“I remember the unused guest tickets left at the desk.”

“That was a long time ago, Brenda.”

“I know,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear again.

“Which is why I noticed your mother’s name on the VIP registration log this morning.”

She tapped the master guest list with the end of her pen.

“If you accept the keynote speaker spot, your family automatically gets front-row VIP seats on the academy side,” Brenda said.

“Or I can send them to the regular business school stands across the field.”