This is racial profiling. I'm the owner. You should have left when I gave you the chance. Patterson said, grabbing Bennett by the arm and starting to pull her toward the exit. Bennett resisted, planting her feet.
I'm Amara Bennett, the owner. Someone call Peter. Call the manager. He'll tell you. Patterson yanked her forward roughly.
Customers pulled out their phones and started recording. Jennifer stood frozen, her face showing the first hints of doubt about what was happening. Patricia Patterson moved toward the exit, ready to leave before things got more complicated. Bennett was pulled past the displays she had personally selected, past the elegant fixtures she had chosen, past the customers she had hoped to serve. She was being dragged out of her own business in handcuffs while protesting her identity and demanding that someone verify the truth.
Patterson reached the glass front doors and pulled them open. Bennett was halfway through the doorway, still protesting, still demanding they check her identity, when the door opened from the outside and a white man in his early 50s carrying shopping bags stepped into the boutique. Peter Prescott, the general manager of Bella Corps Boutique, stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at Officer Patterson, then at the woman in handcuffs being forcibly removed from the store. Then his eyes focused on the woman's face and recognition hit him like a physical blow.
"Oh my god." Peter said, his shopping bags falling from his hands and hitting the floor with a loud thud. "Why is the owner of this boutique in handcuffs?" Everything stopped. Peter Prescott dropped his shopping bags and rushed forward, positioning himself directly between Officer Patterson and the exit.
His face showed complete shock as he stared at Amara Bennett standing there in handcuffs with her wrists bound behind her back. "Officer, what are you doing?" Peter demanded, his voice rising with urgency. "That's Amara Bennett. She owns this boutique.
She founded the entire Bellecour chain. Why is she in handcuffs?" Officer Patterson looked at Peter with immediate suspicion and dismissiveness. "This woman was acting suspicious in the store, refused to leave when instructed, and then claimed to be the owner, which I know is false. She's under arrest for trespassing, disturbing the peace, and lying to a police officer."