"I hope we can get this right."
Nia shook it.
"Me too."
The first public rumor appeared that weekend.
A business gossip account posted that Victor Liang had been embarrassed at an upscale restaurant by a waitress who spoke Mandarin better than he expected.
The account didn't mention the confidential acquisition.
But it described the confrontation in enough detail that people began speculating about which restaurant hosted the dinner.
Within hours, several social-media users claimed the waitress was secretly a billionaire.
Others said she was an undercover investigator.
One suggested she was Victor's unknown daughter.
None of those claims was true.
Nia had no idea who leaked the story.
She hadn't posted about the dinner.
Mei hadn't authorized anyone to speak publicly.
And the confidential business issues remained under review.
But the rumor spread anyway.
By Monday morning, the restaurant was receiving calls from people asking to meet the mysterious waitress.
Some wanted interviews.
Others wanted photographs.
A few appeared interested only in turning an uncomfortable incident into entertainment.
Mei instructed her staff not to discuss private customers without authorization.
Nia agreed.
She was relieved that the acquisition details hadn't become public through the gossip.
But the attention still affected her.
During one shift, a customer asked whether she was the woman who humiliated a billionaire.
Nia smiled politely.
"I'm here to help with your dinner."
The man laughed.
"Come on. Tell us what happened."
She shook her head gently.
"I'm sorry. I don't discuss private guests."
The customer seemed disappointed.
Then ordered dessert.
Nia carried on.
But later that evening, she sat in the changing room feeling strangely exposed.
She had become a story other people enjoyed repeating.
And almost nobody repeating it understood the woman whose signature had been used without a credible explanation.
The confidential settlement proposal arrived on a Wednesday.
Nia's lawyer called before sending it.
His voice was unusually serious.
"Asterion's representatives have suggested a negotiated resolution."
Nia was sitting at her kitchen table reviewing the trust's annual reports.
She straightened.
"What kind of resolution?"
"They want to know whether the stewardship representatives would consider approving a revised transfer in exchange for financial compensation."
Nia frowned.
"Compensation to whom?"
"That's one of the questions we'd need answered."
She nodded slowly.
There was nothing inherently improper about negotiating commercial terms. A transaction affecting protected assets could sometimes be approved if it satisfied the governing purpose and applicable obligations.
But the proposal included a separate personal component.
Asterion's representatives suggested that Nia could receive a substantial payment for releasing certain personal claims and agreeing to confidentiality regarding the disputed waiver.