Chapter 2: The Manager Gets Involved
Twenty minutes later, a shopping-center operations manager named Melissa Grant arrived.
She was in her early sixties, carried a tablet under one arm, and had the calm manner of someone accustomed to settling disputes without raising her voice.
Karen immediately approached her.
“This man refused to move his vehicle after I explained that my car should have priority.”
Melissa looked at the silver sedan.
Then at the charging cable.
Then at the line behind it.
“Was he charging when you arrived?”
“Yes,” Karen said.
“Was your vehicle plugged in?”
Karen paused.
“No.”
Melissa nodded.
“Then the station is functioning normally.”
Karen’s expression hardened.
“That isn’t the point.”
“It usually is when we’re discussing charging access.”
Daniel remained silent.
Melissa turned toward the waiting vehicles.
“I’m sorry everyone has been delayed. We’ll get the line moving.”
She then looked at Karen.
“You need to move your SUV so the lane is clear.”
Karen folded her arms.
“I’m not moving it.”
The sentence changed Melissa’s expression.
Not anger.
Concern.
“Karen, blocking access to the charging area is not permitted.”
Karen blinked.
“How do you know my name?”
Melissa held up the tablet.
“You called customer service from this shopping center several times last month. Your name is attached to the account.”
That surprised Karen.
For the first time, she seemed slightly less certain.
Still, she refused to move.
Daniel looked toward the security camera.
“Could you check the footage?”
Karen immediately turned.
“What footage?”
Melissa followed his gaze.
“The parking cameras.”
Karen’s face tightened.
“There’s no reason to check cameras.”
Daniel said nothing.
Melissa did.
“There may be if we’re determining what happened.”
She walked back toward the management office.
Karen remained beside her SUV.
Five minutes later, Melissa returned with a security employee.
He carried a tablet displaying the parking area.
The footage showed Daniel arriving first.
It showed him parking.
It showed him connecting the cable.
And it showed Karen entering the lane afterward.
There was no ambiguity.
Karen watched the screen without speaking.
But instead of apologizing, she pointed toward the footage.
“That doesn’t prove anything about what happened before the camera.”
Daniel looked at her.
“The charger wasn’t available before I arrived.”
Karen’s jaw tightened.
Melissa lowered the tablet.
“Regardless, the current issue is simple. You need to move your SUV.”
Karen looked at the long line behind her.
For a moment, everyone expected her to finally comply.
Instead, she walked back to her vehicle, opened the door, and pulled something from the center console.
It was a printed membership card.
She held it up.
“I pay for the premium shopping club here.”
Melissa stared at the card.
Daniel sighed.
Karen smiled.
“I think you should check what that membership actually entitles me to.”
Melissa took the card.
And her eyes immediately moved to the small print on the back.
