Whispering Wishes Read Free Page B

stands right behind me making me turn around in my chair as Meg walks away. “Hey, are you ready?” His eyes are twinkling in excitement. I trained Dave and he and I work the banking teller line together. We make a hard-working and efficient team, and he knows how much I’ve been dying for the promotion, too. I’m lucky to have the support of both him and Meg.
    “I’m ready.”
    “Good, because as I came into the office, Steve was asking people to start gathering into the conference room.”
    I nod my head and try to ignore the fact that my heart is pounding in my chest and that moisture instantly appeared on the back of my neck. I grab a pen and pad of paper and lock my cash drawer. I roll my shoulders, take a deep breath, and then walk casually into the conference room where our meetings are always held, already thinking of which seat to take. While walking next to me, Dave gives my arm a brief squeeze of encouragement. He and I take a seat next to Meg and engage in small talk while we wait for the meeting to start.
    More good mornings and questions about everyone’s weekend are exchanged while waiting for Steve to come in. Once he walks through the door, everyone automatically quiets down, ready to get started. My boss is kind of funny looking. He has a large nose that points down, making him look a little like an eagle. His small beady eyes and small mouth complete the look and are, well, funky. He even slicks back his hair, which just emphasizes his features. He always seems to be looking at everyone with calculation, and more than once I’ve wondered what goes on in his mind.
    “Good morning, everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Before we get to the big announcement, Brandi, will you please pass an agenda out to everyone? Thank you.”
    Brandi gets up and walks toward our boss as proud as a peacock, boobs out, shoulders back. I swear she sways her ass like that on purpose. I glance at Dave next to me and realize her actions are working when I see the direction of his focus. I can’t help myself and give him a kick under the table. “Ow!”
    Steve looks up . “What was that, Dave?”
    “Ohh uh, I was just saying HOW is everyone this morning? You know… just trying to be friendly while we wait for the agendas.” A blush is staining his cheeks and I feel like crap. I didn’t mean to kick him that hard. I give him an apologetic smile, but Meg and a couple others look at us knowingly. Oops.
    Once everyone has a meeting agenda, I quickly scan the list of items and see that the promotion announcement is at the end. I have to sit through this whole meeting feeling like I’m going to puke. Great. I barely hear anything my boss is saying. “Our number one priority is to start making our presence known more in the communities I have listed on your agenda. These are high scale neighborhoods that are located close to our office. I’d like everyone to send me at least one idea by the end of the day telling me how we can penetrate these places. Remember, we all offer the same products and services; therefore our goal is to make them realize that our staff and the customer service we provide are the very best. Everyone should be going above and beyond during each and every client and prospective client interaction.”
    He says this all the time, and at this point I tune out. I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard this spiel. He never points out the good things anyone is doing, it’s always how we need to do more and more. It’s rather sad, really. I remember when this bank cared about the staff and we were all more than just numbers; we felt a bit like family and really care about each other to the point that it manifested in how we cared about our business. I miss those days – the days of staff parties, camaraderie, potlucks and bonuses. Now we’ve become so corporate America that all we hear about is how we need to work better, longer, harder, smarter and of course – for less. Add to