“You entered into a training arrangement with an employee of your company without disclosure.”
It wasn’t a question.
I didn’t need to tell her I’d suspected all along. That I had hoped. “I didn’t know it was her at first. I’ve done private instruction before. I gave her my card and?—”
“No.”
The word landed flat. Final.
Vivienne lifted one hand, palm out, and I stopped mid-sentence.
“I’m not interested in how it began,” she said calmly. “I’m interested in how it continued.”
She moved then, slow, deliberate, circling the desk without sitting. “You discovered her identity before the first session. You chose to proceed anyway. You chose not to disclose that knowledge. You chose to continue the arrangement.”
Each sentence was shorter than the last.
I swallowed. “I never intended to take advantage of her.”
“Intent is irrelevant,” Vivienne replied. “Impact is not. Not in this world, my dear boy.”
She stopped in front of me. Not close enough to invade my space, but close enough that I couldn’t pretend she wasn’t there.
“You created an imbalance she could not see,” she continued. “You removed her ability to make an informed choice.”
“That was never my goal.”
“And yet,” Vivienne said softly, “it was the result.”
She turned, finally sitting behind the desk, folding her hands neatly in front of her. “Two months,” she said. “Weekly sessions. She believed she was consenting freely. You knew information that fundamentally altered that consent.”
I clenched my jaw. “I should have told her.”
“Yes,” Vivienne agreed. “You should have.”
“This isn’t just a Sanctum issue,” she went on. “It’s a corporate liability. It’s an ethical breach. And it’s a failure of responsibility from someone who understands power dynamics better than most.”
I flinched at that. Just slightly.
Vivienne noticed the reaction.
“She trusted you,” she said, not accusing, just stating facts. “Not as a man with influence. Not as a boss. As someone who promised safety. I’ve watched that woman blossom under your guidance these last weeks and you’ve undone all of that. All that progress, all of that trust.”
I exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down my face. “I fucked up.”
“Yes,” she said. “You did.”
I straightened. “Whatever the consequence is here, I’ll take it. But I won’t have her dragged into some formal mess. She didn’t do anything wrong.”
A corner of Vivienne’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. More of an acknowledgment.
“On that,” she said, “we agree.”
She leaned back slightly. “Let’s be clear. Your financial stake in this club affords you access. It does not buy silence. It does not buy exemption. And it does not protect you from consequences.”
I didn’t argue. I couldn’t.
“Effective immediately,” Vivienne said, “you are suspended from teaching or training in any capacity through Sanctum.”
