"That's what I want us to say, eventually," he told Sarah. "Not that the airline mistreated someone important. That they mistreated someone, and importance shouldn't have entered into it."
"I understand."
"Tomorrow, we'll review the facts. Tonight, I need to go home."
"Go home. I'll handle the calls."
He ended the conversation and sent a short message to Maya Bennett asking her to preserve the relevant evidence and prepare options for a formal complaint if the airline's review proved inadequate. He did not instruct her to file a lawsuit immediately, and he did not ask her to threaten Richard with canceled contracts. He wanted a record that could survive scrutiny when the spectacle faded.
Back in Queens, Preston Carmichael was learning that the legal consequences of the incident would not disappear because he possessed expensive counsel. Gary Whitmore had arrived in person, reviewed the allegations, and told Preston that the security contractor had given a statement supported by video. The investigation was proceeding under the applicable state and airport laws, and whatever charges eventually resulted would be determined by the evidence rather than the labels Preston preferred.
"We can contest the facts," Gary told him. "But you must stop contacting people involved in the incident. No threats to the videographer, no calls to the flight crew, no messages to Mr. Phillips."
Preston slumped in the chair across from him. "I didn't start this."
Gary looked at his client for a long moment. "You started demanding someone else's seat before anyone had checked who owned the reservation. You may not have caused the computer error, but you made choices after that. Those choices are what we have to deal with now."
For once, Preston said nothing. He had spent the entire day searching for somebody else to blame: the gate agent, the software, Brock, the captain, Darien, the security worker, the stranger with the phone. Each explanation offered temporary relief, but none accounted for the point at which he had been given a choice and refused to accept a result he disliked.
At Oakmont, Charles Sterling reconvened the partnership committee after receiving preliminary legal advice and the complete public video. The committee voted to initiate the formal process for removing Preston from management and reviewing his partnership interest under the firm's conduct provisions. Discretionary distributions associated with his partnership interest were placed on hold to the extent permitted by the agreement, pending legal review. The financial consequences would take weeks to resolve, but Preston's authority to speak for the firm ended that evening.
Charles did not celebrate the decision. In private, he felt the embarrassment of recognizing that profitability had allowed him to ignore warning signs. The decision was necessary, but it did not absolve everyone who had watched Preston belittle staff and vendors for years without challenging him.