Page 67 of Rescuing Mary

She turned and saw the other woman was holding her cell phone. “Your phone’s been ringing off the hook. Jennifer is pissed, but I saw it was your friend, Rayne. I thought it might be important and— Oh…sorry, I didn’t realize you were still giving the tour.”

“We’re just about done here, I think.”

“I can finish for you, if you want,” Rebecca said tentatively. Mary knew the other woman was just as uneasy about all the young men coming in and inquiring about the safety-deposit boxes, so she shook her head. “Not necessary.” She turned back to the man. “Mr. Smith,” she mentally rolled her eyes at the obviously fake name he’d given them, “you’ve got the application. You can drop it off anytime between nine and four-thirty, Monday through Friday.”

“Right. Thanks,” the man said, then walked out of the vault. He brushed against Mary as he passed. “Sorry,” he said belatedly—and with a suggestive smile on his face.

Mary bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying something she might regret. She walked Mr. Smith out to the lobby, and she and Rebecca watched as he sauntered out into the afternoon heat.

“Something is definitely up,” Rebecca said.

“Oh, yeah,” Mary agreed.

“Did you hear the latest rumor about the bank?” Rebecca asked.

“No, now what?”

“Corporate wants to get rid of the tellers and put automatic machines in the lobby. They think it will deter robberies like the one last month.”

“Shit. So we’ll all lose our jobs?”

Rebecca shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess most of us would. They need to keep some of us to run the drive-through and to take care of things the machines don’t do…like people ordering foreign money and things like that. But they want to automate as much as possible, like deposits, withdrawals, and balance inquiries.”

“Damn,” Mary said, then shrugged. “Guess it’s time to see what else we can find, huh?”

“But this is all I’ve ever done,” Rebecca said. “I mean, it’s not exactly my dream job, but after eight years, and a degree in general studies, I’m not sure what else I can get.”

Mary shared her fellow teller’s concerns, but tried to stay positive. “We’re organized and trustworthy. We’ll find something.”

Just then, the cell phone in her hand rang again, and Mary saw it was Rayne calling once more. “I’ll just be a second,” she told Rebecca.

The other woman nodded and headed for her position behind the counter.

“Hello?” Mary answered.

“Em’s at the hospital,” Rayne said, not bothering with a greeting. “She started bleeding this morning and Fletch called nine-one-one.”

“Oh no! Is she okay?” Mary asked.

“We don’t know yet.”

“Are you at the hospital?”

“Yeah. Can you get here?”

“I still have three hours left on my shift.”

“Tell your boss it’s an emergency.”

“I don’t think she’s gonna care,” Mary said almost hysterically. “Where’s Annie?”

“She’s here, and she’s freaking out.”

The thought of Em being in the hospital with complications was heartbreaking, but knowing Annie was stressed was beyond anything Mary could handle. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes or less,” Mary told Rayne.

“What about your boss?” Rayne asked.

“As you said, this is an emergency. I’ll think of something.”