I never told my stepmother I owned the airline. She snapped her fingers at me in the lounge, demanding I carry her bags. “You’re used to manual labor,” she smirked, forcing me to sit in Economy while she took First Class. The plane taxied, then stopped. The pilot came out, walked past her, and saluted me. “Madam, we cannot take off with disrespectful passengers.” I stood up and looked at her. “Get off my plane. Now.”
“Madam, we cannot take off with disrespectful passengers.” The pilot’s words cut through the cabin air sharper than the champagne bubbles Victoria demanded. She didn’t realize that in the sky, gravity isn’t the only law—ownership is. But first, we had to survive the ground. The Centurion Lounge at JFK was a study in hushed luxury. … Read more