"Ma'am." Christine's voice did not change temperature. "That seat belongs to the passenger with a valid boarding pass for it. I need you to sit down." Rebecca stepped forward using her height.
"I am a paying first-class customer. I have industry connections at every major carrier operating out of this airport. You do not want to be on the wrong side of this conversation." Christine held her ground. "I understand you're frustrated.
I need you to sit down now or I will need to involve the captain." Rebecca turned back to her phone, to her audience with the expression of someone who had just received good news. "Did you hear that? They're threatening me now for exposing fraud." Her viewer count had climbed to 412.
"Please share this. We need everyone to see what this airline is protecting." Vivian stood in the aisle and collected every detail of the moment into a careful internal record. She thought about the merger meeting in Charlotte. She thought about the 41 routes and the 62 aircraft and the 12,000 employees who depended on Sterling Sky's reputation remaining intact.
And she thought, this ends soon. Rebecca's eyes moved to the overhead bin. She had noticed the briefcase earlier when Vivian first boarded. It had been placed in the bin directly above seat 1A, which Rebecca had interpreted as further evidence of premeditation. Now, with her livestream running and her audience watching, she reached up and pulled the briefcase down.
Let's see what our fraud artist is carrying, she announced to the camera. The cabin watched. Christine took a step forward and stopped, uncertain of the legal boundaries. Vivian watched from 3 ft away and said nothing. Rebecca pressed the brass clasp.
The briefcase opened inside a folded document organizers, a slim laptop, a charger coiled in a separate pocket, and a rectangular leather business card holder. She picked up the card holder, opened it, extracted a card. Her eyes scanned it, then she laughed. It was a genuine laugh, not performed for the audience, but surprised out of her by what she was reading. She held the card up to the camera with the delight of someone who has discovered exactly the piece of evidence they needed.
Oh, this is incredible. She read the card aloud slowly, giving each word its full dramatic weight. Vivian Carter, Chief Executive Officer, Sterling Sky Airlines. She looked into the camera with bright incredulous eyes. She's not just claiming to belong in first class.
She is claiming to own the entire airline. The comment section on her livestream erupted. Laughter emojis, fire emojis, dozens of people typing in capital letters. Rebecca's viewer count climbed past 600. I have been in aviation for 20 years, she continued waving the card.