He stared.
Then laughed contemptuously.
“This is ridiculous. You're a waitress.”
“Yes.”
“Then stop embarrassing yourself.”
I shook my head slightly.
“I'm not embarrassed, Chairman.”
His jaw tightened.
“Security!”
A restaurant manager appeared near the sliding wooden doors.
The chairman pointed toward me.
“Remove this woman. She is interfering with a confidential transaction.”
Before the manager could move, Yu-han stood.
“Chairman Hsu, please.”
He turned toward her.
“Sit down.”
Her eyes filled.
“But—”
“I said sit.”
I looked toward the investment papers.
Then toward the small brass clasp on my notebook.
For months, I had been told to stay quiet.
To accept less.
To be grateful for the opportunity.
To stop asking questions that made powerful people uncomfortable.
Now the same people were trying to complete a two-million-dollar transaction using technology I had invented.
And the document on the table contained a provision I had never agreed to.
I reached into the inner pocket of my apron.
The chairman smiled coldly.
“What are you doing now?”
I removed a folded document.
Then placed it on the table beside the contract.
Victor's expression changed.
For a fraction of a second, he looked frightened.
The chairman glanced toward the paper.
“What is that?”
I answered in Mandarin.
「這項專利的合法權利人是我。」
I am the legal owner of this patent.
The older man's smile disappeared.
I continued.
「沒有我的授權，這筆兩百萬美元的投資就無法按照你們提出的條件完成。」
Without my authorization, this two-million-dollar investment cannot be completed on the terms you've proposed.