"We have a duplicate seat assignment," she announced at last. "Mr. Carmichael was reaccommodated from another flight and our system placed him in 1A."
"Then the system made a mistake," Darien said.
"Yes, sir. Unfortunately, Mr. Carmichael has a very high frequent-flyer status. I will need you to move so we can correct the manifest."
Darien paused. He thought perhaps he had misunderstood her conclusion, because the premise and the result did not follow from each other. "You mean you need to find Mr. Carmichael another seat," he said.
"No, Mr. Phillips. I need you to relocate."
"Why?"
"Because this is a status-priority issue."
"Mine is a confirmed, paid first-class booking," Darien said. "His is a last-minute reassignment. I am already seated, and your own records show that my ticket was issued first."
Preston made a theatrical noise of disgust. "Here we go."
Brock raised her chin. "Mr. Phillips, I can offer you premium economy. There's a seat in row fourteen and we'll provide a travel credit as compensation."
"Is there an empty first-class suite?" Darien asked.
"Not at this time."
"Then why am I the one being downgraded?"
"Because I have determined how to resolve this."
The sentence was delivered with the stiff certainty of someone who expected the title on a name badge to end a discussion. Darien looked past her at Preston, who was already smiling as though he could see the matter concluding in his favor. Brock's decision had required almost no investigation into Darien's account and had arrived before she asked the only question that should have mattered: who held the confirmed booking for this particular seat.
"No," Darien said.
Brock blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"I will not voluntarily give up the seat I paid for because someone else demands it. Please have the gate team examine the reservation history and reaccommodate whoever was added in error."
A woman in the opposite suite lifted her eyes from a magazine. A younger man two rows back stopped typing on his laptop. Darien could sense the cabin's attention shifting, not because he was loud but because he had responded to an unreasonable demand with a simple answer that the purser had not expected.
"Sir, I am asking you to comply with a crew instruction," Brock replied.
"You're asking me to absorb the cost of your airline's error. Those aren't the same thing."
Preston stepped forward. "Brock, honestly, what is taking so long? This is ridiculous."
"Mr. Carmichael, I'll handle it," she said immediately. Her tone changed when she addressed Darien again. "You are making the boarding process difficult for everyone."
Darien looked toward the aisle. Passengers were still coming through the door. A man with a suitcase hesitated behind Preston, trying to find a way around him, while a flight attendant farther back asked people to remain patient. Darien had not risen from his seat once.
"If there's a blockage, it isn't caused by me," Darien said. "Mr. Carmichael is standing in the aisle. I am sitting in my assigned place."