The businessman turned immediately.
“No.”
He pointed at Simone.
“She’s in my preferred seat.”
The attendant checked her tablet.
Then Simone’s boarding pass.
“Ms. Warren is assigned 1A.”
The man looked offended.
“I know what the computer says.”
Simone almost smiled.
The flight attendant continued.
“You’re assigned 1C, sir.”
“I always get the window.”
“I understand.”
“Then fix it.”
The attendant maintained her professional smile.
“I can ask another passenger if they’re interested in exchanging seats, but Ms. Warren is not required to move.”
The businessman looked toward Simone.
“She will.”
Simone turned her face toward the window.
That was the moment he began taking her refusal personally.
Not as a seating issue.
As disobedience.
The cabin was still boarding.
Passengers moved around them.
Bags went overhead.
Glasses clinked.
Engines hummed softly through the fuselage.
The businessman remained beside Simone.
“You’re really going to make everyone deal with this?”
Simone looked up.
“You’re the only person dealing with anything.”
His cheeks reddened.
“You know, people like you think buying one ticket puts you on the same level as people who actually keep companies like this alive.”
The attendant’s expression changed.
Simone’s did not.
“What level would that be?”
He gestured around the cabin.
“This level.”
Simone looked at the cream leather seat.
The polished console.
The window.
Then back at him.
“My ticket says I’m exactly at this level.”
The passenger filming across the aisle smiled.
The businessman saw it.
His embarrassment became anger.
He reached toward Simone’s boarding pass.
She placed two fingers over it.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
Then laughed.
“What are you going to do?”
Simone simply looked at him.
That silence unsettled him more than a threat.
He straightened.
The flight attendant stepped closer.
“Sir, please take your assigned seat.”
He turned.
“Do you know who I am?”
The attendant hesitated.
Simone saw the hesitation.
That interested her.
The businessman noticed it too.
And smiled.
He gave his name.
The attendant’s posture changed slightly.
Not recognition of celebrity.
Recognition of customer status.
He was not famous.
He was more dangerous to an employee.
A powerful repeat customer.
Someone whose complaints reached executive inboxes.
Someone who could create consequences without appearing on television.
The businessman saw the recognition.
“There we go.”
He pointed toward Simone.
“Now solve this.”
The attendant looked deeply uncomfortable.
Simone watched her.
The attendant said carefully:
“Sir, the seat is assigned to Ms. Warren.”
The businessman’s eyes hardened.
“I am asking you to correct a service problem.”
“There is no seat assignment error.”
“Then create an alternative.”
Simone finally spoke.
“No alternative is required.”