Thirty minutes later, the plane was still parked on the tarmac due to a minor ground delay, but the cabin doors were closed. To keep the restless passengers happy, the crew rolled the refreshment carts into the narrow aisle for a pre-flight service. Sam watched as Nicole moved from row to row, her customer-service persona firmly back in place as she handed out drinks.
As she approached row 12, Sam made direct eye contact with her, waiting to ask for a coffee. She moved smoothly, offering a bright smile and a full can of soda to the businessman sitting in the aisle seat right next to Sam.
But the moment she finished, Nicole completely bypassed Sam. She kept her head down, deliberately avoiding his gaze, and pushed the heavy metal cart forward into the next row. Sam blinked in disbelief, his hand half-raised. “Excuse me? But I’d also like to get something from the cart, please.” Nicole paused, slowly backpedaling the cart. Her face wore a look of exaggerated innocence. “Oh, terribly sorry, sir. I just assumed you were busy with something.”