Chapter 2
I stared at Vanessa.
“What do you mean I wasn't supposed to come here?”
Her eyes flicked toward Marcus.
Then toward the security cameras above the entrance.
“I didn't mean it that way.”
“You said exactly what you meant.”
She shook her head.
“Mrs. Carter, please. Can we speak privately?”
I considered her request.
Only minutes earlier, she had humiliated me in front of employees and customers without the slightest hesitation.
Now she wanted privacy.
I wasn't interested in protecting her reputation.
But I was interested in discovering why she appeared so terrified of a routine inspection.
“Marcus,” I said, “please ask the customers to use the other showroom. Keep this area undisturbed.”
He nodded.
The sales associates exchanged nervous glances.
One of them, a young woman with short natural curls, looked at me as though she wanted to speak.
I noticed her name tag.
TANYA.
Before I could approach her, Vanessa grabbed my attention.
“Please follow me.”
She led me into the manager's office.
The room was enormous.
Leather furniture lined one wall.
A crystal chandelier hung above a polished desk.
On that desk stood a framed photograph of Vanessa shaking hands with Adrian Price, our regional operations director.
My stomach tightened.
I had known Adrian for nine years.
He was charming, educated, and exceptionally good with financial reports.
He was also the executive responsible for overseeing this particular boutique.
Vanessa closed the office door.
“Mrs. Carter, what happened outside was completely unacceptable.”
“Yes.”
“I apologize.”
“Why?”
She blinked.
“Because I disrespected you.”
“No. I want to know why you're apologizing.”
Her expression changed.
I continued.
“Are you sorry because you hurt an employee, or because you discovered that employee could fire you?”
Vanessa lowered her eyes.
I let the silence stretch.
Finally, she whispered, “Both.”
It wasn't the answer I wanted.
But at least it sounded closer to the truth.
“Now explain your statement about my visit.”
Vanessa walked behind her desk.
“I received a message this morning.”
“From whom?”
She hesitated.
“Mr. Price.”
My heartbeat quickened.
“What did he say?”
“That headquarters might be conducting an inspection.”
“Go on.”
“He told me not to worry because he'd handle everything.”
I frowned.
“Handle what?”
Vanessa looked toward the locked filing cabinet beside her desk.
“I don't know.”
I knew she was lying.
“Open that cabinet.”
Her face drained.
“Those are confidential personnel documents.”
“Vanessa, I'm the chairwoman.”
She didn't move.
I held out my hand.
“The key.”
For several seconds, she remained frozen.
Then she reached into her pocket and handed it over.
Inside the cabinet were employee folders, payroll summaries, disciplinary notices, and stacks of termination forms.
I opened the first folder.
Tanya Mitchell.
Sales associate.
Termination recommended for repeated misconduct.
I stared at the photograph.
It belonged to the same young woman standing outside.
According to the paperwork, Tanya had been fired three weeks earlier.
But I had just seen her working.
I pulled another file.
Marcus Reed.
Security officer.
Final warning for failing to report suspected theft.
Another file carried the name of a cleaner named Celeste Brown.
Her termination reason was listed as theft of luxury merchandise.
Attached to the report was a handwritten confession.
Something about the signature troubled me.
It looked shaky.
Almost forced.
“Where is Celeste Brown?” I asked.
Vanessa pressed her lips together.
“She no longer works here.”
“Why?”
“She stole from us.”
“Did you contact the police?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Vanessa stared at the floor.
“Mr. Price instructed us to handle it internally.”
I opened another folder.
The same phrase appeared repeatedly.
INTERNAL RESOLUTION.
I counted seven termination reports.
Then eleven.
Then fourteen.
Every one involved a lower-paid employee.
Every one had been approved by Adrian Price.
I felt anger rising through my chest.
Not the loud kind.
The kind that makes your hands go cold.
My father used to tell me that people reveal their character by how they treat someone who can't help them.
I had built an entire company around that belief.
Now I was looking at evidence that someone inside it had been destroying lives.
“Did Adrian authorize these terminations?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Did you sign them?”
Another nod.
“Were the allegations true?”
She began crying.
I didn't move.
“Answer me.”
“I don't know.”
“You signed documents accusing people of theft without knowing?”
“Mr. Price told me everything had already been investigated.”
“And you believed him?”
Her tears fell faster.
“He said refusing would cost me my position.”
I looked around the beautiful office.
The expensive furniture.
The designer handbags.
The framed award for outstanding leadership.
I wondered how many people had lost their jobs so Vanessa could keep that comfortable chair.
My phone vibrated.
A message from my daughter, Naomi.
She was thirty-four and served as our company's chief legal officer.
Mom, I checked the temporary worker assignment. You were removed from the schedule twenty minutes ago. Are you safe?
I stared at the screen.
Removed?
I had personally arranged my undercover assignment through a trusted staffing agency.
Only three people at headquarters knew who I was.
Someone had already interfered.
I called Naomi immediately.
“Mom?”
“I'm safe. But I need you here.”
Her voice sharpened.
“What happened?”
“Bring our independent auditors. Don't contact Adrian.”
Silence.
Then Naomi asked, “Why?”
“Because I think we have a serious problem.”
Vanessa watched me end the call.
Her face had become almost gray.
“You called your daughter?”
“Yes.”
“Does she know about the files?”
“She will.”
Vanessa gripped the edge of her desk.
“Mrs. Carter, please understand something.”
I waited.
“Mr. Price knows everyone at headquarters.”
“That doesn't frighten me.”
“It should.”
I looked at her.
She leaned closer.
“Last month, I saw a transfer authorization for almost two million dollars.”
My pulse jumped.
“Transferred where?”
“I don't know. But the document had your signature on it.”
I stopped moving.
I had approved no such transfer.
Vanessa swallowed.
“And there's something worse.”
“What?”
She pointed toward my phone.
“Mr. Price called me before you arrived. He told me that if an older woman came asking questions, I should make sure she never reached the office.”
I felt the room suddenly grow smaller.
“How did he describe me?”
Vanessa whispered, “Gray uniform. Yellow gloves.”
I looked at the closed office door.
May you like
Somebody had known exactly what I was wearing.
And somebody had been watching me long before I revealed my identity.
