But the way your staff treats a total stranger, someone they believe to be powerless, someone from whom they expect nothing, shows you their true character, and the true character of what you have built.

Anyone can be gracious to a guest they know is important.

The test, the only test that means anything, is how a person behaves toward someone they are certain does not matter.

Clara had come to the Grand Regent that night to take that test’s measure.

And her front desk was failing it, spectacularly, one contemptuous sentence at a time, with no idea that the tired woman they were dismissing was the one person in the world whose judgment could end their careers.

Chapter 6 — The General Manager Is Occupied