Richard approached with his tablet held close to his chest. Olivia could tell he had rehearsed a polite opening while walking down the aisle, but the way he stood over her made the politeness seem like decoration. His shoulders were squared and his feet were set as though he expected an argument. He looked at the closed novel on her lap instead of meeting her eyes.
"Excuse me, ma'am. Could I see your boarding pass again?"
"Of course," Olivia said. "The gate agent checked it, but you're welcome to look." She opened her phone to the electronic pass and turned the screen toward him. The large characters beneath her name read 2A, and the flight number at the top matched the one printed above the aircraft door.
Richard studied the screen for longer than the information required. He touched the tablet, refreshed a page, and pressed his lips together as if he were looking for a mistake that refused to appear. Olivia watched his fingers. They were steady, quick, and practiced; there was no indication that his device had stopped working.
"There can be errors with upgrades," he said eventually. "Sometimes somebody is assigned a premium seat when the reservation isn't actually valid."
"I bought this seat," Olivia replied. "I have the confirmation email if that would help."
"You purchased it yourself?"
The question was quiet, but the disbelief behind it was impossible to miss. Olivia lifted her gaze from the tablet to his face. "Yes, Richard. I purchased my own airline ticket. Is that unusual?"
He glanced toward the galley, where Diane stood watching. "I'm only trying to avoid a problem."
"Then please tell me what problem you're seeing."
He did not answer. Instead, he said he needed to consult his supervisor, took a step backward, and hurried away with his tablet. Olivia sat still long enough to notice the man across the aisle looking at her with embarrassment. When their eyes met, he lowered his own.
Caroline approached less than a minute later. She wore the precise expression of somebody who expected to be obeyed because she had perfected the language of command. Richard followed a step behind, and Diane remained near the galley entrance. Their formation made Olivia feel as though she were being investigated rather than welcomed aboard an aircraft.
"Good morning," Caroline said. "I'm Caroline, the senior attendant for this cabin. There's a question about your seating arrangement."
"Then I hope you can resolve it," Olivia replied. "The boarding pass says 2A. The reservation says 2A. I am sitting in 2A."
Caroline's smile tightened. "First class is reserved for guests with the proper booking. We do occasionally see passengers become confused."
"I'm not confused."