“Eventually?”
“If you prove yourself.”
Naomi smiled.
“That sounds like another bet.”
Henry laughed.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“This one has no humiliation attached to it.”
Naomi looked at him.
“What happens if I fail?”
“You learn.”
“And if I succeed?”
Henry smiled.
“You'll probably surprise yourself.”
Naomi took the contract.
She didn't sign it immediately.
Instead, she went home and spent the night reading every page.
The next morning, she accepted.
Her first day at Lin International was terrifying.
Everyone wore tailored suits.
Everyone seemed busy.
Everyone spoke in numbers.
Naomi felt like an impostor.
Then she reminded herself of something.
She had already survived harder things.
So she learned.
She studied contracts.
She read financial reports.
She learned how investment firms evaluated risk.
She learned international trade regulations.
She learned the difference between a client who said “maybe” and a client who meant “no.”
She made mistakes.
Lots of them.
Once, she misunderstood a deadline and nearly cost the company a major opportunity.
Another time, she misinterpreted a cultural reference during negotiations.
Her supervisor called her into his office.
“You have potential,” he told her.
“But?”
“You have to stop being afraid of being wrong.”
Naomi nodded.
She went home that night and wrote those words on a piece of paper.
Stop being afraid of being wrong.
She taped them above her desk.
Months passed.
Then years.
Naomi became better.
Much better.
She discovered she loved negotiation.
She loved finding the point where two sides could both walk away believing they had won.
She understood numbers.
But more importantly, she understood people.
At the end of her first year, Henry promoted her.
At the end of her second, she was managing several international accounts.
At the end of her third, she was leading negotiations.
By the fifth year, she had become one of the company's most trusted executives.
Her life changed.
Her father received better medical care.
Naomi bought a small apartment.
She returned to university.
She completed an advanced degree.
And she never stopped working.
The restaurant became a distant memory.
But she remembered table twelve.
She remembered Victor Hale.
She remembered the hundred thousand dollars.
Sometimes she wondered where he was.
Then she stopped wondering.
Until seven years after that night, Victor Hale walked into her office.
The Fall
Naomi was reviewing a development proposal when her assistant knocked.
“There is a Mr. Victor Hale here to see you.”
Naomi looked up.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
“Did he make an appointment?”
“No.”
“Did he say why he's here?”
“He said it was urgent.”
Naomi closed the folder.
“Send him in.”
The door opened.
Victor walked inside.
Naomi almost didn't recognize him.
He looked older.
Not merely older in years.
Older in spirit.
His expensive suit was wrinkled.
His shoulders were slightly bent.
There was exhaustion in his face.
He stopped when he saw her.
“Naomi.”
She stood.
“Mr. Hale.”
He looked around her office.
“You're an executive.”
“Yes.”
“I heard.”
Naomi gestured toward the chair.
“Please sit.”
Victor sat.
Naomi remained standing for a moment before taking her seat.
“What can I do for you?”
Victor looked down.
“I need help.”
Naomi leaned back.
“I remember you.”
“I know.”
“You offered me one hundred thousand dollars because you didn't believe I spoke Mandarin.”
“I remember.”
“You laughed at me.”
Victor nodded.
“I did.”
“You told me I didn't look educated.”
“I was wrong.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Victor looked exhausted.
“I was an arrogant man.”
“You were.”
He almost smiled.
“You haven't changed.”
“I don't see the value in pretending.”
Victor nodded.
“That is one of the things I respect about you now.”
Naomi raised an eyebrow.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“What changed?”
He looked at his hands.
“Everything.”
His company had collapsed.
A major waterfront project had failed after environmental complications and financing problems.
Several investors sued.
Banks demanded repayment.
His partners left.
His reputation collapsed almost overnight.
He sold two houses.
Then the aircraft.
Then several properties.
His remaining company was barely alive.
“I need investors,” he said.
Naomi studied him.
“You need more than investors.”
Victor looked up.
“What?”
“You need someone willing to tell you the truth.”
He nodded slowly.
“Will you?”
Naomi didn't answer immediately.
Then she opened a folder.
“I reviewed your company's recent filings before you came upstairs.”
Victor looked surprised.
“You did?”
“Yes.”
She turned the folder toward him.
“You don't have a financing problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have a trust problem.”
Victor stared at the documents.
Naomi continued.
“Your investors don't believe your numbers.”
“They're wrong.”
“Maybe.”
She pointed at the report.
“But they don't trust your leadership.”
Victor looked uncomfortable.
Naomi continued.
“You've spent years building a company around your reputation. When your reputation collapsed, the structure underneath it collapsed too.”
Victor was silent.
She turned another page.
“You don't need someone to give you money.”
“What do I need?”
“You need someone to rebuild confidence.”
Victor looked at her.
“Can you do that?”
“I can help.”
“Will you?”
Naomi nodded.
“Yes.”
For the next three months, she worked with Victor's remaining team.