Iris met Talia in a small conference room at Celia’s office.

The former employee was younger than Iris expected, with neatly braided hair and a nervous habit of lining up her pen with the edge of the table.

“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner,” Talia began.

“You don’t owe me an apology for what he did,” Iris said.

Talia looked relieved.

She explained how Garrett ran his work life: charming with clients, impatient with staff, careless when someone questioned a procedure.

He kept asking employees to “fix” inconvenient details, usually close to a deadline when no one wanted to delay a sale.