Henry Lin ignored Victor entirely. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, looking at Naomi with a calm, penetrating intensity.
When Henry spoke, he spoke in fluent, elegant English, his voice deep, measured, and entirely unbothered by the chaos.
“You spoken with remarkable accuracy, young lady,” Mr. Lin said, his accent light but precise. “Your pronunciation bears the subtle tonal qualities of the northern academic dialects, yet your economic terminology is distinctly modern. Where did you study?”
“Stanford University, sir,” Naomi replied, her voice smooth and unhurried, standing tall beside the table. “Under Professor Chen in the Department of East Asian Languages, and Dr. Arisaka in the Department of Economics.”
Henry Lin nodded slowly, a light glinting in his sharp eyes. “Dr. Arisaka’s papers on cross-border municipal financing are well known to my firm. It seems your education was far from superficial.”
Victor slammed his fist down onto the table, making the wine glasses chime softly. “Hold on a minute! What is going on here? Henry, what did she say? Did she give you the translation of what Steve said earlier or not?”
Henry Lin slowly turned his head to look at Victor. The warmth that had been in the old businessman’s eyes when looking at Naomi vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, arctic detachment.
“No, Victor,” Henry said quietly. “She did not merely translate my colleague’s observation about your lack of manners.”
Victor froze. “My… what?”
“She offered me a piece of unsolicited, highly intelligent financial advice,” Henry continued, his tone dry and razor-sharp. “She suggested—in exquisite Mandarin—that our syndicate should thoroughly review your project’s updated environmental impact reports and your revised secondary financing structures before signing any agreements with your firm tonight.”
Victor’s face instantly flushed a deep, violent crimson. He shot up from his chair, his chair scraping loudly against the hardwood floor, drawing the attention of half the restaurant.
“She’s out of her mind!” Victor barked, pointing a trembling finger at Naomi. “She’s a waitress! She doesn’t know anything about my financing! She’s making things up to sabotage my deal because she’s bitter!”
“Is she?” Henry Lin asked softly, raising an eyebrow. He did not rise from his seat. He remained entirely relaxed, exuding the effortless, unshakable authority of a man who controlled billions of dollars. “Because it is quite fascinating that a young woman standing at this table for an hour could identify the exact two areas of your proposal that my legal team raised red flags about during our flight from Shanghai yesterday morning.”
Victor choked on his own breath, his eyes widening in sheer terror. “Henry… listen to me… the environmental reports are completely standard—”
“We have been reviewing your documentation for three days, Victor,” Henry interrupted, raising a single hand to cut him off. “And frankly, your personal conduct over the course of this evening has been far more revealing than your financial prospectuses.”
Henry Lin looked at his two colleagues, who both nodded in silent, absolute agreement.
“My company does not invest in projects managed by individuals who rely on bluster, intimidation, and petty cruelty to establish their authority,” Henry said, his voice quiet but echoing like thunder in the tense air. “If this is how you treat a defenceless worker in a public restaurant, I can only imagine how you treat your business partners when the contracts are signed and the leverage shifts.”
Henry Lin reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a pristine leather wallet, and extracted three hundred-dollar bills. He placed them neatly on the table beside his untouched napkin.
“For the wine and the appetizers,” Henry said calmly.
He stood up, adjusting his suit jacket. His two colleagues immediately stood up with him.
Henry Lin turned to face Naomi directly. He took a step toward her, bowed his head slightly in a gesture of profound respect, and extended his hand.
Naomi took his hand, shaking it with a firm, professional grip.
“Thank you, Miss Carter,” Henry said in Mandarin, speaking clearly so his colleagues could hear. “It is rare to encounter someone with both exceptional intellect and the courage to use it in defense of her own dignity. I wish you immense success in your future endeavors.”
“Thank you, Mr. Lin,”Naomi replied smoothly in fluent Mandarin. “May you and your team have a safe journey back to Shanghai.”
Henry Lin smiled, gave her a final, approving nod, and turned toward the exit. Without sparing another glance at Victor Hale, the three Shanghai executives walked quietly and purposefully out of the dining room, leaving a trail of stunned silence in their wake. Victor Hale stood frozen beside Table Twelve, looking at the empty doorway through which nearly a billion dollars of potential capital had just walked out forever.
The restaurant was dead quiet. The neighboring diners were staring directly at him now, their faces filled with unvarnished contempt and amusement. Near the service station, the restaurant’s general manager and the head floor manager were standing side-by-side, their arms crossed, watching Victor with cold, uncompromising expressions.
Victor’s breath came in short, ragged gasps. He turned slowly, his eyes locking onto Naomi with a mixture of hysterical rage and utter humiliation.
“You…” Victor hissed, his voice shaking violently, his teeth clenched so tight his jaw muscles trembled. “You just cost me a nine-hundred-million-dollar deal. You ruined my partnership. I will make sure you never work in this city again. I will sue this restaurant into the ground. I will have your job by tomorrow morning!”