Carter Hale, the regional director, stepped between them, his tailored navy suit stretched tight over his sweat-slicked shoulders. He held out both hands like he was trying to calm a spooked horse, his usual polished smirk replaced by a frantic grimace. “Mr. Vance, please, let’s talk about this privately in my office. We can work something out. I’ll have Julian write you a formal apology, we’ll give you a 20% discount on the Oakwood Drive property if you’re serious about buying—hell, we’ll cover all the closing costs, no questions asked.”
Marcus tilted his head, tapping the hidden camera pen still tucked in his pocket. “Let me get this straight. You’re offering to bribe a national news reporter to cover up evidence of illegal housing discrimination at your agency? Is that right?”
Carter’s face drained of color so fast Marcus half expected him to pass out. “That’s not what I meant, I just—”
“I heard exactly what you meant.” Marcus pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapping the screen to show the cloud upload progress bar that had hit 100% five minutes earlier. “For the record, every second of this interaction, from the second I walked through your front door, is already backed up on three separate secure servers. If you so much as think about having your security team try to take my pen or my phone, my producers at Channel 7 will send the entire footage to every news outlet in the country before you can say ‘discrimination lawsuit.’”
The two security guards who had crept toward the lobby entrance froze mid-step, exchanging nervous looks before slowly backing away.
Marcus scanned the room, making eye contact with every agent who had snickered at him five minutes earlier. Most of them dropped their gaze immediately, their faces red with embarrassment. A few of the younger agents were already discreetly packing up their desk drawers, apparently smart enough to know the agency was about to implode.
