“Sit.”

Richard sat.

Samuel remained standing.

“You have spent six months asking my company to invest in your development project.”

“Yes.”

“You have sent presentations about leadership.”

Richard nodded.

“Community values.”

“Yes.”

“Ethical growth.”

Richard looked down.

Samuel laughed bitterly.

“And tonight, before the ink was even dry on a potential agreement, you attempted to throw my oldest friend out of a restaurant because you didn’t approve of her shoes.”

The words hit harder than Richard expected.

Eleanor said nothing.

She simply watched.

Samuel continued.

“My father worked for Eleanor’s husband when he was a teenager.”

Richard looked up.

“I didn’t know that.”

“No. You didn’t bother to know much of anything.”

Samuel turned toward Eleanor.

“She helped pay for my first year of university.”

Richard’s face went pale.

Eleanor frowned.

“Sam, that was decades ago.”

“And I have never forgotten it.”

Richard looked at Eleanor differently now.

But once again, she saw it happen.

Respect arriving only after information.

She sighed.

Samuel noticed.

“What?”

Eleanor shook her head.

“Nothing.”

But Richard understood.

He had changed his opinion because he had discovered her wealth.

Then changed it again because he discovered her influence.

That realization made him feel smaller than any insult could have.

“Mrs. Grant,” he said.

Eleanor looked at him.

“I was wrong.”

“Yes.”

“No, I mean…”

He stopped.

Words failed him.

“I was wrong before I knew who you were.”

Eleanor waited.

“And I was still wrong after.”

Samuel sat down.

Richard looked directly at Eleanor.

“The fact that you own half the block shouldn’t make what I did worse.”

Her expression changed slightly.

“Go on.”

“It was already wrong.”

For the first time, Eleanor seemed interested.

Richard continued.

“I keep thinking about what would have happened if you had been exactly who I thought you were.”

Eleanor said nothing.

“A woman with no money. No connections. No company. No one who could punish me.”

His voice became quieter.

“I would have treated her the same way.”

Eleanor folded her hands.

“And?”

“And that means I didn’t make a mistake because I failed to recognize you.”

Richard took a breath.

“I made a mistake because I believed some people deserved less respect than others.”

The table fell silent.

Samuel looked at Eleanor.

She did not immediately respond.

Finally, she stood.

“Goodnight, Mr. Halston.”

Richard rose.

“Mrs. Grant.”

She turned.

“Do you forgive me?”

Eleanor looked at him.

“You are asking the wrong question.”

Richard frowned.

“What should I ask?”

She smiled faintly.

“What are you going to do now that you know something about yourself?”

Then she walked away.

Samuel followed her.

Richard remained standing alone beside the table.

Minutes later, Samuel’s assistant approached.

“Mr. Whitmore would like to postpone further discussion regarding the development project.”

Richard nodded.

“Of course.”

The assistant walked away.

Gregory approached.

“Well,” he said, “that went badly.”

Richard looked toward Table Twelve.

“No.”

Gregory stared at him.

“You may have just lost a hundred-million-dollar investment.”

Richard nodded.

“I know.”

“And you’re standing here saying it didn’t go badly?”

Richard looked at his business partner.

“I think it went exactly the way it needed to.”

Gregory laughed.

“What happened to you?”

Richard looked at Eleanor’s empty chair.

For the first time in his life, he did not have an answer.

The following morning, however, his phone rang.

The caller was Michael Laurent.

“Mr. Halston?”

“Yes?”

“Mrs. Grant would like you to come to the Riverside Community Center at nine.”

Richard looked at the clock.

It was already eight-fifteen.

“Why?”

Michael paused.

“She didn’t say.”