Jonathan looked at Maya again.
His face became pale.
"Victoria."
"What?"
"Stop."
Victoria blinked.
"Why?"
Jonathan walked toward Maya.
He looked at the cake covering her face.
He looked at her damaged dress.
He looked at the documents scattered across the floor.
Then he saw the Microsoft badge.
His shoulders dropped.
"Oh, God."
Victoria frowned.
"What?"
Jonathan whispered:
"Do you know who she is?"
Victoria laughed.
"She's pretending to be—"
"She's Dr. Maya Washington."
"I know."
"No."
Jonathan's voice cracked.
"She is the person signing our Microsoft agreement tonight."
Silence.
Victoria stared at him.
"What?"
Jonathan swallowed.
"She's the reason Microsoft agreed to work with us."
Victoria looked at Maya.
Then back at her father.
"You knew her?"
"I've been speaking with her for eight months."
Victoria's face began losing color.
"You never told me."
"I shouldn't have needed to."
Jonathan looked at his daughter.
"Because decent people don't need to know someone's job before they decide whether to respect them."
Victoria stepped backward.
Maya checked her watch.
10:14.
One minute.
Jonathan approached her.
"Dr. Washington, I am so sorry."
Maya looked at him.
"I know."
"I had no idea."
"Neither did your daughter."
Jonathan closed his eyes.
He understood the meaning.
Maya wasn't talking about her position.
She was talking about something more fundamental.
Victoria had never wondered whether Maya was important.
She had wondered whether Maya was human enough to deserve respect.
A phone began ringing.
Then another.
Then another.
Jonathan's phone displayed:
MICROSOFT LEGAL
He didn't answer.
Maya's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Satya Nadella.
Several people in the room recognized the name.
Victoria did too.
Her lips parted.
"No."
Maya answered.
"Hello, Satya."
His voice came through the speaker.
"Maya, are you safe?"
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
There was a pause.
"The board is watching."
Maya looked around.
"Everyone is."
Satya's voice became serious.
"Legal has reviewed the footage."
Jonathan closed his eyes.
Victoria stared at Maya.
Satya continued.
"We need your decision."
Maya knew exactly what he meant.
The contract.
The $4.2 billion partnership.
Sterling Industries' future.
"Do we proceed?" Satya asked.
Maya looked at Jonathan.
Then at Victoria.
Then at the clock.
10:15.
The deadline.
She didn't answer immediately.
Victoria stepped forward.
"Please."
It was the first time Maya had heard fear in her voice.
"Please don't."
Maya looked at her.
Victoria swallowed.
"I didn't know."
Maya's expression remained composed.
"That's the problem."
The Signature That Never Happened
At 10:16 p.m., the signing deadline passed.
The contract became void.
The ballroom was silent.
Maya reached down and picked up the blue leather folder.
Chocolate had stained the cover.
One corner had been bent when Victoria kicked it.
Maya opened it.
The first page read:
MICROSOFT — STERLING INDUSTRIES STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Total Value: $4.2 Billion
Three years.
Cloud infrastructure.
Artificial intelligence integration.
Cybersecurity modernization.
Guaranteed technology investment.
The deal would have transformed Sterling Industries.
It would have brought in new revenue.
New clients.
New credibility.
Most importantly, it would have prevented the company from defaulting on several major loans.
Jonathan knew this.
He had known it for months.
He walked toward Maya.
"Dr. Washington."
Maya closed the folder.
"Yes?"
"Please reconsider."
Maya looked at him.
"I can't."
"You can."
"No."
Jonathan's voice dropped.
"My daughter made a terrible mistake."
"She did."
"I'll remove her from the company."
Maya didn't respond.
"I'll issue a public apology."
Silence.
"I'll personally apologize."
Maya looked at him.
"Mr. Sterling, this isn't about an apology."
"Then what is it?"
"Trust."
Jonathan looked down.
Maya continued.
"I came here tonight believing that Sterling Industries could become a partner Microsoft trusted."
She touched the chocolate on her sleeve.
"Instead, one of your senior family representatives publicly assaulted me because she decided I didn't belong."
Victoria interrupted.
"I didn't know you were an executive."
Maya turned toward her.
"Exactly."
The ballroom became silent again.
"You didn't know my title."
Maya's voice remained steady.
"You didn't know my education."
She looked at Victoria.
"You didn't know my name."
Another pause.
"You didn't know anything about me."
Maya's eyes hardened.
"And yet you decided I deserved to be humiliated."
Victoria looked down.
Maya continued.
"The deal cannot survive that."
Jonathan lowered himself into a chair.
He suddenly looked older.
"What happens now?"
Maya answered honestly.
"Microsoft will work with another partner."
Victoria looked up.
"Another partner?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Maya pulled another document from her briefcase.
"CloudTech Solutions."
Jonathan's face fell.
"They're our biggest competitor."
"I know."
"They've been trying to acquire our cloud division for years."
"I know."
Victoria looked at her father.
"What does that mean?"
Jonathan didn't answer.
Maya did.
"It means the $4.2 billion opportunity goes somewhere else."
Victoria stared at her.
"You would give it to our competitor?"
"I would give it to a company that can meet Microsoft's requirements."
"You'd destroy us."
Maya shook her head.
"No."
"I would never deliberately destroy your family."