Alicia asked:
“Race?”
Daniel shifted.
Vanessa looked horrified.
“No.”
Alicia said nothing.
Vanessa continued too quickly.
“Absolutely not.”
“I serve Black clients.”
“I have several Black clients.”
Alicia closed her eyes for half a second.
The defense was so predictable it almost felt scripted.
She opened them.
“I didn’t ask whether you know Black people.”
“I asked whether race influenced your assessment of me.”
Vanessa’s voice trembled.
“I don’t believe so.”
“That is a different answer.”
“Yes.”
Alicia nodded.
“Good.”
Vanessa looked confused.
“Good?”
“‘I don’t believe so’ is more honest than pretending you can prove what happened inside your head.”
Vanessa swallowed.
Alicia turned to Daniel.
“How long has she managed this location?”
“Three years.”
“Performance?”
“Strong sales.”
“Specific.”
Daniel knew better than to give adjectives without evidence.
“Store revenue up eighteen percent over three years.”
“Average transaction value up twenty-two.”
“Top-tier client retention strong.”
“Staff turnover?”
He hesitated.
Alicia noticed.
“Daniel.”
“Higher than region.”
“How high?”
“Thirty-eight percent annualized last year.”
Alicia stared.
Regional average was eighteen.
“Why?”
“We attributed some to Beverly Hills competition.”
“Some?”
Daniel became very still.
Alicia asked:
“Employee complaints?”
Vanessa looked toward him.
Daniel did not answer immediately.
That was enough.
Alicia straightened.
“How many?”
“Three formal.”
Vanessa whispered:
“Daniel.”
Alicia looked at her.
“You knew?”
“They weren’t about discrimination.”
“What were they about?”
Daniel answered.
“Favoritism.”
“Scheduling retaliation.”
“Unequal client allocation.”
“Were they substantiated?”
“One partially.”
“What happened?”
“Coaching.”
“Who coached?”
“District manager.”
“Not you?”
“No.”
Alicia looked back at Vanessa.
“Client complaints?”
Vanessa crossed her arms defensively.
“Every luxury store gets difficult customers.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Daniel said:
“Four written complaints in twelve months.”
Alicia stared.
She had reviewed the regional dashboard.
It showed one.
“Why did I see one?”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“I don’t know.”
“Find out.”
“I will.”
“Today.”
“Yes.”
Alicia looked at Vanessa.
“You are not fired.”
Vanessa blinked.
Daniel looked surprised.
Alicia continued.
“You are suspended from client-facing duties effective now.”
Vanessa’s mouth opened.
“For how long?”
“Until we know what happened here and whether this is isolated.”
“You already know what happened.”
“No.”
“I know what happened to me.”
“That is one data point.”
Vanessa looked almost offended.
Alicia noticed.
“You expected me to fire you?”
No answer.
“Would that be easier?”
Vanessa’s face reddened.
Alicia continued.
“You could become the entire story.”
“Bad manager humiliates owner.”
“Owner fires manager.”
“Everybody applauds.”
“Nothing else examined.”
“That is not how I run companies.”
Daniel looked toward the floor.
Perhaps because he knew some of what was coming.
Alicia turned to him.
“You are staying too.”
His eyes rose.
“Of course.”
“No.”
“You misunderstood.”
“You are part of the review.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“Why?”
“Because Vanessa reports through a structure you oversee.”
“That doesn’t mean—”
“I did not say you caused what happened.”
“I said you are inside the system that produced it.”
He nodded slowly.
“Understood.”
Alicia picked up her clutch.
“Call legal.”
“HR.”
“Internal audit.”
“Preserve security footage.”
“Point-of-sale logs.”
“Client notes.”
“Complaint data.”
“Scheduling.”
“Commission allocation.”
“Discount authorization.”
“Everything for twenty-four months.”
Daniel nodded.
Vanessa looked stunned.
“Twenty-four months?”
“Yes.”
“That’s excessive.”
Alicia looked at her.
“Maybe.”
“If so, the review will show that.”
Vanessa started:
“My clients—”
“Will be reassigned temporarily.”
“You cannot—”
Alicia’s eyebrows rose.
Vanessa stopped.
Alicia’s voice remained calm.
“Be careful.”
The manager inhaled.
Then said:
“I’m sorry.”
Alicia studied her.
“For what?”