Terence returned to the lobby and patted Vero on the back. “Nice job. I bet we could call the local news and tell them you saved the day. They’d probably come out and do a feature about you.”
“No!” Vero and Mr. Singh said at the same time, though Vero knew they were objecting for very different reasons.
“I would strongly prefer if we kept this all very quiet,” Mr. Singh said. “I would hate for our customers to question our integrity or the safety of their accounts.” Vero was pretty sure he would also hate for his regional supervisors to hear about it.
Vero wasn’t eager for her face to be blasted over the television either. But maybe there was a way to play this to her advantage. “I don’t know,” she said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “Now that Terence mentions it, a news feature might help me land a better job, ideally one behind the counter instead of in the bathroom. Maybe I should call them.”
“I really don’t think that’s necessary,” Mr. Singh insisted. “I’m sure we can work something out here. We can promote you toheadcustodian.”
“I’m the only custodian.”
“Then perhaps we could arrange for some kind of bonus, or maybe a reward—”
“I want a job behind the counter,” Vero interrupted. When Mr. Singh opened his mouth to object, she added, “You’re short a teller. I’ve got almost eighty college credits toward an accounting degree, I’ve earned A’s in all my classes, and I’m great with the customers. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
“I don’t know—”
“Terence, what’s the number to Channel Nine News?” Vero whipped out her cell phone.
“I would need proof of your qualifications,” Mr. Singh rushed to add.
If Dimitri Papadopoulis could get her a fake driver’s license, how hard could it be to forge her a phony college transcript? “Give me two days.”
“Fine. You can start on Monday. But no news interviews,” he said firmly. “You’ll be subject to a probationary period pending a review in two months. Your shift begins at nineA.M. sharp. I expect you to be at your window on time.”
“Yes, sir.” Vero enthusiastically shook her boss’s hand. This window of opportunity hadn’t been an easy one to crack, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to miss her chance to climb through it.
Epilogue
The bank was bustling the next Friday afternoon. Vero’s first week behind the counter had been going pretty well. She’d been watching the tellers so closely for so long, she hadn’t had much to learn. By the end of her first week, she had been given permission to work her own window, which was a good thing since the bank was hopping today. The line doubled back on itself, creeping into the vestibule. She was grateful for the thick plexiglass barrier that kept her from having to listen to people complain about how long it was taking to be served.
A car rolled slowly past the drive-through window. Vero glanced up from her drawer, pausing her count, her attention drawn by the low rumble of the Camaro’s engine outside. She could just make out the driver’s silhouette through the heavy window tinting. Javi stared back at her. His engine growled as he put it in gear, and his car disappeared around the side of the building.
Vero turned back to her drawer, starting her count over as the man at her station made a dramatic show of checking his watch.
A moment later, Javi appeared in the door. He slipped off his mirrored aviators and his eyes caught Vero’s through the barrier.If he wants to talk to me, he can wait in line like everybody else,she thought.
But Javi wasn’t like everyone else. He sauntered straight to the front of the line—herline—without bothering to wait his turn. Patrons stepped aside to let him pass. One man started to say something to him but changed his mind when he got a look at Javi’s tattoos. He was wearing a form-fitting T-shirt and his hair was pulled back at his nape, revealing the full extent of his ink while leaving plenty to the imagination. Javier Romero had the most disarming smile Vero had ever seen, but he could also turn badassery into a full-time job, and today he was making it work for him.
Darren came out of his cubicle and froze when he spotted him. He touched the bruise at the bridge of his nose and slipped silently back behind the safety of his partition as the crowd parted to let Javi through. He came straight to Vero’s window and rested his elbows on her counter.
“Grab lunch with me?” he asked, having the nerve to look contrite.
“Are you making a deposit or a withdrawal, sir?” she asked through her speaker. Partly to piss him off and partly because her manager was watching her.
Javi lowered his voice. “I just want to talk.”
Vero depressed the button to turn on her speaker again. “Does talking involve telling me where you’ve been for the last three years?” Helen’s eyes flicked to Javi from the next window. So did everyone else’s. Blood rushed to Javi’s cheeks. “Maybe you should step out of line while you think about it,” Vero said. “I’m kind of busy here. Next!” she called over his head.
He stood there staring at her for a long moment, looking for all the world like he had something left to say. When Vero waved her next customer forward, Javi took a deposit envelope from his pocket and pushed it through the slot in her window. He didn’t wait for her to open it before striding out.
Vero used her letter opener to slash the envelope. Two tire valve caps fell into her hand. She wasn’t sure what this was supposed to mean, or what these misplaced parts represented to either of them. All she knew was that she had thrown them in his face yesterday—either as an F-U or as a confession. And today he’d given them back.
Vero looked up to see if he was gone, only half listening as her next customer came forward and asked for cash back with his deposit. A woman behind him in line had captured Vero’s attention. Something about her felt familiar, though Vero couldn’t place why. The writhing, whining boy in the woman’s arms couldn’t have been much older than two, and the little girl holding the woman’s hand was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, as if she were fighting to hold her bladder. The girl gave her mother’s hand a firm tug and the three of them stepped out of line, scurrying through the crowd to the restrooms.
A few moments later, Vero spotted them again, this time at the very back of the line.
The woman’s shoulders hunched with the weight of her children. Of her day. She couldn’t have been much older than thirty, but she seemed too exhausted to be that young.
