The regional director accepted it.
He handed the folder to the Black woman.
“The acquisition closed at 11:06 this morning.”
Silence.
The manager heard her own breathing.
The Black woman accepted the folder.
“Final?”
“Yes.”
“Regulatory confirmations?”
“Completed.”
“Seller signatures?”
“All executed.”
“Debt assignment?”
“Transferred.”
“Then we own it.”
The regional director nodded.
“The entire group.”
The manager gripped the counter.
“What acquisition?”
Nobody answered immediately.
She looked at the regional director.
“What is she talking about?”
His expression contained something close to pity.
The Black woman opened the folder.
Inside were transaction documents.
Corporate seals.
Closing certificates.
A press statement scheduled for release at four that afternoon.
She turned one page.
Then another.
Finally she looked up.
“My investment company purchased this jewelry group this morning.”
The manager’s lips parted.
The Black woman continued.
“All forty-eight boutiques.”
She glanced around.
“Including this one.”
The manager took one involuntary step backward.
The older couple near the entrance stared.
The security guard slowly picked up the radio he had removed.
The Black sales associate looked as though she had forgotten how to breathe.
The manager whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
The Chairwoman closed the folder.
“Why?”
“No one told us.”
“You were not supposed to know before the public announcement.”
The regional director spoke carefully.
“The acquisition was confidential.”
The manager turned toward him.
“You knew?”
“Only this morning.”
“And you didn't tell me?”
“No.”
“Why?”
The Chairwoman answered.
“Because I asked him not to.”
The manager looked at her.
The Chairwoman’s expression was completely calm.
“I wanted to walk into several boutiques before the announcement.”
The manager understood.
Not all of it.
Enough.
“You were testing us.”
“No.”
The Chairwoman shook her head.
“I came shopping.”
The simplicity of it hurt more.
“I did not arrive wearing hidden cameras.”
She glanced toward the ceiling.
“The store has its own.”
The manager’s face lost more color.
“I did not provoke you.”
Silence.
“I asked to see a necklace.”
Silence.
“You did everything else.”
The manager looked around.
Employees avoided her eyes.
The regional director cleared his throat.
“Perhaps we should continue this privately.”
The Chairwoman looked at him.
“Why?”
He paused.
She turned toward the manager.
“Was her behavior private?”
No one answered.
“She humiliated me in front of employees and customers.”
The manager spoke quickly.
“That is not what happened.”