He checked the screen.
Then looked at her again.
“Are you…”
Elena waited.
Thomas lowered his voice.
“Are you Elena Carter from corporate headquarters?”
“Yes.”
His expression changed.
“Oh.”
Rebecca looked between them.
“Should I know who that is?”
Thomas set down his tablet.
“Ms. Carter is the chief executive officer of Meridian Airways.”
Rebecca stared.
Then she looked at Elena.
“The airline?”
“Yes,” Elena said.
Thomas straightened almost instinctively.
“Ma’am, I didn’t realize—”
“Mr. Bell, please don’t apologize for not recognizing me.”
He stopped.
“I should have—”
“No. You should have handled the complaint properly whether I was the CEO or a retired schoolteacher visiting her grandchildren.”
His expression tightened.
“You’re absolutely right.”
Elena looked through the jet-bridge window toward the aircraft.
“Does the captain know what’s happening?”
“He’s been advised there’s a cabin dispute.”
“Then let’s make sure he knows the actual facts. And please contact the head of inflight operations and our human resources director.”
Thomas nodded.
