For the first time, Adrian had difficulty deciding what to say next. She was not defending herself in the way he expected. She was not begging him to recognize her education, and she was not pretending that her circumstances were better than they were.
She simply refused to accept his definition of them.
The refusal unsettled him.
He picked up his phone again.
"Fine. Let's say you can speak Japanese. That still doesn't mean you understand business."
"I didn't claim that it did."
"Then what exactly are you claiming?"
"Only that I can speak Japanese."
"One sentence doesn't make you an expert."
"Of course not."
"Nor does a university degree."
"I agree."
"Then perhaps you should stop behaving as if you've won something."
Maya glanced at the phone in his hand.
"I haven't won anything yet, sir."
The words were delivered without sarcasm.
That made them worse.
Eleanor leaned forward.
"Adrian, are you going to pay her?"
He turned sharply.
"Don't start."
"I'm asking a straightforward question."
"And I'm telling you this is ridiculous."
"You offered a million dollars."
"I was making a point."
"What point?"
Adrian opened his mouth, then closed it.
He could have admitted that the challenge had been intended as entertainment, that he had never imagined the waitress would possess the skill to answer it, and that the amount displayed on his phone had been part of the performance rather than a serious promise.
But those admissions would have exposed something he could not tolerate exposing in front of his associates.
He was a man who prided himself on never appearing weak.
And he had just been surprised by someone he had assumed was beneath his notice.
So he did what he had always done when reality refused to follow his expectations.
He changed the rules.
"All right," he said. "You want to be taken seriously? Let's make this interesting."
Maya did not respond.
Adrian unlocked his phone again and placed it flat on the table, the million-dollar balance visible beneath the candlelight.
"One sentence is easy. You memorized it somewhere. Perhaps you learned it in class. Perhaps you copied it from a book. That proves nothing about what you can actually do."
"Then what would prove it?"
He smiled.
"Translate something real. Something complicated. Something that matters."
Richard looked at him with growing concern.
"Adrian, enough."
But Adrian had already become interested in his own idea.
He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and removed a folded sheet of paper. It was a preliminary document related to the Osaka acquisition, a confidential briefing containing a paragraph of Japanese correspondence that had arrived that afternoon.
He had been frustrated by it for hours.
The Japanese delegation had rejected several clauses in the proposed agreement, and the translation provided by his consulting firm had left him uncertain whether the objections were legal, cultural, or merely tactical. He had planned to discuss the problem with Richard after dinner, but the conversation had taken an unexpected turn.
Now, he saw an opportunity to regain control.
He unfolded the paper and slid it across the table toward Maya.
"Translate this."
She looked at the document but did not touch it.
"Is this part of the original offer?"
"No. It's a second challenge."
"With a second prize?"
Miles gave a low whistle.
Richard rubbed his forehead.
Adrian's smile tightened.
"Are you negotiating with me now?"
"No, sir. I'm clarifying the terms before agreeing to additional work."
For several seconds, Adrian simply stared at her.
Then he laughed.
Not because he found her funny, but because he wanted the others to believe he did.
"Unbelievable. You really think you're in a position to negotiate."
Maya folded her hands in front of her apron.
"You were the one who asked me to do additional work."
Eleanor's expression shifted. There was no longer any attempt to conceal her interest.
Adrian glanced at his associates, measuring their reactions. He could see that the room was no longer entirely his. Richard looked uncomfortable, Miles looked fascinated, and Eleanor looked as though she had just discovered a problem she would be unable to ignore.
He could end the exchange. He could tell Maya to return to her duties and leave the room with his dignity mostly intact.
But that would mean accepting that she had won the first challenge.
He could not bring himself to do it.
"Five thousand dollars," he said. "If you translate the paragraph correctly."
Maya looked at the paper.
"Correctly according to whom?"
"According to the meaning."
"Then I would need to know whether you want a literal translation, a natural translation, or an interpretation of the business implications."
Richard looked up sharply.
Adrian frowned.
"What?"
"Those are three different things," Maya explained. "A literal translation preserves the wording as closely as possible. A natural translation communicates the intended meaning in English. An interpretation of the business implications would require context about the negotiation, the relationship between the parties, and the surrounding clauses."
The room had become so quiet that the distant jazz music seemed unusually loud.
Adrian stared at her as if she had just spoken another language.
Then he pushed the document closer.
"Natural translation. And tell me what it means."