The legal director calmly replied, "If that's true, the records and the investigation will help establish it."
For the first time, Richard had nothing to say.
Meanwhile, Olivia was sitting inside the SUV while a company medic cleaned the cuts on her hands.
Her mother sat beside her.
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry you had to experience this."
Olivia shook her head.
"Mom, you didn't do anything wrong."
"I know, but I wish I'd been here before he hurt you."
Olivia looked through the window at the private jet.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Of course."
"I don't want people to respect me because I'm your daughter. I want them to respect everyone, even people who can't afford a private jet."
Victoria gently smiled.
"That's exactly why I wanted you to join our company. You see people before you see their money."
Olivia had recently completed her aviation management studies. She had planned to spend the next few months learning about the company from the ground up before taking on any leadership responsibilities.
She hadn't expected her first important business trip to begin with such a humiliating experience.
But now she understood something important: a company could own luxurious aircraft and still fail the people it was supposed to serve.
An hour later, the preliminary investigation produced another surprise.
The eleven passenger complaints weren't all connected to Richard. Some involved different employees, and a few appeared to have resulted from administrative errors.
The company couldn't fairly blame one person for every problem.