The report did not label him a racist.
Amelia appreciated that precision.
It described conduct, evidence, patterns, and policy violations. It did not pretend to measure the contents of a person's soul.
HR determined that termination for cause was supportable.
Before final action, Webb was invited to respond.
He came to headquarters in a dark suit that fit him too tightly around the shoulders. The confidence he had carried in the lobby was gone. In its place was a wary humility Amelia was not sure she trusted yet.
She did not attend the formal HR session.
Afterward, Webb asked through counsel whether she would speak with him privately for ten minutes.
Reed advised against it.
Amelia agreed anyway, with counsel present and a written record of the meeting.
Webb sat across from her in a small conference room.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
"I read the report," he said finally.
"So did I."
"I didn't recognize myself in parts of it."
"Which parts?"
"The descriptions of how I talked about customers. Aggressive. Suspicious. Difficult. I thought I was documenting behavior."
"Sometimes you were. Sometimes you were documenting your interpretation of behavior."
He nodded.
"I went back through some of my own notes," he said. "I saw the difference."
Amelia waited.
"I treated wealthy customers like problems to solve and poorer customers like problems to remove."
She did not congratulate him for recognizing it.
"And race?"
His jaw tightened.
"I think I used race to decide who looked wealthy before I knew anything else."
That answer was more honest than anything he had said in the lobby.
"What do you want from me?" Amelia asked.
Webb looked startled.
"I don't know."
"Then why did you ask to meet?"
He looked down at his hands.
"Because I wanted you to know that I understand it wasn't about not knowing who you were."
Amelia studied him.
"Do you?"
"I think I'm starting to."
"Starting is accurate."
He accepted that.