Seat 2A.
I stared at the name.
For several seconds, I tried to convince myself the manifest had to be wrong.
Maybe another passenger had the same name.
Maybe the system was wrong.
Then Adrian appeared at the far end of the jet bridge.
He was not alone.
A younger woman walked beside him wearing an elegant cashmere coat.
Adrian’s hand rested comfortably against her back.
Their body language told me enough.
But the necklace around her neck told me much more.
A rose-gold Maison Aurelle panther pendant.
I knew that necklace.
Three weeks earlier, I had personally approved that charge through our company’s corporate expense system.
My company.
The business Adrian had helped me build—and apparently had begun treating like his personal wallet.
Then he saw me.
For one brief second, every trace of confidence disappeared from his face.
He knew instantly that the lie he had built around this trip had collapsed.
I could have shouted. I could have confronted him in front of the entire boarding line.
Instead, I straightened my jacket and smiled.
“Welcome aboard, Adrian. I hope the Riverton trip is going well.”
His face went pale.
The woman beside him looked confused.
“You two know each other?”
I glanced at her necklace.
“You could say that.”
Then I added calmly:
“I helped him sign some of the most important contracts of his career.”
I paused.
“And I also oversee the company finances.”
Her smile weakened.
She still did not understand the full picture.
Not yet.
I stepped aside.
“Seats 2A and 2B. Please follow me.”
They walked past me together.
Adrian thought being caught was the worst thing that could happen to him.
