“You are misunderstanding a legitimate business discussion.”
“That is possible,” she answered. “Which is why I have not accused anyone of anything.”
The billionaire gave a cold laugh.
“Then why are you making a scene?”
The waitress looked at the men surrounding him.
“I wasn't the person who began this conversation.”
The young executive lowered his head to hide an involuntary smile.
The billionaire noticed.
His expression darkened.
“Are you amused?”
“No, Chairman.”
“Then sit properly.”
The young executive straightened in his chair.
The billionaire turned back toward the waitress.
“I don't know what game you think you're playing, but knowing a few Korean phrases doesn't make you a business expert.”
The waitress met his gaze.
“I agree.”
That answer seemed to surprise him.
She continued.
“Knowing Korean alone wouldn't make me qualified to evaluate your transaction.”
The billionaire leaned back, apparently satisfied.
Then she added another sentence.
“But ten years of professional compliance work might.”
The silence returned.
The general counsel looked at her more closely.
The waitress reached toward the leather folder.
Inside were her service notes, the printed allergy instructions, and a personal card she had placed there before her shift.
The card was not a confidential corporate document.
It simply identified her professional qualifications.
She removed it and set it on the table.
The general counsel picked it up.
His expression changed.
He read the credentials once.
Then he read them again.
The waitress watched the color leave his face.
The billionaire frowned.
“What is it?”
The general counsel did not answer immediately.
He looked at the waitress.
“You worked for the consulting firm on the Northline acquisition?”
“Yes.”
The billionaire's hand tightened around his whisky glass.
The chief financial officer stopped moving.
The waitress nodded toward the card.
“I was assigned to review the bilingual technical annexes.”
The general counsel swallowed.
“You're the analyst?”
“Yes.”
The billionaire stared at her.
For several seconds, the expensive restaurant, the food, and the people around him seemed to disappear.
The woman he had just mocked as an uneducated waitress was the very analyst whose credibility his executives had spent months trying to destroy.
And she was standing less than three feet away.
He leaned forward.
“You?”
The waitress nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
The billionaire looked at the general counsel.
Then at the chief financial officer.
Then back at the waitress.