Chapter 13
A Tale of Two Books
It was shortly before lunch time in late January when the phone rang. I answered and it was the boss, Steve. “Can you check to see if we have any bank accounts with Peach Bank in New York?” he asked. “Sure,” I said. “When do you need the information?” “ASAP,” he answered. I took the elevator up two floors to the Treasury Department and spotted Frank, the lanky assistant treasurer from West Texas who was responsible for all bank accounts for the company. “Frank, do you have a minute to look up something for me?” I asked. Frank said that he had a lunch appointment but the lookup wouldn't take long. “Do we have an account with a New York bank called Peach?” I asked. He pulled out this three-ring binder and turned to the first tab, the table of contents. “If we do it will be right here. We only have about 223 bank accounts. You said Peach, right?” Frank asked. “That's right.” Frank scanned down the table of contents and said, “Well, I don't see one here, but maybe it's an old account that's been closed. Let me check that binder.” He pulled down a red binder similarly organized and scanned the table of contents there as well. “Nope, I can't seem to find it here either,” he said. “Maybe you should check with accounting. You know, with the merger and all, maybe everything hasn't gotten sorted out and sent to me yet. Let me know what you find out.” So off I went to the 35th floor where the Accounting Department was located.
I was hoping that Charles, ...
