Renee asked:
“Did you read this before signing?”
One lawyer intervened.
“We object to characterizing—”
Renee said:
“This is not litigation.”
The lawyer stopped.
Richard answered:
“Yes.”
“Did you understand it?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe your conduct modeled the standards you certified?”
Richard’s jaw tightened.
“No.”
First honest answer.
The investigation expanded.
Halston Passenger Services.
Employee complaints.
Internal culture.
And the results made Amara angry in ways the flight had not.
Richard’s behavior had not begun in Seat 14B.
Former executives described him crowding employees physically during arguments.
Interrupting women disproportionately.
Mocking junior staff.
Using proximity to Apex leadership as leverage.
A former manager reported Richard saying:
“They’ll never drop us. We solve too many problems.”
Multiple complaint cases had been closed internally before reaching Apex.
Why?
Contract managers prioritized performance metrics.
Halston Passenger Services had excellent operational statistics.
Fast transfers.
Low missed connections.
High premium-customer scores.
Complaint rates looked low because complaints often died inside the vendor.
Amara sat in her office reading transcripts at 11:40 p.m.
Her chief operating officer, Natalie Brooks, entered carrying food.
“You're doing it again.”
Amara looked up.
“What?”
“Pretending coffee is dinner.”
“I ate.”
“When?”
Amara thought.
Natalie placed the food down.
“Exactly.”
Amara leaned back.
“What did you bring?”
“Chicken.”
“Vegetables.”
“Rice.”
“Something your mother would approve of.”
“My mother approves of nothing after nine.”
Natalie sat.
“How bad?”
Amara tapped the report.
“Worse than the airplane.”
“Richard?”
“The company.”
Natalie frowned.
Amara explained.
The closed complaints.
Retaliation allegations.
The way senior leaders protected numbers.
Natalie listened.
Then:
“Are you going to terminate them?”
“Not my decision alone.”
“But your review can trigger it.”
“Yes.”
“Do you want to?”
Amara looked toward the city outside.
“Part of me.”
“The part with bruises?”
She touched her shoulder unconsciously.
Bruise yellow now.
Fading.
“Yes.”
Natalie waited.
Amara continued:
“That’s why I’m not making the factual recommendation.”
“Smart.”
“Annoying.”
“Also smart.”
Amara smiled tiredly.
Natalie opened the food.
“Eat.”
Amara obeyed.
Two weeks after Flight 611, Apex Continental’s executive committee convened.
Richard attended with counsel.
Thomas Aldridge.
David Chen.
Melissa Grant.
Independent investigator Renee Watkins.
Vendor review panel.
Amara sat at the end.
Not voting on Richard’s individual conduct determination.
Overseeing process.
Richard noticed.
He looked thinner.
Or maybe simply smaller without the airplane seat protecting his sense of control.
Renee presented findings.
Repeated physical boundary violations.
Documented passenger requests to stop.
Crew response inconsistent with policy.
Executive vendor status affecting crew judgment.