Chapter 7 - Samantha Drops the Broom Completely
Samantha bent to pick up the broom.
Then stopped.
Her hand hovered above it.
Everyone watched.
If she touched it again, the image would be impossible.
The owner in white reaching again for the object she used against an elderly woman.
Her fingers curled back.
She straightened.
The broom stayed on the floor.
Eleanor noticed that hesitation.
So did the attorney.
Samantha tried to regain dignity through posture.
She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and smoothed the front of her white pantsuit with both hands.
“I apologize,” she said.
The word sounded polished.
Prepared.
Too clean.
Eleanor looked at her.
“For what?”
Samantha froze.
“For the misunderstanding.”
The attorney’s pen paused.
The executives remained expressionless.
Eleanor’s eyes cooled.
“Try again.”
Samantha’s jaw tightened.
“For upsetting you.”
Eleanor took one step closer.
“No.”
Samantha’s eyes flashed.
Humiliation was turning into anger again.
“For using unnecessary force,” she said.
“Against whom?”
Samantha’s lips trembled.
“You.”
“Why?”
The boutique was silent.
Samantha breathed hard.
“Because I thought—”
She stopped.
Eleanor waited.
This was the center.
Not the broom.
Not the funding.
Not even the insult.
Because I thought.
Because I thought you were poor.
Because I thought you had no influence.
Because I thought no one would care.
Because I thought cruelty had no cost when aimed downward.
Samantha could not say it.
The inability was confession enough.
Eleanor’s expression softened, but not kindly.
“You are not sorry for what you believed. You are sorry it had investors.”
Samantha’s eyes filled again.
This time the tears looked more real, because they were for herself.
The first executive opened one latch on his briefcase.
Samantha’s head jerked toward the sound.
The briefcase did not open fully.
No documents were shown.
No funding decision was made.
Only the latch clicked.
That sound nearly broke her.
“Please,” she whispered.
Eleanor looked toward the attorney.
The attorney gave a small nod.
Ready.
May you like
Not revealing for what.
Read Chapter 8 👉 Because Samantha tried to apologize without naming her contempt, and Eleanor refused to let the lie pass as remorse.
