Naomi had never accepted that blame.
“Did you eat?” she asked.
“I had soup.”
“Real food?”
“Soup is real food.”
“Dad.”
“I'll eat later.”
She closed her eyes.
The medical bills were still there.
The roof still leaked.
The house still needed repairs.
One hundred thousand dollars wasn't abstract to her.
It was freedom.
Her father heard something in her silence.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You're using your nothing voice.”
She laughed.
“My what?”
“Your nothing voice. Your mother used to have one too.”
Naomi smiled.
“I'll tell you tomorrow.”
“Naomi?”
“Yes?”
“Don't let rich people make you feel small.”
Her throat tightened.
“I won't.”
She ended the call.
When she returned to the dining room, Victor was gone.
His three guests remained.
Henry Lin lifted one hand.
“Ms. Carter.”
Naomi approached.
“Yes?”
“May I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“How did you know about the environmental credit?”
Naomi glanced at the proposal.
“I didn't know.”
“You found it.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
She shrugged.
“I read carefully.”
Henry smiled.
“Most people don't.”
Michael looked at her.
“Where did you learn Mandarin?”
“My mother.”
“Was she Chinese?”
“No.”
That surprised them.
Naomi smiled.
“My mother believed language was a way of refusing to be trapped inside one world.”
Henry nodded slowly.
“Wise woman.”
“She was.”
David asked:
“Did you study law?”
Naomi looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Stanford.”
David's eyes widened.
Henry almost laughed.
“So Victor was right about one thing.”
Naomi frowned.
“What?”
“He was sitting across from an educated woman.”
Naomi smiled.
“Apparently that offended him.”
Henry laughed.
Then he became serious.
“Ms. Carter, would you be willing to sit down with us?”
Naomi glanced toward Elena.
Her manager nodded.
Naomi sat.
Henry opened the project folder.
“We are considering investing two hundred million dollars.”
Naomi nearly choked.
“I'm sorry?”
“Two hundred million.”
She looked at the documents.
Henry continued.
“We were already concerned about the project.”
“Why?”
“Several assumptions didn't make sense.”
Naomi scanned the proposal.
“Which ones?”
Henry pointed.
“Construction timeline.”
She read.
“Too optimistic.”
“Correct.”
He pointed again.
“Projected occupancy.”
“Too high.”
“Correct.”
Another page.
“Environmental approval.”
“Not secured.”
Henry nodded.
“And one more.”
Naomi looked up.
“The debt structure.”
“Yes.”
Naomi studied the numbers.
Then she saw it.
“You're being asked to invest before the risk is fully disclosed.”
Henry leaned back.
“That's our concern.”
Naomi closed the folder.
“Then don't invest.”
Michael smiled.
Henry stared at her.
“That's your advice?”
“Yes.”
“You are a waitress.”
Naomi nodded.
“I know.”
“And you would tell us not to invest two hundred million dollars?”
“I would.”
“Why?”
“Because if the project were as strong as Victor says it is, he wouldn't need to manipulate the numbers.”
Silence.
Henry slowly smiled.
“That,” he said, “is the first honest financial advice we've received tonight.”
Naomi stood.
“I should return to work.”
Henry reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a business card.
“Call me tomorrow.”
Naomi accepted it.
“I don't think—”
“Call me.”
She looked at the card.
Henry Lin.
Managing Partner.
Lin Global Ventures.
She slipped it into her pocket.
As she walked away, she didn't notice the figure standing near the entrance.
Victor had returned.
And he had heard everything.
The Price of Pride
Victor waited until Naomi entered the kitchen.
Then he approached Elena.
“I want her fired.”
Elena stiffened.
“Mr. Hale, Naomi hasn't violated any restaurant policy.”
“She embarrassed me.”
“She answered your questions.”
“She challenged me.”
“You challenged her first.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Be careful.”
Elena did not move.
She had worked in restaurants for twenty-two years.
She had seen wealthy customers threaten managers.
She had seen celebrities throw plates.
She had seen politicians demand special treatment.
But there was something different about Victor.
He wasn't angry because Naomi had been disrespectful.
He was angry because she had been correct.
“You don't understand who you're dealing with,” Victor said.
Elena answered calmly.
“Neither do you.”
Victor stared at her.
Then he turned.
He found Naomi in the back hallway.
“You think you're clever?”
Naomi looked up.
“I think I finished my shift.”
“You humiliated me.”
“No.”
“You stood in front of my investors and questioned my project.”
“You asked me to.”
“I didn't ask you to analyze my proposal.”
“You said I wasn't educated.”
Victor stepped closer.
“I can make sure you never work in this city again.”
Naomi stared at him.
There it was.
The threat.
Not the bet.
Not the language.
The threat.
She had expected it.
Still, hearing it made something inside her become very calm.
“You can try.”
Victor blinked.
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“I know exactly what I'm doing.”
“You think one sentence in Mandarin makes you special?”
“No.”
Naomi took one step forward.
“One sentence doesn't make me special.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“But your inability to understand what you're looking at isn't my problem.”