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“Not enough?” I asked.
“No, this is good,” he said, rereading the check.
“Get going, then, and don’t worry, it’s good.”
He scurried toward the door.
“One more thing, Gary.”
He turned.
I opened my mouth but shut it in time. “Nothing important. Let’s go over last quarter’s numbers when you get back.”
I’d considered asking him what he knew about the embezzlement issue with Nicole’s cousin, but decided against it for the moment.
“Sure. I won’t be long.”
Dee entered as Gary left. “All done,” she announced, handing me my phone.
“Thanks.” I closed the office door after her for my call back to the mothership.
“Are we having fun yet?” Harold Snyderman asked when he picked up.
“Loads.” I didn’t care to waste any time getting to the point. “The CFO has left, and I need somebody to replace her.”
“Personally, I’d have her show either the controller or treasurer the ropes as acting CFO so you can conduct a proper search for somebody permanent. The CFO is your most important hire.”
As a finance guy, himself, it made sense he’d see it that way, but the marketing and operating people would have a different view.
“She’s already gone, and the controller is too wet behind the ears for the job. I need to borrow somebody from Benson.”
“I’ll have to think about who has the time.”
I knew who I wanted. “I’ll take Sandman for a while.”
George Sandman and I had worked well together in the past.
Harold’s sigh over the phone told me he knew I’d escalate this to Dad if I needed to. “He probably makes the most sense. I’ll call him and get back to you.”
I thanked Harold, and we got off the phone without me having to admit I’d written a personal check to keep the company afloat this week. That would have had him advocating exercise of the rescission clause I’d been specifically told not to use.
Moving to the slit of a window in this office, I pulled back the curtain. The view of parked cars a dozen feet away was a far cry from my vista twenty stories up at the Benson building. I closed the curtain again.
My next call was to Dad.
“What’s up?” he asked upon answering.
“I’d like to talk again about a capital infusion for this place.”
“No need.”
I let out a breath. I’d finally caught a break. “Good. I think I can make it work with twenty.”
“No, there’s no need to discuss it again. I already gave you my answer. Make it work with what you have. I’m sure you can handle it. It’s a small business, just like what I started with. Small businesses like that are the backbone of this country. They’re what make everything go. Feel free to ask Harold or Tony if you need advice.”
Bringing up that I’d commandeered a CFO from Harold wasn’t the right move right now, lest it get countermanded.
A few seconds later he was off the line, and I was left unsure what I’d done to deserve this treatment. It wasn’t like I’d forgotten his birthday or anything.
