The billionaire continued. He made a crude remark about the idea of a Black woman representing an elite Chinese restaurant and asked whether management had run out of suitable employees. His older lawyer put down his glass but said nothing. The waitress maintained her posture.
Then the billionaire slapped the leather-bound wine list onto the white tablecloth. Crystal glasses rang against their settings.
He pointed at her and said, in Mandarin, 你连中文都听不懂，也配在这里服务？马上鞠躬道歉！
The words meant, 'You cannot even understand Chinese, yet you dare serve this table? Bow and apologize immediately.'
The waitress lifted her chin. When she replied, her Mandarin was controlled, fluent, and unmistakably natural.
您说的每一句话我都听清楚了。财富不代表您有权羞辱别人。
'I heard every word, sir. Wealth does not give anyone the right to humiliate another person.'
The youngest executive nearly dropped his chopsticks. The older attorney closed his eyes for a moment, as though something he feared had finally happened. The billionaire's smirk vanished.
'Who taught you to say that?' he demanded in English.
'People who believed language should build understanding,' she answered. 'Would you like me to take your order, or would you prefer to speak with the dining-room manager?'
The billionaire pushed his heavy carved chair backward. Its legs scraped the floor. 'You have embarrassed me in front of my guests.'
She looked at him steadily. 'I answered a statement you made about me.'
'I can buy this restaurant tomorrow and dismiss you before lunch.'
'It is possible to make an offer,' she said. 'Whether that offer can be accepted is another matter.'
The property investor laughed again, more nervously this time. The billionaire rose to his full height and pointed toward the exit. 'Get your manager. I want the person with authority to explain why you are still employed.'
The young woman did not move toward the door. Instead, she rested the lacquer folder on a dry section of the table, opened it, and removed a cream-colored envelope. She took out several papers marked for a meeting of the restaurant group's shareholders and slid the first page toward the attorney.
'I believe the person you want is already here.'