“Did you ask why his seat was being changed?”
“No.”
“Did you review his boarding record?”
“No.”
“Then why did you tell him to accept the reassignment?”
Gary shifted.
“Because we had a flight to dispatch.”
The investigator waited.
Gary added, “He was holding the line.”
“Had he raised his voice?”
“No.”
“Threatened anyone?”
“No.”
“Refused boarding?”
“Not exactly.”
“Then what did he do?”
Gary’s jaw tightened.
“He kept asking questions.”
The investigator wrote something down.
In another office, Carol was shown Alexander’s corporate profile.
Founder and CEO, Nexus Logistics.
Her expression changed.
Not because the facts of the incident changed.
Because suddenly the passenger’s status did.
The investigator noticed.
“Would you have handled him differently if you knew who he was?”
Carol stared at the page.
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s a question.”
“I treat everyone the same.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did the passenger in 2A receive an exception?”
Carol stopped speaking.
“What passenger?”
The investigator turned another page.
The man occupying Alexander’s original seat had been upgraded manually.
He was a wealthy investor.
White.
Frequent flyer.
Friend of a regional executive.
Carol had approved it.
The airline had oversold a different premium seat earlier in the morning.
Instead of displacing the lowest-priority upgrade, the team had selected Alexander’s confirmed seat.