Derek's attorney characterized the incident publicly as a regrettable misunderstanding. The company's investigators, however, had reached employment findings independent of the criminal case. Beaumont formally terminated Derek for violating customer safety and nondiscrimination standards and for misconduct toward both a customer and an employee. Patricia was terminated for her role in the fabricated theft accusation and for knowingly supporting the false account given to police. Their departures were recorded through ordinary employment procedures, with both provided access to the process available for disputing factual findings.
A civil action followed, supported by claims from customers and former employees who believed they had suffered discriminatory treatment. Lawyers examined how much the company had known, what procedures had failed, and which individual acts could be proved. Terrence directed Beaumont to cooperate and not to bury evidence or retaliate against witnesses. He also asked the board to create a method of compensating harmed people without requiring every claimant to endure years of conflict just to receive an acknowledgment.
Willa did not celebrate the terminations. When Terrence told her they were complete, she sat silently for a few moments. She had spent decades employing people and had never enjoyed the moment when someone's job ended, even if the decision was necessary. She thought of Derek's cruelty and Patricia's lie, and she felt relief that neither would remain in the roles they had abused. But she also thought of the young employee kneeling over scattered earrings and the guard who had feared losing his paycheck. She wanted a system in which people did not have to surrender decency to survive at work.
"Are you satisfied?" Terrence asked.
"I am satisfied that they're no longer in charge," she replied. "I'll be satisfied with the company when the next woman in an old blouse can walk into that store, ask to see something lovely, and get an honest answer."
He smiled sadly. "You never make this easy."
"I didn't start a business because easy work interested me," she told him. "You knew that when you accepted the job."
Ten days after the incident, the board gathered reporters at Beaumont headquarters for a public statement. Franklin Dodd, a senior director who had served through several phases of the company's growth, stood behind the podium with Terrence to his right. There was no dramatic lighting, no elaborate celebration, and none of the congratulatory language usually found in corporate announcements. The people in the room had come because a customer had been hurt and because the organization had allowed warning signs to accumulate around the person responsible.
Franklin began with an acknowledgment that surprised some journalists by its directness. "Our company failed," he said. "A customer was mistreated and injured in one of our stores. We also have evidence of wider discriminatory practices that should have been confronted long before this incident. We cannot explain that away as a disagreement over procedure. We are responsible for making sure our values are reflected in what our employees do, not just in what our brochures say."