“Do you have a minute?”
“Sure.”
Paige came in and closed the door.
She remained standing.
Destiny waited.
Paige said:
“There's something I've been needing to say.”
Destiny set down her pen.
“Okay.”
“The day Mr. Brooks came in.”
Destiny said nothing.
“Luke told me not to answer those calls.”
“I know.”
“The first one, I thought maybe he had a reason.”
Destiny waited.
“The second one…”
Paige looked toward the floor.
“I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That it was wrong.”
Destiny leaned back.
Paige continued:
“I saw the reservation. I knew the card cleared. I knew there were tables.”
Her voice tightened.
“And I still let the phone ring.”
Destiny said:
“Yes.”
Paige looked surprised.
Destiny continued:
“You did.”
“I know.”
“I don't need to pretend otherwise to forgive you.”
Paige's eyes filled.
“I should've picked it up.”
“Yes.”
“I should've told Luke no.”
“Probably.”
Paige nodded.
“I've thought about it every day.”
Destiny waited.
Paige whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
Destiny looked at her for several seconds.
“Thank you.”
“That's it?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don't know.”
Destiny smiled gently.
“Paige, apologies aren't magic.”
Paige looked down.
“They don't make something disappear.”
“I know.”
“But admitting what you did matters.”
Paige nodded.
Destiny continued:
“Next time somebody tells you to ignore what you know is right, don't wait until afterward to become brave.”
Paige let out a shaky laugh.
“Fair.”
Destiny looked at the scheduling sheet.
“And for what it's worth, I actually like having you around.”
Paige looked up.
Destiny smiled.
“We could be excellent work buddies if you stop letting terrible managers turn you into a coward.”
Paige laughed despite herself.
“I can work on that.”
“Good.”
The seventh floor changed slowly.
Not overnight.
Culture never does.
Destiny's first week was difficult.
One longtime member complained that a server had corrected him after he made a demeaning joke.
Destiny spoke with him personally.
He expected an apology.
He did not receive one.
Another member demanded the dismissal of a host who refused to move another couple from a preferred table.
Destiny explained that membership entitled guests to service, not ownership of other people's reservations.
The man threatened to cancel.
Destiny said:
“I can have membership services assist you with that.”
He did not cancel.
Harold laughed for five minutes when Destiny told him.
“You called his bluff?”
“I offered customer service.”
“You're going to do fine.”
Destiny also changed smaller things.
Staff meals improved.
Break schedules became real instead of theoretical.
Servers were encouraged to place guest notes in the system that had nothing to do with spending.
Preferred temperature.
Mobility needs.
Dietary restrictions.
Whether someone wanted conversation.
Whether a widowed member disliked being automatically asked if she was waiting for someone.
Destiny told the team:
“We are not here to identify who matters.”
One server asked:
“Then what are we here to do?”
“To assume everybody who walks through the door already does.”
The room became better.
Not less exclusive.
That surprised some executives.
Service scores rose.
Complaints dropped.
Employee turnover declined.