But Victor wasn't finished.
He leaned toward her.
“You think you've won?”
Naomi shook her head.
“No.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't like losing.”
Naomi picked up her order pad.
“Then perhaps you should stop making bets you can't afford to lose.”
Henry laughed.
Victor didn't.
The Price of the Bet
Victor Hale didn't pay the money that night.
He left the restaurant without saying goodbye.
The following morning, Naomi arrived for her shift and found the restaurant manager waiting.
“Victor called.”
Naomi knew immediately.
“What did he say?”
“He complained about your behavior.”
Naomi stared.
“My behavior?”
“He claims you embarrassed him in front of his investors.”
Naomi almost laughed.
“I answered his questions.”
The manager sighed.
“I know.”
“Then what's the problem?”
“The problem is Victor Hale is one of our most influential customers.”
Naomi looked around.
“So?”
“So, management doesn't want conflict.”
Naomi understood.
She had been a waitress for six years.
She knew what that meant.
Powerful people didn't have to be right.
They only had to be powerful.
That afternoon, Victor's lawyer arrived.
He was younger than Naomi expected.
Expensive suit.
Perfect hair.
Calm voice.
He placed a document on the table.
“Mr. Hale disputes the wager.”
Naomi read the first page.
“You're claiming it was a joke?”
“Essentially.”
“He offered one hundred thousand dollars.”
“He was being playful.”
“He asked me to speak Mandarin.”
“And you did.”
“Then he lost.”
The lawyer smiled.
“That's your interpretation.”
Naomi looked at him.
“No.”
She closed the folder.
“That's what happened.”
The lawyer leaned forward.
“Ms. Carter, Mr. Hale is willing to offer you five thousand dollars as a gesture of goodwill.”
Naomi stared at him.
“Five thousand?”
“Yes.”
“He offered one hundred thousand.”
“He doesn't believe the conditions were met.”
Naomi almost smiled.
“Then why offer five?”
The lawyer said nothing.
Naomi pushed the document back.
“No.”
The lawyer frowned.
“You should reconsider.”
“I have.”
He stood.
“You may be creating unnecessary trouble for yourself.”
Naomi watched him leave.
That night, she sat alone in her father's kitchen.
The old house was quiet.
Her father was asleep upstairs.
She looked at the framed photograph on the wall.
Her father was younger in it.
Healthy.
Smiling.
Holding a fishing rod.
She remembered what he had told her years ago.
“Never let someone convince you that being kind means being weak.”
Naomi looked at the lawyer's document.
Then she opened her laptop.
She began researching Victor Hale.
And what she found surprised her.
His waterfront project had indeed not received final approval.
Several environmental organizations had raised concerns.
There were unresolved zoning disputes.
One construction company had withdrawn from the project.
And Victor had recently announced that three major foreign investors were “ready to commit.”
Naomi realized something.
The three businessmen at the restaurant weren't merely potential investors.
They were the investors Victor desperately needed.
And he had lied to them.
Naomi continued reading.
Then she found something else.
Victor had been using a consulting company to transfer expenses between several properties.
The structure was legal on paper.
But the numbers were strange.
Very strange.
Naomi stared at the screen.
Her legal instincts were returning.
The part of her that had once dreamed of becoming an attorney had never disappeared.
It had only been buried.
Now it was waking up.
She called Henry Lin.
She hesitated before pressing send.
Then she wrote:
I believe there are important facts about the waterfront project that were not disclosed to you.
The response came less than five minutes later.
I know.
Naomi stared.
Another message appeared.
That is why I was watching you.
What Henry Lin Knew
Henry agreed to meet Naomi the following afternoon.