“When?”
“The audit begins at two.”
Harrison looked at his watch.
8:17.
He had less than six hours.
He drove to the tower.
He needed someone to blame.
Someone weaker than him.
Someone who couldn't fight back.
Then he saw Janelle.
The Video
After Harrison disappeared into the elevator, Janelle stood motionless.
Then she reached into her pocket.
Her phone was wet, but it still worked.
She opened the camera.
Her voice was calm.
“My name is Janelle Winters. Today is December 2. The time is 8:49 a.m. Harrison Blackwell III, CEO of Blackwell Financial, has just assaulted me with a bucket of dirty water in the lobby of his company.”
She filmed the empty bucket.
The wet floor.
Her soaked uniform.
The witnesses.
“The building security cameras also captured the incident.”
She stopped recording.
A woman in an expensive business suit approached her.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?”
“I'm fine.”
“Do you want me to send you my recording?”
“Yes. Please send it to building security too.”
Within minutes, several employees had provided their videos.
Then someone posted one online.
The caption read:
CEO of Blackwell Financial humiliates Black cleaning employee in lobby.
The video began spreading.
9:15 a.m.
15,000 views.
9:30.
50,000.
10:00.
200,000.
By noon, more than a million people had watched Harrison Blackwell dump dirty water on Janelle Winters.
The internet had made its judgment.
But the internet still didn't know the whole story.
The Boardroom
At 9:00 a.m., Harrison sat at the head of the boardroom table.
Twelve board members watched him.
David Sterling, the company's lead counsel, pushed a file across the table.
“Where did the twelve million dollars go?”
“It's a legitimate tax strategy.”
“Then why wasn't it disclosed?”
Harrison said nothing.
Patricia Monroe, one of the longest-serving board members, held up her phone.
“There is another problem.”
She played the video.
Harrison watched himself throw the water.
The room became silent.
“That was a misunderstanding,” he said.
Patricia stared at him.
“You assaulted an employee.”
“She was blocking my elevator.”
“You called her worthless.”
“She'll get over it.”
Nobody spoke.
David slowly closed his folder.
“Harrison, you don't understand the situation.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No. You don't.”
David looked around the room.
“With the financial investigation and this video, you're becoming a liability.”
Harrison stood.
“This is my company.”
Patricia answered quietly.
“Not anymore, perhaps.”
A Second Mistake
At 1:30 p.m., Harrison left the audit room furious.
The investigators had found inconsistencies.