Her mother.
I SAW YOU ON THE INTERNET.
A second message.
YOUR HAIR LOOKED NICE.
The waitress laughed aloud.
Then:
ARE YOU IN TROUBLE?
She typed:
Not yet.
Her mother replied:
THAT MEANS YES.
The waitress put the phone down.
A knock.
The chairman entered.
She stood.
He motioned.
“Please.”
She sat.
He remained standing near the window.
“I want to say something before we resume.”
“Okay.”
“You are not responsible for deciding whether the transaction is dishonest.”
“I know.”
“You are responsible for language.”
“I know.”
He looked toward her.
“Do you?”
She smiled faintly.
“Trying.”
The chairman nodded.
“When I was thirty-two, I negotiated my first major supplier contract.”
“I spoke Mandarin better than the other side knew.”
“They discussed me in front of me.”
The waitress raised an eyebrow.
“What did they say?”
“That I was young.”
“Inexperienced.”
“Desperate.”
“Also that my tie was ugly.”
She smiled.
“Was it?”
“Yes.”
He continued.
“I used the information.”
“I won the negotiation.”
“For years, I told that story as proof of cleverness.”
“Then one day my daughter asked why I was proud of people humiliating themselves because they underestimated me.”
The waitress listened.
The chairman looked toward the conference-room door.
“Being underestimated can become addictive.”
“What do you mean?”
“You begin wanting the reveal.”
“The moment faces change.”
“The reversal.”
He looked back.
“It feels like justice.”
“Sometimes it is.”
“But if you begin performing for that moment, other people’s ignorance still controls you.”
The waitress thought about the check.
The executives standing.
The video.
“You think I performed.”
“No.”
“I think you answered.”
“There’s a difference.”
He smiled.
“I’m reminding both of us not to enjoy the reversal so much that we forget the work.”
The waitress nodded.
“Thank you.”
At the door, the chairman stopped.
“One more thing.”
“Yes?”
“The wager.”
She sighed.
“I was hoping nobody would mention it.”
“He has instructed his office to stop payment.”
“Of course.”
“We photographed it.”
“Yes.”
“My counsel believes there may be an enforceability argument.”
“I don’t want a lawsuit over a joke.”
The chairman studied her.
“Why?”
“Because then he becomes the center of my life for six months.”
The chairman smiled.
“Good answer.”
“He should still pay.”
She laughed.
“We’ll see.”
By afternoon, the acquisition was paused.
Not canceled.