Yes. Cole Meridian is now the controlling shareholder. You were notified last night. We need to discuss your position.
Darla stared at the words.
Your position.
She had never thought of her job as a position someone else could evaluate.
She was Darla Whitmore.
The company carried her grandfather's name.
Her face appeared in campaigns.
She attended international fashion weeks.
People recognized her at hotels, restaurants, and airports.
She had assumed that made her indispensable.
Now she was confronting the possibility that her title, salary, and authority existed because a board had appointed her.
And the board answered to shareholders.
Shareholders who had just sold control.
To a man she'd insulted in front of an aircraft full of witnesses.
Her stomach tightened.
She looked toward Evan.
He was reading quietly.
His expression revealed nothing.
She considered approaching him.
Perhaps apologizing again.
Perhaps offering him access to an exclusive event.
Perhaps suggesting they discuss company strategy over dinner.
Then she remembered his response when she'd offered to exchange seats.
No, thank you.
The simplicity of the refusal humiliated her.
She wasn't accustomed to hearing no.
Not from hotel managers.
Not from airline staff.
Not from designers requesting her approval.
And certainly not from someone she'd initially dismissed as unimportant.
She turned toward the window.
The clouds stretched beneath the aircraft.
For the first time in years, Darla wondered whether people had been agreeing with her because they respected her.
Or because they were afraid of what happened when they didn't.
The thought disturbed her.
So she did what she'd always done when confronted with an uncomfortable question.
She tried to find someone else to blame.
The flight attendant had embarrassed her.
The airline had assigned the wrong seat.
Evan had been unnecessarily rigid.
The board had failed to communicate.
Her adviser hadn't explained the acquisition.
She hadn't known who he was.
That last excuse felt especially attractive.
If she'd known, she would have behaved differently.
Then another thought arrived.
And it was much harder to dismiss.
Why should it matter who he was?
Darla closed her eyes.
She didn't answer.
When the aircraft landed in New York, the atmosphere in first class had changed.
Passengers stood to retrieve their bags.
Flight attendants thanked them for traveling.
Phones connected to the mobile network.
Messages began appearing.
Evan waited calmly while the aisle cleared.