Chapter 6 - WHAT ETHAN KNEW
I did not react.
That seemed to disappoint her.
“What things?”
Brittany folded her arms.
“Ask your son.”
“I’m asking you.”
“No.”
Janet stepped in.
“This meeting is about your employment.”
Brittany turned sharply.
“My marriage is relevant if my mother-in-law is using family drama against me.”
“She isn’t conducting the review.”
“Of course she is.”
Janet pushed a folder across the table.
“The review was assigned to me and outside counsel.”
Brittany looked at the folder.
Eleven formal complaints.
Five informal complaints.
Three attendance warnings.
Two incidents involving sales-credit disputes.
One inappropriate use of a personal phone on the sales floor.
And Helen’s complaint.
Brittany’s eyes moved quickly.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
Janet pointed to the first report.
“Did you tell Mrs. Crawford that the scarf section might be outside her price range?”
“I don’t remember.”
“She filed the complaint Tuesday.”
“I see hundreds of people.”
“You sold to forty-three customers Tuesday.”
Brittany glared at her.
“Fine. Maybe.”
“Did you tell her this section was expensive?”
“I help people shop efficiently.”
“Did you refuse to open a display?”
“I was busy.”
Mia had been the only other customer-facing employee within ten feet.
The cameras showed Brittany using her phone.
Janet knew it.
Brittany knew Janet knew it.
Her story shifted.
“I might have been handling a client call.”
“Was it a company client?”
“I don’t remember.”
“We have phone logs.”
Brittany’s face changed.
Then she looked at me.
“This is insane.”
I said nothing.
Janet continued for nearly forty minutes.
By the end, Brittany was angry enough to stop being careful.
“Some people come into luxury stores just to waste time.”
Janet looked up.
“Which people?”
“You know.”
“No. I don’t.”
“People who clearly aren’t buying.”
“How do you determine that?”
Brittany hesitated.
“You can tell.”
“How?”
Silence.
Janet waited.
Brittany looked toward me.
“This is a trap.”
“No,” Janet said. “It’s a question.”
Brittany shoved the folder away.
“I want a lawyer.”
“You’re entitled to consult one.”
“Am I fired?”
“No employment decision has been made.”
“Then I’m leaving.”
Janet nodded.
“You’re suspended with pay during the review.”
Brittany laughed.
“With pay? How generous.”
She stood.
Then looked at me.
“This isn’t over.”
“I know.”
She walked out.
Patricia followed to make sure her store credentials were disabled.
I stayed behind.
Laura rubbed her forehead.
“She’s worse than the reports suggested.”
Janet closed the folder.
“She’s also right about one thing.”
“What?”
“Family involvement complicates everything.”
“I understand.”
“You need to stay out of the employment decision.”
“I will.”
“No calls. No recommendations. No private conversations with managers.”
“Agreed.”
Janet studied me.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
I left the office and drove home.
Ethan was waiting in my driveway.
He got out before I parked.
“What the hell did you do?”
I shut off the engine.
“Good afternoon to you too.”
“Brittany called me crying.”
“I’m sorry she’s upset.”
“You humiliated her.”
I stared at him.
The words were almost funny.
Almost.
“I humiliated her?”
“You revealed all this in front of her coworkers.”
“I revealed nothing. Patricia addressed me by name.”
“You knew what would happen.”
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
He paced.
“You let us believe you and Dad were basically retired middle-class people.”
“We never discussed our finances.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No.”
“It absolutely is.”
I stepped closer.
“Why are you really angry?”
He stopped.
“I just told you.”
“No. You’re too angry.”
His face changed.
There.
Fear.
“Ethan.”
He looked away.
“What does Brittany know?”
“Nothing.”
“She told me to ask you.”
“She’s angry.”
“Look at me.”
He didn’t.
The grief in my chest shifted.
Became dread.
“What did you do?”
Finally Ethan whispered,
“I borrowed money.”
“How much?”
He didn’t answer.
“How much?”
His eyes met mine.
“From Dad.”
The driveway seemed to tilt.
“When?”
“Before he died.”
“How much, Ethan?”
May you like
His lips barely moved.
“Four hundred thousand dollars.”
