“So do you.”
Victoria almost smiled.
Then:
“Say it.”
Jenna hesitated.
“You remember Miami?”
Victoria frowned.
“Which Miami?”
“The hotel opening.”
“Three years ago.”
Victoria thought.
Then remembered.
Jenna had arrived before her.
A security employee near the private event entrance assumed Jenna was part of hotel service staff and told her to use the employee corridor.
Jenna explained she was attending with Ashford Living.
The man asked for additional identification even though she had an event badge.
Victoria arrived ten minutes later.
She became furious.
Called hotel management.
Demanded an apology.
Later she told Jenna:
People should not decide who you are before asking.
Victoria went completely still.
Jenna watched the recognition arrive.
“You remember.”
“Yes.”
Jenna continued.
“You were angrier about that than I was.”
“Yes.”
“And at the airport…”
“I did the same thing.”
Jenna took time.
“Not exactly.”
Victoria looked toward her.
“The details were different.”
“You didn’t think Mr. Ellison was staff.”
“You thought he did not belong in a premium line.”
“But yes.”
“The structure feels familiar.”
Victoria looked down.
Jenna continued.
“I’m not telling you this to make you feel terrible.”
“That is unfortunate because it is working.”
“I’m telling you because I’ve watched you treat status like information.”
Victoria frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Clothes.”
“Hotels.”
“Memberships.”
“Who knows which restaurant.”
“Who gets greeted.”
“You’re very good at reading those things.”
Victoria became defensive.
“My business is luxury.”
“I know.”
“That is part of my job.”
“Yes.”
Jenna nodded.
“And sometimes you forget the signals are not the person.”
Silence.
Victoria thought about Marcus.
Plain quarter-zip.
Backpack.
No status signals she recognized.
Then Luis arrived and supplied the largest status signal possible.
Owner.
Controller.
Chairman.
Suddenly Marcus became legible.
That embarrassed her more than the original mistake.
She asked Jenna:
“Would I have apologized if he were not chairman?”
Jenna took too long.