They Ordered a Black Woman to Give Up Her VIP Seat — Then She Revealed She Owned the Airline...
Chapter 14
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"The passenger was me, Alan," Serafina said, her voice cutting through his bluster.Alan Pierce froze, his smile vanishing. Marcus Thorne sat bolt upright, spilling his coffee."As I was flying incognito to audit our services," Serafina continued, "I was personally subjected to the very culture of rot that you, Marcus, have insisted doesn't exist, and you, Alan, have actively cultivated.""Now, see here!" Marcus bellowed. "This is an outrage! You have no—""Play the video, Frank," Serafina commanded.The massive boardroom screen lit up. The entire board watched the incident from 2A's perspective: they saw the arrogance of Thomas Brody; they saw the sneering entitlement of Margaret Covington; they heard the threats; they heard the attempted downgrade. The room was silent."That... that is regrettable," Marcus stammered, seeing the horrified looks on the other board members' faces. "One bad apple.""Was he, Marcus?" Serafina asked. "Or was he just following orders? Mr. Brody provided a four-hour debrief last night. He was... illuminating."She pressed a button. Thomas Brody's panicked voice filled the room:"The platinums pay our salaries. The rest are just cargo... Alan called it proactive service. He's protected. He always bragged he was Marcus Thorne's man on the board."Alan Pierce looked like he was going to be physically sick.Serafina turned her gaze on Marcus Thorne. "For years you have blocked my reforms. You've called anti-bias training 'PR fluff.' You've protected a management style that values status over safety. You have put this entire company, its reputation, and its federal certification at risk. This stops today. I am calling for a vote of no confidence in Marcus Thorne and his immediate removal from the board of directors.""You can't!" Marcus roared. "I'll... I'll—""The vote, please," Serafina said to the board secretary.One by one, the hands went up. The evidence was undeniable; the link between Thorne, Pierce, and the disgraced Brody was a legal time bomb. The vote was unanimous: 11-0. Marcus was not allowed to vote."It's done," the secretary said."Marcus," Serafina said, her voice void of emotion, "security will escort you out. Thank you for your service."Stunned, his face purple, the man who had been a titan of the airline was reduced to a sputtering, defeated old man. He was led from the room.Serafina then turned to the trembling Alan Pierce. "Mr. Pierce, your employment with Meridian Airways is terminated for cause, effective immediately. Your testimony was a confession of gross mismanagement and fostering a discriminatory culture. You will be escorted from the building. Do not contact any Meridian employees."Alan Pierce, the man who thought he was getting a promotion, simply nodded, broken. He, too, was led away.The cleansing was complete.The video, of course, leaked. A passenger sold it, and "CEO Goes Undercover, Karen Kicked Off Flight" was the biggest story in the world. But Serafina was ready. Instead of a "no comment," she posted a direct-to-camera video from her office: