And she remembered how he had spoken to Amara herself.
He had not known who she was.
That was precisely the point.
He had treated her as though she had no value because he believed she had no power.
If he had known she owned the company, he would have smiled, offered water, and addressed her as Madam President.
But respect that appeared only when someone powerful entered the room was not respect.
It was strategy.
Amara stood.
"I want Lauren Mitchell brought in tomorrow morning."
Rachel nodded.
"All right."
"Not in front of Victor. Not in front of Patricia. I want her to speak freely."
David closed his laptop.
"We can arrange that."
"And I want the investigation to expand beyond Manhattan."
Malik looked at her.
"Every store?"
"Every store that has used the same reporting system and performance structure."
"That could take months."
"Then it will take months."
Rachel looked worried.
"If this is widespread, the findings could affect several regional teams."
"Then we need to know."
Amara gathered the documents.
"One more thing. Nobody contacts customers to persuade them to withdraw complaints, revise reviews, or accept compensation in exchange for silence."
David nodded.
"Understood."
"Any customer who wants a refund receives one if the circumstances justify it. Any customer who wants an explanation receives one. Any customer who wants nothing more to do with us is allowed to walk away."
Malik watched her.
"And Victor?"
Amara looked toward the door.
"Tomorrow, I want to know whether he believes he did anything wrong."
Victor Harrington spent that same afternoon in the Manhattan flagship office reviewing sales figures.
He had been told that Patricia was unavailable and that Amara Jackson had requested several internal reports.
He was not particularly concerned.
In his mind, the store was performing better than it had when he arrived. Conversion rates were up during several key periods. High-value clients had been given more attention. The floor looked polished, the displays were orderly, and the employees had learned to move quickly.
He believed he had restored the store's exclusivity.
He did not believe he had mistreated anyone.
When Lauren Mitchell entered his office, he barely looked up.
"Did you finish the inventory report?"
"Yes."
"Send it to me."
"I need to ask you something first."
Victor glanced at her.
"Make it quick."
"Did you receive a message from headquarters about the customer complaints?"
"I receive messages every day."
"Amara Jackson is reviewing the store."
That made him look up.
"Who told you?"
"People are talking."
"People should spend less time talking and more time working."
Lauren stood near the door.
"Victor, are they investigating the complaint records?"
He closed the spreadsheet.
"Why?"
"Because several complaints were closed without customers being contacted."
"That is not your concern."
"It is if I was involved in the cases."
Victor leaned back.
"Are you suggesting you did something wrong?"
"I'm saying I want to know what's happening."
"You want to know what's happening? Fine. The company is reviewing performance. We have been under pressure for months, and now someone in headquarters wants to make an example of the flagship."
"Is that what you think?"
"That's what I know."
Lauren looked at him.
"What about the customers?"
Victor gave a short laugh.
"What about them?"
"The people who complained."
"They were handled."
"Some weren't contacted."
"How would you know?"
"Because I was assigned to several of them."
Victor's expression changed.
"Be careful, Lauren."
She felt a familiar tightening in her stomach.
For months, that phrase had been enough to end conversations.
Be careful.
It could mean a poor schedule next week. A missed promotion. A warning about attitude. A reminder that a job in luxury retail was not as easy to replace as an employee might imagine.
But today she did not leave.
"I don't think we should have treated people that way."
Victor stood.
"You are not in a position to decide company policy."
"I know."
"Then act like it."
Lauren looked at the desk.
A framed photograph showed Victor standing beside a regional sales award.
He had received it three months earlier.
She remembered how proud he had been.
She also remembered the elderly woman who had stood near the burgundy handbag display, holding her purse with both hands and asking whether the store carried a particular color.
Lauren had been there.
She had said nothing when Victor dismissed her.
She had regretted it every day since.
"I'm going to cooperate with the review," Lauren said.
Victor's face hardened.
"Then you should consider what that means for your future here."
Lauren opened the door.
"Maybe I should."
She left before she could lose her courage.
For the first time, Victor watched someone walk out of his office without waiting for permission.
He did not like it.
He liked even less the feeling that something was happening beyond his control.
But he still believed he could explain everything.
He had not yet understood that the investigation was no longer about his explanation.
It was about the evidence.