“Me neither.”
Anthony looked toward both women.
“Do we close the store?”
Nia considered.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because thirty employees who did nothing wrong should not lose a day’s wages because leadership failed.”
“What do we do?”
“Preserve evidence.”
“HR.”
“Outside counsel.”
“Independent investigator.”
“And we do not ask store employees to investigate their own bosses.”
Anthony nodded.
Nia looked toward the three dresses.
“Also.”
She pointed.
“Run those style numbers against loss reports.”
Anthony frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I came here for them.”
Maya looked confused.
Nia explained.
Three weeks earlier, internal audit had found something strange.
The Manhattan flagship reported unusually high shrink in luxury ready-to-wear.
Not catastrophic.
Enough to affect margin.
The losses clustered around specific high-value SKUs.
But RFID movement records did not match theft patterns.
Some items reported missing had later appeared in returns.
Others had been physically located after write-off.
The ivory, blue, and burgundy dresses were among them.
Nia had decided to visit anonymously.
Not disguised.
Just unannounced.
Her public profile was limited.
Most customers did not know her face.
Many employees did not either.
She wanted to observe.
How tags were handled.
Whether inventory mismatches were operational.
Whether associates were pressured to bypass scans for VIP clients.
The irony was almost offensive.
She had been accused of stealing the exact merchandise she suspected someone inside the company was misreporting.
Anthony’s expression changed.
“You think the profiling issue is connected to inventory?”
“I don't know.”
“Yet.”
Maya looked toward dresses.
“The ivory one was returned last week.”
Nia froze.
“What?”
Maya stood.
“I remember.”
“Mrs. Langford returned it.”
Silence.
Nia looked at her.
“Meredith?”
“Yes.”
“She said she never wore it.”
Nia stared at the dress.
“Maya.”
“Yes?”
“Was this the same physical garment?”
“I think so.”
“How do you know?”
“Tiny pull near left seam.”
Maya lifted the dress carefully.
Pointed.
Nia saw it.
A nearly invisible snag.
“When was it sold?”
“About a month ago.”
“To Meredith?”
“Yes.”
“Refunded?”
“Yes.”
“Full?”
“I think.”
“Who processed?”
Maya’s face changed.
“Ms. Harmon.”
Anthony exhaled.
Nia looked toward him.
“Pull transaction.”
It took four minutes.
The result was worse than expected.
Dress sold to Meredith at 40% VIP courtesy reduction.
Already unusual.
Returned twenty-eight days later.
Full refund based on original retail, not discounted paid price.
Difference:
$4,720.
Maya stared.
“That can't be right.”
Anthony checked.
“It is.”
Nia felt cold.
“How?”
“Manual override.”
“By?”
Anthony looked at screen.
“Celeste Harmon.”
Nia sat very still.
The blue dress showed similar history.
Different VIP.
Same override code.
The patterned dress?
Marked as lost inventory two months earlier.