It's a sharp insight, direct and accurate, and it gets his attention. "Indeed," he agrees, giving her a pretty blatant once-over, but not in any prurient kind of way. She speaks from experience, he decides; there's a confidence both in her bearing and in the easy way she approaches a stranger to strike up conversation with such a remark.

"You can't win. We celebrate success, but not too much success." There's a shift in his expression that's something approaching a smile, not quite there. "Pretending you're not as talented as you are is disingenuous and more work than it's worth. But you know that already."