The morning she passed, it was Steve she wanted to see first, not Henry. She couldn’t wait to tell him she was ready to be his new star agent. He was on the phone when she burst into his office. Without looking, he shooed her out and continued pitching whoever the sorry sucker was on the other end of the line, his lips smacking like a beast, the saliva in his mouth spraying his desk with each word. Not the reception she was imagining.

Claudine walked back to her desk. All around, agents were happily chatting with potential clients. None of them were her friends, nor had they been particularly nice during the year she had been there. In a bold moment, Claudine had asked Steve why he’d hired half the sales team in the first place. She didn’t see what was so special about them. They seemed exactly mediocre.

“That’s precisely what’s special about them,” Steve said.

They worked for him, he needed to make sure they never forgot that. Now, looking at them, she started to understand what he had meant. Truth, some customers like dealing with someone average. They don’t ever want to feel threatened. They feel safest doing business with someone bland. These people drive Volvos, watch Seinfeld reruns, invest in low-risk mutual funds. Safe players. Patient.

She went back to her desk. There was a package and a card waiting for her. She unwrapped it. A thin white picture frame. She opened the card. For your license. I’m so proud of you and can’t wait to celebrate tonight. Love, Henry. He was planning on cooking her a celebratory dinner. Finally crack open that bottle of rare Scotch they’d received from his coworkers as a wedding gift.

Steve appeared at her desk. His lame congratulations already felt too late. He was off to Snowmass for an appointment, not even considering the possibility that she might join him, now that she was a licensed agent. It was clear that nothing had changed: she was to answer phones and file paperwork. It was frustrating. It didn’t matter that his offer to take her out for a celebratory drink after work was in reaction to the disappointment on her face. It was the opening she needed.

“I’ll make us a reservation,” she said.