I showed her a diagram.
She stared.
For several seconds, she didn't speak.
Then laughed.
“I understand the tea menu better than that.”
I smiled.
“Me too, some days.”
She handed back the notebook.
Then said something in Mandarin that I would remember.
「做什麼工作都一樣，尊嚴不能丟。」
Whatever job you do, don't give up your dignity.
I looked toward her.
She smiled.
“Remember that.”
I nodded.
“I will.”
I didn't imagine that months later, those words would be the only thing keeping me calm in front of Chairman Hsu.
Or that Li-hua would become the first person to stand beside me when the chairman demanded my dismissal.
The first time Victor Hsu visited Moonbridge Pavilion, he pretended not to recognize me.
It was a Thursday evening, three weeks before the disastrous dinner.
I was carrying a tray of tea cups toward a private room when he appeared beside the corridor leading to the restaurant's entrance.
He wore a dark suit and a silver watch.
Two younger men walked beside him.
I recognized one as a corporate lawyer who had attended a preliminary Blue Harbor financing meeting.
Victor looked directly at me.
For a moment, his expression changed.
Then he smiled.
“Well, this is unexpected.”
I stopped.
“Good evening, Mr. Hsu.”
He glanced toward my uniform.
Then toward the tray.
“You work here?”
“Yes.”
He laughed softly.
“Interesting.”
I waited.
He looked toward his companions.
“This is the inventor we've been negotiating with.”
The lawyer looked surprised.
Then nodded politely.
Victor continued.
“Apparently, the patent business isn't paying very well.”
The words stung.
But I kept my voice professional.
“Commercial research takes time.”