“I have the passenger manifest.”
“And?”
“You’re not the passenger I’m expecting.”
The Black woman’s voice remained level.
“Who are you expecting?”
The attendant’s smile tightened.
“The principal.”
The Black woman waited.
“Meaning?”
“The aircraft owner.”
The Black woman looked toward the pilots.
Neither looked back.
Interesting.
She returned her attention to the attendant.
“And what does the aircraft owner look like?”
The blonde woman hesitated for less than a second.
It was enough.
“I’m not discussing a client’s private information with you.”
The Black woman gave a slight nod.
“Of course.”
She glanced at her watch.
Two minutes and thirty-eight seconds.
Not that anyone on the ramp knew why she was keeping time.
The attendant noticed.
“If someone told you to meet the owner here, they gave you the wrong instructions.”
“No one told me to meet the owner.”
“Then why are you here?”
“To board the aircraft.”
The attendant exhaled dramatically and turned toward one of the ground workers.
“Can somebody please call ramp security?”
The youngest employee finally spoke.
“Shouldn’t we scan her clearance first?”
Everyone turned toward him.
He was twenty-four.
Maybe twenty-five.
Reflective vest.
Headset hanging around his neck.
The exact expression of a man who regretted opening his mouth before he finished speaking.
The lead attendant looked at him.
“I have the manifest.”
The young employee swallowed.
“Yes, but if she has digital authorization—”
“I said I have the manifest.”
He stopped.
The Black woman studied him.
He looked down.
Not cowardice exactly.
Hierarchy.
She understood the distinction.
The lead attendant looked back toward her.
“Please take your things and return to the terminal.”
The Black woman did not reach for her bag.
The attendant’s expression hardened slightly.
“Ma’am.”
“Yes?”
“Your bag.”
The Black woman looked at it.
The structured black handbag rested upright beside her left leg.
“What about it?”
“You need to take it with you.”
“I’m not leaving.”
The blonde attendant gave a short humorless laugh.
Then, with the toe of her polished shoe, she nudged the handbag away from the boarding stairs.
Not hard.
Not enough to damage it.
Just enough to make the message unmistakable.
The bag slid toward a service cart.
The Black woman’s eyes dropped to it.
A silence fell across the small group.
The younger ground employee looked horrified.
One pilot finally looked directly toward them.
The lead attendant appeared to realize she had gone slightly too far.