Then body-camera? There was boutique security video. He watched footage during arbitration.
He saw Marcus standing still.
Saw himself place hand.
Saw shove.
Nine seconds after verbal request.
He could not make the video match memory.
In memory, Marcus had been “refusing.”
On screen, Marcus barely had time to respond.
That disturbed him.
He dropped appeal.
His wife asked:
“Why?”
“Because I watched it.”
“You watched before.”
“No.”
“I watched myself before.”
She frowned.
He tried to explain.
Before, he searched footage for justification.
This time, he watched sequence.
That difference.
He eventually taught younger guards:
“Ten seconds is not time.”
“What?”
“People hear order and expect instant movement.”
“Give processing time unless danger.”
“Count.”
“One, two, three.”
“It feels long when you’re keyed up.”
He made trainees practice.
Maybe prevented something later.
No one knew.
The Beverly Hills boutique closed for renovation eight months after the incident.
Not as punishment.
Lease timing.
But internet claimed Marcus shut it down.
False.
He reopened it with different design.
More open floor plan.
Less fortress-like.
Still luxurious.
The rare Heritage Twelve?
It sat unsold throughout investigation.
On reopening day, Charles asked Marcus:
“Do you still want it?”
Marcus looked at the watch.
Same black enamel dial.
Same white-gold case.
The object at center of everything.
“No.”
Charles laughed.
“You hate it now?”
“No.”
“I just don't need it.”
“Collector in Chicago wants allocation.”
“Sell it.”
“Done.”
Marcus walked away.
He bought another watch six months later from a tiny independent maker in Detroit.
The watchmaker was seventy-two.
Black.
Former machinist.
Made six pieces a year by hand.
Marcus visited workshop.
No champagne.
No marble.
Coffee in Styrofoam cups.
The man looked at Marcus’s wrist.
“You got enough watches.”
“Probably.”
“Then why you here?”
“To see yours.”
The watchmaker handed him one without asking who he was.
Marcus smiled.
“How much?”
The man told him.
Marcus bought.
Simone saw it later.
“You paid that much for something nobody recognizes?”
“That’s why I like it.”
“You're impossible.”
“Yes.”
The public learned Marcus owned Arden & Vale when acquisition announcement finally came.
The timing caused explosion.
Videos resurfaced.
Headline:
BLACK BILLIONAIRE KICKED OUT OF COMPANY HE JUST BOUGHT
Not literally kicked.
Internet did not care.