I took it.
“This is Dorothy Whitaker,” I said.
“Mrs. Whitaker.” A man’s voice. Deep. Older. Out of breath, like he’d been running. “This is Richard Hale. I’m the president of Heartland Bancorp.”
“Hello, Mr. Hale.”
“Mrs. Whitaker, I want to apologize. I just pulled the merger agreement. I’m reading Section 14.3 right now. I had no idea this was in here. Nobody at corporate knew. The lawyers who drew up the 2015 deal have all left the company.” He took a breath. “I’m afraid there’s been a serious mistake.”
“Yes,” I said. “There has.”
“The Millbrook branch was flagged for consolidation in our spring review. Low transaction volume. Aging customer base. Brandon was sent down to implement the plan. He’s been following our instructions.”
“Has he,” I said.
“I’m getting in my car right now,” Mr. Hale said. “I’ll be there in two and a half hours. Please, Mrs. Whitaker. Before you do anything. Before you call a lawyer. Please let me come down and talk to you in person.”
