."
West didn't look at Jaime, but he could see her reaction out of the corner of his eye.
Her expression was full of sympathy, like the way you could look at the sight of a minor car crash on the side of the road and think, 'I hope they make it.'
Jaime didn't hold out a lot of hope for him to get through this without getting burned.
