Then Thomas.
Then back at Elena.
“What?”
“Ms. Carter is the airline’s chief executive officer.”
Dana’s face lost its color.
For several seconds, she seemed unable to speak.
Then she shook her head.
“No. That’s impossible.”
Elena said nothing.
Dana stared at her dark blazer.
Her plain handbag.
The simple shoes she’d been wearing since boarding.
“You didn’t say anything.”
Elena met her eyes.
“You didn’t ask anything about me except why I was sitting in First Class.”
Dana swallowed.
“I didn’t recognize you.”
“I noticed.”
“I would never have spoken to you like that if I’d known.”
The words came out before Dana seemed to realize what she’d said.
Caroline’s expression tightened.
Marcus looked down.
Elena waited.
Then she asked, “Why would my job title change how you should speak to me?”
Dana’s eyes filled.
“I didn’t mean—”
“You said my hands were filthy. You said I smelled like I came out of a gutter. You ordered me to move to the back of the plane without a valid reason.”
Dana glanced toward the passengers.
Several were watching openly now.
“I was having a stressful day.”
