Walter examined the folder. "Do you work on commission?"
Emily hesitated. She was accustomed to customers asking because they worried a salesperson might be steering them toward a more expensive model. "Yes, sir. There is a base salary and a commission for completed sales. But you don't owe me a purchase because I spent time with you."
"I didn't think we did," Walter replied. "I was curious whether the company rewards its people for doing the job well."
Emily considered the question. "Not always in the ways it should," she said, and then wondered whether she had said too much. Walter gave a small nod, as though the answer confirmed something he already understood about workplaces. He did not press her. He simply thanked her for her time and helped Eleanor straighten her coat.
They left the gallery a second time, but the feeling was different. The discomfort had not vanished, and it would be dishonest to pretend twenty minutes of kindness had canceled the cruelty that preceded it. Yet they had been given a chance to enjoy the car they came to see, and they had met someone who refused to treat them as an embarrassment. Eleanor turned at the doors and caught Emily's eye. She raised a hand in farewell, and Emily waved back.
After the doors closed, Emily stood beside the platform and tried to gather her thoughts. A couple of customers were still watching, but the earlier laughter had stopped. She picked up a smudge cloth, cleaned the door handle where Eleanor had touched it, and then returned the cloth to its place. It was ordinary maintenance, not an act of erasing their presence. Nevertheless, she could feel John watching her from across the showroom and knew he would choose to interpret it differently.
Arthur Bell summoned her to his office twenty minutes later. His room overlooked the display floor through a glass wall fitted with blinds that he rarely closed. He was a man in his mid-fifties who had spent most of his working life selling expensive automobiles and believed strongly in avoiding scenes. He liked his employees polite, his customers satisfied, and his monthly figures moving upward in neat columns. He had not personally witnessed John's original exchange with the Bennetts, but he had already heard a version of it.
"John tells me you created an uncomfortable situation with two walk-in visitors," Arthur said, motioning toward a chair.
Emily remained standing. "John refused to help them because he didn't think they looked wealthy enough. He made comments about their race and clothing. I went outside to apologize and offered them the tour they originally requested."
Arthur's expression tightened. "Those are serious words to use."
"They were serious words to hear."
"And you're certain you understood what he meant? Sometimes a salesperson is just trying to qualify a prospect efficiently. Our inventory is specialized."