And anyone who resisted her demands was either incompetent or deliberately disrespectful.
The people around her rarely challenged those assumptions.
Assistants apologized.
Hotel managers offered upgrades.
Restaurant owners moved reservations.
Event organizers rearranged seating plans.
And business partners tolerated her behavior because her family controlled valuable relationships.
Over time, her expectations became ordinary to her.
She wasn't always shouting.
She could be gracious to people she considered important.
She remembered birthdays.
Hosted charity events.
Sent expensive gifts.
And spoke passionately about causes that mattered to her.
But her kindness was selective.
If someone had influence she respected, she could be warm and attentive.
If someone appeared powerless, her patience disappeared.
That contradiction followed her into aviation.
Victoria had joined Meridian Crown's premium membership program two years earlier.
Her family's investment company also used our charter services for executive travel.
The accounts were valuable.
But not essential to the survival of the business.
Graham Pierce treated them as though they were.
He personally managed Victoria's complaints.
Arranged special accommodations.
And reassured her that Meridian Crown understood the expectations of elite clients.
Whenever she demanded a last-minute seat change, Graham tried to provide it.
When she complained about a crew member, he apologized before reviewing the facts.
And when she insisted that certain passengers didn't fit the atmosphere she expected, he sometimes suggested that operations find a discreet way to accommodate her preferences.
I didn't know the full extent of that relationship.
Neither did Catherine.
Because Graham's department classified many of those incidents as private customer-management matters.
And Victoria's name appeared on our reports as one of the company's most satisfied premium clients.
She wasn't satisfied because the company treated everyone well.
She was satisfied because certain managers had trained employees to give her what she wanted.
Even when she was wrong.
On the morning of our flight, Victoria arrived at the private terminal in a black luxury SUV.
Her assistant, a twenty-six-year-old woman named Allison Moore, followed carrying two designer handbags, a garment case, and a tablet.
Allison had worked for Victoria for eighteen months.
She was capable, organized, and increasingly exhausted.
Her job involved arranging travel, managing calendars, confirming reservations, and anticipating problems before her employer noticed them.
Unfortunately, many of the problems she was expected to prevent were caused by Victoria herself.
When they entered the terminal, Victoria immediately complained that the lounge was too crowded.
There were eleven passengers scheduled for the shared-charter flight.
Several were already waiting.
A married couple in their sixties.
A young technology consultant.
A physician.
A woman traveling with her teenage son.
And a few corporate passengers.
The room was spacious, quiet, and comfortably furnished.
But Victoria frowned.
"Why are there so many people here?"
Allison checked her tablet.
"It's a scheduled premium service, Ms. Langford."
Victoria removed her sunglasses.
"I know what I booked."
Allison looked down.
"Of course."
Victoria glanced toward the concierge desk.
"Where's Graham?"
"He's in New York today."
She sighed.
"Then get whoever handles his accounts."
Allison approached the desk.