One independent director asked the billionaire whether he wished to address his conduct. The older man stared at the screen for several seconds. Then he said, 'I behaved poorly at that dinner.'
The chairwoman waited.
He continued. 'I assumed the server would not understand my language. I insulted her because I thought there would be no consequences.'
His face tightened. 'When she answered, I became angry that she exposed me in front of my associates.'
The room was silent.
'After I learned she owned the company, I offered an apology. I now understand that my apology was motivated by her title, not by what I had done to a worker.'
The chairwoman felt something shift inside her. His admission did not repair the transaction or erase the harm, but it was more accurate than his previous words.
The older man looked directly into the camera. 'For that, I apologize without qualification.'
She nodded once. 'Thank you for acknowledging it.'
The property investor looked irritated. He had hoped the meeting would remain about documents. The chairman's admission exposed the behavior that had made staff afraid to challenge guests and executives. The chairwoman wondered whether the older man would sustain that understanding after leaving the camera. She could not know. His future choices were his responsibility.
The meeting concluded without a final commercial decision. The independent committees agreed on immediate measures: stop treating the disputed foundation property as available collateral, suspend reliance on the altered appendix, preserve all relevant records, and address outstanding financial obligations through proper legal processes. The restaurant group would not sign the $420 million agreement. Any future proposal would require a new term sheet, independent valuation, and fresh authorization.
As the guests departed, the younger finance executive lingered near the door. He asked to speak with the chairwoman for a moment in the presence of counsel. She agreed.
'I used to think success meant never contradicting my chairman,' he said.
'What do you think now?'
He looked down. 'That silence can become a way of making someone else's mistake larger.'
The chairwoman nodded. 'You can't change the dinner. But you can decide how to work after it.'
He bowed his head slightly. 'I will remember.'
She answered in Mandarin, 重要的不是永远不犯错，而是愿意纠正错误。
The words meant, 'What matters is not appearing infallible; it is being willing to correct what is wrong.'
He smiled sadly. 'My grandmother used to say something like that.'