Chapter 2

Chloe was terrified.

Sickened and pressured by her upcoming performance review, she was forced to add Hunter on Snapchat and send him $200 as "compensation" just to make him drop his formal complaint.

Realizing Chloe was beautiful and easy to bully, Hunter began a two-month campaign of relentless harassment.

He specifically booked her flights, intentionally threw his ring under her seat, and forced her to crawl on her hands and knees to find it.

He once cornered her in the lavatory under the pretext of a "dirty mirror" and tried to force himself on her.

The crew tried to protect her, but the spineless management did nothing. They just watched as Chloe spiraled into depression.

In just two months, Chloe went from the airline's rising star to a whispered rumor. She was forced to resign without receiving a single dime of severance.

She tried to stay strong, posting bright photos from her vacation, pretending the rumors hadn't broken her.

But I knew the truth.

I had seen her swallow a whole bottle of sleeping pills, only to force herself to throw them up in agony.

I had seen her beautiful, thick hair falling out in clumps on her pillow.

Hearing Hunter’s loud, obnoxious voice from the back of the cabin, I took a deep breath and smiled. "Don't worry, Chloe. I know what I'm doing. I won't cross any lines."

I hung up, grabbed the flight attendant uniform from my bag, and walked into the lavatory to change.

On the livestream, Hunter’s demands were getting more ridiculous.

"You don't even know how to brew a proper Flat White? How do you even serve first-class passengers? If they ask for one, do they have to hold your hand and teach you how much milk to pour?"

Angelia’s legs were shaking from kneeling for so long.

She tried to keep her smile, apologizing repeatedly.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the front cabin.

"Whose kid is this? Oh my god, his nose is bleeding!"

I remembered seeing a young boy boarding alone under the unaccompanied minor service.

Angelia was a sweet soul. Hearing a child was hurt, she immediately looked toward the noise.

"Mr. Sterling, there's a child hurt. I..." She turned back, but her voice faltered under Hunter’s icy stare. "Can I go help him first? I'll come back and make your coffee right after."

She stood up on her stiff, sore legs.

Hunter slammed his metal coffee canister onto the tray table. "Go get a pen and paper. Write down your employee ID right now."

He was going to file a formal complaint.

Angelia bit her lip, her eyes welling with tears.

She had given him endless patience, yet he wouldn't offer her a shred of basic human decency.

As Angelia turned to get the pen, I stepped up to Hunter's seat.

"I am so sorry, Mr. Sterling. She’s our new trainee. She doesn't quite know the protocols yet."

I bent down slightly. The tailored uniform hugged my waist perfectly, showing just enough collarbone.

Hunter’s breath hitched.

The chat in his livestream went dead silent before exploding with comments.

"To show our apology, I can personally upgrade you to first class, and I'll personally bring you a freshly brewed coffee with the perfect milk ratio. Would you mind not filing a complaint against our rookie?"

I wasn't wearing a name tag.

Angelia immediately realized I wasn't actual crew, her hands shaking in confusion.

But Hunter was already completely mesmerized.

"Now this is what I call VIP service. Are you the Purser on this flight? Give me your Snapchat and employee ID. I want to leave a glowing review."

An aviation review influencer, yet he couldn't even tell I wasn't wearing a real crew badge.

What a pathetic poser.

I gestured toward first class with a polite, sarcastic smile.

Once Hunter was settled in my first-class seat, I excused myself to get a cup, heading to the back galley where I met Angelia and the actual lead flight attendant.