Chapter 238: The First Blunder

"Ding~"

A sudden, urgent ring of the electric bell freed the poor Nicole from Goodman's seemingly endless list of "one more thing." She weakly pointed at the phone. After receiving his approval, she breathed a sigh of relief and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, Black Bank."

"Who are you? Is Mr. Goodman there?"

"I'm Mr. Goodman's secretary, Nicole. May I ask who is calling?"

"This is Patterson from the FDIC. Please put Mr. Goodman or Mr. Black on the line, alright?"

"Ah, yes, sure! Mr. Black is in Hawaii. Please hold on, I'll get Mr. Goodman for you."

Realizing it was a call from the regulatory agency, Nicole didn't dare delay and quickly handed the phone to Goodman. However, just as Nicole was feeling nervous and wondering if there was an issue with the bank, she noticed Goodman's face suddenly darken.

"Hahaha, Mr. Patterson, you flatter us. It's not that we don't want to make money; it's that we truly can't. Look, how long have we been handling Forest Bank? Not even half a year, right? How could we possibly have the capacity to manage another bank now? Right?"

Compared to his somber expression, Goodman's tone was jovial. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Nicole wouldn't have believed such a stark contrast could exist in one person.

"A loan... Oh, it's not about the loan, Mr. Patterson!"

"Look at the current environment. Our bank already has low interest rates. If we take Bas Bank under our wing, what happens to those rates? If we apply the same rates, we'll be losing money. How will we pay back the loan in the future? And if we treat them differently, well, we don't want to end up like Bas Bank, do we?"

"Carter? He..."

At this point, Goodman shot a fierce glare at Nicole. Then he continued to focus on the conversation.

"He went to Hawaii for some business. A friend, over there. Oh no, not an imaginary friend, really. Not imaginary... Hey? Mr. Patterson? Sir? Hello?!"

Listening to the busy signal, Goodman angrily hung up the phone. Then he turned to Nicole.

"Who told you to reveal Carter's whereabouts? Huh?"

"I... I... He? Isn't he from the FDIC? He shouldn't harm Carter, right? Besides..."

Startled by Goodman's shout, Nicole felt incredibly wronged. How could answering a regulatory call lead to trouble?

"What about the FDIC? You think they're on our side? Bas Bank's collapse wiped out both the old and new branches, leaving a sixty-year-old novice in charge. Who would trust such a bank?"

Slapping the table, Goodman was so furious he nearly had a stroke.

"That old lady lost her head, probably scared out of her wits. Loans as loose as a streetwalker's waistband, and in less than two months, Bas Bank's funds were practically gone."

"A bank with no deposits and no income is bound to fail. The FDIC is scared of losing money, so they're desperate to dump this mess on us. Do you really think they're the good guys?"

"They're afraid of losing money, but we aren't? Or do you think we're rolling in cash? As a secretary, as an assistant, you need basic judgment! Know what you can and cannot say."

Seeing Nicole standing there like a frightened quail, Goodman sighed in exasperation. He knew he was demanding a lot from someone on their first day, but...

"Let's put it this way: at the very least, you shouldn't disclose your employer's whereabouts without permission! Now the FDIC folks are probably booking tickets to Hawaii. Forget it, you're off phone duty. Focus on your current tasks, learn the ropes, and we'll talk about other things later!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Goodman. I really didn't know... I..."

"Alright, enough. Get back to work."

Waving his hand in frustration, Goodman stood up again and walked to the phone. He dialed the Sheraton's Surf Rider Hotel.

Meanwhile, on the beach, Carter and Jim were lecherously enjoying the view. Naturally, Carter didn't receive the call. In the pre-mobile era, such situations were infuriatingly common.

Listening to the busy tone as the hotel front desk tried to connect to the room, Goodman could only leave a message asking Carter to call back once he returned to the hotel. He then sat back down to continue his work.

"Excuse me, but I was wondering, Hawaii is pretty big. It should be hard for them to find Carter, right?"

Watching Goodman complete this series of actions, Nicole spoke up again. If the FDIC couldn't find Carter, her sense of guilt would be greatly reduced.

Just trying to ease her conscience only made her more anxious.

"Hawaii may be big, but the islands they'd visit are limited. Once you rule out the well-known spots and beaches, it's not that hard to find someone."

···

As Goodman had said, finding someone in Hawaii wasn't particularly difficult.

Currently, Carter and Jim were at Waikiki Beach, in Honolulu, a mere 20-minute drive from Honolulu International Airport. With numerous resorts and hotels nearby, this was a prime destination for all Hawaiian tourists!

Thus, in the evening, as Carter and Jim, along with four newly met bikini-clad women, were about to join a beach bonfire party organized by the hotel, two men in suits, looking completely out of place, suddenly appeared in the dimming light.

To be fair, when Patterson and his companion first appeared, Carter didn't think much of it. They could be bodyguards for a celebrity or a wealthy vacationer, which wouldn't be unusual here.

But when Carter realized they were heading straight for him, it was too late to run.

"Mr. Black, enjoying your vacation, I see!"

Blocking Carter's path, Patterson smirked at Carter's playboy demeanor, making a mocking remark. The suppressed frustration was evident.

What kind of life had Patterson been living lately?

The Atlanta FDIC branch had been dealing with the fallout from Bas Bank's debacle, and reprimands were inevitable. But once the scolding was over, they found that cleaning up the mess was like the plague, with everyone avoiding it.

They finally caught a big sucker, only to find him living it up. Where did that leave Patterson's dignity?

Worse yet, they couldn't even throw their regulatory weight around; instead, they had to beg Carter to take over the damned Bas Bank.

Especially after his initial outburst, Patterson had to lower his stance further:

"Mr. Black, could I trouble you for a moment of your time?"