Greg stared at me.
Then Richard stepped between us.“You’re terminated.”
Silence.
Greg’s face emptied.
“You can’t—”
“I can.”
“Effective immediately?”
“Effective thirty minutes ago.”
The crowd erupted.
Not cheering loudly.
Something stranger.
A murmur of relief.
Several people clapped.
I recognized two former restaurant employees standing near the back.
One of them had worked under Greg for six months.
The other had quit after he reduced her hours when she asked for maternity leave.
Greg looked around and seemed to realize something.
This wasn’t only my story anymore.
It had become everyone’s.
He pointed at Richard.
“You think buying the company makes you righteous?”
Richard’s face remained unreadable.
“No.”
“Then why are you enjoying this?”
“I’m not.”
“You’re humiliating me in public.”
Richard leaned closer.
“You humiliated employees in private because you assumed no one powerful would ever care.”
Greg looked toward me again.
