CHAPTER 5
“Financing.”
“What financing?”
“Our bridge commitment expires at midnight.”
Laurent stared at him.
“You told me we had until Friday.”
Richard said nothing.
The contract seemed heavier in Laurent's hand now.
“So the English summary is incomplete.”
“No.”
“The French operative text gives you control under broader conditions than you described.”
“It’s standard.”
“And the financing deadline is tonight.”
Richard’s voice sharpened.
“Étienne, don't let a waitress turn a sophisticated transaction into a conspiracy.”
That was the wrong sentence.
Laurent's face became completely still.
He looked toward Amara.
Then Richard.
“Do you know what she did that you did not?”
Richard said nothing.
“She read the document.”
Then Laurent walked away from the table.
Richard followed him into the corridor.
“Étienne!”
Laurent stopped near the coat check.
Richard lowered his voice.
“We have spent seven months negotiating.”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to walk away because she pointed at one word?”
“No.”
Laurent held up the contract.
“I am going to delay signing because I discovered a clause I do not understand.”
“You understand it.”
“I understand enough.”
Richard glanced back toward the private dining room.
Amara was speaking quietly with Thomas.
Richard leaned closer.
“Your English counsel approved the draft.”
Laurent’s eyes narrowed.
“Did they receive this version?”
Richard said nothing.
That silence answered too much.
Laurent stared at him.
“Richard.”
“They received substantially similar terms.”
“Substantially?”
“The drafting team made minor technical revisions.”
“When?”
Richard looked away.
Laurent opened the document.
Checked the footer.
Version number.
RCL-LMG_FINAL_9C
Laurent’s expression changed.
“Version 9C?”
Richard tried to take the papers.
Laurent pulled them back.
“My attorneys reviewed 8F.”
Richard froze.
Laurent looked at him.
“You changed the agreement after legal review?”
“Only technical language.”
“You changed control language.”
“No.”
Laurent pointed toward the clause Amara had identified.
“This language was not in 8F.”
Richard’s face lost color.
“How would you know?”
Laurent gave him a long look.
“Because unlike you, Richard, I read my own contracts.”
Then he walked toward the exit.
Richard remained standing beneath the chandelier.
Alone.
Amara thought the evening was over.
It wasn’t.
At 9:22, Laurent returned.
Alone.
He asked Thomas whether Amara could speak with him for five minutes after her shift.
Thomas looked at her.
Amara nodded.
At 10:47, after the last dessert plates were cleared, Amara sat across from Étienne Laurent at a small table near the bar.
She had removed her waistcoat.
Her silver name badge remained clipped to her blouse.
Laurent placed the contract on the table.
“I owe you an apology.”
Amara frowned.
“For what?”
“For sitting there while he spoke to you that way.”
She considered that.
“Yes.”
Laurent looked surprised by the direct answer.
Amara continued.
“But you did eventually stop him.”
“Eventually.”
He nodded.
“Not quickly enough.”
Amara respected that.
Laurent slid the contract toward her.
“I am not asking you for legal advice.”