Then at the wet blanket.
Then at the empty glass.
"What happened?"
The chairman answered before the mother could.
"The child has been disrupting the cabin since boarding."
The purser's eyes narrowed.
"Did you pour water on the baby?"
The chairman gestured toward the mother.
"I asked her repeatedly to handle the situation."
That was not an answer.
The purser understood it anyway.
She stepped between the suites.
"Sir, return to your seat."
He looked at her as though she had spoken in the wrong language.
"Excuse me?"
"Please return to your seat while I check the child."
The mother reached toward the console for her phone.
The chairman moved faster.
His hand came down across her wrist.
Not a punch.
Not enough to injure seriously.
A hard, dismissive slap intended to knock her hand away.
The phone struck the leather seat.
Several passengers gasped.
The baby cried louder.
The mother's face changed completely.
"Do not touch me."
The purser raised her voice.
"Sir, step back."
The chairman ignored her.
He pointed toward the aisle.
"Move her."
The mother picked up the phone.
"I am recording now."
"No, you're not."
He reached again.
She pulled the device against her chest.
The purser caught his forearm.
"That's enough."
The chairman jerked free.
"You need to remember who you're speaking to."
"I know exactly who I'm speaking to."
"Do you?"
He straightened.
For the first time, the entire cabin seemed to shrink around his ego.
"I chair the board of this airline."
The purser went still.
Everybody on the crew knew him.
They knew his photograph.
His name appeared in employee newsletters and annual reports.
He had opened new lounges, announced acquisitions, cut ribbons, accepted awards, and once appeared in a television commercial talking about restoring dignity to premium travel.
He was also known internally for appearing on flights without warning and sending blunt reports to executives afterward.
Seat stitching wrong.
Champagne temperature unacceptable.
Flight attendant failed to address him by title.
Meal presentation inconsistent with brand standard.
The purser had never served him directly.
Until now.
He saw recognition enter her face and mistook it for surrender.
"Good," he said. "Then you understand. Move this passenger and the baby to the rear cabin."
The mother stared at him.
"I paid for this seat."
The chairman laughed.
"You think that's the issue?"
"What exactly is the issue?"
"Other passengers paid for an experience."
"So did I."
"You brought an infant."
"Infants are permitted in first class."
"Policy can be interpreted."
The purser found her voice.
"No, sir."