But she'd also helped workers through illness, family emergencies, and difficult periods when tips didn't cover the month's expenses.
When Nia's mother was hospitalized, Mei sent food to the apartment.
After Lorraine died, she attended the funeral and brought enough meals to feed Nia for several days.
She never treated those gestures as favors that had to be repaid.
One evening, Mei found Nia sitting alone in the office after closing.
The young woman had spread legal papers across the desk.
Her eyes were red from exhaustion.
Mei placed a cup of tea beside her.
"You can't keep doing this every night."
Nia looked up.
"I know."
Mei sat down.
For a while, she studied the papers without touching them.
Then asked, "Is this about your mother's company?"
Nia nodded.
"Someone may have used her signature on a document she didn't authorize."
Mei's expression changed.
For several seconds, she remained silent.
Then she asked whether Nia had a good lawyer.
"Yes."
"And do you trust that lawyer?"
"I do."
Mei nodded.
"Then let the lawyers handle the legal work. Your job is to give them what they need and take care of yourself."
Nia smiled tiredly.
"That sounds easy."
"It isn't."
Mei took a sip of tea.
Then leaned forward.
"Your mother never knew when to stop working either."
Nia laughed softly.
"I know."
Mei looked toward the documents.
Then said something that stayed with her.
"Don't confuse carrying her responsibilities with becoming a prisoner of them."
Nia stared.
For a moment, her eyes filled.
Mei reached across the desk.
"Lorraine loved you more than she loved that company."
Nia nodded.
She knew that.
But during the long nights of legal reviews, it was easy to forget.
At Asterion, the atmosphere was less comforting.
Victor had begun asking increasingly pointed questions about the independent review.
He wanted to know why an apparent consent issue was receiving so much attention.
Why lawyers were contacting former employees.
And why the transaction timetable needed to include additional contingencies.
Elliot Voss reassured him repeatedly.
He described the disputed document as an administrative problem that could be resolved.
But as the reviewers requested more records, Elliot became visibly nervous.
His executive assistant noticed.
He began arriving earlier.
Leaving later.
And making calls from a private conference room rather than his office.
Several members of his team complained that he was demanding old files without explaining why.
One junior financial analyst received a request to reconstruct the date and location at which a particular PDF had entered the acquisition repository.
The analyst's name was Devon Price.