Chapter 5: The Breaking Point

“So now, I am going to…” Dominic began, his voice dropping into a register that promised absolute ruin.

“Dominic,” Khloe said sharply. Her voice cracked through the heavy, suffocating silence of the boutique like a gunshot.

He didn’t move an inch. His dark, dead eyes remained securely pinned on the violently weeping saleswoman.

“Dominic, enough,” Khloe repeated, her tone much firmer this time. She stepped forward, her heavy black boots clicking sharply and rhythmically against the expensive marble floor.

She reached out and placed her hand completely flat against his chest, right over his heart. Beneath the expensive silk and wool suit, she could feel his steady, incredibly slow thumping pulse.

He was a natural predator, completely unfazed by the emotional destruction he was causing. He slowly looked down at her.

The lethal, terrifying emptiness in his eyes slowly receded. It was instantly replaced by that intense, microscopic focus he reserved entirely, and exclusively, for her.

“She insulted you,” Dominic stated simply, as if explaining basic mathematics. “She humiliated my wife.”

“I know what she did,” Khloe replied, keeping her hand pressed firmly against his chest. “But breaking her won’t change anything, Dominic. Look at her.”

Khloe turned her head to look back at Genevieve. The miserable woman looked absolutely pathetic.

The sharp, polished retail uniform now just looked like cheap, restrictive fabric. The overwhelming smell of chemical roses was entirely overpowered by the awful stench of raw panic and sweat.

“Please,” Genevieve sobbed, practically folding in on herself as she gripped the ruined emerald bag. “Please, I have a family. I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t know because you didn’t care to look past my skin,” Khloe said directly to Genevieve. Her voice wasn’t shaking anymore; it was remarkably, terrifyingly clear.

“You saw exactly what you wanted to see yesterday,” Khloe continued, stepping away from Dominic. “You saw someone you falsely thought you were allowed to diminish to make yourself feel bigger.”

“I was just following the store’s profile guidelines,” Genevieve cried hysterically. “They tell us to protect the high-end merchandise from…”

“From people who look like me?” Khloe finished for her, raising a single eyebrow. “Say it out loud, Genevieve.”

Genevieve violently clamped her mouth shut, choking on a heavy sob.

If you had the total power to destroy someone’s career for their blatant prejudice, would you pull the trigger, or would you let them walk away with a warning?

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