People like him were very good at recalculating hierarchy.
Daniel hated watching it happen.
The businessman attempted a laugh.
“Look, this got out of hand.”
Simone’s expression changed slightly.
Interesting.
Minutes earlier, he had been threatening to remove her.
Now events had simply “got out of hand.”
Daniel looked toward one of the federal officers.
The officer was speaking quietly with the passenger who had recorded the incident.
“Please preserve the original video.”
The passenger nodded.
Daniel looked back.
The businessman’s confidence weakened further.
“What is this?”
Daniel answered.
“Evidence preservation.”
“For champagne?”
“No.”
Daniel’s voice remained controlled.
“For what happened.”
The businessman straightened.
“This is ridiculous.”
Daniel gestured toward the empty glass.
“You poured alcohol on a seated passenger.”
“She refused to move.”
Daniel stared.
The businessman realized how insane that sounded only after saying it.
He corrected himself.
“There was a dispute.”
Daniel looked toward Simone.
“Was there?”
She answered:
“He wanted 1A.”
Daniel looked at the businessman.
“Your assigned seat?”
“1C.”
Daniel blinked.
“Across the aisle.”
The man became defensive.
“I always sit at the window.”
Daniel glanced toward the federal officers.
Then back.
“And because somebody else had the seat today, you poured champagne over her.”
The businessman raised his voice.
“She was antagonizing me.”
Simone remained seated.
Daniel looked toward her.
“She antagonized you by sitting?”
“She was disrespectful.”
Daniel looked at him.
“What did she say?”
The man opened his mouth.
Nothing useful came.
A passenger behind them spoke.
“She said the seat was hers.”
The businessman turned.
“Stay out of this.”
Another passenger said:
“She barely spoke.”
The businessman looked around.
The room that had once felt like an audience he could dominate had become witnesses.
Daniel noticed.
The federal officer approached the flight attendant.
“Were you present for the entire interaction?”
“Most of it.”
“Please don’t discuss your account with other crew members until we’ve spoken privately.”
The businessman stared.
“What exactly is going on?”
Daniel looked toward him.
“Federal compliance personnel were already meeting us at the aircraft.”
“Why?”
“Unrelated review.”
The businessman’s face changed.
Daniel continued.
“They arrived before I knew what happened here.”
The businessman looked toward the cameras.
The officers.
Crew.
Passengers.
Then the champagne stains.
A terrible realization formed.
This was no longer something he could reduce to a complaint between passengers.
The businessman lowered his voice.
“Can we speak privately?”
Simone almost laughed.
Daniel answered:
“No.”