"I never intended to make people frightened of me," Brad said.
"But they were," Lily replied. "We are."
The room fell silent. Brad looked at her as though he had expected criticism from Margaret and Eleanor but not such a plain admission from someone he saw every day. Lily held his eyes for a few seconds, then looked away because speaking had made her hands shake again. Margaret allowed the silence to remain long enough for him to understand what had been said.
"Authority without empathy becomes cruelty," Margaret said. "You may not have intended the worst of these consequences. You still made decisions that brought them about."
Brad nodded slowly. "I see that now. I wish I had seen it sooner."
"So do I," Margaret answered.
He looked up. "Do I still have a chance?"
Margaret leaned back in her chair. "Everyone deserves a chance to change. But I won't confuse a second chance with the right to keep the same power. You will no longer be general manager of Golden Harbor, effective today."
Brad's face tightened. He had known it was possible, but hearing the words spoken aloud made the loss real in a way fear had not. He thought of his office, the awards on the wall, the comfortable certainty that had surrounded his daily decisions, and the way staff stepped aside when he walked through a corridor. He had treated that attention as respect rather than obedience.
"I understand," he said, his voice uneven.
"I'm not ending your career today," Margaret continued. "But I am ending your authority over the staff and over guest admission. Eleanor will oversee a formal corrective process, and Daniel will serve as interim general manager while we complete a wider operational review."
Eleanor opened another page. Brad could accept a temporary non-supervisory role supporting records and service-process reviews under her direct oversight, with a reduced salary appropriate to the role. He would receive structured training, participate in correcting the mishandled complaints, and be prohibited from retaliating against anyone who had spoken about his conduct. His continued employment would depend on genuine progress and agreement from the people responsible for staff welfare, not on a speech or a promise.
"If you'd rather leave," Margaret said, "you may discuss the available terms with human resources. I won't force someone who has lost the trust of his staff to pretend nothing has changed."
Brad looked at the conditions. "You'd let me stay in a job where I don't manage anyone?"
"If you are willing to do the work and if the review supports it. Being responsible for other people isn't a reward you can demand while you're learning how to treat them properly."
He nodded. "I want the chance."