Actually, has anyone read The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker? It’s directed mainly to women and how we can keep ourselves safe, from violent coworkers to potential mates.
This story seems to be a great mirror of a story that Gavin tells about a guy trying to pick up a young woman on an airplane. The Guy in The Book (TGITB) was engaging the woman in conversation, giving her compliments, had props (like Charles with the bear and the egg timer), and asked her out. Gavin recognized the classic symptoms of a Bad Guy and when TGITB got up to use the lavatory, he warned the woman that TGITB was not a good guy, that he would try to give her a ride from the airport, and that she should absolutely not leave with him.
The events that happened after they arrived at the airport unfolded just as Gavin predicted.
Shawna really had no duty to be polite to Charles, just direct and firm.
Women need to stop equating “nice” with “not rude.” You can be a perfectly nice woman, and maybe you might need to be rude to someone to keep yourself safe.