Chapter 5 - THE ELEVATOR
Brittany laughed.
Not because anything was funny.
Because sometimes the brain chooses laughter when panic is too embarrassing.
“Owner of what?”
Nobody answered.
Her eyes darted toward Mia.
Then the cashier.
Then the security guard.
Finally back to me.
“Margaret?”
“Yes?”
“What is she talking about?”
I picked up the fourteen-thousand-dollar coat from the display.
“The stitching is slightly off on the inner seam.”
Brittany stared at me.
“What?”
I handed the coat to Mia.
“Please mark this for quality inspection.”
Mia took it carefully.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Brittany grabbed my arm.
“Margaret.”
I looked down at her hand.
She released me immediately.
“What is going on?”
“Upstairs.”
Her breathing changed.
Patricia pressed the elevator button.
Brittany stepped after us.
Patricia held up one hand.
“Employees need authorization.”
“I work here.”
“Yes.”
“I’m family.”
Patricia glanced at me.
I said,
“Let her come.”
The elevator doors opened.
Brittany entered beside me.
She stood rigidly.
Floor eight.
Executive offices.
As the doors closed, she whispered,
“You own this building?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“I own the company leasing six floors of it.”
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
Patricia looked straight ahead.
Brittany finally whispered,
“Bellamy & Rowe?”
“Yes.”
“All of it?”
“Most of it.”
Her knees seemed to weaken.
“That’s impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Ethan would know.”
“Would he?”
“You’re his mother.”
“Yes.”
“You drive a Honda.”
“I like my Honda.”
“You live in the same house you’ve lived in for thirty years.”
“I like my house.”
“You wear old shoes.”
I looked down.
“I like these too.”
Her face tightened.
“You lied to us.”
“No.”
“You let us believe you were ordinary.”
“I am ordinary.”
“No, you’re rich.”
“Those are not opposites.”
The elevator opened.
Three executives waited outside.
Regional director Laura Chen.
Chief of retail operations Marcus Green.
And head of human resources, Janet Warren.
Brittany saw Janet.
All remaining color left her face.
“Why is HR here?”
Janet remained professional.
“Good morning, Ms. Morales.”
Brittany looked at me.
“You called HR on me?”
“I requested a review.”
“Because of the funeral?”
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“You waited until I embarrassed you and now you’re punishing me.”
“Brittany.”
My voice stayed calm.
“You were already under review before you knew I owned the company.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It matters a great deal.”
She turned toward Janet.
“This is retaliation.”
Janet nodded once.
“You’re entitled to raise that concern.”
“I am raising it.”
“And it will be documented.”
That slowed her down.
She had expected fear.
Instead she got procedure.
Janet opened the conference room door.
“We’re going to discuss several customer complaints and policy violations.”
Brittany looked at Laura.
“Darren knows my work.”
Laura said nothing.
That scared her more.
“Where is Darren?”
Janet answered.
“On administrative leave.”
Brittany froze.
“Why?”
“We’ll discuss that separately.”
She looked at me again.
“What did you do?”
“I asked questions.”
“About me?”
“About the store.”
“You set me up.”
“No.”
“You came in pretending to be poor.”
“I came in dressed as myself.”
That shut her up.
For three seconds.
Then she laughed bitterly.
“So that’s what this is? Some morality test?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
I stepped closer.
“This is what happens when the person you dismiss turns out to be the person responsible for your paycheck.”
Her eyes flashed.
“You think this makes you better than me?”
“No.”
“I think what you did when you thought I had no power says more about you than anything I could say.”
Brittany’s jaw clenched.
Then she did something I didn’t expect.
She smiled.
A small, angry smile.
“You might want to be careful, Margaret.”
“About what?”
May you like
She leaned closer.
“Because if we start digging into secrets, I know a few things about Ethan too.”
