Everyone was watching.
"I mishandled the situation."
Evelyn nodded.
"How?"
The Manager struggled.
"I acted too quickly."
"That's part of it."
"I should have verified the check."
"Yes."
"I shouldn't have torn it."
"Obviously."
The Manager swallowed.
Evelyn continued.
"What else?"
Silence.
Evelyn looked toward the young banker.
"Did she interrupt you because you had violated policy?"
"No."
"Did I refuse identification?"
"No."
"Did I threaten anyone?"
"No."
"Did I refuse verification?"
"No."
"Did the account exist?"
"Yes."
Evelyn looked back at the Manager.
"So what made me suspicious before a single detail was verified?"
The Manager's eyes filled with panic.
The answer mattered.
Everybody knew it.
Nobody needed Evelyn to say the word.
The Manager looked down.
"I made assumptions."
Evelyn waited.
The Manager closed her eyes.
"About you."
The lobby remained silent.
Evelyn picked up one fragment of the destroyed check.
"Good."
The Manager looked up.
"Good?"
"Now we're finally talking about what happened."
The Chairman turned toward the Regional President.
"Lock the branch records."
The Manager's head snapped up.
"Sir?"
"All complaint files."
The Regional President nodded.
"Understood."
"Customer-escalation records."
"Yes."
"Security-removal logs."
"Yes."
"Account-closure requests."
The Manager stepped forward.
"Chairman, please."
He ignored her.
"Employee exit interviews for the last three years."
The Regional President looked surprised.
Then nodded.
"All of them."
The Manager's face turned pale.
Evelyn looked at her husband.
That was why he was Chairman.
He understood immediately that one terrible interaction might be an individual failure.
But the unusual employee turnover and almost nonexistent customer complaints suggested something wider.
Evelyn looked toward the young banker.
"What's your name?"
He gave it.
"How long have you worked here?"
"Eleven months."
"Have you ever reported concerns about branch management?"
The Manager snapped.
"Don't answer that."
Everyone looked at her.
She realized what she had done.