She laughed.
“Oh, look. A board meeting.”
Marcus looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Your boss must be upset.”
Marcus didn't answer.
“Maybe you're late for work.”
Still nothing.
Karen's smile widened.
“Or maybe your supervisor is calling to ask why you're causing trouble on an airplane.”
Marcus finally spoke.
“Maybe.”
Something about the answer unsettled her.
He didn't sound embarrassed.
He didn't sound defensive.
He sounded patient.
Almost as if he were waiting for something.
The security officers entered the aircraft.
Officer Williams came first.
He was a Black man in his forties with fifteen years of experience.
Officer Carter followed him.
She was Asian American, calm and observant.
Williams looked toward the crew.
“What happened?”
David immediately began explaining.
“This passenger is refusing to move from first class.”
Williams looked at Marcus.
“Sir, can I see your boarding pass?”
Marcus handed it over.
Williams examined it.
His eyebrows moved slightly.
He looked at the seat.
Then at the boarding pass again.
“What seat does this say?”
“1A,” Marcus answered.
Williams turned toward David.
“Is that correct?”
David hesitated.
“It's probably a forged pass.”
Officer Carter looked at him.
“Probably?”
David swallowed.
“We believe so.”
“Why?”
David glanced toward Marcus.
“Because—”
He stopped.
Officer Carter finished the sentence.
“Because of how he looks?”
Nobody spoke.
Williams' expression hardened.
“Sir, I need evidence.”
Karen stepped forward.
“Officer, I've been sitting here. I paid for this seat.”
Williams turned toward her.
“Can I see your boarding pass?”
Karen proudly showed him her phone.
“1A.”
Officer Carter examined it.
Then she looked at Marcus' paper.
Both showed the same seat.
The atmosphere changed.
“What?” Karen whispered.
Officer Carter turned to David.
“Why do two passengers have 1A?”
David looked confused.
“That can't be possible.”
Marcus remained silent.
Officer Carter looked at him.
“Sir, may I see identification?”
Marcus nodded.
But instead of reaching for his wallet, he pulled out his phone.
Karen laughed nervously.
“What's he doing now?”
Marcus opened an application.
At first, it appeared to be an ordinary airline app.
Then the screen changed.
A corporate interface appeared.
Employee management.
Executive access.
Operations.
Legal.
Security.
Human Resources.
The header at the top read:
MARCUS WASHINGTON
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AUTHORITY LEVEL: SUPREME ACCESS
Officer Carter stopped breathing for a second.
Williams leaned closer.
Marcus turned the screen toward them.
Employee ID: 0000001.
Founder.
CEO.
Majority shareholder.
Direct reports: 43,000 employees.
David stared.
His face changed.
First confusion.
Then disbelief.
Then horror.
His clipboard slipped from his hand.
It struck the floor.
Sarah looked at the screen.
Her face went white.
James leaned forward.
Michelle stepped closer.
Karen remained seated.
“What are you all looking at?”
Marcus slowly turned toward her.
He held out the phone.
Karen looked.
She read the name.
Then read it again.
Her lips parted.
“No.”
Marcus said nothing.
Karen's hands began trembling.
“You…”
Marcus waited.
“You're Marcus Washington?”
“Yes.”
“The Marcus Washington?”
“There is only one CEO.”
Karen stared at him.
Then at the seat.
Then at her own hands.
Marcus spoke quietly.
“I own sixty-seven percent of this airline.”
Nobody moved.
He continued.
“I don't simply have a ticket for seat 1A.”
He looked around the cabin.
“I own the company that issued the ticket.”
The words were not shouted.
They didn't need to be.
Karen looked as if someone had removed the floor beneath her.
“You can't be.”
Marcus smiled faintly.
“You've spent the last ten minutes telling everyone I don't belong here.”
Karen's mouth opened.
No sound came.
Marcus looked at the crew.
“Now we have a question.”
David swallowed.
“What question, sir?”
“Would you have treated me differently if you knew who I was?”
Nobody answered.
Marcus nodded.