Betrayed On Board, I Called Off Our Match

My mother set me up on a blind date. My date was Victoria Hale, the young CEO of Hale Airlines. She was beautiful, wealthy, and booked on the same transatlantic flight as I was. To keep my work confidential, my employer had asked only that the airline hold seat 1A for me and add one ordinary note to the passenger manifest: DO NOT REASSIGN. I had barely sat down when Victoria's chief assistant slapped a check down in front of me. "We want this seat. Name your price." When I refused, he had the crew remove me from the plane and said with a smile, "The whole airline bears the Hale name. Who are you going to quote regulations to?" I called the person I was supposed to be meeting. Victoria cut me off halfway through. "Don't bother me with something this trivial." Then she hung up. Ten minutes later, Victoria boarded in person. She took one look at my plain jacket, and her first words were: "So you're the man my father set me up with?" Then came her second: "That makes this easier. The match is off, and you're getting off the plane." I nodded. "All right." She thought I had backed down. That changed when the captain heard from the tower and the taxiing plane rolled to a stop. Airport security and federal investigators came aboard together. The man leading them studied the forcibly altered seating manifest, his face grim. "Who tampered with a restricted seat assigned to personnel on a defense project?" The entire first-class cabin went silent. Only then did Victoria look at me seriously for the first time. But it was already too late. If my mother hadn't called seven times in a row, I would never have taken half a day off for a blind date. "Owen, you're almost thirty." "Mom, I'm twenty-nine." "What's the difference? I've met Victoria Hale. She's beautiful and she's good at her job. Fly back to New York for once. One dinner isn't going to kill you." I glanced at the schedule on the lab wall. "I have work this week." "You have work every week." In the end, she even won over my supervisor, Duncan Shaw. "Go," Duncan said, slapping the signed leave form onto my desk. "The flight-control components are going to the West Coast tomorrow anyway. Escort them on the flight and take care of both things on the same trip." The project I worked on wasn't public knowledge. To an ordinary person I am just an aviation systems engineer. The real secret wasn't my name. It was the sealed silver-gray case I would be carrying onto the plane. It was locked into a dedicated mounting point in front of seat 1A in first class. The airline received exactly two requirements. First, the sealed case could not be moved. Second, seat 1A could not be reassigned. Before I boarded, Duncan made a point of warning me, "Don't relax just because it's Hale Airlines. When people think they own the system, they start assuming they can bend the rules." I laughed off his concern. Fifteen minutes later, I understood why Duncan was in charge. I had just put my jacket away when a man tapped my shoulder from behind. "Sir, change seats." I turned around. He was about thirty, with a Hale Airlines pin on his lapel. His badge read: GRAHAM COLE, OFFICE OF THE CEO. "Sorry. No." He clearly hadn't expected me to refuse. Then he pulled a blank check from his wallet. "Fill in the amount." "It isn't about money." "Then what is it about?" "This seat can't be reassigned." Graham laughed. "First class has twelve seats. What do you mean, this one can't be reassigned?" I pointed at the small red tag in front of the seat. RESTRICTED - DO NOT REASSIGN. He glanced down and dismissed it. "It's a system note." "Then talk to the lead flight attendant." I did not want to explain any further. But Graham simply reached for the boarding pass I'd left on the seat. I pressed his hand down. "Don't touch that." His face darkened. "Do you know who I am?" "It's on your badge." "Then how dare you tell me not to touch it?" "Why wouldn't I?" He stared at me for a few seconds, then burst out laughing. "Fine. "This is about getting more money, isn't it?" He slapped the check against my chest. "Take ten times the fare and go sit in business class." The check fell on the floor. I did not pick it up. "Mr. Cole. "I'll say it one last time. This seat is restricted. "If you want it reassigned, you need approval from Operations and Security." His face went cold. "The Hale family owns this entire airline. "And you think my boss needs your permission to sit wherever she wants?" That was when I realized he didn't want the seat for himself. 1B was Victoria Hale's seat. Victoria hated sitting beside strangers, so Graham meant to clear 1A. I took out my phone. "Then let me ask her." My mother had already sent me my date's number. She picked up almost immediately. "Who is this?" "Owen Reed." There was a half-second pause. "I'm boarding. What is it?" "Your assistant wants me to give up 1A." "And?" "This seat can't be reassigned. I want to make sure that came from you." She was clearly impatient. "It's a seat. Graham will handle it. "I'm busy. We'll talk when we meet." She hung up. Graham looked even more pleased with himself. "Hear that? "Going to get out of my way now?" I looked down at my phone. I suddenly lost half my interest in the blind date.The lead flight attendant arrived moments later. She hesitated visibly when she saw the system note. "Mr. Cole, the gate system can't reassign 1A." Graham frowned. "Why not?" "Operations has it locked." "Unlock it." "That needs authorization from the security department." "Then call them." He said it as if he were asking for another glass of water. I stayed out of it. The lead flight attendant went to contact Ground Operations. Graham stayed in the aisle, looking more annoyed with me by the second. "What do you do?" "Engineering." "For which company?" "I can't discuss it." He snorted. "That's quite an act. "The person Victoria is meeting today is an engineer too. That wouldn't be you, would it?" I looked up. "If she's Victoria Hale, then yes." Graham froze for two seconds. Then he laughed even harder. "You? "You're the blind date Mr. Hale arranged for Victoria?" Several passengers in the front rows turned to look. I was beginning to regret that my mother hadn't told me Victoria's flight details. "Is there a problem?" "No." He looked over my plain jacket and unbranded backpack. "I just think Mr. Hale's judgment has gotten interesting lately." As soon as he'd finished, footsteps sounded near the cabin door. Victoria Hale stepped aboard. She was more intimidating in person than in the photo. She wore a long charcoal coat, her hair pinned up neatly, with two company executives following behind her. Graham went to meet her at once. "Victoria, we have a small problem." He addressed her by her first name, not as CEO. Clearly, their relationship went beyond an ordinary boss-employee dynamic. Victoria's brow drew together slightly when she saw me. "Owen?" "Hello." I stood up. "My mother asked me to give you her regards." "Mm-hm." She did not even shake my hand. Her gaze swept over me as if I were merchandise that didn't match its description. "We've met. "We aren't compatible." I hadn't even had a chance to introduce myself. Several passengers nearby were already listening in. I asked, "Why?" She seemed to think the question was pointless. "Our lifestyles, professional circles, and plans for the future. None of them align." "We've barely spoken." "Some things don't require a long conversation." She glanced at 1A. "Since there's no match to discuss anymore, let Graham handle the seat." I suddenly wanted to laugh. "You're sure there's nothing left to discuss about the match?" "I'm sure." "All right." I sent my mother a message. [Met her. Not a match. Don't set me up again.] Victoria clearly thought I was only pretending to be unfazed. "Mr. Reed, I wasn't trying to humiliate you." "I didn't feel humiliated." "Good." She sat down in 1B. Graham immediately turned to me again. "How about now?" "Still not moving." Victoria raised her eyes. "Are you doing this out of spite?" "It has nothing to do with you." Her face darkened slightly. "Owen, one seat isn't worth all this." I looked at her. "Neither do I. "That's why all I've asked from the beginning is that the rules be followed."Ground Operations refused to approve the seat change. But Graham refused to give up. He took the lead flight attendant's tablet and logged straight in with an executive account. "It's just a seat change. Don't make this more complicated than it is." The lead flight attendant rushed to stop him. "Mr. Cole, that flag isn't an ordinary lock." "I know how the system works." A few minutes later, an updated boarding pass appeared on my phone. Seat: 34C. I looked at the screen, and my expression finally hardened. "You altered the restricted passenger manifest?" "It's not restricted anymore." Graham handed the tablet back to the lead flight attendant. "Problem solved." "Who authorized you to lift it?" "I represent the CEO's office." "That's not authorization." He gave me an impatient shove. "Stop dragging this out." I took half a step back but didn't retaliate. Victoria finally spoke from beside us. "Owen. "Graham gave you extra miles and kept you a business-class seat. This ends here." "It isn't about compensation." "Then what do you want?" "Restore the original manifest." She stared at me for a few seconds. "Are you trying to embarrass everyone because I rejected you?" For a moment I did not know what to say. In her mind, anything I insisted on could only revolve around her. Emboldened by his boss's support, Graham grew more aggressive. "Victoria, don't waste time on him." He turned to me. "If you keep delaying boarding, I'll have the airport police escort you out." "Go ahead." I took out my work phone. "Good. Call them." Graham lunged for it. I hadn't expected him to put his hands on the device. The work phone ended up in his hand, and the screen lit up. There were no standard apps, only an encrypted communications screen. He hesitated. "You've gone all out with the act." "Give it back." "Settle the seat issue first." "I'm warning you one last time." My voice had gone completely cold by then. "That's a controlled device." Victoria frowned. "Graham, give him the phone." Only then did he toss it back to me. At that moment, my supervisor called. I answered. "Owen, the system says your seat has been moved." "It has." "Who did it?" Before I could answer, Graham laughed beside me. "Your boss?" He leaned right into the phone. "Tell your company not to delay a flight over one employee." The line went silent for two seconds. "Sir, who am I speaking to?" "Graham Cole, Office of the CEO, Hale Airlines." "You altered the manifest?" "That's right." "Restore it immediately." Graham sneered. "You're telling me how to run my own company's aircraft?" I closed my eyes for a moment. Duncan's voice grew calmer instead. "Understood." The call ended. Graham mistook that for surrender. "That's it?" I checked the time. "Almost." "About what?" "You'll find out soon."