Henry leaned back.
“We cannot approve this.”
Victor's voice became sharper.
“You've misunderstood the model.”
“No.”
Henry looked toward the service station.
Then toward Naomi.
“Perhaps we should ask someone who understands the model.”
Victor followed his gaze.
His face changed.
“No.”
Henry didn't answer.
He simply raised his hand.
“Miss Carter?”
Naomi froze.
Every nearby table seemed to become quieter.
She walked over.
“Yes?”
Henry gestured toward the documents.
“Could you look at this?”
Victor immediately stood.
“This is ridiculous.”
Naomi looked at Henry.
“If Mr. Hale doesn't want me involved—”
“I do.”
Henry's voice was gentle but firm.
“Please.”
Naomi took the document.
She studied it for less than twenty seconds.
Then she looked up.
“The ratio is wrong.”
Victor laughed nervously.
“See?”
“She means the calculation.”
Naomi pointed.
“You've used the original interest expense instead of the revised debt schedule.”
Daniel leaned forward.
“Exactly.”
Victor stared at her.
Naomi continued.
“That makes the projected coverage ratio appear higher than it really is.”
Henry asked, “What is the actual number?”
Naomi did the calculation in her head.
“Approximately 1.18, depending on the final financing costs.”
Silence.
Victor slowly sat down.
Henry looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked at Naomi.
Then Henry smiled.
“Interesting.”
Victor stared at the waitress he had ordered to leave.
“You've studied finance.”
Naomi placed the papers down.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
Henry laughed.
Daniel did too.
Victor didn't.
Henry leaned back.
“Mr. Hale, perhaps we should postpone the discussion.”
Victor looked alarmed.
“Postpone?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Henry glanced toward Naomi.
“Because I would like to understand something first.”
“What?”
Henry's expression became cold.
“Why did you try to remove the only person in this room who immediately identified the problem?”
Victor had no answer.
Naomi stepped backward.
“I'll return to my tables.”
Henry nodded.
But as she walked away, he quietly said to Daniel:
“She isn't just a waitress.”
Daniel answered:
“I know.”
Neither man knew how important that observation would become.
The File in the Briefcase
The dinner ended at 10:26.
Victor didn't leave immediately.
He stood near the entrance, speaking urgently into his phone.
Henry Lin and Daniel Wu were already outside.
Naomi was wiping down table twelve when Henry returned.
“Miss Carter.”
She looked up.
“Yes?”
“Do you have five minutes?”
Naomi glanced toward Richard, the manager.
He nodded.
She followed Henry to a quiet corner near the wine cellar.
“I owe you an apology,” Henry said.
Naomi smiled politely.
“You don't owe me anything.”
“I do.”
He paused.
“I knew Victor was arrogant.”
Naomi waited.
“I did not know he was careless.”
Naomi's expression changed.
“Careless?”
Henry nodded.
“The financial model wasn't the only problem.”
He reached into his coat.
Naomi immediately stepped back.
“Mr. Lin, I don't want to see confidential documents.”
Henry smiled.
“You misunderstand.”
He handed her a business card.
“I'm not asking you to read anything.”
She looked at the card.
Henry Lin.
Managing Partner.
Lin Meridian Holdings.
Naomi recognized the company.
Everyone in international real estate knew the name.
“You're…”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you eating here?”
Henry laughed.
“Because rich people still have to eat.”
Naomi smiled.
Henry became serious.
“Victor thinks we're here to invest in his project.”
“Aren't you?”
“No.”
Naomi frowned.
“What are you here for?”
“To investigate him.”
She said nothing.
Henry continued.
“Three months ago, we received a proposal from Hale Urban Development. The numbers looked excellent.”
“And?”
“The numbers were too excellent.”
Naomi immediately understood.
“Someone altered them.”
“We suspect that.”
Henry glanced toward the dining room.
“We have evidence that several projected expenses were removed from the model.”
“Why?”
“To make the project appear more profitable.”
Naomi crossed her arms.
“How much?”
“About seventy million dollars.”
Her expression changed.
Henry nodded.
“Exactly.”
“That's not an accounting error.”
“No.”
“That's fraud.”
Henry didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
Naomi looked toward the restaurant entrance.
Victor was still on the phone.
“Why tell me?”
“Because you noticed what our analysts missed.”
Naomi shook her head.
“I noticed a calculation.”
“You noticed it immediately.”
She shrugged.
“I studied economics.”
“Where?”
“Stanford.”
Henry smiled.
“I heard.”
Naomi looked surprised.
“Victor told you?”
“No.”
Henry's smile faded.
“You did.”
She frowned.
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
Naomi stared at him.
Henry reached into his coat again.
This time he removed a thin folder.
Inside was a newspaper clipping.
Naomi recognized the article.
It was from six years earlier.
The headline read:
STANFORD GRADUATE WINS NATIONAL TRANSLATION AND ECONOMICS FELLOWSHIP.
The photograph showed Naomi at twenty-four.
She looked younger.
More hopeful.
Henry had highlighted her name.
“You were supposed to join a financial consulting firm in New York,” he said.
Naomi swallowed.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“My father died.”
Henry waited.
“My mother got sick.”
“And you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she needed me.”
Henry nodded.
He understood.
Then he said something that made Naomi look at him differently.
“That's not failure, Naomi.”
She hadn't realized she needed to hear that.
For six years, she had quietly wondered whether she had abandoned the life she was supposed to have.
Henry seemed to see the question in her eyes.
“You didn't become less capable because you chose your family.”
Naomi looked down.
“Thank you.”
Henry closed the folder.
“Now I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Earlier tonight, when Victor spoke about the project, you were listening very carefully.”
“Yes.”
“Did you hear anything else?”
Naomi hesitated.
Then she remembered something.
“His projected construction cost.”
Henry waited.
“He said the project would cost nine hundred forty million.”