The billionaire barely looked at her.
He lifted the bowl.
Naomi reached toward his hand.
"Don't drink that."
The chairman frowned.
"Excuse me?"
She saw the matcha nearing his lips.
And she made a decision she would spend the next several months explaining.
She struck the bowl away.
It shattered against the lacquered table.
And the entire room erupted.
The first security officer entered less than thirty seconds after the chairman ordered the doors secured.
He was a tall Japanese-American man in his late forties, wearing a charcoal suit and a discreet communications earpiece. He had spent seventeen years working in corporate and hotel security, and his calm manner suggested he had encountered more than one powerful person behaving badly.
His name was Daniel Mercer.
He stopped just inside the doorway and examined the scene.
Broken porcelain covered part of the lacquered table.
Bright-green matcha had splashed across the polished surface.
The billionaire stood beside his chair, furious.
Naomi remained near the end of the table, her hands trembling.
And the executive vice president was staring at a tiny glass vial resting between two porcelain dishes.
Daniel looked toward the chairman.
"Sir, is anyone injured?"
The billionaire pointed at Naomi.
"She attacked me!"
Naomi turned sharply.
"I knocked the bowl away because someone tampered with your tea."
The nephew shook his head.
"That's ridiculous."
Daniel looked toward the vial.
For a moment, his expression changed.
Then he asked everyone to step back from the spilled tea and broken bowl.
The nephew immediately objected.
"That isn't necessary."
Daniel remained composed.
"Until we know what happened, nobody should disturb the area."
The chairman looked toward him.
"Arrest her."
Daniel didn't move.
"Sir, I'm hotel security. I can preserve the scene and contact the appropriate authorities. I cannot simply arrest someone because you demand it."
The billionaire stared.
For a moment, his expression suggested that nobody had spoken to him that directly in years.
Then he pointed toward Naomi again.
"She struck a bowl out of my hand!"
Daniel nodded.
"I understand."
He turned toward her.
"Ma'am, would you tell me exactly what you saw?"
Naomi swallowed.
Then described the nephew's hand, the small transparent object, and the movement over the chairman's matcha.
She didn't claim to know what the substance was.
She didn't accuse anyone of attempted murder.
She simply explained what she'd observed.
When she finished, Daniel looked toward the nephew.
The younger executive's face had gone pale.
"I didn't put anything in the tea."
Daniel nodded.
"Then we'll document your account too."
He looked toward the vial.
"But nobody is going to touch that until the appropriate personnel examine it."
The restaurant manager arrived moments later.