Wilson took down the words. He did not accuse Taylor of ordering the relocation, because the available evidence did not show that. But he asked a question Richard had not expected: "Did you object when you learned she was being moved because of an unverified concern about her age?"
Taylor frowned. "Why would I? I'm not responsible for the airline's safety determinations."
"Thank you. That answers the question."
Richard had been told by an assistant that the airline founder sometimes traveled without a public announcement, but he had never imagined she might be the woman moved out of his way. He learned the truth only after Wilson finished the interview, when a passing operations employee addressed Margaret as Chairwoman Davis near the terminal doors. Richard froze. Then, almost immediately, he began looking for a path back toward her.
He found her beside a window, speaking with Elias Chen. "Chairwoman Davis," he called. "I'm Richard Taylor. I think there has been a misunderstanding about our seats."
Margaret turned. She had seen his pleased expression as she passed him in the aisle. She had heard his conversation with Miller after the first service. She did not hate him, but she had no desire to ease his discomfort simply because he had discovered she possessed influence.
"You wanted an empty seat beside you," she said. "You were given one. The misunderstanding belongs to the people who believed your comfort justified moving me without a valid reason."
"I didn't know who you were."
"I'm aware."
"Had I known—"
"What would have changed?" she asked.
Taylor glanced toward Elias, then back at Margaret. "I would have been more careful."
"That is the problem, Mr. Taylor. You shouldn't need to be careful only when you might inconvenience someone powerful."
For a moment he appeared genuinely embarrassed. Then he recovered the language of business relationships, telling her how much travel his firm purchased and how strongly he valued Northridge's reputation. Margaret listened, allowing him to finish. She had once been tempted to measure customer loyalty in exactly those terms, but age had taught her that loyalty bought with someone else's humiliation was no bargain at all.
"Your company is welcome to keep using our airline," she said. "Your money doesn't buy decisions that compromise fairness or safety. The same is true of every other customer."
Taylor opened his mouth, closed it, and finally said, "I understand."
"I hope you will."
He left without another word. Whether he understood remained an open question, but Margaret had not come there to reform Richard Taylor's character in a five-minute exchange. She had come to understand what happened in the airline when someone like him asked for more than he had paid for. That question now had a troubling answer.
By evening, Chloe was back in the apartment she shared with Ben. The place was on the third floor of an old brick building near a bus route, and the kitchen window overlooked a narrow courtyard where rainwater gathered in the cracks of the pavement. Ben was bent over a chemistry assignment when she came in. He looked up with the bright concern of someone who could read exhaustion on his sister's face before she had taken off her coat.