“So I was part of a test.”
“No.”
The chairman said it immediately.
“Charles was.”
“You became evidence unexpectedly.”
Naomi did not love that either.
He noticed.
“That distinction may not make you feel better.”
“It doesn’t.”
“Fair.”
The general counsel almost smiled.
Chairman Ishikawa continued.
“We had concerns before dinner.”
“What kind?”
“I cannot disclose transaction details freely.”
“But enough to explain why we asked to meet.”
He folded his hands.
“Whitmore Industrial Logistics has represented that it would preserve certain workforce commitments after our proposed investment.”
“Training.”
“Pension contributions.”
“Facilities.”
“Regional staffing.”
“His legal team included those commitments in negotiation language.”
Naomi remembered the sentence by the bar.
Revise labor guarantees when they stop watching every damn comma.
She nodded slowly.
Ishikawa continued.
“Several of his operational executives privately suggested the commitments were cosmetic.”
“We needed clarity.”
“So you let him think you didn’t understand English?”
“No.”
“He assumed.”
The chairman’s expression became almost dry.
“I did not correct him.”
Naomi looked at Keiko.
She confirmed with small nod.
Chairman continued.
“Charles knows I speak English.”
“At least he should.”
“We have spoken in English many times.”
Naomi stared.
“Then why did he think—”
“He appears to believe my hearing worsens when he turns away.”
That made Naomi laugh unexpectedly.
Chairman smiled.
Then became serious.
“We want your account of what you heard.”
“Not interpretation.”
“Exact wording.”
Naomi gave it.
The general counsel recorded with permission.
She repeated every sentence she remembered.
Where she stood.
Where Whitmore stood.
Who nearby.
What came before.
What followed.
She was careful when unsure.
“I think he said ‘after closing,’ but I cannot guarantee whether it was ‘after close’ or ‘once we close.’”
Counsel nodded.
“Good.”
No embellishment.
When done, Chairman Ishikawa asked:
“Why do you speak Japanese?”
Naomi almost smiled.
There it was.
The question the internet had turned into mystery.
“My mother was an art conservator.”
“She worked on textile restoration projects in Kyoto and Nara.”
“We moved when I was ten.”
“I went to Japanese school.”
“We returned when I was sixteen.”
“I studied international business and translation in college.”
The chairman looked surprised.
“You studied international business?”
“Yes.”
“Why restaurant?”
Naomi’s posture changed.
He noticed.
The question itself was not insulting.
But she had heard it in that tone before.
Why are you here if you are capable?
As though serving tables and being educated could not occupy the same person.
The chairman corrected himself.
“I apologize.”
“That sounded poorly.”