“You stop. Both of you work for me.”
Diana finally spoke.
“No.”
Patricia turned.
“They work for Luminous Designs.”
“Exactly.”
“And Luminous Designs is not you.”
Patricia reached for the store phone.
“That’s it. I’m calling police.”
“Go ahead.”
“You look like a thief. Maybe they’ll explain this more clearly.”
The sentence landed.
Ashley covered her mouth.
Kevin closed his eyes for half a second.
Marcus’s expression hardened.
Even Patricia seemed to realize something irreversible had left her mouth.
Diana’s hand trembled as she reached into her handbag.
Not fear.
Rage.
Twenty-three years.
Forty-seven stores.
Thousands of employees over the life of the company.
Millions spent on training.
Policies.
Values statements.
Diversity programs.
Customer-experience standards.
And here, in the flagship location, a manager had looked at the founder and seen a thief.
Diana removed her phone.
Patricia pointed.
“Do not record me.”
“I’m not recording.”
“Then what are you doing?”
Diana unlocked the screen.
“Calling my board chair.”
Patricia gave a disbelieving laugh.
“Your board?”
Diana selected a contact.
Sarah Grant answered first because Sarah almost always answered.
“Diana?”
“Sarah.”
Something in Diana’s tone changed the COO’s posture six miles away.
“What happened?”
“I’m at Beverly Hills.”
A pause.
“Okay.”
“I need you to contact Martin Hale, Angela Ruiz, and the board chair. I also need HR general counsel on a secure call.”
Patricia’s face changed slightly.
Kevin noticed.
Sarah’s voice became immediate.
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“Do you need police?”
“Not at the moment.”
“What happened?”
Diana looked directly at Patricia.
“We have a serious management issue involving discriminatory treatment, inconsistent customer standards, threats against employees, and a request to have security remove a customer without objective cause.”
The showroom became absolutely still.
Sarah said:
“Who?”
Diana answered.
“Patricia Wittmann.”
Patricia’s stomach seemed to drop.
She knew that name.
Sarah Grant.
Chief Operating Officer.
Every manager knew it.
Sarah asked:
“Do you want me to suspend her access?”
“Not yet.”
Patricia stared.
Diana continued.
“I want the evidence preserved first. Store video, point-of-sale activity, client-service logs, recent customer complaints, manager communications, scheduling records, and any prior HR reports involving this location.”
Kevin’s eyes widened.
This was no bluff.
Patricia whispered:
“Who are you?”
Diana raised one finger toward the phone.
“Sarah, lock video retention now.”
“Doing it.”
“Do not alert local management until preservation is confirmed.”
“Understood.”
Diana waited.
A minute felt like ten.
Then Sarah returned.
“Video retention locked. HR and legal joining in four minutes.”