My husband gave away my regular seat on our private aircraft and told me to remember my place in front of his senior executives. It was a Thursday afternoon at Teterboro Airport where my husband Grant Whitmore was preparing to fly to Scottsdale with twelve executives for a leadership conference. I had attended these trips for years and always sat in the front leather chair. That afternoon his twenty nine year old executive assistant Tessa Bellamy was sitting there instead. When I entered the cabin she was sharing fruit with Grant and accidentally dropped a piece on his trousers. Grant ignored her clumsiness but looked at me standing in the aisle waiting for acknowledgment. Several executives lowered their eyes as Grant sighed impatiently and explained that Tessa was unwell and needed the front seat. He casually mentioned that my belongings had been moved to the rear without asking my permission. My mother in law Patricia urged me not to make everyone uncomfortable while Tessa pretended to be embarrassed. Grant gave his assistant a reassuring smile before demanding that I stop taking things personally and remember where I stand.
To the executives aboard that aircraft I was simply the well dressed wife of a highly successful chief executive officer. They assumed I enjoyed the lifestyle his wealth provided without knowing the truth of our history. Seven years earlier when we married there was no private jet or billion dollar company because Grant was running a struggling software business. Five years before that flight his company had come dangerously close to closing after investors withdrew their support. Grant came home exhausted and admitted he could not save the business. What he rarely mentioned afterward was that my family controlled a substantial investment firm called Aldercrest Capital Partners. I had previously worked alongside my father and arranged a financing commitment totaling one point five billion dollars to support his struggling company. Aldercrest also owned thirteen valuable patents which Whitmore Technologies desperately needed. I approved a licensing arrangement with incredibly favorable terms simply because I loved my husband. Eventually his company became nationally recognized and he began describing himself as a self made man while erasing my contribution. Standing on that airplane I realized Grant considered me a convenient piece of the background.
Rather than raising my voice I agreed with my husband that I should not make a scene over a chair or explain why I deserved basic consideration. Patricia appeared satisfied as I picked up my handbag and wished them a good conference. Grant frowned and demanded to know where I was going as I turned toward the door and informed him I was leaving. I ignored his protests that they were taking off shortly and walked away. The captain greeted me politely and I requested to leave the aircraft which prompted him to contact the ground crew. Grant ordered me to come back but I told him there was nothing left to discuss. Near the private terminal the operations manager Nathaniel Brooks asked if I wanted him to cancel the flight. Nathaniel knew the jet was leased through Aldercrest Aviation under a corporate travel agreement I had arranged. Grant listened as I declined to cancel the flight but instructed Nathaniel to review the aviation agreement so Whitmore Technologies could arrange its own transportation. Grant demanded to know why I would change the agreement and I explained he had forgotten who stood beside him.