Inés looked toward Antoine with open disapproval.
Then Beatriz spoke.
“There's no contradiction between being a researcher and working in a restaurant.”
Antoine waved one hand.
“I didn't suggest there was.”
But the table had heard him.
So had Elena.
For a moment, she felt the old, familiar anger rising.
Not because she was ashamed of her work.
She wasn't.
She respected the cooks, dishwashers, bartenders, servers, and cleaners whose labor made evenings like this possible.
What angered her was Antoine's assumption that the uniform established how much respect she deserved.
She took a slow breath.
Then addressed him politely.
“Would you like me to continue serving dinner, monsieur?”
The question embarrassed him more effectively than any insult could have.
It reminded everyone that he'd interrupted a working employee, turned her into a spectacle, and then acted surprised when she proved capable.
Antoine looked toward the table.
Then forced a smile.
“Of course.”
Elena reached for her notepad.
But before she could pick it up, Inés spoke again.
“One moment.”
The investor looked toward the young woman.
“May I ask you a professional question?”
Elena hesitated.
“I can answer general questions, but I can't discuss confidential work.”
Inés nodded immediately.
“Understood.”
She glanced toward the portfolio beside Luc Moreau.
Then asked, “In your experience, what should an investor do when a project's public presentation describes most of its operating capacity as secured, while the documentation may contain several different categories of commercial commitment?”
The table became very quiet.
Antoine shifted in his chair.
Elena considered her words carefully.
She didn't know whether Inés was asking a hypothetical question or referring directly to the documents they'd been discussing earlier.
She also knew her professional obligation not to disclose nonpublic information.
So she answered at the level of principle.
“I would ask for a schedule distinguishing binding contractual commitments, conditional agreements, and nonbinding expressions of interest. I would also request the assumptions used to convert those categories into revenue forecasts.”
Inés nodded.
“And if the sponsors refused?”
Elena met her eyes.
“I would want to understand why.”
Antoine cleared his throat.
“This conversation has become rather technical.”
Beatriz looked toward him.
“I thought technical fluency was the purpose of your wager.”
A few people smiled.
Antoine didn't.
Luc leaned toward him and whispered something.
Elena couldn't hear the words.
But Antoine's expression changed immediately.
He looked toward her name badge.
Then toward Inés.