The heavy oak-and-glass doors were unlocked by another guard. Sterling was shoved out onto the sunlit sidewalk of Rodeo Drive. He stumbled forward and fell to his knees on the concrete, his expensive suit wrinkling as his dignity shattered completely. The door slammed shut behind him, the electronic lock clicking loudly into place.
He was locked out. The kingdom he had tried so viciously to protect from me had just cast him out. Pressing his hands against the glass, he stared at the world he had lost, a hollow, broken shell of a man.
I turned away from him. Watching his suffering held no interest for me. The trash had already been taken out.
The boutique fell silent once again. The wealthy customers stood frozen, unsure if they were even allowed to breathe. I ignored them completely. They no longer mattered. Instead, I scanned the room, looking past the glittering diamonds and frightened millionaires toward the dark hallway leading to the back.
“Sarah,” I called, my voice now gentle, free of the icy anger I had aimed at Sterling.
For a moment nothing happened. Then a small, trembling figure slowly stepped out from the shadowed stockroom corridor. It was the young intern. Tears streaked her face, her eyes red and swollen from the cruel verbal attack Sterling had unleashed on her earlier. She approached hesitantly, clutching her hands together in front of her modest uniform blouse, clearly terrified she might be next.
She stopped a few steps away, unable to look at me, shoulders hunched as though expecting punishment.
“Mr. Hayes… sir,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “I am so sorry. I didn’t know… I should have done more. I should have…”
