“You can’t do this,” Sterling finally managed to sputter. “The penalties...”
“The penalties for breach of contract are voided,” Alicia cut in smoothly, “when there is clear evidence of discriminatory practices, which we have now documented quite thoroughly thanks to your little performance today.”
She gestured at the gathered crowd with their phones.
“So many witnesses. So many recordings.”
“My legal team will have a field day with this, Mr. Sterling.”
Sasha stepped forward, her earlier discomfort replaced by fierce pride as she watched her mentor dismantle these men’s arrogance with surgical precision.
“The termination paperwork will be delivered within the hour,” Alicia continued, her voice carrying to every corner of the suddenly silent airfield. “I suggest you contact your lawyers. You’ll need them.”
She turned to the dilapidated aircraft, then back to the assembled owners.
“This plane is indeed perfect for someone of my background, gentlemen. Because people like me, people who have fought for every opportunity, who have earned every success, we know the difference between true value and shallow appearances.”
“We know that real power isn’t found in cruelty or exclusion.”
Her phone buzzed with an incoming message.
“Ah, that would be the press release going live. Shall I read it to you?”
Sterling stepped forward, his face contorted with rage.
“Now see here, you can’t just...”
“I can, I have, and I did,” Alicia stated firmly. “The deal is canceled.”
“And you gentlemen have just made the most expensive mistake of your privileged lives.”
She turned to Sasha, who was beaming now.
“Come on, Sasha. We have more important matters to attend to than educating these... What’s the word they used?”
“Ah, yes. These traditionalists.”
The two women began walking back toward their waiting helicopter, leaving behind a group of stunned billionaires whose carefully constructed world of exclusion and privilege had just been shaken to its core.
Behind them, phones started buzzing as news of the canceled deal spread through financial networks. The $770 million deal that had been the talk of the aviation world was dead, killed by the very bigotry its owners couldn’t help but display.
The morning air crackled with tension as phones began buzzing across the tarmac. Stock alerts, news notifications, and frantic messages lit up screens everywhere.
The gathered elite, who had moments ago been laughing at Alicia’s expense, now stood in stunned silence, their faces a mix of shock and disbelief.
“$770 million,” someone whispered, the number rippling through the crowd like a shockwave. “Gone. Just like that.”
Sterling grabbed his phone, his hand shaking as he scrolled through the breaking news. The color had drained from his face, leaving him ashen and sweating in his expensive suit.
Whitman was already barking orders into his device, demanding to speak with his legal team immediately.
“My God!” a woman in tennis whites gasped, staring at her screen. “Their stock is already dropping. Look at this.”
Alicia and Sasha maintained their measured pace toward the helicopter, neither rushing nor dawdling. Behind them, the chaos grew.
The same phones that had been raised to record Alicia’s humiliation were now capturing a very different scene: powerful men in complete disarray.
“Ms. Rhodes!” Sterling called out, his voice having lost its earlier condescension. “Please, let’s discuss this reasonably.”
Alicia didn’t break stride or turn around. Sasha glanced back briefly, catching sight of the consortium owner actually jogging a few steps in their direction before one of his lawyers grabbed his arm, shaking his head frantically.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing,” Whitman shouted, his face now mottled with rage and fear. “This will have consequences.”
At this, Alicia did pause. She turned slowly, fixing Whitman with a gaze that made him take an involuntary step backward.